esis for the solution of these analogous facts[29].

It was not till 1826, four years after the completion of the work, that
Scrope managed to publish his book on the Auvergne, and to tear himself
away from the speculative questions by which he had become obsessed. No
one could be more candid than he was in acknowledging the causes of his
failure to impress his views upon his contemporaries. Writing in 1858,
he said of his _Considerations on Volcanos_:--

'In that work unfortunately were included some speculations on
theoretic cosmogony, which the public mind was not at that time
prepared to entertain. Nor was this my first attempt at
authorship, sufficiently well composed, arranged or even
printed, to secure a fair appreciation for the really sound and,
I believe, original views on many points of geological interest
which it contained. I ought, no doubt, to have begun with a
description of the striking facts which I was prepared to
produce from the volcanic regions of Central France and Italy,
in order to pave the way for a favourable reception, or even a
fair hearing, of the theoretical views I had been led from these
observations to form[30].'

He adds that 'this obvious error was pointed out in a very friendly
manner' in a notice of the memoir on _The Geology of Central France_,
which was contributed by Lyell to the _Quarterly Review_ in 1827[31].

Scrope's geological career however--though one of so much promise--was
brought to a somewhat abrupt termination. In 1821 he had married the
last representative and heiress of the Scropes, the old Earls of
Wiltshire, and soon afterwards he settled down at the family seat of
Castle Combe, eventually devoting his attention almost exclusively to
social and political questions. From 1833 to 1868, when he retired from
Parliament, he was member for Stroud; and though he seldom took part in
the debates, he became famous as a writer of political tracts, thus
acquiring the sobriquet of 'Pamphlet Scrope.' He himself used to relate
an amusing incident at his own expense. His great friend Lord
Palmerston, on being greeted with the question, 'Have you read my last
pamphlet?' replied mischievously, 'Well Scrope, I hope I have!'

It is sad to relate that, owing to a carriage accident, Scrope's wife
became a confirmed invalid and he had no child to succeed to the estate.
Though cut off by other duties from the geological world, Scrope
m