BRUNEL. 21 



which it is derived, and of the parts of a flower to each other, as 

 regards both position and number ; the analogy between stamina 

 and pistilla ; the neuration of the corolla of composite, their cestiva- 

 tion and inflorescence ; and the structure of the stems of cycadece, 

 both recent and fossil. 



Mr. Brown was also strongly attached to the study of fossil 

 botany, and, with a view to its prosecution, he formed an extensive 

 and valuable collection of fossil woods, which he has bequeathed, 

 under certain conditions, to the British Museum. 



After the death of Sir Joseph Banks, who bequeathed to him his 

 house in Soho Square, Mr. Brown continued to occupy that portion 

 of it which opened upon Dean Street ; and it was in the library of 

 that illustrious man, the scene of his labours for sixty years, sur- 

 rounded by his books and by his collections, that Robert Brown 

 breathed his last, on the 10th of June, 1859, in the eighty-fifth year 

 of his age. Memoir by John J. Bennett, F.R.S., read at the Anniver- 

 sary Meeting of the Linnean Society, May, 1859. 



SIR M. ISAMBARD BRUNEL, V.P.R.S,, &c. 



Born April 25, 1769. Died December 12, 1849. 



This celebrated engineer was born at Haqueville, in Normandy, 

 where his family had for several centuries held an honourable 

 position, numbering among its members the eminent French painter 

 Nicholas Poussin. Brunei was educated at the seminary at Rouen, 

 with the intention of his entering holy orders, but he displayed so 

 decided a taste for mathematics and mechanics,* that by the advice 

 of the superior of the establishment he was removed to follow a 

 more congenial career. 



His father then destined him for the naval service, which he 

 entered on the appointment of the Mareschal de Castries, the 

 Minister of Marine, and made several voyages to the West Indies. 

 While in this position, although only fifteen years old, his mecha- 

 nical talents showed themselves on many occasions, and he surprised 

 his captain by the production of a sextant of his own manufacture, 

 with which he took his observations. 



In 1792 Brunei returned to France, where he found the revolution 

 at its height, and, like all who entertained Royalist principles, was 



* At eleven years of age, Brunei's love of tools was so great that he once 

 pawned his hat to buy them ; and at the age of twelve he is said to have con- 

 structed different articles with as much precision as a regular workman. 



