Obihcary Notice of the late Dr M'Bain. 259 



mented his knowledge of bones by attending the lectures of 

 the celebrated Professor Owen, of London. In this direc- 

 tion he studied very minutely various species of marine 

 animals of such orders for instance as the Finnipedia and 

 Cetacea, and many of his papers on such osteological subjects 

 are scattered throughout our printed Proceedings. Indeed, 

 had it not been for the sake of brevity, I would willingly 

 have here enumerated the more remarkable of Dr M'Bain's 

 papers, but must for the reason given content myself w^th 

 simply referring to the Society's published Proceedings. 



Dr M'Bain, it may be said, in conjunction with the late 

 Professors John Fleming, John Goodsir, and George Wilson, 

 Dr Strethill Wright, Messrs Andrew Murray, Alexander 

 Bryson, and other eminent naturalists, who, ala>s ! with our 

 friend, are all now departed from us, contributed much to 

 the attraction of the meetings of our Society, and filled bright 

 pages of its history, which will never be forgotten. 



Dr M'Bain may be said to have been a lover of science 

 for its own sake. He lived, moved, and had his being in 

 science. He was in politics an advanced Liberal, but he 

 seldom or ever thought or talked of politics, unless the sub- 

 ject was thrust upon him. His all absorbing topic, whether 

 in the house with his microscope, or abroad in the fields with 

 his pocket lens, was Natural History in some shape or form. 

 In later years he gave a good deal of attention to Geology, 

 and went much among the rocks, hammer in hand. He 

 delighted in illustrating the wonderful works of Nature, 

 as well in their atomical minuteness, as in the gigantic rock 

 masses, which form the earth's crust; and such illustra- 

 tions were always copious and lucid, displaying a complete 

 mastery of the subject in hand. He was particularly fond 

 of pedestrian excursions, in which he was a most enjoyable 

 and instructive companion. As a geologist he was well 

 acquainted with field work, and in many excursions in our 

 own country, replete as it is with striking geological features, 

 he would point out to the tyro the structure of the landscape, 

 drawing at times on the roadside sand or dust with a 

 borrowed walking-stick, diagrammatic sections in rough 

 illustration of his descriptions. With the mature geologist 



