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MRKELEY 

LIBRARV 

UNIVERSITY   OF 
CALIFORNIA 


EARTH 
PCIEN 
U0RAR 


LIFE   AND    LETTEES 


OF 


SIB    JOSEPH    PRESTWICH 


LIFE  AND  LETTERS 


OF 


SIR  JOSEPH  PESTWICH 

M.A.,   D.C.L.,  F.R.S. 

FORMERLY  PROFESSOR   OF   GEOLOGY   IN   THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  OXFORD 


WRITTEN    AND    EDITED    BY 

HIS     WIFE 


WILLIAM    BLACKWOOD    AND    SONS 

EDINBURGH    AND    LONDON 

MDCCCXCIX 


EARTH 

SCIENCES 

LIBRARY 


P  E  E  F  A  C  E. 


THIS  Memoir  was  not  undertaken  without  anxious 
misgivings  :  it  might  not  have  been  attempted  but  for 
the  encouragement  and  prompting  of  Sir  John  Evans, 
who  urged  that  I  could  best  tell  of  the  home  life, 
and  that  the  scientific  publications,  by  the  subject  of 
the  Memoir,  had  already  spoken  for  themselves.  I 
accordingly  decided  to  do  my  utmost  in  what,  it  is 
needless  to  say,  has  been  altogether  a  labour  of  love. 
I  have  to  acknowledge  my  special  indebtedness  to 
Sir  Archibald  Geikie  for  his  great  kindness  in  writing 
the  Summary  of  the  Geological  Work  accomplished  by 
Joseph  Prestwich,  as  well  as  for  the  use  of  letters  in  his 
possession.  A  debt  of  gratitude  is  also  due  to  Sir 
John  Evans,  who  not  only  placed  numerous  letters  at 
my  disposal,  but  undertook  the  critical  supervision  of 
the  MS.,  and  was  the  helper  and  adviser  throughout. 
To  Professor  Rupert  Jones  my  warmest  acknowledg- 
ments have  likewise  to  be  made  for  his  ever  kind  co- 
operation ;  and  to  Mr  Horace  B.  Woodward,  of  the 
Geological  Survey,  I  must  record  my  gratitude  for  his 

41 8418 


VI  PREFACE. 

invaluable  assistance,  without  which  it  would  not  have 
been  possible  for  me  to  accomplish  what  has  been 
done  :  to  him  also  is  due  the  arrangement  of  the  List 
of  Published  Papers. 

On  account  (except  in  a  few  cases)  of  the  scarcity  of 
original  letters,  those  from  friends  and  correspondents 
have  been  inserted  when  they  have  served  to  elucidate 
the  subjects  under  discussion  at  the  time.  To  M. 
Albert  Gaudry,  of  the  Institute  of  France,  I  am  in- 
debted for  his  sympathy  and  encouragement,  and  also 
for  allowing  me  the  use  of  letters.  To  Professor 
Capellini  of  Bologna,  and  to  Professor  Louis  Lartet 
of  Toulouse,  I  have  likewise  to  record  my  grateful 
acknowledgments. 

Professor  Jules  Marcou  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
who  took  an  eager  interest  in  the  preparation  of  this 
Memoir,  has,  alas !  not  lived  to  witness  its  completion. 
Mr  William  Colchester,  an  old  and  attached  friend  who 
so  lately  wrote  expressing  his  wish  for  the  speedy  pub- 
lication of  this  volume,  has  likewise  passed  away.  The 
recent  death  of  Sir  Douglas  Galton,  the  dear  friend 
and  companion  of  Joseph  Prestwich  in  geological  ex- 
cursions at  home  and  abroad,  has  been  a  personal  grief, 
and  is  the  severance  of  another  link  with  the  past. 

Among  the  friends  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  letters 
and  data  may  be  mentioned  the  Rev.  R.  Ashington 
Bullen,  the  Rev.  Osmond  Fisher,  Mr  Benjamin  Harri- 
son, Sir  Joseph  D.  Hooker,  Professor  Judd,  Sir  John 
Lubbock,  Mr  Mansel-Pleydell,  Mr  S.  R.  Pattison,  and 
many  others.  I  have  also  to  express  my  thanks  to  Dr 


PREFACE.  Vll 

Henry  Woodward  for  his  ever-ready  helpfulness,  and 
for  the  use  of  the  Plate  for  illustration  of  the  group 
of  the  four  friends — Joseph  Prestwich,  Professor  John 
Morris,  Mr  F.  E.  Edwards,  and  Mr  Searles  Wood. 
The  kindness  of  Mrs  Lyell  (author  of  the  '  Life  and 
Letters  of  Sir  Charles  Lyell ')  has  made  it  possible  to 
introduce  several  letters  to  Sir  Charles.  I  have  also 
to  thank  Mr  Roderick  F.  Murchison  for  the  loan  of 
several  letters  to  Sir  Roderick  I.  Murchison ;  and  Mrs 
Mason  Hoppin  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  U.S.A., 
for  so  kindly  obtaining  information  about  the  Great 
Seal  of  the  United  States.  To  none  am  I  more  in- 
debted than  to  my  three  sisters,  Isabella,  Margaret, 
and  Louisa  E.  Milne,  who  have  given  constant  and 
loving  aid  in  the  preparation  of  the  MS.  for  the 
printer. 

G.  A.  P. 

DARENT-HULME,  No.y  1899. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

1812-1830. 

ANCESTRY    AND     YOUTH. 

Letter  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  Hulme  Hall.  Sir  Thomas  Prestwich, 
Baronet.  Medal  given  by  Charles  I.  to  Sir  Thomas  Prestwich. 
Sir  John  Prestwich.  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States.  Parentage. 
Birth.  Autobiography.  Childhood.  School-days  in  Paris.  Sonnet. 
School-days  at  Norwood  and  Reading.  Home  Life  and  Character. 
University  College.  Oil  Painting.  Early  Geological  Studies.  Visit 
to  Broseley  ........ 


CHAPTER    II. 
1830-1834. 

CITY   AND   HOME   LIFE — ZETETICAL   SOCIETY — VISITS   TO   SHROPSHIRE 
—NATURAL   HISTORY   SOCIETY. 

Home  Studies.  Scheme  for  Work.  Geological  Rambles.  Autobio- 
graphy. Coalbrook  Dale.  City  Life.  Diary.  Chemistry  and 
Physics.  Industry  and  Frugality.  Temperament  and  Character. 
Geological  Society.  Business  Journeys.  Acquisition  and  Advan- 
tages of  Knowledge  .  .  .  .  .  .  .26 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    III. 

1834-1849. 

GEOLOGY   OF   COALBROOK   DALE   AND   GAMBLE — TERTIARY  MEMOIRS. 

Journey  to  Scotland.  Edinburgh.  Banffshire.  British  Association 
at  Bristol.  Visit  to  Ireland.  Business  and  Science.  Recreation. 
Geological  Society  of  France.  Isle  of  Arran.  Note-books.  Shake- 
speare's Cliff.  Isle  of  Wight.  Palseontographical  Society.  Visit 
to  Germany.  Boppart.  Water-  cure.  Bagshot  Sands.  William 
Lonsdale.  Geological  Society  Club.  Wollaston  Medal.  Studies 
of  the  Drift.  Denudation  of  the  Weald.  Metropolitan  Drainage. 
Geological  Excursions  .  .  .  .  .  .45 

CHAPTER    IV. 

1849-1858. 

EASTER  EXCURSIONS— 'THE   WATER-BEARING   STRATA '—' THE   GROUND 
BENEATH   US  ' — FURTHER   TERTIARY   MEMOIRS. 

Death  of  his  Mother.  Letter  to  his  Niece,  Sophia  Scott.  Water- 
supply.  Dr  Fitton  on  Neocomian.  Godwin- Austen.  Murchison. 
Business  and  Geology.  Holmfirth  Flood.  Geological  Papers. 
Geological  Society  of  France.  Edward  Forbes.  Royal  Society. 
De  la  Beche.  Sedgwick.  Valley  Gravels.  High  -  level  Gravel. 
Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  Geological  Society.  City  Life.  Death 
of  his  Father.  Civil  Prestwich.  Letters  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell  on 
Correlation  of  Tertiary  Strata.  Meeting  with  Mr  John  Evans. 
Dr  J.  D.  Hooker  and  Eocene  Plants.  Leonard  Horner  .  .  75 


CHAPTER    V. 

1858-1859. 

BRIXHAM   CAVE — FLINT   IMPLEMENTS — VISITS  TO   ABBEVILLE 
— GOWER   CAVES. 

Hugh  Falconer.  Fossil  Mammals.  Switzerland.  Folkestone.  Boucher 
de  Perthes.  Caves  near  Palermo.  Antiquity  of  Man.  Amiens. 
Hoxne.  Forged  Implements.  Fossil  Elephants.  Cyrena.  Sequence 
of  Drifts.  Charles  Kingsley.  Ice-action  in  Wales.  Robert  Cham- 
bers. Menchecourt.  Overton  Longville  .  .  .  .110 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER    VI. 

1860-1863. 
ANTIQUITY  OF   MAX — FIELD   GEOLOGY — GEOLOGICAL  .MAPS. 

Letters  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  Letter  to  his  Sister,  C.  Thurburn. 
Somme  Valley.  Gower  Caves.  Raised  Beach  and  Boulder  Clay 
of  Gower.  Boulder  Clay  of  North  Wales.  Geological  Excursions. 
Rev.  John  Gunn.  Visits  to  Northamptonshire,  Yorkshire,  and  the 
Eastern  Counties.  Preservation  of  Bones.  St  Acheul.  Reculvers. 
James  Wyatt.  Bedford.  Grays.  Moel  Tryfaen  and  Glacial  Sub- 
mergence. Letter  from  Mr  Ruskin.  Memoir  on  the  Drift.  Re- 
port on  Wines.  Geological  Excursions.  Geological  Survey. 
Greenough  Geological  map.  Athenaeum  Club.  Lyell's  '  Antiquity 
of  Man'  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .145 

CHAPTER    VII. 

1863-1870. 

