1865.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 71 



than any one here, estimate the amount of that loss. Having long 

 had the privilege of intimate intercourse with Dr. Falconer, living 

 with him for years, engaged in common pursuits, and often co-operat- 

 ing in his more special labours, I had the fullest opportunity of 

 knowing the value and extent of the information he had accumulated, 

 of estimating the care and truthfulness of his research, and of admir- 

 ing the astounding accuracy of his unrivalled memory. But I had, 

 too, the best opportunity of knowing that much, very much, of this 

 rich store of acquired knowledge was, I regret to say, not prepared for 

 communication to others by publication. And I can, therefore, feel 

 the vastness of the loss we have sustained. 



' Sir, with this Society, Hugh Falconer was long and actively con- 

 nected ; his labours have added much to our collections, and still more 

 to the value of those collections, by his accurate descriptions ; and to 

 him the Society is largely indebted as a labourer in the wide field of 

 Indian Natural History. But he has another special claim on our 

 grateful recollection. He was one of the earliest and most earnest 

 promoters of some of those reforms in the conduct of the Society, 

 which have, I rejoice to say, resulted in raising this Society from a 

 protracted state of almost bankruptcy to one of prosperous finance, 

 and which, I trust, will equally result in infusing into the Society a 

 little of its former energy and activity, instead of that lethargy which 

 seemed to have seized it. To Hugh Falconer then, this Society is 

 largely indebted. And I cannot think that we should do justice to 

 ourselves, did we rest contented with merely recording our sense of 

 that obligation. I think some lasting memorial of such a man should 

 remain ; that our rooms should contain, side by side with those busts 

 we now see, one of Hugh Falconer, a worthy colleague of those giants 

 of Indian Science ; and that we should thus endeavour to perpetuate 

 the memory of one whose fellowship with the Society had long given 

 honour to that body. I would not in the slightest degree desire to 

 interfere with the worthy intentions of his many friends in Great 

 Britain to place a similar memorial to his name in some of the Scien- 

 tific Societies in London. But I do think the Asiatic Society of Ben- 

 gal would be forgetful of its duty, and be chargeable with ingratitude, 

 if it did not endeavour to do likewise. Sir, there will be no lack of 

 funds in Europe for such a purpose, the value of Hugh Falconer was 



