96 BIOGRAPHICAL [CHAP. xii. 



trials of the occasion, which are described in her letters, 

 were greatly lessened by the courtesy and kindness and 

 whispered words of encouragement of his Excellency, 

 the American Ambassador, who was placed beside her 

 during the ceremonial, and preceded her in undergoing 

 the ordeal of capping. In presenting her to the Vice- 

 Chancellor (Principal Sir Wm. Muir) the Dean of the Faculty 

 of Law (Sir Ludovic Grant) said, with his usual elo- 

 quence : 



" A duty now devolves upon you, sir, which has devolved 

 upon none of your predecessors, and of which the per- 

 formance will render the present occasion memorable in 

 the annals of the University. Our roll of Hon. Graduates 

 in Law contains the names of many illustrious men, but 

 you will search it in vain for the name of a woman. To- 

 day, however, a new roll is to be opened a roll of 

 illustrious women ; and it is matter for congratulation that 

 this roll should begin with a name so honoured as that of 

 Miss Ormerod. 



" The pre-eminent position which Miss Ormerod holds in 

 the world of science is the reward of patient study and 

 unwearying observation. Her investigations have been 

 chiefly directed towards the discovery of methods for the 

 prevention of the ravages of those insects which are injurious 

 to orchard, field, and forest. Her labours have been 

 crowned with such success, that she is entitled to be hailed 

 as the protectress of agriculture and the fruits of the earth 

 a beneficent Demeter of the nineteenth century. It would 

 take long to enumerate her contributions to Entomological 

 and Phenological literature, but I may select for mention 

 the valuable series of reports extending over twenty years, 

 the preparation of which involved correspondence with all 

 parts of the world. Remarkable, too, is the list of the 

 honours which she has received. She was the first lady 

 to be admitted a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, 

 and she has been awarded the Silver Medal of the ' Societe 

 Nationale d'Acclimatation ' of France. To these distinctions 



Editor of the Calendars of State Papers (Venetian) for the Public Record 

 Office. (2) His Excellency the Hon. Joseph Hodges Choate, Ambassador 

 for the United States of America, London. (3) Miss Eleanor A. 

 Ormerod, F.R.Met.Soc., F.E.S. (4) C. D. F. Phillips, M.D., LL.D. 

 (5) The Rev. Thomas Smith, M.A., D.D., lately Professor of Evange- 

 listic Theology in the Free Church College, Edinburgh. (6) William 

 Ritchie Sorley, M.A., Regius Professor of Moral Philosophy, University 

 of Aberdeen. (7) Anderson Stuart, M.D., Professor of Physiology in the 

 University of Sydney. 



