MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 33 



with lectures and text-books. Like many of the more intelligent 

 students of science in Edinburgh, both at that time and later, 

 he joined the Royal Physical Society — which despite its name 

 is a Society of Natural History — and for a couple of years 

 he filled the office of Secretary, surely one of the youngest on 

 record. Fortunately for Oceanography, after about three 

 years of study, ill-health caused our young Naturalist to give 

 up all idea of the Medical profession, and to turn his attention 

 definitely to the Natural Sciences as his life-work. He left 

 the University in 1850, without taking a degree, but his ability 

 and reputation were such that he made rapid progress in the 

 chosen career, and filled successively the posts of lecturer on 

 Botany in the University of Aberdeen (1851), professor of 

 Natural History in Queen's College, Cork (1853), professor 

 of Geology in Belfast (1854), and a few years later (1860) professor 

 of Zoology and Botany in the same college. It will be noticed 

 that, like Edward Forbes, Wyville Thomson was capable of 

 filling with success posts in all the Natural Sciences in succession, 

 and this wide range of interest and of knowledge was of course 

 of immense advantage in the great work that was to come 

 in exploring the oceans. 



The Rev. Dr. Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of the Queen's 

 University of Belfast, himself a former student and assistant 

 of Prof. Wyville Thomson, has most kindly provided me with 

 notes of his recollections of those days. I am sorry it is 

 impossible to print these in full, but I extract from them the 

 following impressions : — Thomson had a bright handsome face 

 and a light springy step ; he was a delightful and instructive 

 lecturer, who had on his table a profusion of specimens of 

 which he made incessant use, but spoke without notes. His 

 Saturday excursions must have been delightful. We have a 

 picture of him striding along, vasculum on back, at the head 

 of his students, pointing out specimens and objects of interest 

 as they were encountered. His hospitality to his students has 



