Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 7.djvu/288

 for that year contains a sketch of a remarkable theory with regard to the relation of the past and present faunas of the world to one another, — the Theory of the Polar Development of Life in Time. Prof. Forbes's occupation of the Presidential Chair in the Geological Society, however, was but short; for in the spring of 1854, the death of Prof. Jameson placed within his reach the ambition of his life, — the Chair of Natural History in the University which had been his alma mater. Appointed and called upon to enter at once on the duties of this distinguished office, he commenced with what an eminent fellow-worker has well called "the light-hearted intensity peculiar to himself," to conceive and to inaugurate plans of a magnitude proportioned to his great powers and noble aspirations. But a slow, though mortal disease — suspected least of all by himself — had long been undermining his constitution ; and its sudden outbreak, accelerated by over-fatigue and cold, carried him off, after a very short illness, on the 20th of November, 1854. He was buried at Edinburgh, with such great public demonstrations of respect as have been rarely shown, but which after all but faintly represented the profound and universal sorrow.  — Although the unauthenticated intelligence brought recently to England by Dr. Rae respecting Sir John Franklin and his companions does not raise the veil of mystery which shrouds their fate, yet the touching relics of that gallant commander and his brother-officers are unhappily of a nature, not only to awaken the most gloomy thoughts, but to forbid us entertaining any longer the cherished hope that they may be restored to their country.

At an early period of this year, long before the Expeditions which were sent to search for the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' could have returned, and of course prior to the receipt of the recent Esquimaux report, the Admiralty removed the names of Sir John Franklin, his brother-officers and crew from the Navy List. This official act, and the recent melancholy tidings bearing upon their fate, have rendered it necessary to include in the list of deceased Fellows the names of Sir John Franklin and Captain Crozier, both of whom there is too much reason to apprehend have perished in their heroic endeavours to bring to a successful issue the great enterprise confided to them.