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reply, that it was rather the opportunity of honouring him that had 

 been seized, for that the order had also been conferred on the Major. 

 The latest favour he received from his ovv-n Sovereign, Christian the 

 Vlllth, was the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog, and Danne- 

 brog's Man ; which distinction was accompanied with a very com- 

 plimentary letter, in which the monarch declared his esteem for 

 literary and scientific merit. 



When Lord Northampton's decease was announced in a literary 

 journal (the Athenaeum*), it was remarked, that " though it sounds 

 like a truism to say that the union of science and station and ex- 

 alted character in the same individual seldom fails to command 

 esteem," — this truism was precisely the tribute which suggested 

 itself in this case. And it Avas no doubt true that esteem, produced 

 by the kindness, courtesy, truthfulness, fairness, and good sense of 

 his character, which qualities were made conspicuous by his rank, 

 and his frequent appearance in public, was the universal sentiment 

 entertained towards him ; yet no one who knew him well could fail 

 also to admire his fine intellect, richly cultured mind, and varied 

 knowledge, both of literature, science and art. It was this union of 

 qualities, rarely found in the same person, which especially recom- 

 mended him to your choice for ten successive years as President, 

 and endeared him to this Society, and to his extended circle of 

 friends and acquaintances. 



Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, Marquis and Earl of the 

 County of Northampton, was born on the 2nd of January 1790. He 

 was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and manifested a love for 

 literature and the classics, which he cultivated with an assiduity not 

 always found in men of his rank. He there not only laid the founda- 

 tion of the accomplishments and information which distinguished 

 him in after-life, but formed many friendships with eminent men, 

 now ornaments of this Society ; and these friendships v\'ere not only 

 continued, but increased and strengthened during the remainder of 

 his life. 



On quitting the University, Lord Compton was returned to Par- 

 liament as Member for the town of Northampton. Spencer Percival, 

 the Prime Minister of the day, was his near relative, and thus a 

 political career of eminence was within his grasp. But a sense of 

 duty led him to join the opposition ranks ; and being defeated at the 

 next Parliamentary election, he retired from the political field of the 

 House of Commons. Lord Compton associated himself at this period 

 with Wilberforce, and the noble and excellent men who devoted 

 themselves to the cause of Africa. The same associations connected 

 him with Sir James Mackintosh as a criminal law reformer. 



In 1815 he married Miss M'Cleod Clephane, daughter and heiress 

 of General Clephane, a lady whose native and original genius had 

 been matured by the most careful cultivation. She was at an early 

 age a favourite of Walter Scott, who was delighted with her genius 



* The biograpliical notice in the Athenaeum which vvas thus prefaced has been 

 freely used on the present occasion. 



Proceedings of the Royal Society. Vol. VI. No. 84. 9 



