Obituary Notices. 33 



had no sympathy with the theory of Darwin, or with 

 modern scientific atheism, with its darkness, chilliness, and 

 gloom, for -when the evening sun illumined his room wMth 

 its rays, he exclaimed with a radiant smile, " Now, I am 

 in God's beautiful free Nature." He bade his wife good 

 night, and on May 25, 1879, fell into a sleep from which 

 he never awoke in time, being within twelve days of 

 having completed his seventieth year, which great pre- 

 parations were being made to celebrate in a manner 

 worthy of one of such renown. Alas 1 how true it is that 

 " Man proposes but God disposes." 



Dr Charles Murchison is one whose loss we all deeply 

 deplore, and as my old classfellow at the University I may 

 be permitted to say that I felt a special pang when I heard 

 of his decease. He was indeed a many sided character, 

 but '■'Nihil tetigit quod non qicoque ornavit" for whatever 

 he undertook, to that he applied a mind characterised 

 by much acuteness and soundness of judgment, and well 

 stored with facts and observations. His was not the 

 sparkling genius ; nor did he captivate us with his 

 eloquence ; his was the substantial plodding work under- 

 taken and prosecuted by a mind of large capacity, compre- 

 hensive range, and varied acquirements, so that wdien at 

 length the work was completed, it bore on its very face 

 the impress of distinguished ability, transparent honesty, 

 and lasting value. No wonder, then, that in Murchison's 

 death we felt that a prince and a great man had fallen, for 

 the high position which he occupied was one to which his 

 merits had justly raised him, and on which he reflected a 

 bright lustre. He was at the time of his death one of our 

 Non-Resident Fellows. As a short notice of Murchison 

 was read before our Society during last session, I shall not 

 devote to his biography that amount of space which would 

 be justly his, and without which one could not even 

 enumerate the important and varied positions which ho 

 occupied, and the valuable contributions to science, but 

 specially to medical science, which came from his pen. 



Dr Murchison was born in 1830 at Springfield, Vere, 

 Jamaica, and was the son of Dr Alexander Murchison, and 

 grandson of Professor Copland of Aberdeen University. 



TRANS. BOT. SCO. VOL. XIV. C 



