MEMOIR OF EDWARD WALLER CLAYPOLE 489 



To him the universe presented positive evidence of " the constancy 

 and inevitability of natural law — its unswerving constancy, its inevi- 

 table certainty'' — and the object of his investigations was never restricted 

 to a narrow field, but he modestly and patiently toiled to seek and 

 record truth in whatever aspect it came before him. Hence his 

 record, partly also from the enforced conditions of his profession of 

 teacher, was not limited to one particular line of investigation, even 

 within the bounds of geology. 



He began with the study of broad problems of areal physical geology, 

 along lines and in fields made classic by his inspirer, the great Lyell. 

 His first known publications dealt with evidences of land " Subsidence 

 in the southwest counties of England during the present period." These 

 ought to be read by every young student, as texts to go along with their 

 Lyell and Geikie, Dana and Le Conte. These papers, and one on the 

 Carboniferous system in a part of Midlothian, are a foretaste of what 

 might have been his career had not misfortune, in the guise of urgent 

 need and cruel persecution, sent him to America in 1872. 



Naturally, at that period, his attention was forcibly drawn to studies 

 of glacial phenomena, and his contributions to this department were 

 material and frequent for many years. Upon cognate subjects, his only 

 really controversial work was done. It would have been impossible 

 then to contribute anything novel to the discussion without drawing fire 

 from one or other quarter, and his views were not always greedily ac- 

 cepted by the contending factions. Even now it may be early to seek a 

 final verdict, for too many able contestants survive and make valued 

 additions to our knowledge of this great subject; but none will dispute 

 the vigor of Claypole's logic, the earnestness of his purpose, or the worth 

 of his contributions. His name would live for these alone, albeit they 

 are but fragments of his vital productions. 



With fuller recognition and better opportunities for him at this junc- 

 ture, undoubtedly American glacial literature would have been enriched 

 beyond its actual marvelous development; for there is a ring of zeal and 

 acumen in certain of his papers which carry weight and hint of no ordi- 

 nary power of observation and ratiocination. Geology has lost in this 

 direction by its gain in other fields into which circumstances turned his 

 energies. 



Fugitive papers (1877-79) on migration of plants and animals probably 

 grew out of his studies of the Drift. They are strikingly valuable and 

 deserve wider circulation than was given them. 



Upon the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, under Lesley, 

 Doctor Claypole touched familiar ground in that hazy stratigraphic zone 

 extending from Silurian to Carboniferous, which has puzzled and non- 



