226 The West American Scientist 



Though of tough and wiry build, he was rather a deHcate than 

 strongly framed man. He was of good height and of refined and 

 rather sharp-cut features ; his complexion was somewhat dark or 

 sallow, the result, in part, of out-of-door life, and his nearly black 

 hair lay upon his head in short doglocks or half- curls. He was 

 somewhat reticent and diffident in speech and manner, with a quiet, 

 unobtrusive, gentlemanly manner that was quite attractive. 



During his residence in San Francisco, and after my acquaintance 

 with him, a natural history expedition to Nicaragua was planned 

 and he left his family and friends in good spirits upon what was 

 destined to be his last excursion. He collected various material 

 in the way of plants, birds, shells, &c. ; these came safely to port, 

 but the hand that collected them all had forgotten its cunning and 

 the eye that detected their beauty had lost its power of vision 

 many days before these collections were received. 



He died off Acapulco, while on the steamer, upon his return, 

 and his friend Captain Blether, who was in command of the vessel, 

 rendered the last sad service that the living can bestow upon the 

 dead. The tropical fever that before had nearly claimed h m as 

 its victim, finally triumphed, and this ardent lover of Nature and 

 genial companion and friend thus passed away from earth. In- 

 stead of being buried at sea as is usual where death occurs so far 

 away from the home of the deceased, and where the disease is of 

 such a character, his friend. Captain Blether, had the remains 

 prepared so as to admit of their being delivered to his family and 

 Iriends and of sepulture on land. This, as near as I can remember, 

 was in the year 1864, and Brydges was about 55 years of age 



The occurrence of his death, and the service he had rendered to 

 science and mankind, were properly recognized in an appropriate 

 memorial paper by Mr. W- H. Dall before the California Academy 

 of Sciences, and suitable resolutions were adopted on th:\t 

 occasion. 



Brydges never published the results of his field work, in fact, 

 never essayed authorship. The information he obtained he freely 

 imparted to others for the public good. 



Of the material collected by him in Nicaragua, the shells only 

 passed under my notice. These were in some respects quite im- 

 portant, and included a large number of specimens of several 

 species of fresh-water mussels of the groups Unio and Anodonta. 

 Several of these forms were new and were described by the late 

 Dr. Lea, of Philadelphia. Two fine, large Anodontas were named 

 respectively A. Jewettii and A. Brydgesii, the former for Colonel 

 E. Jewett, another friend, and the latter in honor of the collector, 

 the chief subject of this reminiscence. In moist places, springs 

 and pools upon the forested slopes of Mombacho, he collected 

 fresh-water snails in considerable abundance, principally of the 

 genera Planorbis and Physa. 



