1865.] OBITUARY — DR. FALCONER. 143 



In 1863, Dr. Falconer took an active share in the singularly-per- 

 plexed discussion of the cause cilebre of the human jaw of Moulin- 

 Quignon; and, in the conference of English and French men of 

 science held in France, he expressed doubts as to its authenticity, 

 but in that guarded and cautious manner which was characteristic 

 of him. In the spring of last year he called attention in the ' Times' 

 to an account of the remarkable works of art by ' Primeval Man ' 

 discovered by his friends, Messrs. Lartet and Henry Christy, in 

 the ossiferous caves of the Dordogne ; and in September he 

 accompanied his friend, Prof. Busk, to Gibraltar, to examine caves 

 in which marvellously well-preserved remains of man and mammals 

 of great antiquity had been discovered. Before starting, he drew 

 up, in conjunction with Mr. Busk, a preliminary report on the 

 specimens brought from Gibraltar to this country, which was pre- 

 sented to the British Association at Bath. He suffered consider- 

 ably from exposure and fatigue on his return journey through 

 Spain from Gibraltar, so that the inclement winter told with 

 additional force upon a constitution naturally susceptible of cold 

 and weakened by long exposure and disease in India. On Jan- 

 uary 19th, on his return from a meeting of the Council of the Royal 

 Society, he felt depressed and feverish. The attack speedily 

 became developed into acute rheumatism, complicated with 

 bronchitis and congestion of the lungs, which proved fatal on the 

 morning of January 31st. On the 4th of February his remains 

 were committed to their last resting-place, at Kensal Green, in the 

 presence of a large number of his sorrowing friends and fellow- 

 laborers. 



From what has been said, it is obvious that Falconer did 

 enough during his lifetime to render his name immortal in science 

 as one of the greatest palaeontologists that ever lived. But the 

 work which he published was but a small fraction of that which he 

 actually accomplished. The amount of scientific knowledge which 

 has perished with him is prodigious, for he was cautious to a fault ; 

 he never liked to commit himself to an opinion until he was sure 

 that he was right ; and he has died, in the fulness of his power, 

 before his race was run. — Abridged from The Athenceum. 



