240 Obituary — John Rofe. 



Preston as Engineer to the Gas Works, a post which he held for 

 twenty-five years. 



While resident in Preston he took a very active part in the 

 Literary and Philosophical Society of that town, and in December, 

 1845, a service of plate was presented to Mr. Eofe by the members 

 " in acknowledgment of the zeal and ability with which he had pro- 

 moted the establishment, progress, and success of that Institution." 



He had only one son and daughter ; the latter married Dr. Fearn- 

 side of Preston ; the former (the Rev. John Eofe), a young man of 

 high promise, after graduating at Cambridge, 1850, received in 1859 

 from the Master of his College (St. John's), the offer of an Indian 

 Chaplaincy, which he accepted. He officiated as Chaplain to Lord 

 Canning (then Governor General of India) during a tour in theNorth- 

 West Provinces ; and finally as Chaplain to Dr. Cotton, Bishop of 

 Calcutta — with whom, whilst on a visitation tour, he died in 1861, 

 at the early age of 34 years. 



This severe family bereavement had no doubt a most depressing 

 influence on so amiable a man as Mr. Eofe, and caused him to spend 

 much of his time in the retirement of his library or engrossed in 

 the study of his fine private collection of Crinoidea from the Carbo- 

 niferous Limestone of Clitheroe. Having resigned his official duties 

 at Preston from ill-health, he devoted himself to a careful study of 

 the internal anatomy of the fossil Echinodermata, and his valuable 

 researches will be found embodied in a series of papers printed in 

 this Magazine, a list of which is subjoined. 



For some years he resided at 15, Abbey Place, St. John's Wood ; 

 but afterwards removed to Lancaster, where he was elected Presi- 

 dent of the Lunesdale Naturalists' Field-club ; his health, however, 

 did not long permit him to retain the office. For the last few years 

 he has resided at Leamington, but of late he has been prevented by 

 failing eyesight from carrying on his favourite microscopic re- 

 searches. In February last he presented his rich collection of Crin- 

 oidea and other fossils from the Carboniferous Limestone (number- 

 ing upwards of 1,500 specimens) to the National Museum. 



He died at his residence, 9, Church Hill, Leamington, on the llth 

 day of April, at the age of 77 years. 



The following are the titles of Mr. Eofe's scientific papers : — 



1. " Observations on t]ie Geological Structure of the Neighbourhood of Reading" 



(read Feb. 26, 1834), Trans. Geol. Soc. 2nd series, vol. v. 1840, p. 127. 

 . Proc. vol. ii. p. 72. 



2. " Description of a New Species of Actinocrimis ivora the Mountain-Limestone of 



Lancashire" (with 3 woodcuts), Geol. Mag. 1865, Vol. II. p. 12. 



3. "Notes on some Echinodermata from the Mountain-Limestone," etc. (with a plate), 



Geol. Mag. 1865, Vol. II. p. 245. 



4. " Notes on Coal and Cannel," Geol. Mag. 1866, Vol. III. p. 208. 



5. " Note on the late Colliery Explosions," Geol. Mag. 1867, Vol. IV. p. 106. 



6. " Note on the Cause and Nature of the Enlargement of some Crinoidal 



Columns " (with 5 woodcuts), Geol. Mag. 1869, Vol. VI. p. 351. 



7. "On some supposed Lithodomous Perforations in Limestone Eock " (with a 



plate), Geol. Mag. 1870, Vol. VII. p. 4. 



8. " Notes on the Crinoidea " (with a plate), Geol. Mag. 1871, Vol. VIII. p. 241. 



9. "Further Notes on the Crinoidea" (with a plate), Geol. Mag. 1873, Vol. X. p. 262. 



10. Presidential Address to the Members of the Lunesdale Natiu-alists' Field-club, 



25th Feb. 1873 : " On the Geology of the District around Lancaster." — H.W. 



