﻿XX PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



with pleasure the announcement of your work, now in the press, com- 

 prising a synoptical view of the Palaeozoic Fauna of the North of 

 England, Wales, and Scotland, so far as it is illustrated by specimens 

 collected by yourself and presented by you to the Woodwardian 

 Museum. When these fossils have been described by Prof. M c Coy 

 and figured by the skilful artist whom you employ, and when the 

 geological bearing of each species is explained in your prefatory 

 chapter, this volume will not fail to form an important addition to 

 our scientific literature. 



All, however, who hear me are aware, that by oral instruction given 

 by you in Lectures at Cambridge and in conversational discussions 

 in this room and elsewhere, as well as by the influence of such of 

 your writings as are partly of a literary and partly of a scientific cha- 

 racter, you have done nearly as much to forward the cause of Geo- 

 logy in England as by the memoirs of which I have attempted simply 

 to enumerate the titles. 



Professor Sedgwick replied, — 



Mr. President, — On occasions like the present, it is not the custom, 

 at the Royal Society, for one who receives a Medal to interrupt the 

 proceedings of the day by any verbal expression of his thanks ; with 

 this Society the custom has, I believe, been different ; and I trust 

 that I may be permitted, before you begin your Anniversary Address, 

 to say a few, a very few words, in order that I may convey to your- 

 self, and the Members of the Council, my heartfelt thanks for the 

 high honour you have now conferred upon me. Believe me, Gen- 

 tlemen, very grateful for this honour, which will be remembered by 

 me with sentiments of happiness and joy so long as I shall live. I 

 do not wish to say, from any affected modesty, that I am altogether 

 unworthy of this honour ; to say this would be to impugn your judge- 

 ment, which assuredly I have no right to do : and I am conscious of 

 having, during many years of my life, toiled somewhat hard in the 

 work of Geology, and therefore, in your service ; I believe, however, 

 that I owe much on this occasion to your friendship and personal 

 regard. This, allow me to say, takes not from the sterling value of 

 your award, but, on the contrary, adds to it and ennobles it, and makes 

 it of incomparably more value to myself, than it could be were it 

 unaccompanied by sentiments of personal regard and good will. 



