LIFE OF ALBANY HANCOCK, BY BE. EMBLETON. 133 



of the Manchester Natural History Society, and in 1862 a Fel- 

 low of the Linnsean Society. 



In 1858, as already stated, he was awarded a Royal medal of 

 the Eoyal Society of London, and declined the honour of the 

 Fellowship. In 1865 he was elected a member of the Imperial 

 and Eoyal Zoologico-Botanical Society of Vienna, and in 1869 

 a correspondent of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel- 

 phia, U.S.A., and particularly of the Conchological Section of 

 that Academy. 



He never betrayed the least vanity at being thus distinguished, 

 but bore his honours meekly, and never alluded to his success ; 

 indeed he rarely mentioned it or his honours to any one, and his 

 diplomas were carefully put away, so as not to attract attention ; 

 but he failed not to experience within himself the natural grati- 

 fication of finding that he had not worked in vain to extend the 

 boundaries of human knowledge, and that his labours were ap- 

 preciated by those who alone were competent to estimate their 

 value. 



Albany Hancock, gifted with a large and well-constituted 

 brain, and trained, as few are, both as a lawyer and a close ob- 

 server of nature, was a person of philosophic mind ; quick and 

 accurate in perception, careful in weighing evidence, correct in 

 judgment, careful and powerful in generalising, and, withal, 

 modest and unassuming. No one could be long in his genial 

 company without feeling that he was in the presence of a superior 

 person. He was fond of intellectual society, which elicited his 

 powers of mind, and in which he bore his part without assump- 

 tion of superiority. He was not averse from argument, in which 

 he always displayed large views, and an evident desire to arrive 

 at a correct estimation of the matter under discussion ; and his 

 opinion once formed was firmly adhered to and difficult to shake. 

 His great general information, his thoughtfulness, and sound 

 judgment were well known, and in many cases of doubt or 

 difficulty his decision was appealed to, with much advantage 

 by others, as well as by the members of his own family. Natu- 

 rally mild, grave, and contemplative, he was courteous, sensi- 

 tive, and somewhat diffident. He was kind and sympathizing 



