Thomas Henry. m 



accounted for by the previous publication of Henry's 

 volume. 



An admirable portrait of Henry, painted by Allen, 

 hangs on the walls of the Society's rooms. It was painted 

 when he was advanced in years, but still shows that calm 

 power and activity of mind which Henry's life and writings 

 evince. Clearly he was not a great philosopher, his educa- 

 tion was imperfect and his disposition was more that of a 

 worker than an abstract thinker ; but he was a good type 

 of the practical race of Englishmen, or of people of north- 

 west Ireland. 



Before leaving Thomas Henry we may bring together 

 some further account of his more important work. 



We see the clearness of the man's mind in some very 

 simple expressions ; -he quotes ' Baume ' (vol. i. p. 449) as 

 supposing < that when calcareous earth is deprived of air 

 and water it will return to its primitive state, viz. that of 

 silicious earth.' Mr. Henry says, 'This theory is rather 

 fanciful than just. The operations of nature, it must be 

 allowed, are generally simple, but we may simplify too far ; 

 and in forming systems we should not suffer our imagina- 

 tions to carry us beyond those bounds which our senses 

 and experiment warrant. 



' Calcareous earth indeed, in the form in which we 

 commonly find it, is a compound consisting of earth, air, and 

 water, and is not considered as pure till it be deprived by 

 fire of the two last elements. It is then properly pure 

 calcareous earth ; but it does not appear that longer cal- 

 cination, though it may divest it of some of the properties 

 of calcareous, will ever reduce it to the nature of silicious 

 earth. 



' Every earth with which we meet and which when 



