report to the legislature in regard to the artificial propagation of fish. He had previously been appointed one of the commissioners to rebuild the state-house at Montpelier, and in 1857-'9 he held the office of state railroad commissioner. In 1861 he was appointed the first U. S. minister to the new kingdom of Italy, and retained that post for the remainder of his life. No American living ever had anything approaching the personal prestige with the Italian government that Mr. Marsh enjoyed; and that not for the sake of the government, but for his own. The length of his diplomatic service is said to have exceeded that of any other American, not excepting Benjamin Franklin. He received the degree of LL. D. from Harvard in 1859, and from Dartmouth in 1860, and was connected with the National academy of sciences and other learned societies. Mr. Marsh achieved a reputation by his philological studies, especially in the languages and literature of the north of Europe. He was an admirer of the Goths, whose presence he traced in whatever is great and peculiar in the character of the founders of New England. His work in this department began when he was a young lawyer in Vermont, and his first publication was “A Compendious Grammar of the Old Northern or Icelandic Language,” compiled and translated from the grammar of Rask (printed but not published, Burlington, 1838). He owned the finest collection of Scandinavian literature except those in the northern kingdoms, part of which ultimately became the property of the University of Vermont, through the liberality of Frederick Billings. During the winter of 1858-'9 he began a course of thirty lectures on the English language at Columbia, and a year later he delivered a second course, on the grammatical history of English literature, before the Lowell institute, in Boston. He also prepared an American edition of Hensleigh Wedgwood's “Dictionary of English Etymology” (New York, 1862), to which he made large additions and annotations. In addition to his published addresses, and articles on philological subjects in reviews, he was the author of “The Camel, his Organization, Habits, and Uses, considered with reference to his Introduction into the United States” (Boston, 1856); “Lectures on the English Language” (New York, 1861); “Origin and History of the English Language, and of the Early Literature it embodies” (1862); and “Man and Nature, or Physical Geography as modified by Human Action” (1864). The last work, with numerous corrections by the author, was translated into Italian (Florence, 1870), and afterward almost entirely rewritten and republished under the title “The Earth, as modified by Human Action” (New York, 1874). See “A Discourse Commemorative of the Hon. George Perkins Marsh,” by Samuel G. Brown (Burlington, 1883). — His wife, Caroline Crane, b. in Berkley, Mass., 1 Dec., 1816, married Mr. Marsh in 1838. She has published “The Hallig, or the Sheepfold in the Waters: A Tale of Humble Life on the Coast of Schleswig,” translated from the German of Biernatzki, with a biographical sketch of the author (Boston, 1857), and “Wolfe of the Knoll, and other Poems” (New York, 1860). Mrs. Marsh has now (1888) in preparation a life of her husband, the publication of which has been delayed by her serious illness. — James, nephew of Charles, clergyman, b. in Hartford, Vt., 19 July, 1794; d. in Colchester, Vt., 3 July, 1842. He was graduated at Dartmouth in 1817, and at Andover theological seminary in 1822, meanwhile serving as tutor at Dartmouth in 1818-'20, and spending several months in study at Cambridge. In October, 1824, he was ordained as a Congregational clergyman at Hanover, and then was professor of languages and biblical literature at Hampden Sidney college, Va., until 1826, when he was appointed president of the University of Vermont. This office he held until 1833, and introduced a less severe discipline among the students. He resigned to fill the chair of moral and intellectual philosophy, which he retained until his death. The religious movement of 1836, known as the “new measures,” met with his disapproval, and was severely denounced, even at the expense of his reputation, but ultimately the majority of the community accepted his view. He received the degree of D. D. from Columbia in 1830, and from Amherst in 1833. His literary work was quite large, and he was among the first to revive by his writings the scholastic dogma of “Crede ut intelligas,” in opposition to that of “Intellige ut credas.” In 1829 he contributed a series of papers on “Popular Education” to the “Vermont Chronicle,” under the pen-name of “Philopolis,” and he published a “Preliminary Essay” to Coleridge's “Aids to Reflection” (Burlington, 1829), and “Selections from the Old English Writers on Practical Theology” (1830). Besides these he issued several translations from the German, including Herder's “Spirit of Hebrew Poetry” (1833). His literary remains were collected and published, with a memoir of their author, by Joseph Torrey (1843).
MARSH, Dexter, paleontologist," b. in Montague, Mass., 22 Aug., 1806 ; d. in Greenfield Mass., 2 April, 1853. He was a day-laborer and uneducated when, in 1835, the fossil footprints that were found in flagging-stones attracted his attention. These led to his search for other specimens, and he began collecting, sometimes for others, but chiefly for himself, traversing for this purpose the entire valley of the Connecticut, and also visiting the states of New York and New Jersey. He showed much judgment in pointing out localities where footprints were likely to be found, and at the time of his death, notwithstanding his frequent supplies to others, his cabinet probably contained the choicest collection of fossil footprints and fishes then in existence. This was sold at auc-
tion and scattered among various museums.
MARSH, John, clergyman, b. in Wethersfield, Conn., 2 April, 1788 ; d. in Brooklyn, N. Y., 4 Aug., 1864. He was graduated at Yale in 1804. and then studied theology under his father, of the same name, but did not begin preaching imtil 1809. In 1818 he was settled as pastor of the 1st Congregational church in Haddam, Conn. Meanwhile he had become interested in the temperance movement, which at that period was attracting great attention throughout the state. In 1828 a county society was organized, of which he became one of the officers, and in 1829 a state organization was effected', of which he was made secretary. He delivered temperance lectures throughout the state, among others " Putnam and his Wolf," of which 150,000 copies were sold before it passed into the hands of the American tract society, which subsequently distributed many thousands more. In 1833 the American temperance union invited him to become one of its agents in Philadelphia, and after three years of labor he was called to accept the secretaryship of that society in New York city, and became the editor of its organ and publications. In this capacity he was sent to the World's temperance convention in London in 1846. In 1865 the society was reorganized and new officials were appointed. Later he became financial agent of Yale theological seminary and raised $10,000 for
