10 
The Jhnerican (it'ohxjt.sL 
Jaiiiiurv, 18't:{ 
the Intel' jxM-iod of his life often sjx'iit loo luucli of his valiuiblo 
tiiiic ill i-(H'I;iiii:itioiis of jircecMh'ncc in tiic iiiiiiouneemont of 
•jji'iu-nilixatious wliicii hiul ln'cu^ jisci'ilu'd to others. l):isiti<>; liis 
ehiiiii soini'times on |)rinleil woi'ds of his own whieh did not uu- 
mist:ilc;ihly detine the same ideas. There is no (|iU'stion tliat in 
these eases lie was sincere, and that from iiis ])oint of view his 
cdaims were jnst. for he eommeneed ids useful (Mreer as a seien- 
tilie writer with more tlian tlie usual ann)unt of that eaution 
"wliii-ii is till' indispiMisaltle (iiiality of a true savant. Still, lie 
was the uni|uestioiied author of so inueh that was valnal)le that 
he ndjiht well have spare(l himself the eontroversy and annoyance 
of these si i'Uii,<2,ies. some of which wei'c; very unpleasant to him. 
lie will lie reinemhered (diielly l»y his valnahle adilitions to (jur 
knowledu'e of llie constitution of the crystalline nx.'ks and his 
theories eoncerninii; Iheir genesis and classilication. His leading 
thouiiht for thii'ty years was that minerals took the place in 
cry.stalline rocks of fossils in the chistic I'ocks as a means of de- 
termination of their history. I'clalive age. iJcc., hut he nowhen! 
pretended (as sometimes has been unjustly said of him) that we 
WH're yet alile to inti'r[)ret aright all of the phenomena they pre- 
sented, 
lie was an entliusiastic admirer of llowers and a skillful liotan- 
ist and arl)orist. contriluiting much lo liring to the attention of 
the pulilic the necessity of earing for our wantonly wasted forests, 
and interesting himself greatly in the eslalilishinent in Canada 
and the United States of Arbor thiy. 
He was also a keen ci'itic and an oinniverous r«'ader of the cur- 
rent l"'reiich and English literature, being esi)eeially fond of 
l)oetrv. His memory of the thoughts of those poets whom he 
most admired was extraordinary, and as a rest from the graviT 
hibors of a geological investigation lie would soiuetiines repeat 
pages of graceful lines. While extremely cautious in expressing 
aiiv o|)iiiioiis on reliiiioiis sulijects he iliil iiol conci'al from those 
who enjoyed much of his society that he was an agnostic of his 
own jieculiar kind, neither atHrming nor denying any of the dog- 
mas of any ciiurch. Iml linding much lo rt'spect in all of them. 
Like most men of ability. J)r. Hunt admired women and recog- 
nized the need of their reliniiig iiiHuenoe. He was too great a 
man to lie abiive enjoying ••small talk" when he founil himself 
anioiiii' tliost- who pi-oduced no (;lliei- kind, and if it was sur[)rising 
