President's Address. 139 



v/hich he took in the well-being of our Society, and the zeal 

 with which he performed the duties of treasurer, awaken our 

 siucerest regrets at his loss, and entitle his memory to our 

 lasting respect. 



By the death of Professor David Page of Newcastle-on- 

 Tyne, one of the most eminent names upon our roll of corres- 

 ponding members has been struck off. A native of Scotland, 

 his face was long familiar to us as a citizen of Edinburgh, as 

 a lecturer, as a member of our scientific societies, until his 

 removal to Newcastle to fill the Chair of Geology in the 

 newly established College of Physical Science there. In 

 the prime of life overtaken by a lingering malady, Dr Page 

 devoted his time and applied his extensive stores of know- 

 ledge to the production of those clearly-written handbooks, 

 which have made his name so widely known as a teacher of 

 Geology, for many must be the students who, like myself, 

 have derived their first notions of the science from his works. 



It is now exactly twenty years ago since I first joined the 

 Eoyal Physical Society of Edinburgh. I well remember the 

 feelings of awe and reverence with which I first surveyed 

 the circle of members sitting around the table in the old 

 room at No. 6 York Place, among whom were many well- 

 known naturalists now departed from us, such as Dr Stret- 

 hill Wright, Mr Alexander Bryson, Mr Andrew Murray, Dr 

 M'Bain, and Dr Coldstream ; others I am glad to see are still 

 with us, and taking an interest in the life and progress of 

 the Society. In those days the Society was, intellectually at 

 least, in a flourishing condition, for besides the honoured 

 names which I have just mentioned as taking an active part 

 in its proceedings, there still rested upon it the shadow and 

 influence of two eminent men, whom it was never my good 

 fortune to see, both having been called to their last resting- 

 place shortly before my admission. These men were John 

 Fleming and Hugh Miller. 



Of Fleming's merits as a naturalist it is superfluous for me 

 to speak. His name is known to every student, and will be 

 ever remembered in the annals of British Natural History as 

 that of one of the most eminent men of his time. 



Among the many ways in which Science profited by the 