HUMAN   JAW   OF  ABBEVILLE — ROYAL   COAL   COMMISSION — ROYAL   WATER 
COMMISSION — PRESIDENCY   OF   THE   GEOLOGICAL   SOCIETY. 

Moulin  Quignon  and  the  Fossil  Human  Jaw.  Owen  versus  Huxley. 
Flint  Implements.  Commission  of  Inquiry  at  Paris,  Bedford. 
Abbeville.  Geological  Excursions.  Lecture  at  the  Royal  Insti- 
tution. Social  Life.  Royal  Commission  on  Water.  Death  of 
Falconer.  Sangatte.  Geological  Excursions.  Receives  a  Royal 
Medal.  Purchase  of  Land  near  Shoreham.  The  Grounds  of  Darent- 
Hulme.  Royal  Commission  on  Coal.  Prestwichia.  Bovey  Tracey. 
The  Foundations  of  St  Paul's  Cathedral.  Work  and  Recreation. 
Memoirs  on  the  Crag.  Removal  to  Darent  -  Hulme.  Geological 
Excursions.  President  of  the  Geological  Society  .  .  .178 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

1870-1S74. 

MARRIAGE — VISIT   TO   PARIS — ITALY — RETIREMENT   FROM   THE   CITY — 
AIX-LES-BAINS — PROFESSORSHIP   OF   GEOLOGY   AT   OXFORD. 

Paris.  Mentone.  Genoa.  Italian  Caves.  Naples.  Mrs  Somerville. 
Eastern  Counties.  Address  to  Geological  Society  on  Deep-sea 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

Life.  Home  life  at  Darent-Hulme.  Professor  Morris.  Visit  to 
St  Andrews.  Gardening.  Address  to  Geological  Society  on  Springs 
and  Water-supply,  and  on  Coals  and  Coal-supply.  Geological  Ex- 
cursions. J.  F.  Campbell.  Retirement  from  Business.  Geological 
Work.  Boulogne.  Aix-les-Bains.  Weymouth,  the  Isle  of  Portland, 
and  the  Chesil  Beach.  The  Boulonnais.  Reviews.  Deep-sea 
Temperatures.  The  Channel  Tunnel.  Colonel  E.  R.  Wood.  The 
Settle  Cave  216 


CHAPTER    IX. 

1874-1878. 

OXFORD— FIELD   GEOLOGY  IN  ENGLAND,   FRANCE,  WALES, 
AND   SCOTLAND. 

Professor  of  Geology  at  Oxford.  Excursion  of  Geologists'  Association. 
Visit  to  North  Devon.  Reception  at  Oxford.  Letter  from  Mr 
Ruskin.  Letter  from  Mr  Robert  Mallet.  Geological  Papers.  Visit 
to  Hayling  Island  and  Fareham.  Field  Classes.  Life  at  Oxford. 
Darent  -  Hulme.  Malvern  Drift.  Eastbourne.  Death  of  his 
Brother.  The  Boulonnais.  The  Bible  and  Geology.  Excursion 
to  East  Hendred.  Letter  from  Prof.  Tyndall.  Driving  Tour  to 
Warwick  and  Charnwood  Forest.  The  Baronetcy.  Plan  for 
Easter  Excursion.  Geology  and  Mathematics.  The  Earth's  Crust. 
Easter  Excursion.  Proposed  as  President  of  the  British  Associa- 
tion. Paris  and  the  Pyrenees.  San  Sebastian.  South  Wales. 
Rhos  Sili  Bay  and  Haverfordwest.  Journey  to  Lochaber.  Glencoe, 
Glen  Spean,  and  the  Parallel  Roads  of  Glen  Roy.  Ken-era  and 
Oban.  Ayr,  Stranraer,  and  Carlisle.  Loughborough.  Eastbourne. 
The  Older  Rocks  under  London  249 


CHAPTER    X. 

1878-1888. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  REUNION  EXTRAORDINAIRE  OF  THE  FRENCH  GEOLOGI- 
CAL SOCIETY  AT  BOULOGNE  — TEXT -BOOK  ON  *  GEOLOGY  '—  PRESIDENT 
OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  GEOLOGICAL  CONGRESS. 

Coal-measures  in  the  South  of  England.  Hydro-geological  Map  of  the 
Thames  Basin.  National  Water-supply.  The  Parallel  Roads  of 
Glen  Roy.  Letters  from  J.  F.  Campbell  and  C.  Darwin.  Visit  to 
Tenby  and  St  David's.  Narberth.  Flint  Implements  from  near 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

Ightham.  Illness  and  death  of  Charles  Falconer.  Colleges  for 
Women.  Iguanodon  Prestivichii.  Darent-Hulme.  Channel  Islands. 
Isle  of  Wight.  British  Association,  Swansea.  Ashmolean  Society. 
George  Rolleston.  Geological  Papers.  British  Association  at  York 
and  Southampton.  Henry  J.  S.  Smith.  William  Spottiswoode. 
Huxley.  Jules  Marcou.  Water  -  supply  of  Oxford.  J.  Gvvyn 
Jeffreys.  The  Institute  of  France.  Dr  W.  B.  Carpenter.  Origin 
of  Flints.  Plateau  Implements  and  River  Drift.  Regional  Meta- 
morphism.  Prof.  J.  W.  Judd.  Text-book  of  Geology.  Letter  from 
W.  E.  Gladstone.  Isle  of  Sheppey.  Prof.  C.  Lapworth.  Oxford 
Memories.  Glacial  Period.  Departure  from  Oxford.  Inter- 
national Geological  Congress.  William  Colchester.  Dean  Liddell. 
Plateau  Implements.  International  Geological  Congress.  Honor- 
ary Degree  of  D.C.L.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .296 


CHAPTER    XL 

1888-1895. 

PLATEAU  IMPLEMENTS  OF  KENT — LETTERS  ON  POST-GLACIAL  SUBMERGENCE 
— CORRESPONDING  MEMBER  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  OF  THE  LINCEI 
—VICE-PRESIDENT  OF  THE  GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY  OF  FRANCE. 

Geologists'  Association.  Chalk  Escarpment.  Letter  from  Sir  Andrew 
Clark.  Westleton  Beds.  Note-books  and  Maps.  Parish  Work. 
The  Solent  River.  Dr  H.  P.  Blackmore.  Home  Life.  Raised 
Beaches  and  "Head."  Alderbury.  Geological  Work.  J.  W. 
Hulke.  The  Right  Hon.  T.  H.  Huxley.  S.  R.  Pattison.  Uni- 
formitarianism.  Studies  on  Glacial  Drifts  and  Glaciation.  The 
Ightham  Fissures.  Physics  and  Geology.  The  Flood.  Plateau 
Implements.  Death  of  Mrs  Russell  Scott.  Prof.  T.  Rupert  Jones. 
Letters  from  Canon  Greenwell  and  W.  E.  Gladstone.  Geological 
Publications.  Letter  from  the  Duke  of  Argyll.  The  Rev.  R.  A. 
Bullen.  Tradition  of  the  Flood.  Nature  and  Art.  A  Challenge. 
Friendships  abroad.  Daubree.  Geological  Pupils .  .  .  346 


CHAPTER    XII. 

1895-1896. 
LAST     DAYS. 

Home  Life.    Final  Writings.    Autobiography.     Illness.     Knighthood. 

Last  Days.     Death.     Letters  of  Sympathy  .  .  .  .392 


XIV  CONTENTS. 


SUMMARY  OP  THE  SCIENTIFIC  WORK  OF  SIR  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH,  D.C.L., 
F.R.S.  BY  SIR  ARCHIBALD  GEIKIE,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S.,  DIRECTOR-GENERAL  OF 
THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEYS  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM. 

Origin  of  Kiver  Valleys.  Researches  on  Deep-sea  Life  and  Tempera- 
tures. Chesil  Bank.  Volcanic  Geology.  Metamorphism.  Coal- 
brookdale.  Memoirs  on  Eocene  Strata.  Correlation  of  Formations. 
Memoirs  on  the  Crag  Strata.  Antiquity  of  Man.  River-deposits. 
Later  Geological  Changes.  Raised  Beaches.  Evidence  of  a  Great 
Submergence  of  Western  Europe.  Practical  Applications  of  Geol- 
ogy. Text-book.  Uniformitarianism.  Personality  .  .  402 


LIST     OF    PAPERS,    BOOKS,     ETC.,     BY     SIR     JOSEPH     PRESTWICH,     M.A., 

D.C.L.,   F.R.S.,    ETC.          .......  422 

LIST  OF  SOCIETIES   TO  WHICH   SIR  JOSEPH   PRESTWICH   BELONGED  .  433 

INDEX  434 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

SIR  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH  (with  signature)  .  .       Frontispiece 

HULME   HALL          ........  2 

MEDAL   GIVEN   BY   CHARLES   I.    TO   SIR  THOMAS   PRESTWICH         .  .  3 

THE   GREAT   SEAL   OP   THE   UNITED    STATES  ....  6 

PROFESSOR  JOHN   MORRIS  ......  32 

JOSEPH   PRESTWICH  ...  66 

R.   A.    C.    GODWIN-AUSTEN,   F.R.S.  .  .      •  .  .82 

FACSIMILE  OF  PAGE  OF  NOTE-BOOK:   RAISED  BEACH  AT  BRAUNTON,  1855        102 
SIR  JOHN   EVANS,   K.C.B.  ......         104 

DR   HUGH   FALCONER,    F.R.S.  .  .  .  .  .  .110 

M.    BOUCHER   DE   PERTHES  ......         118 

A    CONFERENCE     ON     FLINT     IMPLEMENTS  :     PRESTWICH,     S.     V.     WOOD, 

J.    MORRIS,   AND   F.    E.    EDWARDS    .....         126 

SIR   DOUGLAS   GALTON,   K.C.B.  .  .  .  .  .162 

FACSIMILE   OF   LETTER   WRITTEN   BY   JOSEPH   PRESTWICH  .  .168 

DARENT-HULME  ...  ...         198 

THE   DINING-ROOM,  DARENT-HULME          .....         200 

PRESTWICHIA    (LIMULUS)   EOTUNDATA,    PRESTW.    ....         202 

SIR   WARINGTON   W.    SMYTH,   F.R.S.  .  .  .         210 

SIR   HENRY   D.    ACLAND,    BART.     ...  .         250 

SECTIONS   OF  THE   DRIFT   AT   HALVE RN   .....         263 

ROBERT   ETHERIDGE,   F.R.S.  -  •         308 

PLATEAU   IMPLEMENTS      .......         356 

PROFESSOR   T.    RUPERT   JONES,   F.R.S.        .....         376 

DIAGRAM    SHOWING   MODE   OF   OCCURRENCE    OF    PLATEAU   IMPLEMENTS         386 


And  Nature,  the  old  nurse,  took 
The  child  upon  her  knee, 

Saying,  '  Here  is  a  story-book 
Thy  Father  has  written  for  thee.1 

'  Come,  wander  with  me,'  she  said, 
'  Into  regions  yet  untrod  ; 

And  read  what  is  still  unread 
In  the  manuscripts  of  God.'  " 


SIE   JOSEPH   PBESTWICH. 


