Meantime his malady increased, and he died at Torquay, in January last, in the 60th year of his age. His death has occasioned a blank in pursuits which require a mind of no common order, and his loss will be severely felt by his widow and a numerous circle of friends.

Sir Arthur de Capell BROOKE, who died recently at his seat of Oakley in Northamptonshire, like several other associates who have been recently taken from us, was also one of our earliest members. Though a person of retiring and unostentatious habits, who seemed to have no desire to take that part in public life for which his descent, property, and station befitted him, Sir Arthur had all the spirit of an adventurous traveller. In truth, it was he who had the merit of establishing the Raleigh Club, which has now merged into the Club of the Royal Geographical Society. An original member of the Travellers' Club, which bore in the first instance a geographical character, our deceased associate felt so strongly that many of the newly elected members did not sufficiently represent the spirit of foreign exploration, that in the year 1821 he induced a certain number of his qualified associates to unite with him in setting up a Dinner Club which should bear the name of the illustrious Walter Raleigh. Of this club, which contained the names of most of our leading travellers, including men who had explored Africa, the Indies, America, and the Polar Regions, Sir Arthur Brooke continued to be President for many years, and during all that period, when dinner clubs were more in vogue than at present, I can testify that it was considered a feather in any man's cap to be elected a member of the Raleigh.

Sir Arthur Brooke was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was favourably known to the public as the author of Travels in Norway,' a work which gives a striking picture of the physical features and natural history of that rugged land of glaciers and deep fiords.

Mr. William WEIR, who was suddenly cut off in the midst of his active and useful career as a man of letters, and who had distinguished himself by numerous contributions to the periodical and daily press (latterly as Editor of the 'Daily News'), was a sound geographer.

Reared in the Scottish and German universities, and entering into the profession of the law, his strong and cultivated mind could unquestionably have secured for him a high position in public life, had not an incurable deafness compelled him to abandon

the long robe and take to journalism. At one time this Society was so fortunate as to secure his services as the Editor of its volume; and having then formed his acquaintance, it gives me pleasure to state that I esteemed him as a sensible, right-minded, and truly learned geographer, as well as a man of the kindliest disposition.

It has been well said of Mr. William Weir that he was master of the library of Europe; for he was in himself an encyclopædia of law, history, literature, biography, and bibliography, as well as of geography. Rightly did some of his surviving friends and admirers endeavour to raise a sum of money as a testimonial to his varied merits, in order to assuage the lot and enlarge the narrow means of those with whom Mr. Weir hoped to spend the tranquil evening of his days. Although the appeal has not yet been adequately responded to, I sincerely trust that those who admired his lofty integrity will still unite to effect the praiseworthy object of thus honouring the memory of William Weir.

The Earl of HADDINGTON, who died at the age of 78, was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and, as Lord Binning, represented Rochester in the House of Commons from 1818 to 1826. On the formation of the late Sir Robert Peel's first administration, in December, 1834, he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, a post which he held up to the dissolution of the Government. When Sir Robert Peel again took office, in the autumn of 1841, his Lordship was selected for the post of First Lord of the Admiralty, with a seat in the Cabinet; and seeing the usefulness of our Society in the advancement of nautical science, he joined us in that year. He held the chief naval office up to January, 1846, when he was made Lord Privy Seal, and retained that position until the final dissolution of the Peel Government.

His Lordship, although opposed to the Reform Bill and other measures of the Governments of Earl Grey and Viscount Melbourne, adopted the enlarged views of Sir Robert Peel on the repeal of the corn laws and the commercial reforms which followed. After the retirement of Sir Robert from office, the late Earl rarely interfered in politics. In 1814 his Lordship was made a Privy Councillor, and in 1853 he was installed a Knight of the Order of the Thistle. He was Hereditary Keeper of Holyrood Palace, one of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House, a Trustee of the British and Hunterian Museums, and Deputy-Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire.

LIEUT. GENERAL SIR C. FELIX SMITH, K.C.B. This distinguished officer, who died at Worthing in August last, aged 71, served in

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1807 at the capture of the Danish islands of Santa Cruz, St. Thomas, and St. John; and in 1809 at the siege of Fort Bourbon and the capture of Martinique, where he was wounded. He was senior engineer in charge of Cadiz and its environs, in the operations connected with the battle of Barrosa in 1811, and commanding engineer at Cadiz prior to, and at the raising of, the siege in the following year. He was subsequently present at the combat of Osma, the battle of Vittoria, the actions of Villa Franca and Tolosa, and at the siege of St. Sebastian, in the earlier part of which he acted as commanding engineer. He was afterwards present at the capitulation of Paris, and remained there for some time with the army of occupation.

Sir Felix became a Lieutenant-General in November, 1851, and Colonel-Commandant of the Royal Engineers in 1856. He received a medal and one clasp for his services at Vittoria and at St. Sebastian. In 1814 he was nominated a Knight of the Order of Charles III. for his skill in the gallant defence of Tarifa in 1811. He was Commander of the British military force in Syria, and was severely wounded at St. Jean d'Acre, for which last services he received in 1841 the thanks of both Houses of Parliament.

