280 THE ZOOULOGIST. 
were read at the special meeting of July 1st, but the whole corre- 
spondence relating to the two papers on the evolution of species was 
subsequent to June 17th; indeed, the joint letter from Sir Charles 
Lyell and himself communicating them to the Society was only 
written on June 30th. Thus the death of Robert Brown was the 
direct cause of the theory of the origin of species being given to the 
world at least four months earlier than would otherwise have been 
the case. He concluded by asking their forgiveness for intruding 
upon their time and attention with the half-century old, real, or 
fancied memories of a nonagenarian as contributions to the history 
of the most notable event in the annals of biology that had followed 
the appearance, in 1735, of the ‘Systema Naturee’ of Linnezeus. 
Lord Avebury wound up the proceedings with some recollections 
of Darwin, with whom his acquaintance began more than sixty years 
ago. In the parish of Down Mr. Darwin was much beloved. He was 
rather a puzzle, no doubt, to the villagers. One of his friends 
once asked the gardener how Mr. Darwin was. ‘ Oh,” he said, ‘my 
poor master has been very sadly’; and added confidentially: ‘I 
often wish he had something to do. I have seen him stand doing 
nothing before a flower for ten minutes at a time. If he only had 
some regular work I believe he would be much better.’’ He received 
the highest honours from the Royal Society and the Institute of 
France, and in both cases ‘The Origin of Species’ was expressly 
excluded from the award. This was remarkable in two ways. It 
showed that even apart from ‘The Origin’ his other work was entitled 
to the highest scientific recognition; and if we are now astonished 
that ‘The Origin’ should have been excluded, we must remember 
the novelty of the views propounded. In fact, almost all—one might 
say all—authority was against him. At first, with few exceptions, 
not only the theological but even the scientific world was against 
him. A few years of study and reflection changed all this. It has 
changed also the religious dread with which his conclusions were 
received, and Mr. Balfour told us a few days ago that he looked to 
science as the great influence which was to raise and improve the 
condition of man. 
[As the Official Report of the Linnean Society has not yet been 
published, we have relied on the reports given by the ‘Times’ and 
‘Daily Telegraph.’ We have also to thank Mr. B. Daydon Jackson, 
the General Secretary of the Society, for considerable kind assist- 
ance. | 
