126 
LIFE OF DEAN BUCK LAND. 
[CH. V. 
improvements. In the course of his remarks the Professor 
pointed out many defects in the ordinary system of 
drainage which could be remedied by a knowledge of the 
structure of the strata, and adverted to the possibility of 
reclaiming the peat bogs. 
Still more remarkable was the interest excited by his 
lecture upon the megatherium, which was delivered on 
the last day of the meeting. The occasion was the first 
on which a fossil monster had been described to an 
unscientific audience of ladies and gentlemen. The whole 
address forms an excellent illustration of Buckland’s power 
of imparting interest to the subjects on which he touched. 
“ How true,” wrote Sir Richard Owen in 1853 to Mrs. 
Buckland, “ is all that you say in the comparison of the 
poor Dean’s style of communicating knowledge with that 
of the best of us. His like will never be listened to again ! 
Only those who have heard him can appreciate the loss. 
It was the most genial inspiration ever vouchsafed to a 
teacher of the Creator’s doings of old.” 
Though the megatherium does not figure in the sketch 
given on p. 127, the picture affords an amusing comment 
on the enthusiasm of the lecturer, whose personality pos¬ 
sessed that marked originality and individuality which lend 
themselves readily to caricature. 
The follow ing is Sir Charles Lyell’s graphic account of 
this celebrated lecture before the Association at Oxford. 
Writing to Mantell, June 1832, he says:— 
“ Buckland w r as really powerful last night on the 
megatherium—a lecture of an hour before a crowded 
audience: only standing room for a third. Lots of anatomists 
there ; paper by Clift; the gigantic bones exhibited, and 
