1891-92.] 433 



can now be only a matter of conjecture. Space does not permit us to tell of the 

 toils and troubles, not to speak of tbe expense, borne by the Canon whilst he was 

 forming his collection, nor the mild stratagems he had often to invent to procure 

 specimens, nor the many times he was robbed by pedlars ; suffice it to say that every 

 opportunity his avocation allowed was devoted to his favourite pursuit, and a 

 long and busy life has resulted in an almost unequalled collection of antiquities 

 and natural history objects. 



In the latter part of the year 1890 appeared the first symptoms of the terrible 

 disease that was destined to prematurely cut short his career. Operations 

 by the highest surgical skill were of no avail, and in the following summer he 

 knew that his days were numbered, and with the quiet resignation of a true 

 Christian, he set about the disposal of his worldly goods. His first intention 

 was to bequeath the whole of his museum and library to the Church of 

 Ireland ; but on account of legal objections to this course, his valuable collec- 

 tions were destined to enrich the public rather than the Church, and a deed of 

 gift was executed between himself and the Belfast. City Council, by which the 

 latter undertook the permanent charge of the Canon's treasures, and their 

 proper arrangement and display at the Belfast Free Public Library. Anxious 

 to see the work of his lifetime safely housed in its new abode before the end 

 which he knew was approaching, he insisted that the transfer of the collections 

 to Belfast should be commenced immediately, and no time was lost in beginning 

 the work — a work of no small magnitude and difficulty, for the collection 

 numbers some 60,000 specimens, and the frailty of many of the most precious 

 antiquarian relics rendered their removal by no means easy. By a special stipu- 

 lation of Canon Grainger, this work was done under the superintendence of our 

 Secretary, Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E., M.R.I. A., with the assistance of Mr. J. 

 F. Johnston, Curator of the Free Library Museum, and the entire collection was 

 safely transferred to Belfast. During its removal, in spite of the deadly weakness 

 that told of the approaching end, Canon Grainger was ever cheerful, giving 

 information as to the various treasures, with quaint stories of their acquisition, 

 and continually assisting the work. The removal of the collections was com- 

 pleted in October, 1891, and on November 25th, shortly after the first portion of 

 his museum was opened to the public in Belfast, the good Canon passed 

 peacefully away. 



Always more of a collector than a writer, Canon Grainger left comparatively 

 few records of his wide and varied knowledge, and in his latter days especially 

 he preferred leaving the describing and recording of his treasures to literary 

 friends, being himself happy in their possession. Among his own papers, three 

 dealing with the Post-tertiary deposits of Belfast Lough, written in early life, at 

 once gave him a prominent place among local geologists. The first of these was 

 read before the Belfast Natural History Society in 1848 ; the second before the 

 British Association in 1852 ; and the final one before the Dublin University 

 Zoological and Botanical Association in 1858. To the Belfast Natural History 



