of Edinburgh, Session 1881-82. 
843 
The Chairman read the following Review of the Session : — 
In announcing the close of our Hundredth Session, I have to con- 
gratulate the Society on the gratifying fact that, though it has 
attained this advanced age, it shows no symptoms of decrepitude or 
senility. 
But though the Society as an institution is prosperous and never 
dies, a retrospect on an occasion like this reminds us that the 
members of which it is composed are transitory — 
Noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis. 
Since the commencement of the session fifteen of our Fellows 
have passed away. Among these are included men of the highest 
rank in science, like Dr. Darwin, Sir Wyville Thomson, and Dr. 
Romney Robinson ; illustrious physicians like Sir Robert Christison 
and Sir John Rose Cormack ; and great surgeons like Professor 
Spence ; eminent literary men like Dr. John Brown ; great scholars 
like Dr. J ohn Muir and Sheriff Hallard. The Society, besides, has 
lost a distinguished engineer in John Scott Russell, and a distin- 
guished artist in Sir Daniel Macnee. 
Many of these were regular attenders at our meetings. With 
most of them I was on familiar terms. It was our privilege to listen 
to the papers that they read in this place. How painful it is to me, 
how painful must it be for you, to miss in the course of a few 
months their thoughtful but cheerful countenances and their 
pleasant presence. But the services which men like these render to 
science and to this Society fortunately cease not with their lives. 
By their labours they have removed obstacles from the path of 
others in all time coming, and the inspiration of their example will 
stimulate their survivors to make similar efforts, which may be 
crowned with similar success. 
On this occasion I cannot but remember what a long interval has 
elapsed since I joined the Society in 1835. I look back with 
pleasure on the forty-eight years during which I have attended your 
meetings, and the nineteen years during which I acted as General 
Secretary of the Society. 
On looking back on what has been done by our members during 
