16 
would probably be maintained in perpetuity, he declared that he 
felt as if a kind of dew had fallen upon him, invigorating his aged 
frame to increased activity. 
Notwithstanding the comprehensive nature of his e< Philosophy of 
Zoology,” it will probably be generally admitted, that Dr Fleming’s 
great merit as a man of science lay in his careful and vigilant power 
of observation. His knowledge of rocks, of fossils, and of living 
species, was no less extensive than exact. It was perhaps in some 
measure his profound and ever active sense of what was necessary 
for the faithful observation of a fact, which made him distrustful 
beyond rule of what was reported by others. Caution, carried to such 
a degree as to amount to a scientific scepticism in receiving the tes- 
timony of others, exercises eventually a baneful influence on the 
fruits of the mind that thus indulges in it ; for the benefit is thereby 
lost of much that has been tolerably well ascertained by other 
inquirers, and conclusions are apt to be pertinaciously opposed long 
after the world of science has generally considered them as settled. 
It may be doubted whether Dr Fleming did not sometimes incur 
this misfortune. Yet, while he was engaged in disputing evidence 
and battling off inductions, even those who might think him un- 
reasonable were forced to acknowledge, and even to admire, his ex- 
traordinary shrewdness, and the philosophic caution by which he was 
prompted in every movement of his own mind. 
It is understood that Dr Fleming had prepared a new work on 
the Geology of the Environs of Edinburgh, a subject always of deep 
interest, and on which few men were so well entitled to speak. Of 
this work it is gratifying to learn that a large portion has already 
been put through the press. 
For this short sketch of his scientific life, I am principally in- 
debted to our fellow-member, Mr Chambers. For some months 
at least before his death, Dr Fleming had been observed by his ^ 
friends to fail in looks and strength, owing to some obscure dis- 
turbance of the digestive organs. At last, and when no appre- 
hensions were entertained of so sudden a termination to his life of 
usefulness, he was seized abruptly with violent illness, which proved 
to be owing to perforation of the stomach, and which ended fatally 
next morning, only fifteen days ago. 
With this imperfect tribute to his memory, I bring to a conclu- 
