The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-10-28
EARLY DAYS OF SCIENCE
HOW SHE TAS TAUGHT MORE
 THAN FiFTY
Yenrs Ago Fly tho First Professor
 fstat1E
 SiiIiman of Yale

Prof. Silliman was an elegant man In
 appearance, tall, erect, with fine car
 riage and courtlys manners He was
 easily the show card'' of the college
 and came to the front as matter of
 course on all occasions of ceremony.
 He was too, an accomplished lecturer. | He was brilliant and almost uni-
 formly successful experimenter. He
 could work with his hands and talk
 with his mouth at the same time, a
 trick which any one who has not tried
 1t will find not so easy as it lacks. If
 thing went wrong, instead of staring
 at 1t, as I have seen men do, in bank
 astonishment, he would, without a break, go right on telling how and why
 the thing had failed and all about it; frequently in this way making a failure
 more instructive than success. It is true
 that he was very discursive, running off into collaterakmatters at the slight
 est suggestion telling, for instance,
 how he once came very near losing his eyesight by an explosion in the iabora-
 tory when he was alone; how feeling
 his way to the water tank and washing
 out his eyes, he then sat down to wait
 for some one to come; how he was led
 home blindfolded and kept for many days in a darkened room, and think 1t quite likely though I do not remember he mentioned it, that he quoted from the political works that Mrs Silliman read to him during his enforced con- finement. He also added that he had entirely recovered and that This eye was not dim nor his natural force abated." It was, however, said that Prof Olmstead offered to hold quill pen for him while he cut the point, the length of his arm not being sufficient for his eyesight. Such little jokes of the professors on each other were not uncommon and used to give a spice to college life.
 This mineral, young gentlemen" Prof SilIiman would say. lis found in the town of Trumbull. in Fairfield county, in this state; and, by the way, had the honor of being born in Trum- bull I ought to have been born in Fairfield, but 1t happened in this way: The British fleet was lying in the Sound just then and threatening the l
  of you are doubtless aware that Fair | field is one. My father, who was gen | eral in the American army, was absent from home on duties connected with his position, and under these somewhat trying circumstances my mother who was brave woman, but deemed dls- oretion likewise essential, prudently re- tired to the town of Trumbull, some miles in the interior, where soon after | was born As l was saying, young gentlemen. you will find this mineral n the town of Trumbul and fine old town it is I never had occasion to be ashamed of my birthplace"
 There was wing or half transept rom the chemical lecture room, en- cred by side door. This was reserved 'or ladies and was usually occupied at ectures by 30 or 40 girls from the oosrding schools, and other ladies, young and old This gave the students fine view of the girls, also vice-versa, md I think tended to render the sci .nce of chemistry popular, especially as he professor explained why, on scien- fife principles, a bright silver tea pot vas preferable to all others. He also gave instructions how to take ink spots