ATOrrVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. XXXVll 



Peterborougli ;" he likewise, at different times, communicated various 

 memoirs on professional subjects to the Medical Society. 



It must ever be a subject of regret to geologists, as it was to 

 the last to himself, that during the latter years of his life our 

 esteemed associate was prevented by his feeble state of health, 

 combined with his numerous professional and other engagements, 

 from devoting much time to scientific pursuits. His death, which 

 took place at the early age of thirty-six, was hastened by an acci- 

 dent, a fall from his horse, resulting in paralysis, which terminated 

 fatally, August 11, 1868. 



Dr. Porter was an assiduous labourer for the benefit of his native 

 town, in which the well-known excellencies of his character gained 

 for him universal respect and goodwill. His brilliant and agreeable 

 qualities were never more conspicuous than when he played the part 

 of a host ; and no one could be better qualified for the authorship of 

 the half-playful, half-serious little work, * Cups and their Customs ,' 

 which was written in 1863, in conjunction with another Fellow of 

 this Society, also deceased, Mr. George E. Roberts . The results of 

 the geological labours of Dr. Porter are not be estimated by his 

 pubhshed writings alone ; his extensive and valuable collection was 

 always open to investigators of the geology of the district ; and all 

 who availed themselves of this privilege will remember with sadness 

 his modesty and zeal not less than his geniality and hospitality. 



The Rev. Joseph G. Cummins, M.A., F.G.S., Vicar of St. John's, 

 Bethnal Green, was the son of the late Joseph Nottrall Cumming, 

 Esq., of Matlock, where he was born on the 15th Eebruary, 1812. 

 Mr. Cumming was educated at Oakham Grammar School ; and an old 

 Oakham school-fellow has written of him: — " He was the very opposite 

 of ' a pickle.' I do not think I ever saw such a grave earnest boy, 

 cheerful, indeed, and eminently good-natured. He was, perhaps, 

 about 14 years old when I first knew him, and we became close com- 

 panions for at least two years afterwards, when I quitted the school. 

 I do not remember that I ever saw him with a cricket-bat or fishing- 

 rod ; but he was very fond of talking of the wonders of Derbyshire, 

 and presented me with some fossils. He was fond of wrestling, and 

 we frequently walked to a quiet field some half mile from the town, 

 and tugged at each others collars for hours on pretty equal terms." 



Mr. Cumming gained exhibitions at Oakham, and proceeded to 

 Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he (Senior Opt.* 1834) was 

 ordained in 1835, and took the curacy of his uncle, the Eev. James 

 Cumming, Professor of Chemistry at Cambridge, and Rector of JN'orth 

 Nuneton, Norfolk. In 1838 he was appointed Classical Master of 

 the West Riding Proprietary School, and in 1841 Yice Principal of 

 King William's College in the Isle of Man, where he acquired an 

 interest in the history and antiquities of the island that never de- 

 serted him, and he contributed very largely to their illustration. 

 Mr. Cumming remained about fifteen years in the Isle of Man, and 

 removed on his appointment to the Mastership of King Edward's 

 * See Cambridge Calendar. 