CHAPTEE    I. 
ANCESTRY   AND   YOUTH. 

THE  family  of  Prestwich  of  Prestwich  1  and  Hulme, 
from  whom  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  descended, 
were  holders  of  land  in  the  county  of  Lancaster  at 
a  very  early  date.  In  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century 
they  possessed  estates  in  this  county,  and  the  name 
occurs  as  Prestwych  or  Prestwich  again  and  again, 
now  in  one  reign,  now  in  another  of  the  early  English 
kings,  chiefly  in  records  touching  tenures  of  land, 
marriages,  &c.  In  1301,  among  the  nine  witnesses  to 
Thomas  de  Grelle's  charter  to  the  burgesses  of  Man- 
chester, are  the  signatures  of  Adam  de  Prestwiche,  the 
fifth  witness,  and  Johe  de  Prestwyche,  the  ninth. 

A  curious  document  among  the  family  papers  is  the 
copy  of  a  letter  now  in  the  British  Museum,  and  dated 
2nd  April  1573,  from  Queen  Elizabeth  "  To  our  trusty e 
and  well -beloved  Edmunde  Prestwyche  Ar."  After 
recounting  the  necessity  of  putting  the  kingdom  in 
a  state  of  defence,  "the  Queene"  requires  from  him 

1  The  village  of  Prestwich  is  situated  on  the  Coal  Measures,  about  three 
and  a  half  miles  north-west  of  Salford. 


I,  In-  lo;.n  of  "  ;i,  me.  ,ii'-  p..  i  Ion  of  monyn  I  -  nl  ill  Homn 
furlher  iv;,Hon;d,le  Myde  may  !.«•  .  JMV.-II  DM  hy  I  In-.  whole 
rnalmn,  .  .  .  and  Uinrnfon-  having  niM.de  <  !ho;  •  •  <•  of 

you  II'.  i  yuill  A  hihl  \  •«•  «ood  \vill  yolle  Ix-an-  lo  n  .  :md 
our  LV.dim  wci:  reojiiyn  .'.u  l.o  |»,iy  l.o  our  ii:,e  Tin* 

Minium-   of  liiriy.    |.O,II,(]H;'   (fee,,  &o,      "The 
"".'I  •     |.iovi:.ioi,  for  its  early  repayment, 

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<»!'  I  .Im  I  S'nMtvv 


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l»y  Sit-  Mdwnrd  Monnlcy,  who  loft  it,  together  with  his  other 

nil  nl  ivi,  l«>    In:    iliiii!'lil..-i     Aim.  \\ilr    ..  I    Sir   .lolm     r.l.in.l,    I'.inoiir!  , 
who   111.  nil-  ii    In-i   i  liit-i    ic  •  i.lcin  •!-.      A!  I  In-  (Iciil.h  nf  Ilirir  MOM,  Sii 

.i.-lni    I'.l  ui.l.  I'..  m.  in  i    il    u.i.     ..I.  I    i..   (i.  I  l..\.l.  I'  .|     .;i  •!    it,   now 

I"    I  IM      I  Mil.i-   «.|'    I'.i  nl"c\\;ili-r. 


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thn    vtMUU'iihlti    JM|(^   ol'    huildin^H    into    Iliirlv    or    forty 

OOttn^'O-UuUUH^nt/H,  <»l  \\lildi  l»ul  III  Mr  if  ;in\  \c;,h"r 
iio\\  rrin.'illiM.  Thr  c:ir\cil  «>,ik  jcuicl,1;,  \\hicli  drcor.M  t  rd 
Ihn  hrHt  room:;,  wnrr  |  >n  rcl  1:1;  ;<•«  I  l»\  I  lie  M;irl  of  Mlh^S- 
Ilinrn  Mild  rrinoxrd  lo  \\oi;;|<  \  I  hill.  Tho  MC-tllld  Slt(^ 
of  I  Illlinn  I  1,'dl  \\  ,i:;  ;il»onl  .1  .  ju.i  i  I  <<r  of  M.  inilr  \\  <  •  :;l  <•!'  St 
(  l(MH'tJ^(Vn  (  'liurcli,  i\l;i  iii-lic;,!  cr,  in  ;i  Ir.icl  IIONV  tmvrrsrd 
by  (he  M.Miiehc.'iler  S<»u(h  .1  uuci  ioli  Mhd  A  II  rinrlmm 
Kail  way, 

A  lllioll^'ll   tll(^  e,-;l  ;i  I  e;;  of  I  ho   Illlltily  lirn   MOW   all   OWIltul 

l>y    olhiM'M,    Mild    Mllhoiij^h    ,so    le\\     Miirvivo    (<>    hriir    tlu^ 


SIR   THOMAS    PRESTWTCH.  3 

name,  yet  it  will  never  pass  into  oblivion.  For  several 
centuries  it  had  been  handed  down  in  the  Prestwich 
gallery  in  the  Cathedral  or  Collegiate  Church  in  Man- 
chester, where  many  of  the  race  found  their  last  rest- 
ing-place. The  gallery  itself  no  longer  exists.  It  is, 
moreover,  remembered  in  Manchester  that  the  gift 
of  its  first  free  library  was  made  by  the  Rev.  John 
Prestwich,  Fellow  of  All  Souls',  and  brother  of  Sir 
Thomas  of  the  Civil  Wars. 

A  baronetcy  was  conferred  on  Sir  Thomas  Prestwich, 
on  the  25th  April  1644,  by  Charles  L,  on  the  field  of 
battle  outside  Oxford,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his 
services  to  the  royal  cause,  and  in  especial  for  having 
raised  a  troop  of  horse  at  his  own  cost.  Several  small 
gold  medals  or  badges  were  then  Struck  off  bearing  the 
effigy  of  the  ill-fated  king.  One  of  these  badges,  given 
to  the  new-made  Baronet  at  Oxford,  is  in  the  keeping 
of  the  writer. 


Medal  given  by  Charles  I.  to  Sir  Thomas  Prestimch. 
(Twice  the  actual  size.) 

As   may   be   understood,  the   Prestwiches   were   greatly   im- 
poverished by  the  sacrifices  they  had  made  on  behalf  of  the 


4  SIR   JOHN   PRESTWICH. 

Crown.  At  the  head  of  the  [Eoyalist]  party  in  Manchester  we 
find  the  names  of  Holland,  Egerton,  Prestwich,  Stanley,  &c. 
Sequestration  and  confiscation  were  put  in  force  against  the  con- 
quered in  a  manner  most  revolting.  It  was  after  this  that  in 
1660  the  sale  of  Hulme  Hall  took  place,  and  this  sale  was  con- 
firmed by  Act  of  Parliament  in  1673.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War,  Sir  Thomas  refused  to  give  further  assistance  to  the 
royal  cause,  but  that  his  mother  prevailed  upon  him  to  continue 
his  allegiance,  telling  him  that  she  had  hidden  treasures  where- 
with to  supply  his  needs ;  but  unfortunately  the  old  lady  was 
seized  with  apoplexy,  and  died  before  she  could  reveal  her 
secret. 

It  was  supposed  that  this  treasure  was  buried  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Hulme  Hall,  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards  gipsies 
wandering  about  the  country  made  considerable  profit  out  of 
this  by  selling  the  secret,  which  they  pretended  to  know. 

The  baronetcy  had  been  for  many  years  in  abeyance, 
when  it  was  assumed  by  John  Prestwich  (a  cousin  of 
our  geologist's  father) ;  but  his  claim  to  the  title  was 
not  legally  acknowledged  :  he  was  not  descended  from 
the  first  baronet,  but  from  his  cousin,  and  from  a 
younger  son  of  that  cousin.  The  father  and  grand- 
father of  the  geologist  repeatedly  stated  that  they 
were  in  possession  of  papers  showing  their  descent. 
One  day,  however,  the  father  went  to  an  election  with 
the  said  papers  in  his  pocket ;  on  returning  home  the 
pocket  was  empty,  and  the  papers  have  never  since 
been  heard  of. 

Sir  John,  who  left  no  family,  was  greatly  interested 
in  the  Prestwich  genealogy,  and  many  volumes  in  MS., 
containing  extracts  from  documents  in  the  British 
Museum,  heralds'  visitations,  deeds,  &c.,  which  related 
to  the  subject,  were  written  by  him  with  extreme  care. 
He  was  a  Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  and  a 
manuscript  by  him  on  Earthquakes  was  published  in 


GREAT    SEAL    OF    UNITED    STATES.  5 

1870  by  our  Joseph  Prestwich  in  the  *  Geological  Maga- 
zine '  for  that  year.  In  1775  his  book  on  'Mineral, 
Animal,  and  Vegetable  Poisons '  appeared ;  but  he  is 
best  known  by  a  work  published  in  1787,  entitled 
'  Respublica,  or  a  Display  of  the  Honours,  Ceremonies, 
and  Enseignes  of  the  Commonwealth  under  the  Pro- 
tectorship of  Oliver  Cromwell,'  &c. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  is  to  this  Sir  John 
Prestwich  that  the  United  States  are  indebted  for  the 
design  of  their  Great  Seal.  Three  committees  had  been 
appointed,  one  after  another,  to  prepare  a  seal,  but  as 
none  of  their  designs  gave  satisfaction  to  Congress,  on 
June  13th  of  the  same  year  (1782)  the  whole  matter 
was  finally  referred  by  that  body  to  Charles  Thomson, 
its  secretary. 

