44 PEOCEEDrS'GS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



led to adopt the views of Lyell in opposition to those of ]?kriircliison ; 

 and a valuable paper on the subject from his pen appeared in the 

 ' Edinburgh Xew Philosophical Journal' in 1860. In 1859 he pub- 

 lished his ' Old Bones, or I^otes for Touug Naturalists,' a second 

 edition of which appeared in 1 864. His larger and more compre- 

 hensive work, ' Eecords of the Eocks,' saw the light in 1872, and 

 his 'Severn Straits' in 1883. In the year 1870 Mr. Symonds 

 acted as a Member of the Council of the Society. 



But antiquarian subjects, equally with geological ones, engaged 

 much of Mr. Symonds's attention, and he was the author of those 

 pleasant historical romances, ' Malvern Chase ' and ' Hornby Castle,' 

 in which his great knowledge of local antiquities is very conspi- 

 cuously displayed. 



The later years of his life were clouded by ill health and much 

 suffering. Those who associated with him during these years 

 of decline could not but admire the courage, cheerfulness, and 

 resignation with which he bore his sad lot ; in the intervals of 

 relief from pain he continued to the last to find solace and pleasure 

 in the studies he had so devotedly loved. Mr. Symonds died at 

 Cheltenham, 15th September, 1887. A man of most amiable and 

 courteous manners, he was characterized hy broad sympathies, 

 liberal views, and a warm heart ; who, among those of us who 

 knew him, does not remember his lovable character ? 



Within a few days of his friend the Eev. W. S. Symonds, passed 

 away Sir William: Vees^on Guise, Baronet. The son of an old 

 Peninsular officer,he was born in 1816, and succeeded to the baronetcy 

 in 1865. Though he joined this Society in 1841, and took much 

 interest in Geology, Archieology, and jSTatural History generally, he 

 did not undertake any special researches. He was a very active 

 member of the Cotteswold jS'aturalists' Pield Club, having held the 

 office of President for a period of 28 years. He died September 24th, 

 1887. 



The same useful society, the Cotteswold Club, has lost in the 

 person of its late Treasurer and Vice-President, Mr. Edwin Witchell, 

 another of its most hardworking and useful members. Mr. Witchell, 

 who was born in 1823, received a legal education and became a 

 solicitor at Stroud, in Gloucestershire. In his earlier years he 

 became associated with the late Mr. G. Poulett Scrope, by whose 

 influence his love of geological study was fostered and confirmed. 

 He contributed papers on local geology to the Cotteswold Club 



