336 , Obituary — Prof. P. Martin Duncan. 



of lecturing and popular literary work ; thus he edited the six 

 ■volumes of "Cassell's Natural History," and amongst others wrote 

 a primer of physical geography, a volume of biographies of the 

 " Heroes of Science," a paper on Voltaire's attitude to geology, and 

 edited recent issues of Lyeli's " Students' Elements." 



In the course of so much, and such widely different work, it was 

 but natural that Professor Duncan should at times have come into 

 conflict with his fellow- workers, however much he himself detested 

 controversy. On the one hand, his passionate love of justice led' 

 him to accept the names of the pioneers of systematic zoology, and 

 thus his nomenclature has been in places rejected by the younger 

 school. On the other hand, his work has been severely criticized 

 by men who, caring for none of the physiographical problems 

 Prof. Duncan set himself to solve, expected him always to unite the 

 detailed precision of an histologist with the grasp of a palaeontologist. 

 But at the time of his work on the West Indian Corals, for example, 

 such investigations would not have aided him in his comparison of 

 the recent and fossil faunas ; and later opinion seems far more in 

 agreement with his work than with that of the elaborate monographs 

 of Michelotti and Duchaissang that immediately followed his. But 

 it is to be regretted that he did not adopt some modern methods 

 quite as early as he might have done, especially as his work on the 

 Temnoplenridoe shows how well he knew how to use them. Another 

 source of trouble was that he had a somewhat aggravating way 

 of giving wrong references, which brought down upon him the 

 censures of those who seem to think that it is a mere matter of 

 detail whether the species be rightly identified so long as the 

 reference be correctly cited. But, loathing controversy as he did, 

 he ignored criticism as far as possible, and perhaps the only time 

 when he was really roused to wrath was by the neglect by some 

 recent Echinologists of the results of the work of his great Swedish 

 friend ; the vigour of his onslaught on this occasion puzzled those 

 who did not understand his devotion to the man to whom he often 

 referred with modest reverence as "my master Loven." 



To his first love, the Corals, he proposed to return on the con- 

 clusion of his revision of the Echinoidea ; he commenced work upon 

 a large Indian collection, and planned a supplement to his Revision 

 of the Madreporaria in which he intended to discuss recent criticism 

 and incorporate subsequent progress. But it was not to be : he was 

 smitten with disease, and after a long and painful illness quietly 

 passed away on the early morning of the 28th of May. 



The fine keen sense of humour which remained unblunted almost 

 to the last, the genial kindness with which he was ever ready with 

 help especially to younger men, united with the recognition of his 

 sterling worth and sound judgment, gained for him wide popularity 

 and esteem. And now that Prof. Duncan has passed to his well- 

 earned rest not only is the world the poorer by the loss of a great 

 palgeontologist and of a strong and original intellect, but a wide 

 circle of his fellow-workers have to mourn the departure of a 

 trusted friend. J. W. G. 



