Editorials. 



With profound sorrow we announce the death of our col- 

 league, Dr. George Huntington Williams, Professor of Inorganic 

 Geology in the Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore. Tidings 

 of his death came to most of us like a sudden flash of lightning 

 from a cloudless sky. In the midst of ceaseless activity, and at 

 the height of ever-increasing effectiveness, he has been cut off. 

 To those who for three weeks watched the rising fever, and 

 endeavored by every means known to medical science to avert a 

 fatal crisis, his death was almost as unexpected. Subsequent 

 examination showed the presence of an organic disorder which 

 had rendered his system incapable of withstanding the attack of 

 typhoid. Truly "in the midst of life we are in death." To 

 those of us who have been intimately associated with Professor 

 Williams, his death comes as a personal bereavement, for his 

 amiable disposition, his generous sympathy, and his unselfish 

 interest in his friends bound them to him with ties of lasting 

 affection. To those who were fortunate enough to study under 

 his guidance, his death must come with peculiar force, for he 

 possessed in a high degree those qualities which render a teacher 

 powerful. His learning was broad and deep, and his reading 

 extensive. He was gifted with a memory that was not only 

 strongly retentive, but had the rare trait of storing up the kernel 

 of a matter, and letting go the chaff. His speech was clear, 

 graceful and vigorous. The enthusiasm with which he attacked 

 every subject in the varied range of his work communicated 

 itself through his words to his hearers. His successful labors in 

 the field of original research not only added to the sum of 

 knowledge in general, but served as an example and powerful 

 incentive to those who were following his teachings. His pupils 

 will indeed be fortunate if they have caught anything of the 



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