Ixxxiv PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



Sweden and Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, besides travel- 

 ling through India and the United States ; and he published excel- 

 lent popular accounts of his travelling experiences. The later period 

 of Mr. Eobert Chambers's literary career includes the following 

 among other works : — A ' History of the British Empire,' ' History 

 of Scotland,' ' Cyclopaedia of English Literature,' ' Domestic 

 Annals of Scotland,' 'Ancient Sea Margins,' a carefully edited 

 edition of Burns's Works, and the ' Book of Days ' — a work of the 

 nature of ' Hone's Every Day Book.' This book, which appeared 

 in 1864, involved several years of research in the British Museum ; 

 and this labour, associated as it was with some domestic calamities, 

 acted injuriously upon the author's nervous system, and put an end 

 to his literary labours, after he had worked incessantly for up- 

 wards of forty years, and had produced nearly a hundred volumes 

 abounding in original thought. On his return to Scotland he took 

 up his residence at St. Andrews, where the Senatus Academicus of 

 the University conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws. A 

 memorial of Robert Chambers would hardly be complete without 

 mention of the book called ' Vestiges of the Natural History of 

 Creation,' published more than a quarter of a century ago, and 

 which, by its advocacy of the view that the affairs of the world are 

 subject to what has since been called the " reign of law," gave great 

 offence in certain religious circles. Its real author may perhaps 

 never be known, unless some evidence confirming that which already 

 exists be left among Mr, Chambers's papers. The book has been 

 ascribed to Mrs. Robert Chambers. The controversy which it en- 

 gendered was most envenomed in the North ; and when, in 1848, 

 Robert Chambers was elected to be Lord Provost of Edinburgh, he 

 thought it better to withdraw in the face of the storm that was raised 

 against him as the supposed author. Mr. Chambers was twice 

 married, first to Miss Anne Kirkwood, of Edinburgh, who died in 

 1863, having borne him eleven children, nine of whom stiU survive. 

 He afterwards married a widow lady named Frith, who died about a 

 year ago. In social life Mr. Chambers was a universal favourite — 

 hospitable, full of kindliness, and shrewd and amusing in conversa- 

 tion. He died at St. Andrews, on the 17th of March 1871. He was 

 elected a Fellow of this Society on the 4th of November 1858. 



Henry Denny was a native of Norwich, where he was born 

 in the year 1803. He resided at Norwich until 1825, when he went 

 to Leeds upon being appointed sub-curator of the Leeds Philoso- 

 phical Society, a title which was afterwards changed to that of 

 Curator and Assistant Secretary. 