He  procured  several  devices,  among  them  an  elaborate  one 
by  William  Barton  of  Philadelphia ;  but  none  of  them  met  with 
approval  until  John  Adams,  then  in  London,  sent  him  a  design 
suggested  by  Sir  John  Prestwich,  an  Englishman  who  was  a 
warm  friend  of  America  and  an  accomplished  antiquarian. 

It  was  described  in  1782  as  follows  :— 

Arms. — Paleways  of  thirteen  pieces,  argent  and  gules  ;  a  chief 
azure ;  the  escutcheon  on  the  breast  of  the  American  eagle  dis- 
played proper,  holding  in  his  dexter  talon  an  olive  branch,  and 
in  his  sinister  a  bundle  of  thirteen  arrows,  all  proper,  and  in  his 
beak  a  scroll  inscribed  with  this  motto :  E  Pluribus  Unum. 

For  the  Crest. — Over  the  head  of  the  eagle,  which  appears 
above  the  escutcheon,  a  glory  or  breaking  through  a  cloud 
proper,  and  surrounding  thirteen  stars,  forming  a  constellation, 
argent  on  an  azure  field. 

Reverse. — A  pyramid  unfinished.  In  the  zenith  an  eye  in  a 
triangle,  surrounded  with  a  glory  proper.  Over  the  eye  these 
words,  Annuit  Cceptis  (God  has  favoured  the  undertaking).  On 
the  base  of  the  pyramid  the  numerals  MDCCLXXVI.,  and 


6 


PARENTAGE. 


underneath  the  following  motto  :  Novus  Or  do  Soeculorum  ("A 
New  Series  of  Ages  "),  denoting  that  a  new  order  of  things  had 
commenced  in  the  Western  World  —  or  freely  translated,  "A 
new  era/' 


The  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States. 

This  design  of  Sir  John  Prestwich's,  which  was 
adopted  as  being  the  simplest  and  most  significant 
of  any  submitted,  still  remains  the  arms  of  the 
United  States.  "  It  was  strange "  (as  the  writer  of 
the  paragraph  in  an  American  paper  observed)  "  that 
after  six  years  spent  in  deliberation,  Congress  should 
have  finally  adopted  a  design  by  one  of  a  nation  with 
whom  America  was  then  at  war." 

But  all  our  interest  centres  in  the  Prestwich  whose 
life  we  shall  now  attempt  to  trace.  His  father,  Joseph, 
after  whom  he  was  named,  was  one  of  a  firm  of  wine 
merchants  in  Mark  Lane,  who  imported,  and  supplied 
the  trade  in  the  provinces  as  well  as  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland.  Joseph  Prestwich,  senior,  was  the  only  son 
of  Elias  Prestwich  of  Broseley  in  Shropshire  (whose 
grandparents  had  migrated  there  from  Ireland,  one 
of  the  family  having  taken  refuge  and  settled  there 
during  the  Civil  Wars) ;  and  his  wife  was  Catherine, 


PARENTAGE.  7 

the  only  surviving  daughter  of  Edward  Blakeway,  the 
squire  of  Broseley.  It  was  in  Clapham,  and  amid  its 
then  rural  surroundings,  that  the  father  and  mother  of 
our  Joseph  Prestwich  began  their  married  life. 

Early  in  the  century  Clapham  and  its  neighbourhood 
were  very  different  suburbs  of  London  from  what  they 
are  to-day.  The  fields  and  green  lanes  of  those  years 
have  vanished,  and  their  place  has  been  invaded  by 
ever-extending  blocks  of  brick  and  mortar.  At  that 
time  comfortable  houses  stood  in  their  own  grounds 
or  gardens,  the  gardens  generally  merging  into  pro- 
ductive orchards.  Now  coal-trucks  and  sheds  cover 
sites  which  were  noted  for  their  heavy  crops  of  fruit. 
Then  railways  were  unknown,  nor  had  tram-cars,  which 
run  in  rapid  succession  in  the  now  noisy  thoroughfares, 
ever  been  heard  of.  In  short,  the  aspect  of  the  place 
is  altogether  changed. 

Of  the  parents  of  Joseph  Prestwich  it  may  be  re- 
marked that  his  father  was  a  man  of  ability,  widely 
read,  with  a  knowledge  of  art,  who  enjoyed  nothing 
more  than  his  tours  and  journeys  in  France  and  Hol- 
land, when  he  was  occasionally  accompanied  by  his 
wife.  Foreign  travel  was  then  for  the  few,  and  was 
not  made  easy  for  the  many.  He  was  of  a  sanguine 
temperament,  racy  and  witty — "  very  good  company," 
as  a  relative  explained,  when  describing  his  ever-ready 
repartee. 

The  mother  of  our  geologist,  to  whom  throughout 
life  he  was  tenderly  attached,  was  the  eldest  of  seven. 
Three  of  the  little  Blakeways  died  in  childhood,  and 
the  survivors  were  Catherine,  Edward,  John,  and 
James.  Catherine  (Mrs)  Prestwich  was  greatly  be- 
loved by  her  family  and  friends  :  she  was  entirely 
domestic,  sweet -natured,  and  refined — a  good  wife  and 


8  PARENTAGE. 

an  affectionate  mother.  She  made  a  happy  home,  and 
her  distinguished  son  in  after-years  often  acknowledged 
that  he  could  not  have  accomplished  the  work  that  he 
did  but  for  the  advantages  of  this  quiet  and  cheer- 
ful abode. 

Mrs  Prestwich  was  cast  in  a  different  mould  from 
her  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Prytherch.  Mr 
Blakeway  of  Broseley  had  been  some  time  a  widower 
when  he  confided  to  his  friend  the  Rev.  Stephen 
Prytherch,  the  vicar  of  Leigh  ton  (who  had  a  bevy 
of  very  handsome  daughters),  that  his  home  was 
lonely  and  that  he  wished  to  marry  again  :  would  he 
give  him  one  of  his  daughters?  The  vicar  was  de- 
lighted, but  the  question  was,  Which  ?  His  advice, 
"  Better  take  the  eldest,"  was  followed.  It  was  a 
wooing  not  long  a  -  doing,  and  Catherine  Prytherch 
soon  became  Mrs  Blakeway  of  Broseley  Hall.  Al- 
though there  was  great  disparity  in  age,  the  squire 
being  thirty  years  the  lady's  senior,  she  made  an 
excellent  wife,  and  they  became  an  attached  couple. 
But  she  was  a  strange  mother :  she  made  a  point 
of  sending  all  her  children  out  to  nurse  soon  after 
their  birth,  so  as  to  have  no  further  trouble  with 
them.  They  were  placed  with  a  much  -  respected 
Quaker  family,  and  their  father,  who  was  fond  of 
his  children,  rode  daily  over  to  see  them.  Mrs 
Prestwich  used  to  say  that  the  amusement  which 
she  and  her  little  brothers  liked  best  was  sitting  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  and  listening  to  the  sound  of 
the  water.  Their  mother  took  no  more  concern  about 
them  until  they  were  sent  home  old  enough  to  be 
packed  off  to  school.  Thus  mother  and  daughter 
were  very  unlike :  Mrs  Blakeway  with  her  marked 
individuality  and  strong  will,  -  -  her  daughter,  Mrs 


1812.]  BIRTH.  9 

Prestwich,  all  unselfishness  and  gentleness,  and  full  of 
though tfulness  for  others.  The  Blakeways  had  been 
connected  with  the  Church  for  many  generations,  and 
a  kinsman,  the  Rev.  John  Brickenden  Blakeway,  rector 
of  St  Mary's,  Shrewsbury,  was  joint  author  with  Arch- 
deacon Owen  of  a  '  History  of  Shropshire.' 

Mr  and  Mrs  Prestwich  had  ten  children,  three  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  The  eldest  surviving  was  our 
geologist,  who  was  born  at  Pensbury,  Clapham,  on  the 
12th  March  1812,  and  whose  death  took  place  at 
Darent-Hulme,  Shoreham  in  Kent,  on  the  23rd  June 
1896.  He  was  the  second  of  the  name,  the  first-born 
Joseph  having  lived  only  a  few  months.  Thus  the  two 
sons  and  five  daughters  were  Joseph,  Isabella  Civil, 
Catherine,  Eliza,  Emily,  Edward  Elias,  and  Civil  Mary. 
The  two  survivors  are  Eliza  (Mrs  Tomkins)  and  Emily 
Prestwich. 

Among  the  family  papers  there  are  forty-two  little 
volumes  of  pocket-books  containing  brief  diaries  which 
were  kept  by  our  Joseph  Prestwich's  mother,  and  which 
date  from  the  year  of  her  marriage,  1809,  to  1850,  the 
year  of  her  death.  The  entries  are  short,  being  only  a 
few  sentences  recording  the  events  of  each  day.  But 
the  volume  for  1812  has  a  pathetic  interest:  when  a 
second  little  Joseph  had  arrived  to  replace  the  first- 
born, the  daily  entries  betray  the  constant  motherly 
anxiety,  and  every  symptom  of  the  health  of  the 
infant  is  recorded.  We  give  no  extract :  the  reading 
was  intended  for  a  mother's  eyes.  In  the  diaries  of 
the  next  few  years  there  is  only  occasional  allusion 
to  little  Joseph,  since  other  children  had  been  born 
to  share  in  and  claim  the  maternal  care.  It  is  evident, 
however,  that  the  boy  was,  like  most  healthy  little 
boys,  restlessly  active,  with  a  tendency  to  lead  his 


10  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  [l817. 

small  sisters  into  trouble.  At  the  tender  age  of 
five  the  child  was  placed  as  a  boarder  at  a  school 
about  a  mile  distant.  This  early  launching  into  life 
will  be  told  in  his  own  words,  in  a  few  pages  of  an 
autobiography  which  nearly  eighty  years  later  Joseph 
Prestwich  had  been  urged  to  write,  and  which  had 
only  just  been  begun  in  those  last  months  when  he 
was  attacked  by  fatal  illness : — 

I  must  have  been  a  mischievous  boy.  At  five  years  of  age 
I  was  sent  to  school.  The  last  misdemeanour  which  led  to  it 
was  this.  Our  house  at  Lavender  Hill  stood  in  a  large  garden 
and  orchard  in  which  was  a  fish-pond.  One  fine  summer's  day 
the  nurse  was,  I  am  told,  sent  to  fetch  us  children  and  put  us  to 
bed.  Preferring  an  outdoor  life,  I  persuaded  my  little  sister, 
who  was  eighteen  months  younger  than  myself,  to  hide  in  the 
pond,  where  I  felt  sure  they  would  never  seek  us.  Accordingly 
we  marched  in  until  the  water  was  up  to  our  necks,  and  there 
we  might  have  remained,  heedless  of  the  cries  of  the  nurse,  until 
what  I  judged  would  be  a  fitter  time  for  bed,  had  not  my  sister 
betrayed  us  by  an  uncontrollable  fit  of  laughter. 

