GENERAL MEETINGS. 
75 
such a poise of faculties—such dignity of mien—that he impressed 
those with whom he came in contact as a venerable and wise 2 )atri- 
arch. He seemed devoid of personal interest or feeling, and solici¬ 
tous only for the welfare of those to whom he was in fact appealing, 
and he conveyed the impression that he was giving benignant ad¬ 
vice. Thus the shrinking, sensitive man, who could not even stand 
before a public body, such as a committee of Congress or a scientific 
society and advocate a cause, could, from his seat by the fireside or 
at the desk, so illumine the subject with which he had to deal that 
men stood round him to gather his words, that nothing should be 
lost, for in the exposition of his subject he illumined everything 
with clear statement, arising from an exhaustive knowledge and 
full understanding of results. 
As the director of the work of research in which other men were 
engaged. Professor Baird had marvelous insight and skill. The 
appliances of modern research, alike in the inorganic world and in 
biology, have come to be multifarious and diverse, and there is this 
peculiarity about their use: That once used, so that the secret of 
nature which they were planned to unlock has been revealed, they 
speedily become obsolete, and immediately new keys, new appa¬ 
ratus, new devices are necessary. Thus to a large extent skill in 
research is absorbed in the skill necessary for the development of 
the agencies of research. A continuous line of research, prose¬ 
cuted by a corps of men so that the boundaries of knowledge are 
carried far forward, can result only from a continuous line of in¬ 
ventions in the apparatus of research, and it was here that Baird* 
exhibited his skill. His own devices were many and constant, and 
ever he was fertile in suggestions to his assistants. No wonder, 
then, that so many of the secrets of nature were unlocked through 
his agency. It was in the direction of this work of research that 
the man Baird stood forth as a giant; it was where his vast knowl¬ 
edge of details was most apparent; it was where his marvellous 
skill was most shown ; it was where his insight into human char¬ 
acter was most exhibited. With clearness he formulated his inter¬ 
rogatories ; with aptness he selected his course of procedure; with 
judgment he sought the aid of others, and with suggestiveness di¬ 
rected their work. And, lo! his questions were speedily answered. 
It was in this manner that his own good hands were supplemented 
by the hands of many, that his own great mind was re-enforced by 
