Obituary. 385 



Dr. WiLHELM Carl Hartwig Peters, the celebrated zoo- 

 logist, whom many of us knew as a most obliging aud kind 

 friend at Berlin, where, since Lichtenstein's death in 1857, 

 he had held the Directorship of the Zoological Museum of the 

 University, died at that city on the 22nd of April last, in the 

 68th year of his age. Dr. Peters worked principally at 

 Mammals, Reptiles, Batrachians, and Fishes; but he wrote 

 several short papers on Birds, chiefly descriptions of the new 

 species discovered during his expedition to the Mozambique 

 (1842-48). 



It is much to be regretted that the volume on the Birds of 

 this Expedition was never published, although we believe 

 many of the plates have been prepared. 



The sad intelligence of the death of our much-valued friend 

 and fellow-worker Mr. W. A. Forbes must be already known 

 to every Member of the British Ornithologists^ Union, and, 

 indeed, to every one interested in zoological science. In 

 our last number we gave some extracts from his letters, dated 

 October 25th, 1882, from Shonga on the Niger, whence he 

 was then expecting to proceed shortly further up the river, 

 previous to his return home. This, owing to the non- 

 arrival of the steamer, he did not do, but remained at Shonga 

 busied with his collections and, as we fear, exposing himself, 

 in the ardour of his passionate taste for natural history, more 

 than was prudent to the deadly climate of that region. 

 Shortly after Christmas last he was seized with fever and 

 dysentery, and, in spite of all that could be done for him by 

 the English Agent at that station, he expired on the 14th of 

 January last. Thus ended, at the early age of 28, the 

 career of one of the most promising naturalists that England 

 has ever produced amongst her numerous devotees of science. 



Mr. William Alexander Forbes, Fellow of St. John's 

 College, Cambridge, Prosector to the Zoological Society of 

 London, aud Lecturer on Comparative Anatomy to C^haring- 

 Cross Hospital, was born at Cheltenham on June 24, 1855, 

 the second son of Mr. J. S. Forbes, the well-known railway 

 director. He was educated at Kensington School and Win- 



