ii 



Commons, from which, however, he retired in 1834, when his congregation 

 presented him with a piece of plate. 



From this time Mr. Yates devoted himself to scientific and literary pur- 

 suits. He became, as early as 1819, a Fellow of the Geological Society, 

 and of the Linnean in 1822. He was one of the early founders of the 

 British Association for the Advancement of Science ; and at the termina- 

 tion of its first meeting at York in 1831, he was chosen Secretary to the 

 Council, and continued to fill that office during some years. He became 

 a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1839. He took an active part with Dr. 

 Guest in the formation of the Philological Society in 1842. 



In looking over a list of Mr. Yates's publications, it is impossible not 

 to be impressed with the wide range of his subjects. He has several 

 papers in the Transactions of the Geological Society for 1821, 1822, and 

 1825, and the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal for 1831 and 1862 ; 

 various papers on antiquities and language in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic 

 Society for 1837, and in that of the Philological Society for 1842. He has 

 various papers on theological and educational subjects in various journals ; 

 he contributed largely to Dr. Smith's ' Dictionary of Greek and Roman 

 Antiquities,' 1842, and published separately, under the title of " Textri- 

 num Antiquorum," an account of the art of weaving among the ancients : 

 part 1 was devoted to raw materials ; a second volume which was intended 

 to follow was not completed at the time of his death. He wrote in the 

 * Classical Museum,' in 1845, on Acantkion &c. of the ancient classics. 

 He wrote on the natural order Cycadacece in the Proceedings of the Linnean 

 Society in 1849, and contributed a number of papers to the Archaeological 

 Journal. He also exerted his influence to get introduced into this country 

 an improved system of measures, weights, and coins; and in 1851 re- 

 ceived the Telford Medal of the Institution of Civil Engineers, for an 

 essay on the subject. He also contributed information on the metric system 

 to the Statistical Section of the British Association. He has published 

 a variety of papers in connexion with this subject, and was the principal 

 supporter of the British branch of the International Association for ob- 

 taining a uniform decimal system of measures, weights, and coins. 

 * As early as 1842 Mr. Yates showed symptoms of an overworked brain, and 

 was ordered by Dr. Tweedie to seek refreshment in travel. Indeed every year 

 he had, as it were, to evade the hay fever, to which he was an easy victim. 

 In 1848 he acquired the lease of Lauderdale House, Highgate. Here 

 he passed the remainder of his life, beloved and respected by all who knew 

 him. Here, too, he gave to scientific men those pleasant garden parties and 

 receptions which received additional interest from the historical associations 

 of the place. He had just completed his 82nd year, when he sank quietly 

 to rest, on May 7th, 1871, and was buried in Highgate Cemetery on the 

 1 1th, near the remains of his friend Henry Crabb Robinson. 



Mr. Yates took great delight in his garden, and in the cultivation of 

 botany. He was jujfly proud of his success in getting the Cycas to flower, 



