175 
He was a born lover of Natural History, a diligent seeker 
after truth, and the mode and spirit in which scientific investi- 
gations should be carried on, he has admirably shewn in his 
first Annual Address given in 1860. After referring to the 
recent discoveries of Dr Falconer, in a cavern near Palermo, 
of extinct mammalian remains with flint implements, to the 
occurrence of similar remains in the gravels of Abbeville and 
St. Acheul in France, and in a cave at Brixham in Devonshire, 
he said, if man and the extinct mammals were contemporaneous, 
it would follow that the existence of man upon the earth must 
be ante-dated to a period far beyond the 6000 years to which 
the human epoch has been usually limited, and further re- 
marked: ‘‘ These are indeed startling facts, and the wonderful 
conclusions to which they seem to lead, may well make us 
hesitate before we adopt them in their full extent. Neverthe- 
less, howsoever our interpretation may be at fault, the facts of 
nature are incontrovertible. They are the acts of the Almighty 
Creator Himself, and have been written by Him “for man’s 
understanding ” in characters as imperishable as the rocks on 
which they are inscribed; and we may feel perfectly satisfied 
that if the facts be true, and they be truly interpreted, we must 
accept the conclusions, no matter how much they may appear to 
militate against pre-conceived opinions, or against the apparent 
meaning of written records.” 
The recollection of Sir William’s courtesy, his kind and 
genial manner, his brilliant conversational powers, shewing how 
well stored was his mind, not only in scientific, but in general 
knowledge, will always remain green in the memory of the 
Members of the Cotteswold Club. 
