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converts ; he was looked upon as an enthusiast, almost as a 
madman. At length, in 1853, Dr. Pigollot, till then sceptical, 
examined for himself the drift at the now celebrated St. 
Acheul, found several weapons, and believed. Still the new 
creed met with but little favour ; prophets are proverbially 
without honour in their own country, and M. Boucher 
de Perthes was no exception to the rule. At last, however, 
the tide turned in his favour. Dr. Falconer, passing through 
Abbeville, visited his collection, and made known the result 
of his visit to Mr. Joseph Prestwich, who, accompanied by 
Mr. John Evans, immediately proceeded to Abbeville and 
examined carefully not only the flint weapons, but also the 
beds in which they were found. For such an investigation 
our two countrymen were especially qualified : Mr. Prestwich 
from his long examination and great knowledge of the more 
recent strata ; and Mr. Evans as having devoted much study 
to the stone implements belonging to what we must now 
consider as the second, or at least the more recent, stone- 
period. On their return to England Mr. Prestwich commu- 
nicated the results of his visit to the Poyal Society* (May 19, 
1859), while Mr. Evans described the implements themselves 
in the Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries (1860). 
Shortly afterwards Mr. Prestwich returned to Amiens 
and Abbeville, accompanied by Messrs. Godwin Austen, 
J. W. Flower, and P. W. Mylne. In the same year 
Sir Charles Lyell, whose opinion on the subject was 
naturally expected with great interest, visited the now 
celebrated localities. In 1860, I made my first visit with 
Mr. Busk and Captain Galton, under the guidance of 
Mr. Prestwich, while Sir Roderick Murchison, Professors 
Henslow, Pamsay, Pogers, Messrs. H. Christy, Pupert 
Jones, James Wyatt, and other geologists followed on the 
same errand. Soon after his return, Mr. Prestwich addressed 
* Thil. Transact. 1860. 
