No. 8.] CAMPBELL — REV. JAS. SOMERVILLE. 453 



money came which he had at last to leave. It was in the first 

 instance a gift to his son and dau^'hter by a female friend, 

 prompted no doubt out of respect and affection for himself; and 

 then when they were taken from him suddenly, and he became 

 entitled to spend it in any way he pleased, he held it as conse- 

 crated by the hallowed memories of his departed children, not to 

 be expended on personal gratification but to be a lasting monu- 

 ment of the loved ones through whose untimely decease it came 

 into his bauds and under his sole control. 



Such was the man and such was the work he achieved, and I 

 think your verdict will coincide with mine that he deserves to 

 be remembered by the citizens of Montreal. I do not claim 

 that he was a man of brilliant intellect or of surpassing powers 

 in any way; yet his character and attainments were of a kind to 

 maintain the credit of the order to which he belonged, and to 

 exercise a very widespread and wholesome influence over the 

 English-speaking society of this city, when it was a community 

 so small that every clergyman had a personal acquaintance with 

 its members. 



But to the members of this society that which appeals on be- 

 half of Mr. Somerville's memory with most effect, is the fact 

 that the society itself owes its origin to his enthusiasm for 

 natural science, and that this building which is associated with 

 the memory of so many delightful scientific reunions was erected 

 partly by means of the legacy which he bequeathed to the society. 

 In what ways it has helped forward the objects of the society 

 you all know far better than I ; and it remains for others having 

 means at their disposal, as you suggested, Mr. President, to 

 complete the work begun by Mr. Somerville, by further endow- 

 ing the society, and so setting the foundation free for the 

 enc uragement of ori<>;inal research in natural science, the results 

 to be communicated to the public in the Somerville Lectures. 



No word of mine is needed to set forth the benefits accruing 

 not to Montreal alone, but to the whole of Eastern Canada from 

 the establishment of the General Hospital. There is no public 

 institution which has stronger claims upon the consideration of 

 the people of Montreal, or for the existence of which they ought 

 to be more grateful. It has profited by the generosity of many 

 citizens since, 1837; and it is still receiving well deserved aid 

 from bequests, probably much larger than that left by Mr. 

 Somerville ; yet, if what I have asserted as to his early rela- 



