494 
NATURE 
[Marcu: 25, 1897 
had an especial attraction for him, His last thoughts 
were concerning the distribution of the prime numbers ; 
the excellent paper in which he contracted Tchebycheff s 
limits was a source of great satisfaction to him, and 
shortly before he died he was hopeful of being able to 
prove the Goldbach-Euler conjecture that every even 
number can be partitioned into two primes ; but in this 
he was not successful, although he was able to narrow 
the issue, and to give a more precise statement of the 
supposed theorem. At one time he was interested in the 
construction of tessellated pavements ; one anallagmatic 
design was, through the influence of his friend Colonel 
Yelverton, put down in the hall of the Junior United 
Service Club in Charles Street, Haymarket. Some years 
ago it was unfortunately removed whilst the hall was 
undergoing repair. 
His writings are flowery and eloquent. He was able 
to make the dullest subject bright, fresh, and interesting. 
His enthusiasm is evident in every line. He would get 
quite close up to his subject, so that everything else 
looked small in comparison, and for the time would think 
and make others think that the world contained no finer 
matter for contemplation. His handwriting was bad, and 
a trouble to his printers. His papers were finished with 
difficulty. No sooner was the manuscript in the editor’s 
hands than alterations, corrections, ameliorations and 
generalisations would suggest themselves to his mind, 
and every post would carry further directions to the 
editors and printers. His usual custom was to send 
early notice of his discoveries to the Academy of Sciences 
in Paris. Subordinate theorems he would despatch at 
once to the Educational Times. He frequently also made 
announcements in the columns of NATURE. He gave so 
many names to mathematics that he used playfully to 
speak of himself as the Mathematical Adam. It has 
been remarked by Prof. Forsyth that he drew almost 
entirely upon Latin for new names, whilst Cayley as 
invariably drew upon Greek. In 1870 he published 
“The Laws of Verse,” dedicating it to Matthew Arnold. 
The composition of sonnets, both in English and 
Latin, was a relaxation that he much enjoyed ; these 
have been, and no doubt will be, criticised in other 
places. 
He was fond of billiards, whist and chess. He liked 
occasionally going into the society of ladies, but was 
never married. 
He appears in the series of portraits of Scientific 
Worthies for the year 1889, to the accompaniment of a 
sympathetic notice from the pen of Cayley. His por- 
trait in oils, by Elmslie, was exhibited in the Royal 
Academy a few years ago, and now hangs in the hall of 
St. John’s College, Cambridge. His physiognomy was 
striking, never failing to impress deeply at a_ first 
meeting. Latterly his appearance was venerable and 
patriarchal. 
In this short notice justice cannot be done to his 
character. His temper was somewhat quick on occa- 
sions, but he never cherished angry feelings beyond a 
very short time ; he was anxious to forget and forgive. 
Only those who understood him were aware that anger 
or displeasure was with him a transient phenomenon, 
and that charitableness of feeling and kindness of heart 
were characteristics deeply engraved upon his nature. 
To younger men he was sympathetic and generous. 
The revival of the mathematical reputation of England, 
dating from the Queen’s accession to the throne, is to a 
large degree due to his genius; and those who were 
present on March 19, at the simple, yet impressive 
ceremony at the Jewish cemetery at Dalston, must have 
realised that one of the giants of the Victorian era had 
been laid to rest. The Royal Society and the London 
Mathematical Society were represented at the funeral by 
Prof. Michael Foster, Sec.R.S., Major MacMahon, R.A., 
F.R.S., Prof. Forsyth, F.R.S., Prof. Elliott, F.R’S,, Dr 
NO. 1430, VOL. 55] 
Hobson, F.R.S., Prof. Greenhill, F.R.S., Mr. A. B. 
Kempe, F.R.S., and Mr. A. H. Love, F.R.S. There were 
also present Prof. Turner and the Sub-Warden of New 
College, Oxford. 
P. A. MAcManHon. 
NOTES 
A MEETING of Presidents of various scientific societies in 
London was recently convened by the President and Officers 
of the Royal Society, to consider whether any, and if so what, 
steps should be taken to commemorate the sixtieth year of Her 
Majesty’s reign. It was unanimously resolved—‘‘ That a fund 
to be called the Victoria Research Fund be established, to be 
administered by representatives of the various scientific societies, 
for the encouragement of research in all branches of science.’”” 
The President of the Royal Society has communicated this 
resolution to the scientific societies, with a letter asking whether 
support would be given to it. 
Av the recent anniversary meeting of the Royal Irish 
Academy, Prof. Albert von Kolliker and M. A. Michel Lévy 
were elected honorary members in the Section of Science. 
THE subject of the Croonian Lecture to be delivered at the 
Royal Society on Thursday next, by Prof. C. S. Sherrington, 
is *‘The Mammalian Spinal Cord as an Organ of Reflex 
Action.” 
THREE sculptors—-Lessing, Hertert, and Janensch—have been 
selected from the list of those who made application to execute 
the statue of Helmholtz for the Helmholtz Memorial Committee. 
Which of the three will be chosen to carry out the work is not 
yet known. The monument will stand between the statues of 
the two Humboldts, in the front grounds of the University of 
Berlin. 
WE much regret to announce the death of M. Antoine T, 
d’Abbadie, formerly president of the Paris Academy of Sciences, 
In 1893 M. d’Abbadie bequeathed to “he Academy, subject to 
a life-interest to his wife, the Abbadia estate in the Pyrenees, 
having an annual revenue of twenty thousand francs, and shares 
in the Bank of France representing an annual income of fifteen 
thousand francs. He published several important works on 
geographical exploration and geodesy, and was sent by the 
Academy to St. Domingo in 1882 to observe the eclipse of the 
sun. 
Tue following are the names of the members of the British 
Association who have been nominated by the Council as_presi- 
dents of the different Sections at the forthcoming meeting at 
Toronto :—(A) Mathematical and Physical Science, Prof. A. R. 
Forsyth, F.R.S. ; (B) Chemistry, Prof. W. Ramsay, F.R.S.; 
(C) Geology, Dr. G. M. Dawson, C.M.G., F.R.S. ;(D) Zoology, 
Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S. ; (E) Geography, Mr. J. Scott Keltie 3’ 
(F) Economic Science and Statistics, Prof. E. C. K. Gonner ; 
(G) Mechanical Science, Mr. G. F. Deacon ; (H) Anthropology, 
Prof. Sir W. Turner, F.R.S. ; (I) Physiology, Prof, M. Foster, 
Sec. R.S. ; (IK) Botany, Prof. H. Marshall Ward, F.R.S. The 
two evening discourses will be delivered by Prof. Roberts- 
Austen, C.B., F.R.S., and by Prof. John Milne, F.R.S. 
Mr. Morris K. Jesup, president of the American Museum 
of Natural Iistory, is fitting out an elaborate anthropological 
expedition to undertake a seven years’ tour for the study of pre- 
historic man in all parts of the world, at a cost estimated as over 
sixty thousand dollars. It will be the most elaborate and best- 
equipped expedition ever sent out in the interests of anthropology. 
Mr. Jesup has already done much for scientific research. Several 
