118 MOUNTAINS AND THEIR ORIGIN. 
but in methods of study also. An amusing anec- 
dote is told of him, as illustrating his untiring 
devotion to his scientific pursuits. In studying 
the rocks, he had become engaged also in the in- 
vestigation of the fossils contained in them, lie 
was at one time especially interested in the Tero- 
bratulce , certain fossil shells found in great abun- 
dance in all stratified rocks, and one evening in 
Berlin, where he was engaged in the study of 
these remains, he came across a notice in a Swed- 
ish work of a particular species of that family 
which he could not readily identify without see- 
ing the original specimens. The next morning 
Yon Bucli was missing, and as he had invited 
guests to dine with him, some anxiety was felt on 
account of his non-appearance. On inquiry, it 
was found that he was already far on his way to 
Sweden : he had started by daylight on a pilgrim- 
age after the new, or rather the old, Terebratula. 
I tell the story as I heard it from one of the dis- 
appointed guests. 
All great natural phenomena impressed him 
deeply. On one occasion it was my good fortune 
to make one of a party from the “ Helvetic Asso- 
ciation for the Advancement of Science ” on an 
excursion to the eastern extremity of the Lake of 
Geneva. I well remember the expressive gesture 
of Yon Buch, as he faced the deep gorge through 
which the Rhone issues from the interior of the 
