THE LINNEAN CENTENARY 309 



man, who died four hundred years ago Prince Henry of 

 Portugal, 1 the Father of Navigation and Patron of Navi- 

 gators, who chose for his motto ' Talent de bien faire,' 

 ' the wish to do well.' To such as have this wish, and will use 

 it with all their might, even a Copley Medal is attainable. 



To W. E. Danvin 



Dec. 7, 1887. 



How I did crave for your father's sympathy in the 

 matter of preparing my speech of thanks at the Royal 

 dinner for the Medal, and how he would have sympathised 

 and encouraged me. It was an effort for such an un- 

 accustomed orator (and faulty one) as I am, but it went off 

 so well that I have been asked to print it ! This eclipses 

 the Copley in my opinion ! 



And in similar vein to Huxley, December 5 : 



The success of my after dinner homily at the R.S. is to 

 me far more wonderful than getting the Copley. You who 

 are one of the few who know how morbidly nervous I am 

 can guess my condition of two days' nausea before the 

 dinner, and 2 days of illness after it. I am not speaking 

 figuratively. It is mere nervous upset. 



When the Copley was awarded to Huxley the following 

 year he wrote (November 4, 1888) : 



I am rejoiced at the news of the Copley being awarded 

 to you : and that our names will stand next one another 

 in the glorious hierarchy of the R.S. is a real pleasure to 

 me (whether as past Presidents or Medallists). Ask Mrs. 

 Huxley to accept my most cordial congratulations. 



In 1888 the Linnean Society celebrated the centenary 

 of its foundation by (Sir) J. E. Smith, the friend of Banks 

 and fortunate purchaser of Linnaeus' collections. 



1 Prince Henry of Portugal, surnamed the Navigator (1394-1460), first 

 distinguished himself at the conquest of Ceuta 1415, after the death of his 

 father Joao I. He lived at Sagres, near Cape St. Vincent, and while at war with 

 the Moors, his ship reached unknown and unvisited parts of the ocean. He 

 formed a school for instruction in the science of navigation, and his pupils 

 discovered Madeira in 1418, and one of his mariners sailed round Cape Nun as 

 far south as Cape Bojado in 1433, and in 1440 to Cape Blanco. Cape Verd was 

 also discovered in 1446 ; three of the Azores in 1448. A national celebration of 

 his memory took place in 1894 in Portugal. 



