tIKNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. 55 



After this period, although it was rarely that Sir John Lubbock 

 appeared at any of our meetings, and then only to read one of his 

 papers, lie frequently visited the library, or still more often sent 

 his secretary for volumes on subjects upon which he was working. 

 This lie continued until a very short time before his death, which 

 happened on the 28th May, 1913, four days after our Anniversary. 

 He died at his seat, Kingsgate Castle, near Eamsgate, but was 

 buried from his other Kentish mansion, High Elms, near 

 Orpington; he was carried on the shoulders of his tenants from 

 that house to the churchyard of Farnborough. 



His honours were many and varied ; he was sworn of the 

 Privy Council in 1890, and created first Baron Avebury in 1900, 

 taking his title from his "Wiltshire estate, a small village, containing 

 the site of what is the largest Druidical temple in Europe, though 

 ruder and less known than Stonehenge ; of the 650 stones 

 formerly standing, only about 20 remain, and many of those 

 which have been carried off have served as building-material for 

 the \illage. Aubrey stated that Avebury " did as much for 

 Stonehenge as a cathedral does a parish church." When some 

 yeai's before his elevation to the peerage it was proposed to 

 (.lestroy this venerable relic and to build upon the site, Lord 

 Avebury averted the calamity by purchasing the estate. 



He was Commander of the Legion of Honour and the Prussian 

 " Ordre pour le Merite"; had been President of the Society 

 of Antiquaries, Royal Microscopical, Entomological, Ethnological 

 Societies, and Anthropological Institute, and of the British Asso- 

 ciation Jubilee fleeting at York in 1881, At the time of his death 

 he was President of the Pay Society and of the Selborne Society, 

 together with many other Associations and Committees, too 

 numerous to particularise, and was Vice-President of many others. 

 The citizens of London appreciated his qualities, and he occupied 

 the Chair of the London County Council during 1890-92. His 

 Parliamentary career began in 1870, when he became Member 

 for Maidstone, retaining the seat until 1880, in that year being 

 elected for the L^niversity of London, which he represented until 

 his elevation to the House of Lords. La both Houses he attended 

 assiduously, and a curious sign of this lies in the fact that many 

 of his papers were written on House of Commons note-paper, on 

 doubt jotted down whilst waiting for the division-bell. Indeed, 

 his manuscripts were singular in this, that while most was written 

 on the Commons paper, intercalated were sheets of club note-paper 

 or with private headings, showing that, having determined his 

 procedure, the actual writing could be accomplished anywhere. 



His speaking was characteristic of the man, moderate and even, 

 with a tranquil flow, far removed from strong feeling or passion. 

 Attached as he was to all things he had taken up, he needed to 

 satisfy himself aboitt every new departure, not only that it was 

 desirable, but almost certain to succeed, before he identified 

 himself with it. It was not in his well-balanced temperament 

 to espouse a lost cause or to fight a losing battle. The advocacy 