The  school  to  which  I  was  sent  at  Wandsworth  was  about  a 
mile  distant  from  our  home,  and  was  kept  by  a  Madame  Saqui, 
I  presume  a  French  emigrant.  She  suffered  from  dropsy,  and 
adopted  a  mode  of  exercise  which  I  have  never  since  seen.  At 
the  end  of  the  schoolroom  was  a  tall  seat  formed  by  thick 
cushions  with  springs,  and  having  arms  to  hold  on  by  on  either 
side.  On  this  she  bobbed  up  and  down,  while  she  could  see 
all  that  was  going  on  in  the  schoolroom.  It  was  very  comical, 
but  to  laugh  we  dared  not.  I  do  not  remember  what  I  learned 
— I  imagine  it  was  but  little.  I  remember  better  our  amuse- 
ments. At  that  time  (1817)  fairs  were  held  in  all  towns  and 
villages  around  London,  which  had  its  own  great  central  fair 
in  Smithfield.  To  the  Wandsworth  fair  we  never  failed  to  be 
led,  and  were  then  each  presented  with  a  bun.  We  had  also 
our  daily  walks.  On  one  of  those  we  passed  by  the  lodge  of 
our  house,  and  the  gate  being  open,  and  having  an  innate 
dislike  to  school,  I  ran  off  down  the  avenue  until  stopped  by 


Ml.  5.]  CHILDHOOD.  11 

the  barking  of  a  little  dog  which  fronted  me :  whence  possibly 
my  subsequent  want  of  affection  for  the  species. 

This  school  being  found  too  near  home,  I  was  sent  to  one  on 
Forest  Hill.  Again  the  fairs  on  Peckham  Eye  and  Camberwell 
Green  are  the  objects  which  cling  most  to  my  recollection.  We 
were,  I  think,  treated  kindly,  though  our  fare  was  at  times 
somewhat  hard.  On  Saturdays,  the  servants  being  much  occu- 
pied, the  ordinary  dinner  was  replaced  by  a  more  simple  meal 
of  bread  and  cheese,  the  bread  being  not  unfrequently  speckled 
green.  Our  playground  was  a  field  on  the  top  of  a  hill  of  bare 
London  clay.  I  then  had  a  small  garden  in  which  I  dug  what 
I  was  pleased  to  consider  a  well,  London  clay  being  water- 
tight. I  had  the  satisfaction  of  frequently  having  it  full  of 
water.  How  little  I  thought  then  how  much  I  should  sub- 
sequently be  connected  with  the  structure  and  geological  history 
of  that  formation.  When  the  field  was  too  wet  we  were  allotted 
200  to  300  yards  of  the  public  road  which  ran  in  front  of  the 
house  for  our  playground,  and  occasionally  levied  small  black- 
mail on  the  few  passers-by. 

In  the  meantime  our  family  had  removed  from  Lavender 
Hill  to  "  The  Eetreat,"  South  Lambeth.  It  was  a  three- storey ed 
house  surrounded  by  a  parapet  wall.  A  favourite  amusement 
was  to  walk  all  round  the  wall  followed  by  the  most  fearless 
of  my  sisters,  but  the  amusement  not  being  considered  safe,  it 
was  stopped.  I  was  now  sent  to  a  day-school  adjoining,  where 
I  fear  my  book  studies  progressed  no  more  rapidly  than  before. 
Nature  had  more  attractions  for  me.  With  my  sisters  we  used 
to  walk  along  the  Wandsworth  Koad  as  far  as  Lavender  Hill, 
and  I  well  remember  the  interest  with  which  I  noticed  two 
springs  which  then  existed  on  that  road.  One  was  on  Eush 
Hill,  where  it  broke  out  from  beneath  a  bed  of  gravel  lying 
on  the  London  clay.  The  other  was  at  a  lower  level,  and  at 
the  base  of  the  gravel  covering  Battersea  Fields.  How  well 
I  remember  wondering  where  the  water  came  from  :  it  was  a 
mystery.  These  springs  have  long  since  disappeared  from  sight, 
for  the  road  is  no  longer  the  quiet  country  road  it  was  then, 
with  only  an  occasional  vehicle  passing,  but  had  been,  when  I 
last  saw  it,  transformed  into  the  resemblance  of  the  Whitechapel 
Eoad,  paved  and  street-like. 


12  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  [l823. 

Our  clergyman  was  a  man  of  the  world  and  of  society.  At 
his  house  I  saw  among  many  public  characters  Rammohun  Roy, 
whose  conversion  to  Unitarianism  made  at  that  time  a  great  stir 
in  London.  He  was  a  tall,  striking-looking,  grave  man  of  about 
forty.  Barnes,  the  editor  of  the  'Times,'  was  also  a  frequent 
visitor  there. 

It  was  now  decided  that  I  should  be  sent  to  school  in  Paris. 
Accordingly,  early  one  fine  summer  morning,  escorted  by  both 
parents  and  with  my  eldest  sister,  we  started  in  the  basket  of 
the  Union  coach  for  Dover.  'Arriving  in  the  evening,  we  had  to 
wait  till  next  day  for  crossing.  Starting  at  ten,  Calais  was 
reached  at  about  twelve.  The  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in 
passing  our  luggage  through  the  custom-house,  getting  our  pass- 
ports vise*d,  and  securing  places  in  the  diligence.  Before  leav- 
ing Calais,  I  took  the  opportunity  of  going  down  one  of  the 
shallow  wells  which  were  then  to  be  found  in  most  of  the  court- 
yards of  the  town,  and  came  up,  I  imagine,  not  much  the  wiser. 
Diligences  started  for  Paris  morning  and  evening.  We  left  on 
a  morning  by  the  Messageries  Royales,  and  after  spending  two 
nights  and  part  of  two  days  on  the  road,  arrived  in  the  great 
yard  in  the  Rue  Notre  Dame  des  Victoires.  I  was  now  eleven 
years  old,  and  the  interest  I  felt  in  all  I  saw  was  excessive.  I 
was  never  tired  of  seeing  the  streets  —  which  then,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Rue  de  la  Paix,  had  no  footpaths — and  of  watch- 
ing the  traffic  and  listening  to  the  many  cries. 

The  school  selected  for  me  was  at  the  top  of  the  Rue  des 
Martyrs,  at  the  foot  of  Montmartre.  It  was  a  large  school,  kept 
by  a  M.  Colin.  I  was  placed  more  particularly  in  charge  of 
Mme.  Colin  and  their  only  daughter,  Mdlle.  Fannie,  who  was  two 
to  three  years  older  than  myself.  M.  Colin  was  a  man  about 
forty,  with  only  one  leg— a  sight  at  that  time  very  common  in 
Paris,  when  men  with  one  leg  or  arm  were  constantly  met  with. 
I  was  the  only  English  boy  in  the  school,  and  nothing  could  be 
kinder  than  their  treatment  of  me.  I  was  a  little  bullied  by  the 
boys,  for  Waterloo  was  then  of  fresh  memory,  but  I  always  found 
a  few  to  take  my  part :  there  was  the  cachot  if  they  were  caught 
in  the  act  [of  bullying  me],  so  I  got  on  very  well.  The  place 
was  barrack-like  and  the  fare  simple.  The  floors  were  all  tiled 
and  the  dormitories  without  furniture.  .  .  The  breakfast  was 


JET.  11.]  SCHOOL   DAYS   IN   PARIS.  13 

very  simple:  the  boys  marched  into  the  rtfectoire,  where  long 
loaves  were  run  under  a  sort  of  chaff-cutting  machine,  and  as 
the  great  hunks  fell  on  one  side  they  were  snatched  up  by  the 
boys — played  at  ball  with,  and  then  eaten  and  washed  down 
with  a  little  water.  Dinner  consisted  *of  bouillon  and  boidlli 
followed  by  a  dish  of  vegetables,  the  beverage  being  what  the 
boys  called  attendance — that  is  to  say,  one  bottle  of  vin  ordinaire 
to  one  bucket  of  water.  But  all  seemed  contented,  whilst  I,  as  a 
stranger,  was  allowed  a  few  indulgences.  The  school,  however, 
soon  broke  up,  and  M.  Colin  removed  to  a  small  house,  with  a 
few  boys,  lower  down  the  street. 

