November 13, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



699 



more intimately associated with him can do 

 this better than I. Yet, perhaps, as one of 

 the oldest among you, I may be allowed to 

 give some personal reminiscences of my 

 early association with Hall, touching only 

 such as have had an influence on my own 

 career. I give but two: 



In 1850, with Louis Agassiz, and as his 

 pupil, I visited Prof. Hall in Albany, and 

 accompanied Hall and Agassiz on a geolog- 

 ical excursion in the Helderberg Mountains. 

 It was my first lesson in field geology. The 

 intense interest developed in my mind by 

 the rambles ; the observations, and espe- 

 cially the discussions between these two 

 men, definitely determined my chief scien- 

 tific work in the field of geology rather than 

 zoology, which, as we all know, was Agas- 

 siz's favorite department. 



One more reminiscence : In 1856 oc- 

 curred the meeting of the A. A. A. S. at 

 Albany under the presidency of Prof. Hall, 

 a meeting memorable for its enthusiasm. 

 At this meeting Dana gave his epoch-mak- 

 ing address as retiring President on the 

 development of continents. At the same 

 meeting I gave my first scientific paper 

 showing how barrier reefs are formed on the 

 coast of Florida without subsidence. But 

 with this I am not not concerned. In 1857 

 the A. A. A. S. met at Montreal, and Hall 

 as retiring President gave his memorable 

 address on the formation of mountains 

 by sedimentation. I can never forget the 

 impression produced. The idea was so en- 

 tirely new, so utterly opposed to prevailing 

 views, that it was wholly incomprehensible 

 even to the foremost geologists. There was 

 no place in the geological mind where it 

 could find lodgment. It was curious to ob- 

 serve the look of perplexity and bewilder- 

 ment on the faces of the audience. Guyot 

 was sitting immediately behind me. He 

 leaned forward and whispered in my ear : 

 " Do you understand anj^thing he is say- 

 ing?" I whispered back, 'Not a word.' 



And yet the seed sown in that' address has 

 borne abundant fruit among American 

 geologists. The views foreshadowed and 

 imperfectly presented then by modification 

 and classification have developed into what 

 has been called the American theory of 

 mountain formation. Whatever of fruitful 

 work I have mj^self done in this direction 

 I owe to the seed planted then. 



I have spoken thus far of Hall the geol- 

 ogist ; now a single word, in conclusion, of 

 Hall the man. Greater than all the results 

 of science is the true spirit of science which 

 accomplishes these results. So, greater 

 than all Hall's work— great as this is ac- 

 knowledged to be — is the character of the 

 man, and the man himself. Hall is an ex- 

 ample to us all in his unswerving, incor- 

 ruptible, self-sacrificing devotion to pure 

 science for its own sake. In this age of 

 profitable science, and even often of science 

 for profit, we cannot too highly value such 

 an example. But if the man determines 

 the character of the work, the work also re- 

 acts to determine the character of the man. 

 A great man is necessary for a great work, 

 but a great work continued through life re- 

 acts to ennoble and elevate the man, and 

 even illumines the face with a higher intel- 

 lectual and moral beauty. As Dante, 

 while gazing steadily on ideal beauty in the 

 face of the divine Beatrice, is drawn upward 

 to the seventh heaven, even so the man of 

 science, gazing steadily on the face of Truth, 

 is drawn upward to higher and higher 

 planes of intellectual and moral eleva- 

 tion. 



Deeply moved by the expressions of his 

 associates, themselves among the older 

 geologists of the country. Prof. Hall re- 

 sponded briefly and modestly, acknowledg- 

 ing his indebtedness to contemporary in- 

 vestigators for much of the success which 

 has attended the Geological and Natural 

 History Survey of New York for many years, 



