28 SIR VICTOR BROOKE CHAP 



systematic study of this kind was new to him, but he 

 threw himself into it with all the energy of his nature, 

 and soon gained a considerable insight into many 

 departments of comparative anatomy, which he re- 

 cognised as the basis upon which a knowledge of the 

 affinities of animals must be founded. Although, in his 

 published contributions to Science, he confined himself 

 solely to that group to which he specially devoted his 

 attention, the ruminating animals (oxen, antelopes, 

 sheep, and deer), his interests and sympathies in 

 natural history had a much wider range, and his 

 eagerness to acquire knowledge of every kind was 

 unbounded. Conversation with him, therefore, often 

 took the form of a severe cross-examination ; but the 

 I delight with which he hailed the acquisition of any new 

 fact or the solution of any difficulty, was an abundant 

 reward for any pains taken in conveying information to 

 him. Want of knowledge of the languages in which so 

 many of the works on Natural History he wished to 

 consult were written was at first a great drawback to 

 his progress. With characteristic resolution and ability, 

 however, he set to work to overcome the difficulty, and 

 a competent acquaintance with French, German, and 

 Italian, was acquired by him before long with this sole 

 purpose in view. 



In 1873 the subject of the lectures was "The 

 Osteology and Dentition of extinct Mammalia, with 

 their geological and geographical distribution and 

 relations to existing forms." This for the first time 

 brought him into contact with some of the prominent 

 facts of geology, which interested him greatly. In a 

 letter which I have by me referring to this course, he 

 writes : " To say how I enjoyed your lectures would be 

 simply impossible ; the view gained from them will 

 always be remembered as a landmark in the path of 