Education  in  Paris  was  at  that  time  (1823)  very  cheap.  As 
extras  I  was  taught,  besides  Italian,  drawing,  dancing,  and  fenc- 
ing, at  one  franc  per  lesson.  Our  school  was  attached  to  the 
College  Bourbon  (changed  to  the  Lyc($e  Condorcet),  but  I  was 
considered  too  young  to  profit  by  the  connection.  Amongst  the 
students  attending  the  College  was  the  Due  d'Orleans,  son  of 
Louis  Philippe,  who  a  few  years  later  was  killed  by  a  fall  from 
his  carriage.  We  had  two  half-holidays  a  week,  when  we  were 
taken  generally  either  to  play  in  amongst  the  chestnut-trees  of 
the  Tuileries  gardens,  or  to  the  top  of  Montmartre  with  its 
swings  and  quarries.  The  fossils  were  then  unknown  to  me,  but 
I  took  great  interest  in  the  fine  crystals  of  gypsum,  which  we  could 
cleave  into  plates  as  thin  as  a  wafer  and  as  clear  as  glass.  In 
summer  we  were  frequently  taken  to  one  of  the  large  baths  on 
the  Seine,  and  there,  wrapped  in  a  peignoir,  would  spend  long 
hours.  On  Sundays  I  was  taken  to  the  French  Protestant 
church,  or  else  went  to  spend  the  day  with  my  sister  in  the  Rue 
de  Valois.  Occasionally  Mdlle.  Fannie  would  take  me  with  her 
in  early  morning  to  the  great  central  markets.  Nothing,  in  fact, 
could  have  been  kinder  and  more  considerate  than  the  treatment 
I  received,  and  I  shall  ever  hold  the  memory  of  M.  Colin  and  his 
family  in  affectionate  remembrance.  Mme.  Colin  treated  me  as 
a  son.  In  fact,  Mdlle.  Fannie  used  to  exclaim,  "  Oh !  qu'il  est 
gate  ce  petit  Joseph ! "  But  with  all  this  my  studies  were  not 
neglected,  and  I  learned  easily  and  quickly. 

He  was  petted   and    caressed,  but  was   not  spoilt, 
and  the   happiness  of  school  -  life   in  Paris  was  never 


14  SCHOOL   DAYS    IN    PARIS.  [1824. 

forgotten.  Perhaps  in  later  years  the  very  remem- 
brance of  it  unconsciously  acted  as  a  magnet,  and  drew 
him .  to  France  and  to  his  many  friends  there.  A  few 
months  after  his  arrival  the  boy  had  an  illness,  and 
such  was  M.  and  Mme.  Colin's  kindness  that  they 
had  him  then  to  sleep  in  their  own  room.  The  reason 
that  Madame  Colin  alleged  for  her  devotion  to  the 
little  English  boy  was  always,  "  II  est  si  raisonnable, 
le  petit  Joseph ! "  It  is  not  surprising  that  Made- 
moiselle Fannie  became  jealous.  This  jealousy,  how- 
ever, on  the  part  of  the  young  daughter  was  short- 
lived, and  when  in  later  years  she  became  Madame 
Nyon,  her  eldest  child  was  named  after  the  sister  of 
"  le  petit  Joseph." 

The  letters  which  he  sent  to  his  father  at  this  time 
— always  in  French — are  very  amusing.  The  following 
is  a  specimen  : — 

PAKIS,  Mars  9,  1824. 

Mox  CHER  PAPA, — Je  ne  vous  ai  pas  ecrit  plutot  parceque  je 
voulais  attendre  j usqu'a  la  fin  du  carnaval  pour  vous  dire  tout  ce 
que  j'ai  vu.  Le  premier  dimanche  appele  le  dimanche  gras,  j'ai 
etc*  voir  le  bceuf  gras  qui  est  le  plus  beau  qui  se  trouve  dans  tout 
Paris,  il  est  suivi  d'un  char  dans  lequel  il  y  a  un  joli  petit  enfant 
habille  comme  un  amour,  le  char  est  conduit  par  un  homme  qui 
represente  le  temps,  tous  ceux  qui  1'entourent  et  tous  les  musici- 
ens  qui  I'accompagnent  sont  deguises  en  soldats  romains.  Apres 
avoir  vu  cette  mascarade  qui  attire  tou jours  la  foule,  j'ai  e'te  me 
promener  sur  les  boulevards  pour  voir  les  masques,  mais  comme 
il  faisait  un  tres  mauvais  temps  je  n'en  ai  pas  vu  beaucoup. 
Lundi  je  suis  alle*  au  spectacle  ou  j'ai  vu  Pierre  de  Portugal, 
tragedie  de  Mr  Arnauld,  et  les  rendez-vous  bourgeois  travestis, 
cette  derniere  piece  est  une  farce  de  carnaval  dans  laquelle  tous 
les  hommes  sont  deguises  en  femmes  et  toutes  les  femmes  de*- 
guisees  en  hommes.  Mardi  j'ai  vu  dans  les  voitures  beaucoup  de 
masques  tres  droles  qui  allaient  a  un  bal  masque.  Le  soir  chaque 
eleve  a  mis  quinze  sous  nous  avons  achete  du  cidre,  une  tarte  ala 


JET.  12.]  SCHOOL    DAYS    IN    PARIS.  15 

frangipane  et  d'autres  choses.  Madame  Colin  nous  a  donne  une 
creme,  des  crepes,  des  cerises,  du  vin,  et  du  jus  de  la  fleur 
d'orange  et  avec  cela,  nous  avons  fait  une  jolie  collation  apres 
laquelle  nous  avons  e"te"  nous  coucher.  Je  n'ai  recu  votre  lettre 
que  six  semaines  apres  qu'elle  avait  ete  ecrite  car  vous  1'avez  ecrite 
le  19  Janvier,  et  je  ne  1'ai  recu  que  le  7  Mars.  J'ai  appris  de 
Madame  Thiebaut  que  j'avais  une  nouvelle  petite  soeur  cela  m'a 
cause  beaucoup  de  joie.  Je  donnerai  mes  dessins  a  Madame 
Billin  qui  les  enverra  en  Angleterre  par  1'Ambassadeur.  J'ai 
presque  fini  celui  qui  est  destin^  a  Monsieur  Colin.  Je  n'ai  pas 
encore  commence  le  paysage  mais  je  m'[en]  occuperai  bientot  si 
vous  le  desirez.  J'ai  un  nouveau  maitre  de  danse  qui  est  bien 
meilleur  que  le  dernier,  car  il  me  fait  faire  beaucoup  d'exercices. 
J'ai  e*te  voir  le  spectacle  franconi  avec  ma  soeur,  Madame  Thie- 
baut et  Mademoiselle  Victoire.  On  donnait  la  prise  de  trocadero 
et  le  petit  tambour.  Je  vous  remercie  bien  des  dix  francs  que 
vous  m'avez  envoye's  mais  je  les  devais  pour  le  panier  que  j'ai 
donne  a  ma  sosur  et  je  les  ai  paye"s  tout  de  suite.  Isabelle  et  moi 
nous  nous  portons  tres  bien.  J'espere  que  vous,  Maman,  mes 
sceurs  et  mon  frere  et  ma  [bonne]  se  portent  bien.  Adieu,  mon 
cher  Papa. — Je  suis  votre  fils  soumis,  J.  PKESTWICH. 


After  this  date  his  father  stipulated  that  all  his 
letters  were  to  be  sent  as  they  were  written — un- 
corrected. 

The  boy  delighted  in  Paris,  and  entered  with  keen 
enjoyment  into  the  life  and  amusements  of  the  school. 
He  made  great  progress  in  drawing,  for  which  he  had 
unusual  talent,  and  the  crayon  heads,  &c.,  which  he 
sent  home  from  time  to  time,  were  remarkable  as  the 
work  of  a  schoolboy.  This  faculty  for  drawing  proved 
of  great  service  to  him  in  after-life  when  sketching 
sections  in  the  field. 

In  reading  these  few  pages  of  autobiography  we 
have  to  bear  in  mind  that  this  MS.,  alas  !  was  never 
re-read,  never  corrected  by  its  writer. 


16  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  [l825. 

And  now  began  iny  education  in  earnest.  I  soon  mastered 
French,  and  carried  away  various  prizes — amongst  others  that 
for  Cacographie,  which  consisted  in  rendering  into  correct  French 
a  paper  of  text  badly  spelt.  My  translations  of  Latin  into 
French  were  approved,  and  my  reading  of  Dante  and  Ariosto 
gave  satisfaction  to  my  Italian  master,  who  recorded  his  approval 
in  the  following  lines 1 : — 

"  Al  Gentilissimo  Signer  GIUSEPPE  PRESTWICH  in  attestato  di  verace 
affetto  il  servo  suo  divoto  FREDERICK)  BROGLIO. 

SONNET 
(of  which  a  free  translation  is  here  given)? 

"PARIS,  8th  July  1825. 

"  When  now,  as  wont,  you  turn  and  leave  behind 
Fair  France,  at  this  last  moment,  in  words  brief, 
Full  of  esteem  and  love  for  you,  I  find 
Expression  for  my  thoughts  and  for  my  grief. 
Benign  One  !  hearken  to  my  loving  lay. 
May  not  these  accents  to  the  winds  be  sent, 
But  in  my  heart  for  ever  may  you  stay, 
There  find  a  home  and  soften  my  lament. 
On  your  return  midst  household  gods  again, 
With  troops  of  chosen  friends  around  you,  then, 
Upon  that  man  unknown  to  fame,  ah  !  deign 
Upon  him,  far  removed  by  seas,  as  when 
He  taught  you  Tuscan  tones  in  bygone  days, 
To  think,  for  he  will  ever  love  and  praise  ! " 

Amongst  the  public  events  which  I  witnessed  during  my 
residence  in  Paris  were  the  return  of  the  French  army  from 
Spain  and  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland  as 
ambassador  to  "Louis  Dix-huit."  The  procession  of  carriages 
and  military  in  the  latter  case  was  very  gorgeous,  and  the  most 
extravagant  reports  were  circulated  of  the  great  wealth  of  the 
Duke.  I  was  in  the  crowd  in  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  Saint 
Denis,  and  the  people  around  me  were  speculating,  not  upon 
his  yearly  income,  but  upon  how  much  he  was  in  receipt  of 

1  These  were  evidently  farewell  verses  addressed  to  him  when  leaving 
school  in  Paris. 

2  By  the  writer's  youngest  sister. 


JET.  13.]  SCHOOL-DAYS   AT   NORWOOD.  17 

per  day,  per  hour,  and  per  minute.  At  the  other  striking 
scene  I  climbed  on  the  pedestal  of  the  great  statue  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Tuileries,  where  I  could  command  a  view  from 
the  Arc  de  1'fitoile  down  the  Champs  Elysees,  the  whole  length 
of  which  was  filled  by  squadrons  of  foot  and  cavalry  marching 
in  from  ISTeuilly.  I  think  it  took  them  about  two  hours  to 
defile  by.  They  were  a  fine  body  of  men,  much  stained  and 
weatherbeaten.  The  exhibition  of  fireworks  at  night  was  on 
a  large  scale,  and  very  effective. 

