and the Birth of Microscopical Petrology. 203 



fields of investigation. Archaeological studies among the churches of 

 East Anglia'; the evolution of mythical forms of animals in ancient 

 church architecture ; Koman, Saxon, and Norman structures, and the 

 bricks employed in each of them, were among the subjects which 

 engaged his attention ; while enquiries among old manuscripts in the 

 British Museum, the collection of ancient books and maps, and the 

 study of Egyptian hieroglyphics were among his amusements. His 

 short cruises around the coast were devoted to the collection of 

 marine plants and animals, the preparation of catalogues showing the 

 distribution of the marine flora and fauna, and the devising of methods 

 for preserving plants and animals with their natural colours and 

 exhibiting them as transparent objects; and in this he attained 

 a remarkable success. 



Those who had the pleasure of knowing Sorby in his home at 

 Sheffield or on board his yacht can never forget the simple and 

 lovable character of the man, and the devotion shown to him by his 

 servants and sailors. The almost hermit-like seclusion of his earlier 

 years had fostered many little amiable eccentricities in his habits, but 

 his enthusiasm for science, his capacity for work, and his generous 

 recognition of the labours of others were always conspicuous. 

 Although, as we have seen, his great work in originating Microscopic 

 Petrography received little notice for nearly twenty years, yet after- 

 wards his labours were fully recognised. The Wollaston Medal of 

 the Geological Society in 1869, the Boerhaave Medal in 1872, a Koyal 

 Medal in 1874, and the presidency, in succession, of the Microscopical, 

 Mineralogical, and Geological Societies, with a doctor's degree given 

 him by Cambridge, were among the honours which he received, while 

 many foreign societies were proud to enrol him among their members. 



Sorbj' was ever loyal to his native town of Sheffield, and was 

 a warm supporter of its scientific and educational institutions. And 

 Sheffield was justly proud of Sorby. It has been well said that what 

 Priestley was to Birmingham, and Dalton and Joule to Manchester, 

 Sorby was to Sheffield. Erom his youth up, he was a leading spirit at 

 the local Chemical Society, the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical 

 Society, and the West Yorkshire Geological Society. To the founding 

 of Firth College in 1883 and its development into a University 

 College, and finally into the University of Sheffield, he contributed 

 unstinted labour as well as liberal support. By his will he not only 

 enriches the City and University Museums with his valuable collections 

 but also founds a Chair of Geology in the Sheffield University. 



The long and active life of research, during which nearly 250 

 papers ^ issued from his pen, found a fitting conclusion. In the 

 Autumn of 1903, after returning from his Summer's cruise, he had 

 a fall which produced partial paralysis. For many months he was 

 unable to move himself in bed, but, bright and cheerful as ever, he 

 enlisted the aid of his nurses, and continued his labours and the 

 calculations based on five years observations, writing with pencil 

 while lying on his back. Eor a time he recovered so far as to be able 



' An almost complete list of these papers has heen puhlished in the Naturalist 

 for 1906 ; it was revised by Sorby himself. 



