"eb. 6, 1873] 
_ During his long tenure of a Fellowship in Trinity Col- 
lege, Prof. Sedgwick witnessed great changes in the 
mathematical training, and contributed as much as any 
“man to the present favourable condition of Science in 
Cambridge. 
_ To defend the University against hasty imputations, to 
maintain a high standard of moral philosophy, and a 
_ dignified preference for logical induction to alluring hy- 
pothesis was always in his thoughts. Hence the “ Dis- 
course on the Studies of the University of Cambridge,” at 
first an eloquent sermon, grew by prefix and suffix to a 
volume which he himself likened to a wasp—large in front 
and large behind, with a very fashionable waist. 
Under such feelings he spoke out against the “ Vestiges 
of Creation ” with a fervour of argument and declamation 
which must have astonished the unacknowledged author of 
that once popular speculation. Nor was he silent when 
the views of Darwin came to fill the void places of biolo- 
gical theory, against which he not only used a pen of steel 
but made great use of his heavy hammer, 
The vigour—vehemence we may call it—of his pen and 
tongue in a matter which touched his sense of justice, 
morals, or religion, might mislead one who did not tho- 
roughly know his truth and gentleness of heart, to sup- 
pose that anger was mixed with his honest indignation— 
’ 
ov yap pewdtyxos coke ev Sat Avypy 
But it was quite otherwise. In a letter addressed to the 
writer, in reply to some suggestion of the kind, he gave 
the assurance that he was resolved “ no ill blood” should 
be caused by the discussion which had become inevitable. 
He never failed in courtesy to the honest disputant 
whose arguments he mercilessly “contunded.” Taken 
altogether, Professor Sedgwick was a man of grand pro- 
portion, cast in a heroic mould. Pressed in early life 
through a strict course of study, he found himself stronger 
by that training than most of his fellow geologists, but 
never made them feel his superiority. Familiar with great 
principles, and tenacious of settled truths, he was ready to 
welcome and encourage every new idea which appeared 
to be based on facts truly observed, and not unprepared or 
unwilling to stand, even if alone, against what he deemed 
unfair objection or unsubstantial hypothesis. 
This is not the place to speak of his private worth, or 
to indulge in reminiscence of his playful and exuberant 
fancy, the source of unfailing delight to those who knew 
him in his happier hours. Unmarried, but surrounded by 
plenty of cheerful relatives, his last hours of illness were 
soothed by sedulous affection; his kindly disposition no 
suffering could conceal; his lively interest in passing 
events nothing could weaken. Ever 
“* Against oppression, fraud, or wrong, 
His voice rose high, his hand waxed strong.” 
With collected mind, on the verge of the grave, he would 
express, with undiminished interest, his latest conclusions 
on his own Cambrian system, purely as a matter of scien- 
tific discussion, free from all personal considerations. It 
will be well if this mode of treatment be reverently fol- 
lowed by those who while speaking of Protozoic and 
Paleozoic Rocks, know enough to feel how much they 
have been benefited by the disinterested labours of a long 
and noble life. 
JOHN PHILLIPS 
NA 7 i URE 
259 
PALMIERI’S VESUVIUS 
The Eruption of Vesuvius in 1872. By Prof. Palmieri, 
Director of the Vesuvian Observatory. With Notes and 
an Introductory Sketch, &c.. By Robert Mallet, F.R.S. 
(London: Asher and Co., 1873.) 
kes in these days of rapid intercourse, the re-appear- 
ance of volcanic phenomena on the large scale in 
any part of the earth’s surface should awaken a far more 
than mere local interest, was well illustrated in the case 
of the late great outbreak of Mount Vesuvius, during the 
continuance of which the telegraphic bulletins received 
from the fiery mountain became the subject of general 
inquiry and discussion in all parts of the civilised world ; 
and even now that the eruption has entirely subsided, the 
publication of a translation by Mr. Mallet, of the report of 
the well-known Italian savant, Professor Palmieri, en- 
titled “ Incendio Vesuviano del 26 Aprile, 1872,” will be 
welcomed as a valuable contribution to English scientific 
literature quite independently of its being a book likely 
to secure numerous readers amongst the non-scientific 
public also. 
This report of Professor Palmieri, who so courageously 
stuck to his post in the Observatory on the side of Mount 
Vesuvius, when that building actually stood between two - 
torrents of liquid fire, the heat from which cracked the 
glass in the windows and even scorched the very habita- 
tion itself, is one of the most important records of volcanic 
phenomena which we possess. Written in the most un- 
assuming style, it does not go into theoretical points, but 
confines itself all but entirely to recording such facts as 
were considered by its author to be important or interest- 
ing from a scientific point of view, alluding only inci- 
dentally to the destruction caused by the lava and ashes 
on the morning of April 26. In point of fact it is 
to be regarded as a scientific rather than a popular de- 
scription of the eruption. Although the professor specially 
excels in details, the main features of the different phases 
of the eruption are well described, and a vivid impression 
of the enormous force developed on such occasions is 
conveyed by his observation that on April 26 the volume 
of smoke, ashes, lava fragments and bombs projected up- 
wards from the crater attained a height of no less than 
1,300 metres (4,265 feet) above its edge. 
The report itself contains a mass of data calculated to 
be of invaluable assistance in the future investigation of 
volcanic phenomena, and although it may be said that the 
conclusions arrived at from the study of this eruption, do 
not present us with any strikingly new or startling deduc- 
tions, their great value lies in the corroboration or cor- 
rection of those resulting from previous observations. 
Amongst these may be mentioned, the opinion now held 
by the professor, that to a certain extent eruptions may 
be predicted, which he bases upon the observations that 
when the central crater commences to be agitated, this is 
followed by a series of slight convulsions which terminate 
in a grand outbreak or eruption, after which the volcano 
first settles down again into a state of repose; the evi- 
dence brought forward to prove the crystallisation of the 
leucite out of the fluid lava and against its pre-existence 
in it, as has been assumed by some previous writers ; the 
order of appearance of the acid vapours ; the constant 
presence of certain metallic compounds and sublimates ; 
