42 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE 



paper, and in that a brief paragraph told of the end of a career 

 which four weeks earlier seemed so full of promise for an old age 

 of prolonged work. He came of a long-lived family : both his 

 uncles, Fellows of this Society (Mr. Benjamin Clarke of Hamp- 

 stead and IMr. Joshua Clarke of Saffron AValden) attained a great 

 age, as did many others of his family. In August he visited 

 Andover on his bicycle ; the return was made on a hot day, and 

 he seemed overpowered by the heat and drank tea eagerly. The 

 night did not bring its usual sound sleep ; so in the morning he 

 rode round Richmond Park, with difficulty. On reaching home-, 

 he went to bed and sent for a doctor, who pronounced him to be 

 suffering from paresis of the lower bowel. An operation was 

 performed that day, but though the' strong constitution of our late 

 colleague withstood the shock of the operation at the time, after 

 ten days of suffering he passed away on Saturday, 25th August, 

 1906 in the 75th year of his age. He was buried at Andover 

 five days later. 



It is compvited that the voluminous manuscripts he left at bis 

 death, containing the enormous mass of detailed examination 

 of material from every quarter and from books, would amount to 

 more than 3000 pages : whether this can ever be printed is 

 problematical. Amongst these are 144 plates, printed chiefly in 

 collotype, from selected drawings made under his close super- 

 vision. It is to be hoped that these at least may be issued, 

 as they illustrate his views of genera, accompanied as they are by 

 printed descriptive text. 



His completion of the Eev. E. T. Lowe's ' Elora of Madeira ' is 

 practically ready for press : at the time of his death he was 

 getting together materials for a life of the author. [B. D. J.] 



Professor Sir Michael Tostee, Iv.C.B., was born at Huntingdon 

 on 8th March, 183G ; he died, almost suddenly, in London on the 

 early morning of 29th January, 1907. Between these dates lay a 

 life full of activity and one which made an impression upon the 

 scientific thought of the age. Poster was educated at Huntingdon 

 Grammar School, and later, from 1849 to 1852, at University 

 College School, London, and then at the College, from which he 

 took the B.A. degree with a Scholarship in Classics at the London 

 University. In 1858 he passed the London M.B. Examination, 

 and took his M.D. the following year. During the next two years 

 he continued his medical education, partly at Paris, and found 

 time for some original research. In 1861 he settled down to 

 practise his profession in Huntingdon, but six years later he 

 abandoned medicine and returned to University College, first as 

 Teacher in Practical Physiology, and in 1869 as Professor of the 

 same subject. Before coming to Huntingdon he had some 

 symptoms of pulmonary trouble, which, however, soon disap- 

 peared, and for them he was recommended to take a voyage on 

 the steamship 'L^nion ' to the Eed Sea. 



Poster's intimate friendship with Huxley had a marked influence 



