May 24, 1858.] 
OBITUARY— BEAUFORT— CON YBE ARE. 
243 
the centre of that group of distinguished explorers and friends of 
the missing navigators — the animus from which proceeded the 
devices and arrangements of the Arctic expeditions. 
As he never abandoned hope, so long as his mind’s eye could 
discern in the distant perspective a single plank of the Erebus 
and Terror , nor shrunk from endeavours, so long as there was 
the remotest chance of saving the life of one of the fine young 
officers and men of Franklin’s ships, I recur with delight to the 
scene when, in his 83rd year and reclined upon his couch, his face 
beamed with joyous hope when he put his hand to that memorial 
which I had the honour to present to tier Majesty’s Govern- 
ment, praying for a last and limited search after the relics of 
the missing expedition. Nor, when that appeal, which sought to 
send a Collinson once more to the area which he had so nearly 
approached, and from which he so skilfully brought back his ship, 
had unfortunately failed, can we forget with what renewed fervour 
the retired and venerable Hydrographer united with us in promoting 
and sustaining the efforts of the magnanimous woman who alone 
undertook the task of sending out the expedition under MUlintock, 
to the issue of which we all now look with such deep anxiety. 
In short, it was a genuine and innate kindness of soul, united 
with the highest moral worth and the brightest intellect, as dis- 
played throughout his long life, that attached every friend to him 
with an abiding regard, and obtained for Francis Beaufort a reputa- 
tion which will endure as long as the English nation shall honour 
one of her truest worthies. 
Sir Francis Beaufort attained the rank of Bear- Admiral in the 
year 1846, and in 1848 was decorated with a Commandership of 
the Bath. He had also the honour to be a Corresponding Member 
of the Institute of France, a d.c.l. of Oxford, and an honorary 
member of various foreign Societies, tie had long been a distin- 
guished Fellow of the Boyal Society ; was one of the founders of 
this Society, and I need scarcely remind you that he was ever the 
most zealous and enlightened supporter of our onward progress. 
In the Obituary of last year I spoke to you of the merits of one of 
the brightest lights of British geological science in the late Dean 
Buckland, and now it is my sad duty to advert to the other kindred 
spirit of the University of Oxford, the Bev. William Conybeare, 
Dean of Llandaff, who, when I entered upon the pursuits of geology, 
was one of my respected leaders, and to whom I became sincerely 
attached. The son of the rector of Bishopsgate, and the grandson 