At  the  end  of  two  years,  during  which  I  had  once  visited 
England,  I  returned  home.  My  French  costume  created  some 
amusement.  I  wore  a  long  blue  swallow-tailed  coat  with  brass 
buttons  and  a  tall  hat.  I  found  that  in  the  meantime  the 
family  had  removed  from  "The  Eetreat"  to  "The  Lawn" — 
the  house  No.  8,  afterwards  occupied  by  Mr  Fawcett.  I  was 
now  sent  to  a  school  at  Norwood.  ...  I  here  received  my 
first  introduction  to  science — one  master  giving  us  occasional 
lectures  on  chemistry,  which  fascinated  me ;  but  my  home-work 
was  confined  for  a  time  to  chemical  experiments. 

I  was  also  instructed  in  history,  geography,  arithmetic,  and 
book-keeping.  On  holidays  we  played  hockey  with  the  masters, 
as  I  had  done  in  Paris.  In  the  autumn  we  were  allowed  a  day's 
run  in  the  wood,  which  then  extended  from  Norwood  to  Penge, 
to  gather  blackberries,  which  afterwards  appeared  on  the  table 
for  three  days  in  the  shape  of  blackberry  puddings.  I  then 
made  my  first  and  last  appearance  on  the  stage  in  the  "  Bourgeois 
Gentilhomme "  of  Moliere ;  but  though  I  was  a  good  French 
scholar,  my  performance  was  not  such  as  to  encourage  for  me  a 
repetition  of  it  at  this  annual  festival. 

At  that  time  Guy  Fawkes'  Day  was  religiously  kept  by  all 
boys.  We  were  allowed  to  gather  sticks  in  the  woods,  and 
these,  with  the  aid  of  a  tar -barrel,  made  a  large  bonfire,  on 
which  a  guy  was  burnt  to  the  accompaniment  of  many  squibs 
and  crackers. 

I  was  now  sent  to  Dr  Valpy's  school  at  Eeading,  who  con- 
sidered that  my  education  had  been  greatly  neglected,  as  I 
knew  nothing  of  Greek.  Here  I  went  through  the  usual  course 
of  classics,  with  a  little  geography  in  the  shape  of  a  paid 
extra.  I  managed  to  escape  flogging  for  the  two  years  I  was 

B 


18  SCHOOL-DAYS   AT   BEADING.  [1827. 

there,  though  I  was  occasionally  called  upon  to  hoist  better 
scholars  than  myself.  The  doctor  was  noted  for  his  flogging 
propensities;  but  having  the  authority  of  my  father  to  run 
away  in  case  I  had  to  change  places  in  this  performance,  the 
thought  of  it  gave  me  but  little  anxiety,  otherwise  the  discipline 
was  not  strict.  In  fact,  it  was  too  much  the  contrary — at  least 
on  the  side  where  I  was  boarded. 

Dr  Valpy  was  a  noted  classical  scholar,  and  doubt- 
less found  that  the  boy's  education  had  been  sadly 
desultory.  We  do  not  hear  of  Joseph  having  taken 
a  good  place  in  the  school ;  his  dancing,  drawing, 
and  fencing,  his  Italian  and  French,  could  not  have 
helped  him  much.  He  was  said  to  be  "  a  quiet,  shy 
boy,  but  full  of  energy,  and  always  the  leader  of  his 
companions."  His  letters  from  Reading  find  him  in- 
variably in  the  same  financial  position  as  he  found 
himself  when  in  Paris :  when  pocket-money  was  sent 
it  was  spent  directly  in  presents  for  those  at  home,  and 
always  included  a  gift  for  his  old  nurse,  thus  leaving 
him  penniless.  The  thorough  way  in  which  in  one 
Reading  letter  the  schoolboy  makes  a  financial  state- 
ment to  his  father,  when  he  had  not  the  means  to 
pay  his  debts,  and  the  method  by  which  he  shows 
every  side  of  the  case  quite  dispassionately,  either  for 
or  against  himself,  were  characteristic  of  him  through- 
out life.  He  entered  with  zest  into  all  the  fun  among 
the  boys,  who  used  to  buy  of  the  day-boarders  black- 
birds and  thrushes,  which  they  roasted  and  ate  with 
relish.  They  also  made  custards  in  private,  and  ex- 
cellently well  they  made  them. 

The  urgency  of  the  postscript  in  this  Reading  letter 
will  provoke  a  smile  : — 

READING,  May  1827. 

DEAR  FATHER, — I  received  your  letter  about  three  weeks  ago, 
which  I  intended  to  have  answered  the  next  day  had  not  a 
cricket-ball  knocked  off  the  top  of  my  little  finger,  which  has 


JET.  15.]  SCHOOL-DAYS    AT    BEADING.  19 

hindered  me  from  writing  till  the  present  moment :  it  is  not  well 
yet,  and  I  have  only  just  begun  to  write.  I  am  very  much 
obliged  to  you  for  the  pound  you  ordered  Mr  Knight  to  give  me, 
but  which  I  am  ashamed  yet  forced  to  own  I  have  spent ;  for 
there  are  an  old  man  and  woman  that  live  on  the  Forbery  who 
sell  to  us  all  sorts  of  things  that  we  want.  When  you  sent  me 
the  money  I  owed  them  about  15s.  I  went  to  pay  her  directly  I 
got  the  money,  but  she  said  that  I  must  wait  till  she  made  my  bill. 
The  next  day  being  the  fair  day,  I  spent  a  great  part  of  it  in 
books,  but  I  did  not  buy  any  trash,  nor  go  into  any  shows ;  with 
the  rest  I  paid  my  debts  to  the  boys,  and  before  she  had  finished 
my  bill  (which  was  a  day  or  two  ago)  all  my  money  was  gone. 
But  why  I  wish  you  to  send  me  some  now  is  because  yesterday 
one  of  the  Doctor's  sons,  a  clergyman,  went  into  the  shop,  and 
seeing  a  great  many  bills  lying  upon  the  table,  took  them  up, 
and  perceiving  that  the  boys  owed  her  a  great  deal,  some  of 
them  £2  or  £3,  and  others  only  6d.  or  9d.,  went  to  the  Doctor 
and  told  him  of  it,  who  said  that  he  would  put  all  the  boys  on 
the  obstinate  list  (when  any  one  is  on  it,  he  has  to  do  a  long 
imposition  every  day,  has  to  say  almost  all  the  lesson  when  his 
class  goes  up,  generally  gets  caned  if  he  says  a  word  wrong,  and 
seldom  escapes  a  flogging  during  the  week)  till  it  is  paid  off, 
which  he  does  by  giving  the  woman  sixpence  a-day  for  those 
that  owe  her  anything  until  they  are  out  of  her  debt,  so  I  should 
be  on  the  list  for  a  month.  So,  dear  father,  it  would  be  the  same 
to  you  whether  you  send  it  me  now  or  had  it  put  down  on 
your  bill.  Please,  if  you  send  the  money  at  all,  send  it  before 
the  end  of  this  week.  I  was  rather  surprised  when  you  said  I 
was  not  to  have  any  parcels ;  but  since  it  is  your  desire  that  I 
should  not  have  any  I  will  submit  to  it,  though  I  should  prefer 
having  them  continued,  for  though  it  is  a  great  school,  most  of 
the  boys  don't  despise  having  wine,  cakes,  fruits,  &c.,  sent  them. 
I  have  not  bathed  yet,  for  I  do  not  think  it  warm  enough.  Please 
to  excuse  the  writing  on  account  of  my  finger,  which  I  find  very 
awkward  still.  I  hope  you,  dear  mother,  sisters,  and  brother  are 
quite  well ;  and  with  my  love  to  you  and  them,  I  remain,  dear 
father,  your  dutiful  son,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

N.B. — Please  to  answer  this  letter  directly,  if  it  is  convenient 
to  you.    Mr  and  Mrs  Hornbuckle  desire  their  compliments  to  you. 


20  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  [l828. 

The  autobiography  continues  : — 

On  the  occasion  of  the  battle  of  Navarino,  where  the  combined 
fleets  of  England,  France,  and  Eussia  managed  to  destroy  the 
Turkish  fleet,  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  latter  Power  and 
little  to  the  profit  of  the  first  two,  the  boys  were  given  a  half 
holiday,  and  naturally  looked  upon  the  battle  as  a  glorious  vic- 
tory. A  great  event  was  a  general  election,  for  as  elections  then 
lasted  three  weeks,  the  boys  shared  in  the  excitement  by  siding 
with  the  blues  or  the  yellows,  finding  it  a  pleasant  break  in  the 
monotony  of  school-life.  Boating  and  bathing  we  had  in  plenty 
in  the  Thames  at  Caversham  and  Pangbourne.  Among  my  con- 
temporaries there  was  Jackson,  afterwards  Bishop  of  London,  a 
studious  tall  lad,  who  joined  but  little  in  the  school  games. 
Reading  was  then  a  quiet  country  town  without  railways,  and 
with  little  trade  except  its  breweries  ;  [Huntley  and]  Palmer  and 
Sutton  were  still  below  the  horizon. 

Leaving  school,  I  was  entered  at  sixteen  years  of  age  at  Uni- 
versity College,  London,  then  recently  opened.  Having  partly 
my  own  choice  of  subjects,  I  selected  Chemistry  under  Dr  Turner, 
a  popular  and  excellent  teacher ;  English  under  Mr  Dale ;  Latin, 
Prof.  Key;  Greek,  Prof.  Long;  Natural  Philosophy  under  Dr 
Lardner ;  and  Mathematics,  Augustus  de  Morgan.  As  I  had  to 
walk  four  miles  daily  to  and  from  South  Lambeth,  I  found  my 
curriculum  rather  too  extended;  and  as  I  had  little  liking  for 
the  classics,  I  fear  I  neglected  them  in  favour  of  chemistry  and 
natural  philosophy. 

