62 THE ORDNANCE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CHAP, n 



the supervision of the Director of the Geological 

 Survey of Great Britain, who should assume the title 

 of Director-General, and that under this chief there 

 should be two Directors, one for England and Scot 

 land, with the title of Local Director for Great Britain, 

 and one for Ireland. It was the former of these two 

 posts which was now to be conferred on Ramsay. 



* %th January. Playfair and I dined together. 

 Geological Society night. Paper on Fossil Crania 

 from South-Eastern Africa, by Owen. He, Forbes, 

 and I supped with Playfair after. Owen s genius 

 throws light on everything. 



i6tk. Dined for the first time with the Metro 

 politan Red Lions in my capacity as a corresponding 

 member. Smyth and Falconer elected members. 

 This fraternity took its rise at the Birmingham meet 

 ing of the British Association in 1839. Edward 

 Forbes and a few congenial spirits, finding the dull 

 conventionality of the * ordinaries insupportable, 

 started simple dinners of their own, where beef and 

 beer were the chief viands, and where the mirth and 

 jollity were so great that admission to these gatherings 

 soon came to be eagerly sought after. The place of 

 meeting was a modest inn known as the Red Lion/ 

 and the company styled themselves therefrom Red 

 Lions. They agreed to meet at every meeting of the 

 British Association a custom which they and their 

 successors have kept up till the present time. Those 

 of them who lived in London, with Forbes at their 

 head, feeling that a year s interval made too wide a 

 gap between their festive gatherings, formed them 

 selves into a London company of the original brother 

 hood, and it was to the monthly dinner of this com 

 pany that Ramsay was now introduced. 



