1902] 



Dr. Alfred R. C. Selwyn. 



177 



of the Royal Society of Canada, he says : " If I have hurt any- 

 body's feeling's I must apologize to those who feel it so ; my only 

 excuse must be my conviction of its truth." 



Some years have passed since he left Ottawa, for in 

 the fall of 1896 he removed to Vancouver, British Columbia, 

 where, after half a century of active service in the field, he enjoyed 

 a few years of well-merited rest. Who can estimate the value of 

 his services to our broad Dominion ? The years that have passed 

 have served not only to show the faults but also the general suc- 

 cess of his administration. 



In the course of his career as a geologist he was spontane- 

 ously elected to more than fourteen scientific societies in various 

 parts of the world. The loss of his wife, in 1882, was certainly a 

 cause for deep and lasting sorrow and regret for one who was pre 

 eminently his adviser and help-meet through the various worries 

 of administrative work. 



He was the father of nine children, five of whom survive him, 

 four sons and one daughter. 



In closing this brief and hurried biographical sketch, the 

 writer can best close with the quotation from Tennyson which 

 Dr. Selwyn himself used at the end of his famous address : 



" But in my spirit will I dwell 



And dream my dream and hold it true ; 

 But though my lips will breathe adieu, 

 I cannot think the thing farewell." 



A. E. B. 



Pecernber ist, 1902. 



act 



;UJ 



