384 Obituary. 



the offer of Mr. J. Brooke (now Eajali Brooke) of a cruise in the 

 "Eoyalist," along the coasts of Ionia and Caria to Ehodes. This 

 occupied till February, 1837, when, starting again from Smyrna, he 

 visited for the second time the Katakecaumene, of which he gave an 

 account, which was published in the transactions of the Society, as 

 also another memoir on the Eastern portion of Asia Minor. The 

 objects of Mr. Hamilton's travels were not, however, exclusively 

 geological. The results were given in two volumes, as "Eesearches 

 in Asia Minor : Pontus and Armenia, their Antiquities and Geology," 

 to which reference must be made before a just estimate can be 

 formed as to Mr. Hamilton's qualifications as an enterprising and 

 accomplished traveller. The objects proposed were successfully 

 carried out, and so far as he himself was concerned, the Eastern 

 tour served to realize what as yet was undeveloped, gave him habits 

 of observation, and of applying the varied education he had received, 

 created a power of clear narration, and finally assigned to. him a 

 high position among modern English travellers. He possessed all 

 the qualities which go to form a good traveller ; he was unselfish, 

 always adapting himself readily to circumstances, and a good com- 

 panion ; moreover, he was an accomplished linguist. Spanish, 

 French, Italian, and German were as familiar to him as his own 

 language. 



Mr. Hamilton was elected President of the Geological Society for 

 the second time in 1865. His later contributions to Geology were 

 on Tuscany, and the best account that has yet been given of the 

 Eocene basin of Mainz was the result of his examination, and of 

 the large collection of the fossils he formed there in 1852. For 

 some years he had devoted much time and expense to recent con- 

 chologj'', under a sense of the dependence of the history of the "'Tertiary 

 period" of geologists, on a knowledge of existing forms of shells, and 

 their geographical distribution, with which objects in view he had 

 already formed a very large collection. It was in the hope that he 

 might some day turn this knowledge to the service of geology that 

 he joined in the excursions which several of his fellow members of 

 the Geological Society made into the districts of the Faluns of 

 Touraine, and of the crag of Antwerp. 



Mr. Hamilton was an active Fellow of the Eoyal Geographical 

 Society — he was elected president for the years 1848 and 1849, and 

 has served on the Council for many years. He contributed the 

 article, " Geography " to the Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry,, 

 edited by Sir John Herschel. 



Mr. William Hamilton was the eldest son of Mr. Hamilton, some- 

 time British Minister at Naples, and author of iEgyptiaca ; was bom 

 in 1805, educated first at the Charter House, and subsequently at the 

 University of Gottingen. At the outset of his career he served in 

 the foreign Diplomatic Service at Madrid, Paris, and Florence. He 

 was precis writer at the Foreign Ofiice under Lord Aberdeen, and 

 resigned it on his election for Yarmouth. Mr. Hamilton was twice 

 married ; his second wife, who survives, was the Hon. Helena Dillon, 

 youngest daughter of Viscount Dillon. — E. G-A. 



