1911-12.] Obituary Notices. 487 
The incipient breakdown in health, hinted at in the letter just quoted, 
was not destined to be arrested, and the obscure illness gradually became 
more marked in its character as the session advanced. At its close he was 
still able, however, to undertake a tour in Italy ; and the energy and cheer- 
fulness he displayed throughout those weeks will never be forgotten by 
those who were privileged to be his companions. Milan, Perugia, Assisi, 
and (chiefly) Rome were the cities visited ; and the brief diary he kept 
indicates unflagging delight in the glories of nature and the miracles of 
art. Neither this visit to Italy, however, nor treatment at Harrogate and 
a visit to Northumberland in the following summer sufficed to effect any 
lasting improvement in his health. He continued to fight bravely on, and 
proved equal to the discharge of his professorial duties to the end of the 
winter session 1910-11. When the spring had far advanced there remained 
no room for doubt in the minds of those who were nearest him that his 
trouble was incurable, and that all the highest professional skill could now do 
was to mitigate the inevitable suffering incident to a distressing and mortal 
illness. Yet he continued to find pleasure and refreshment in his work ; 
and though at the beginning of the winter session of 1911-12 the University 
Court had granted him extended leave of absence, his enthusiasm and 
strength of purpose enabled him to attend at the University and award 
the bursaries as late as 21st October. The end came on the morning 
of Friday, 3rd November, in the eighth month of his sixty-first year. He 
was laid to rest on 8th November in the churchyard of Foveran, Aberdeen- 
shire, where his parents are buried, and at the same hour an impressive 
service, attended by a large congregation, which included many students as 
well as representatives of the various public bodies with which he had 
been associated, was held in St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh. 
A letter from the Secretary of the Royal Society of London, announcing 
that the King had been pleased to approve of the recommendation of his 
name for the award of a Royal medal “ on account of his contributions to 
mathematical and physical science, especially, of late years, on the seiches 
of lakes,” arrived in Edinburgh only two hours after his death. It was 
felt by the Council of the Royal Society that the award thus made should 
not be cancelled, but that the medal should be transmitted to his family as 
a visible token of the admiration with which the Society regarded his 
work. In giving his sanction to this proposal, the Royal donor caused also 
the following message to be sent : “ The King trusts that you will be so 
good as to convey to the family the assurance of His Majesty’s sincere 
sympathy in the terrible loss that they have sustained, through which so 
distinguished a career has been brought to a close.” 
