286 Obituary — Professor N. Story Maskelyne. 



native language he rambled the Eifel district, the Auvergne, parts of 

 Norway, and Southern Italy. In the same way lie visited Egypt, 

 going up the Nile to the First Cataract, Jerusalem, Damascus, Athens, 

 Constantinople, Vienna, Berlin, and Amsterdam. He also paid a visit 

 to Switzerland and accompanied the British Association in its meeting 

 to South Africa. 



His contributions to the literature of geology are contained mostly 

 in the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall and 

 of the Devonshire Association, in the Geological Magazine, and the 

 Journal of the Torquay Natural History Society, the present number 

 of which contains a list of twenty-four of his geological papers. 

 Unfriendly criticism attended the publication of some of his views, but 

 he never alluded to the matter nor appeared to resent the harshness of 

 the treatment. 



His interest in geological matters continued unabated. Apparently 

 little concerned by his critics he pursued his favourite study satisfied 

 with the new facts and interest it unfailingly gave him. The value 

 of his services to the Torquay Natural History Society will be long 

 appreciated, and his memory will be kept green by a legacy left by 

 him to its funds, which betokens the interest and pleasure he 

 experienced in the performance of his duties to that institution. 



H. J. L. 



PROFESSOR M. H. NEVIL STORY MASKELYNE, M.A., 



Hon.D.Sc.Oxon., F.R.S., F.G.S. 



Born 1823. Died May 20, 1911. 



f With deep regret we have to announce the loss of the well-known 

 mineralogist Professor Story Maskelyne, at his residence, Basset-Down 

 House, Swindon, AVilts, at the age of 87. His grandfather, Nevil 

 Maskelyne, was Astronomer Boyal for forty-seven years ; his father 

 was a Fellow of the Royal Society and a double-first at Oxford when 

 he was 19. Mr. Maskelyne followed his father, and graduated from 

 Wadham College, Oxford, of which, afterwards, he became an honorary 



> Fellow. He was Professor of Mineralogy in Oxford 1856-95. 



But his most distinguished services to Mineralogy are those associated 

 with his appointment of Keeper of Minerals in the British Museum in 

 1857, a post which he held for twenty-three years, until he entered 

 Parliament in 1880. The collection he found was but a small one, 

 but by timely purchases he was enabled to make it probably the best 

 in the world. He practically created the collection of Meteorites, now 

 one of the finest in existence. His researches in the structure and 

 composition of Meteorites were amongst the most important of his time, 

 and led to the discovery in 1862 of a new mineral in the Bustee 

 Meteorite, which he named ' Oldharnite ', and in 1863 he detected 

 enstatite as a meteoric ingredient. Another new mineral named 

 ' Asmanite ' was added in 1869. Commencing in 1858 with only 

 Mr. Thomas Davies to assist him, he acquired (1) the eminent services 

 of Dr. Viktor von Lang; (2) W. J. Lewis, F.R.S., now Professor of 

 Mineralogy in Cambridge ; (3) Dr. Walter Flight, a very able chemist ; 

 and (4) Mr. Lazarus Fletcher, M. A., F.R.S. (afterwards his successor as 

 Keeper of Minerals and now Director of the Natural History Museum). 