Sir Belford Hinton WILSON, who was born in 1804, entered the military service of the republic of Columbia in 1822, and attained the rank of Colonel; served as aide-de-camp to General Bolivar from 1822 to December, 1830; became British Consul-General in Peru, April, 1832; Chargé d'Affaires in Peru and in Bolivia, November, 1837; and was Chargé d'Affaires to Venezuela from November, 1842, to November, 1852. He received the Order of the Bath for his diplomatic services.

Major Henry Seymour MONTAGU, a school-fellow and brotherofficer of our respected associate Lieut.-General Sir George Pollock, went to India in 1801, and served in the same regiment as the late Sir William Nott. He was afterwards appointed aide-de-camp to the Earl of Minto, and held several high appointments in India. Having returned to England, he travelled extensively on the continent, and was much attached to geographical pursuits. He was also a warm promoter of various charitable societies.

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR WILLIAM REID, K.C.B.-This highly distinguished officer of Engineers was a man of so observant a mind, and was so possessed of sound sense united with a calm but resolute temperament, that he was by nature destined to succeed in any employment he undertook.

Joining the army of Wellington in 1810, he was present as a subaltern officer of engineers at all the great sieges and battles in the Peninsula, from that date until the close of the war, when he obtained his company. He was afterwards present at the bombardment of Algiers in 1816, and commanded the Engineers under Sir De Lacy Evans in Spain.

In 1832, when employed at Bermuda, and when devising the reconstruction of extensive Government buildings destroyed by a hurricane, he was led to follow out that series of inquiries into the causes of such storms, and collected numerous data to work out their giratory character, which had been shortly before put forth by Mr. Redfield of New York. These effects resulted in Reid's Laws of Storms,' which work, published in 1838, has passed through several editions, and has been translated into various foreign languages, even into Chinese. By the law which he evolved, he taught the mariner that the old method of running before the wind in such storms might lead to destruction, and that true safety was to be sought by veering to the one side or the other, and thus escaping from the whirlwind.

It was infinitely to the credit of my old friend Lord Glenelg, then Colonial Secretary, that in consequence of the talent displayed in that work, his Lordship appointed Colonel Reid to the Government of the Windward Islands; and I mention this circumstance because science is not often so appositely rewarded.

As an administrator, Sir William Reid was never more distinguished than in methodizing and controlling the proceedings of the Great National Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations, with which our Vice Patron the Prince Consort has so eminently identified his name; and His Royal Highness never better demonstrated his right appreciation of true merit than in warmly acknowledging the value of the services of the Chairman of the Executive Committee of that great undertaking, and in procuring for William Reid the honourable distinction of a Knight Commandership of the Order of the Bath, and the Government of Malta.

Possessing a genuine enthusiasm under a calm and tranquil exterior, Sir William not only thoroughly performed his arduous duties at Malta during the Crimean war, but lost no opportunity of improving the estate committed to his charge, by ameliorating its agriculture, replenishing the old library of the knights, and by founding a botanical school for the working classes.

He died in his sixty-sixth year, sincerely regretted by every one who knew him.

Admiral Sir Charles OGLE, Bart., who died in June last, at the age of 83, was the eldest son of Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle, who, like his deceased son, died the senior Admiral in the British navy. Sir Charles Ogle took deep interest in, and was a munificent contributor to, the different charitable institutions connected with the naval service, and had been for many years President of the Royal Naval Benevolent Society.

Vice-Admiral Percy GRACE, a distinguished officer of the old war time, was the brother of Sir W. Grace, Bart.

He began his naval career in 1801 on board the Ganges, 74, and was present at the battle of Copenhagen. He next served on the East and West India and North American stations; and when in the Greyhound, distinguished himself at the capture of the Pallas French frigate and two armed Indiamen. He was then wrecked, and became a prisoner at Manilla and Batavia. Being in the command of some boats as a Lieutenant, he captured two Malays, after a sharp fight, and was wounded. In the boats of the Semiramis frigate, he contributed to the capture of five French vessels, four miles up the Gironde; and about March, 1810, he received the wellmerited thanks of his captain for the part he took in the capture of Le Pluvier of 16 guns. It was not till June, 1814, after having seen more service on the coast of North America, that he was rewarded with the rank of Commander. In command of the Cyrené he displayed much activity on the coast of Africa and in the Mediterranean; and subsequently he became senior officer in the Levant. He was made Post Captain in 1825, and had been an Admiral a few years when he died, to the regret of numerous friends.

CAPTAIN SIR WILLIAM PEEL, R.N.-Of all the naval worthies who have recently been taken from us, no one has been so mourned for by the nation as that chivalrous and noble seaman William Peel, the third son of the late illustrious statesman. It is not for me to attempt to detail his daring exploits in the Black Sea, or when in heading the Naval Brigade in the late Indian warfare he showed what efficient services could be rendered to the army by his hearty and devoted co-operation.

Serving at St. Jean d'Acre as a midshipman, under Admiral Sir R. Stopford, he obtained the rank of Commander in 1846. After distinguishing himself in the Black Sea and Crimea, where he was