270 



for that year contains a sketch of a remarkable theory with regard 

 to the relation of the past and present faunas of the world to one 

 another, the Theory of the Polar Development of Life in Time. 



Prof. Forbes's occupation of the Presidential Chair in the Geolo- 

 gical Society, however, was but short; for in the spring of 1854, 

 the death of Prof. Jameson placed within his reach the ambition of 

 his life, the Chair of Natural History in the University which had 

 been his alma mater. Appointed and called upon to enter at once 

 on the duties of this distinguished office, he commenced with what 

 an eminent fellow- worker has well called " the light-hearted inten- 

 sity peculiar to himself," to conceive and to inaugurate plans of a 

 magnitude proportioned to his great powers and noble aspirations. 

 But a slow, though mortal disease suspected least of all by him- 

 self had long been undermining his constitution ; and its sudden 

 outbreak, accelerated by over-fatigue and cold, carried him off, after 

 a very short illness, on the 20th of November, 1854. He was 

 buried at Edinburgh, with such great public demonstrations of 

 respect as have been rarely shown, but which after all but faintly 

 represented the profound and universal sorrow. 



REAR-ADMIRAL SIR JOHN FKANKLIN, K.C.H., D.C.L. ETC. Al- 

 though the unauthenticated intelligence brought recently to England 

 by Dr. Rae respecting Sir John Franklin and his companions does 

 not raise the veil of mystery which shrouds their fate, yet the 

 touching relics of that gallant commander and his brother-officers 

 are unhappily of a nature, not only to awaken the most gloomy 

 thoughts, but to forbid us entertaining any longer the cherished 

 hope that they may be restored to their country. 



At an early period of this year, long before the Expeditions which 

 were sent to search for the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror ' could have returned, 

 and of course prior to the receipt of the recent Esquimaux report, 

 the Admiralty removed the names of Sir John Franklin, his brother- 

 officers and crew from the Navy List. This official act, and the 

 recent melancholy tidings bearing upon their fate, have rendered it 

 necessary to include in the list of deceased Fellows the names of 

 Sir John Franklin and Captain Crozier, both of whom there is too 

 much reason to apprehend have perished in their heroic endeavours 

 to bring to a successful issue the great enterprise confided to them. 



