BUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 9 



loyalty to the school he served. There was a freshness in his 

 instruction as of nature herself. He was a Thoreauan in his love 

 of the fields. Frequently he went outside of the matter given 

 by ordinary writers and gave the pupils the valuable information 

 he had gathered in his own travels. His enthusiasm, devoted, 

 not to his own advancement, but to the improvement of man- 

 kind, exerted a salutary and quickening influence on his pupils. 



"Another characteristic was his simplicity and modesty. 

 Placing a high value upon results, he cared little for methods 

 and ceremony. Regarding knowledge and truth as everything, 

 he sought for them and made them known without bringing 

 himself forward. He had literally no thought of self advance- 

 ment. He liked plainness and frankness ; was genuine and 

 transparent; incapable of insincerity or indirection. 



"Mr. Linden was no slave to conventionality; possibly 

 he cared too little for appearances. To some he seemed peculiar, 

 but his peculiarities were doubtless exaggerated in the mouths 

 and minds of those who did not understand him. At least they 

 were not affectations, but like himself, perfectly spontaneous 

 and sincere. He was an "interesting" man. What casual observ- 

 ers called eccentricities, those who know him better considered 

 marks of a strong individuality. He was a "character" in the 

 special meaning of that word- "one of those pieces of nature's 

 workmanship which are malleable by no external influence of 

 culture, society or circumstances". Such men always speak 

 from within and echo no man's opinions. When such a man is a 

 teacher he will be interesting and will strongly impress himself 

 upon his classes, whatever deficiencies he may have ; and this 

 Mr. Linden did. 



"His nature was thoughtful and philosophic. He was a 

 constant reader, an original thinker upon the historical, scientific 

 and social problems that attract thoughtful men. I was more 

 than once surprised to find how familiar he was with some 

 particular epoch of history. His comments and criticisms on 

 men and events were interesting and generally just No man 

 or woman without somewhat similar tastes could know him. 



"He was not to be lightly gauged by outward manner or 

 appearance. Those who did know him, as they now look back, 

 treasure the recollection of his look, his figure, his voice, his 

 abstracted air as he walked the streets, his hearty laugh at an 

 amusing mistake in the class-room, his beaming face as he dis- 



