10 



mention that in the ease of some of us Professor Bonney had to 

 commence by unmaking ; he had not only to implant truths but to 

 cast out error ; for in the early days of my recollection Geology was 

 troubled with many monsters^ " jabberwocks, snarks and other 

 boojums/'' who had east an unholy influence over us. There was 

 for one the gneiss and granite monster — it was thought that great 

 gneissose regions were produced by a gentle simmering of primitive 

 mud, and that if overdone this was liable to pass into genuine granite ; 

 so culinary were the operations of Nature represented to be that it 

 was sometimes difficult to look upon a piece of granite without 

 perceiving a faint flavour of onions. Great were the battles with 

 this monster, now happily overthrown, bearing many marks of 

 Professor Bonney's weapons. Another was excavation by glaciers, 

 or as one of my friends calls them, "glaziers," thus innocently ex- 

 pressing a once prevalent idea that these agents have a kind of 

 resemblance to intelligent mechanics, who armed with sharp points 

 and a knife can cut through the hardest substances or fill up a hole 

 with plastic material. The lakes of Switzerland, North America 

 and tropical Africa showed what they could accomplish, when put 

 to it. I think this, too, is an extinct "■ jabberwock.'" 



While thus touching on the destructive powers of our old and 

 revered teacher, let me add that he has not only taught us the arts 

 of peace, but has trained us in the exercise of arms, showing us by 

 his example how both to discover new truths and to manfully 

 defend all that seems true to us. We may not hope to emulate 

 him in sword play, but we may at least imitate him in keeping a 

 steadfast face to the foe. 



Professor Bonney's work, however, has been much more con- 

 structive than destructive ; he has been a maker of geology as 

 well as of geologists. He has shown us the foundation stones of 

 the earth's crust, and is now helping us to unravel the mysteries 

 of the tangled glacial deposits ; he has given us a new insight into 

 the meaning of the British Trias, and since his first lectures on 

 petrology, which Mr. Teall and I attended some twenty-three years 

 ago, has been constantly adding to our knowledge of igneous rocks. 

 It is strange to reflect on how little was known in England of this 

 subject, when Professor Bonney first commenced his lectures. It 