Unfortunately  I  missed  the  first  few  mathematical  [lectures], 
and  then  feeling  discouraged  in  being  unable  to  follow,  I  ceased 
to  attend,  much  to  my  subsequent  regret.  All  my  spare  time, 
spare  pocket-money,  and  spare  thoughts  were  spent  on  chemistry. 
I  also  entered  the  practical  class,  then  under  the  direction  of 
Robert  Warington,  a  most  kind  and  painstaking  teacher.  In 
this  subject  I  passed  a  good  examination  and  obtained  a  certifi- 
cate [with  honours,  Ed.~\ 

At  "  The  Lawn,"  at  the  foot  of  a  few  steps  leading 
down  from  the  breakfast-room,  there  was  a  small  dark 
room,  which  was  our  student's  laboratory,  and  known 


JST.  16.]  HOME   LIFE   AND   CHARACTER.  21 

as  his  "Den."  When  at  home  he  was  usually  to  be 
found  in  it  at  work  amongst  his  minerals,  acids,  &c. 
Here  he  manufactured  the  laughing-gas  which  he 
administered  to  his  companions  (and  he  had  always 
a  following),  with  occasionally  alarming  effects ;  here 
he  blew  glass  and  set  himself  to  make  philosophical 
instruments.  The  five  young  sisters  hung  upon  his 
words,  and  looked  up  with  admiration  at  their  clever 
elder  brother,  sharing  in  the  delight  and  often  in  the 
danger  of  some  of  the  experiments.  Frequently  in 
later  years  he  urged  that  every  boy  and  girl  should 
be  taught  at  least  the  elements  of  chemistry. 

In  appearance  the  thin  tall  stripling,  now  5  feet 
10  inches  in  height,  resembled  his  mother's  family. 
He  had  strongly  marked  features,  a  clear  fresh  com- 
plexion, a  thick  crop  of  hair  which  was  nearly  black, 
and  an  unusually  fine  forehead.  But  his  eyes  were 
the  great  feature  of  his  face,  —  luminous  hazel  eyes 
which  mirrored  every  emotion,  now  liquid,  yet  always 
with  a  light  in  them,  or  when  indignant  or  angry  (and 
he  could  be  both)  flashing  fire.  Naturally  he  was 
quick  in  temper,  and  on  one  occasion  when  his  anger 
lasted,  and  when  reminded  that  this  was  possibly  the 
temper  of  his  ancestor,  the  old  knight-banneret,  crop- 
ping out,  he  burst  into  laughter,  and  the  anger,  like  a 
lightning  -  flash,  went  as  it  came.  Nothing  stirred 
his  indignation  so  much  as  when  he  met  what  was 
false,  or  a  sham,  or  underhand,  and  then  he  spoke 
out  his  mind.  He  could  not  conscientiously  join  in 
repeating  the  Athanasian  Creed,  so  he  made  no  feint 
of  an  open  prayer-book,  but  deliberately  shut  it,  whereas 
when  the  "  Benedicite  omnia  opera"  was  sung,  no  one 
in  the  congregation  joined  with  greater  fervour.  He 
delighted  in  that  song  of  praise. 


22  UNIVERSITY   COLLEGE.  [1828-30. 

At  this  period  of  his  short  college  course  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  versifying,  writing  rhymes  to  his  com- 
panions, or  penning  sonnets  to  his  pretty  partners 
at  dances, — and  he  had  always  many  pretty  partners, 
being  quite  what  is  termed  "  a  lady's  man."  Later 
on  we  hear  of  his  escorting  his  sisters  and  elder 
cousins,  and  also  daughters  of  friends,  to  school  in 
France,  a  responsibility  which  rested  very  agreeably 
on  his  shoulders.  His  poetry  consisted  chiefly  of  Odes 
in  blank  verse  on  Nature's  varying  and  changing 
moods,  of  which  he  was  the  watchful  observer.  Al- 
though never  a  talkative  lad,  he  was  eminently  soci- 
able, his  father  and  mother  were  both  hospitable,  and 
in  all  the  exuberance  of  his  young  life  he  enjoyed 
to  a  degree  the  evening  parties  and  gatherings  of 
relatives  and  friends. 

Yet  underlying  all  his  delightful  buoyancy  of  spirits 
there  was  that  intense  earnestness — that  determination 
to  interpret  for  himself  the  records  of  the  rocks.  He 
was  preparing  for  that  work,  the  obstacles  to  which 
at  one  period  seemed  overwhelming,  but  to  which  he 
was  steadfast  throughout  life,  and  which  held  his  heart 
to  the  very  end. 

It  is  evident  that  while  at  University  College  every 
subject  was  neglected  for  the  sake  of  chemistry  and 
natural  philosophy.  It  is  evident,  too,  that  he  took 
the  direction  of  his  studies  into  his  own  hands  :  Latin 
and  Greek  were  set  aside ;  mathematics  also  were 
neglected,  though  most  unwillingly.  On  leaving  col- 
lege he  worked  at  mathematics  with  a  private  tutor, 
but  never  ceased  to  regret  that  he  had  not  attended 
the  college  course.  In  the  intervals  between  lectures 
he  frequented  the  British  Museum  :  he  also  found  time 


,ET.  16-18.]  OIL-PAINTING.  23 

for  lessons  in  oil-painting  and  lithography  from  Mr 
Waterhouse  Hawkins.  Subsequently  the  sale  of  his 
paintings  enabled  him  to  purchase  materials  and  ap- 
paratus for  experiments. 

The  economies  which  he  practised  during  those 
college  days,  in  order  to  provide  himself  with  money 
for  the  purchase  of  chemical  materials,  were  carried  to 
excess,  and  involved  no  little  self-denial.  An  ample 
allowance  was  given  to  him  for  dinner  in  town,  but, 
conscious  of  his  parents'  liberality,  he  never  confessed 
to  the  family  that  most  frequently  dinner  consisted 
of  a  bun  or  a  roll,  or  occasionally  a  sausage  -  roll. 
"  The  Lawn"  at  South  Lambeth  was  four  miles  distant 
from  University  College,  so  that  daily  he  had  an  eight 
miles'  walk,  which  was  lengthened  by  his  making  a 
long  round  by  Doulton's  factories,  to  save  the  toll 
on  Vauxhall  Bridge,  which  was  the  direct  road.  One 
ingenious  device  to  put  him  in  funds  was  the  sale 
to  his  mother  of  arrowroot  made  from  potatoes  at 
so  much  per  lb.,  she  having  presented  him  with  the 
potatoes  I  Then  there  was  a  great  demand  for  arrow- 
root in  the  household,  the  young  sisters  petitioning  for 
its  daily  consumption. 

In  jottings  for  1831  there  is  an  entry  of  three  oil- 
paintings  being  given  in  part  payment  for  a  mountain 
barometer  and  sextant.  The  only  specimen  of  his 
painting  which  escaped  conversion  into  money  is  the 
copy  of  a  small  picture  by  Wouvermann. 

The  system  of  working  hard  day  after  day  on 
stinted  food  must  have  had  a  bad  effect  on  his  health, 
and  it  is  a  question  whether  it  did  not  tell  injuriously 
on  him  in  after-life.  Supper  over,  whether  tired  or 
not,  he  repeated  some  experiments  to  the  small 


24  EARLY   GEOLOGICAL   STUDIES.  [1828-30. 

appreciative  family  audience,  which  was  often  in- 
creased by  one  or  two  old  school -fellows,  who  were 
always  welcome. 

At  that  time  geology  was  not  taught  anywhere  in  London. 
The  only  nominal  instruction  then  in  geology  and  mineralogy  was 
to  be  had  in  three  lectures  by  Dr  Turner  at  the  end  of  his  course 
of  forty  lectures  on  chemistry.  Parkinson's  '  Organic  Eemains  ' 
in  three  quarto  volumes  and  his  small  octavo  in  one  volume 
constituted  the  student's  stock-in-trade.1 

I  had  a  Conularia  from  Coalbrook  Dale.  It  puzzled  me,  as  it 
did  the  Professors  of  my  acquaintance.2  Chemical  analysis  led 
me  to  the  study  of  rocks  and  minerals,  so  it  was  on  that  side  that 
I  approached  geology.  The  variety  of  paving-stones  which  I 
passed  in  my  daily  walks  to  college  caught  my  attention,  and  led 
me  to  inquire  what  they  were  made  of  and  how  made.  I  used 
also  to  go  to  the  British  Museum  in  Great  Eussell  Street  to  in- 
spect the  organic  remains,  and  pondered  especially  over  the 
well-preserved  and  attractive  series  of  the  Calcaire  Grassier.3 

The  following  years  my  holidays  were  spent  at  Broseley  in 
Shropshire,  a  market-town  celebrated  for  its  tobacco-pipes  and 
iron-  and  coal-works.  The  latter  soon  attracted  my  attention, 
and  I  spent  hours  at  the  heaps  of  ironstone,  the  seam  worked 
being  the  Pennystone,  so  rich  in  marine  remains.  My  chief 
work  there  was,  however,  on  a  subsequent  and  longer  visit. 

It  is  pleasant  to  find  that  on  one  of  these  journeys  to 
Broseley  he  was  most  kindly  and  hospitably  received  by 
his  grandmother,  who,  as  he  reports  in  a  letter  to  "  The 
Lawn,"  "  entertained  me  sumptuously."  An  anecdote 
is  told  of  her,  that  when  on  a  visit  to  Mrs  Prestwich, 

1  Sowerby's  (  Mineral   Conchology/  then  in  course  of  publication,  was 
beyond  the  student's  reach. 

2  The    true  relationship  of    Conularia  has  not  yet  been  established, 
although  it  is  regarded  as  a  Pteropod,  belonging  to  an  order  of  pelagic 
Mollusca. 

3  A  richly  fossiliferous    series  of  limestones,   &c.,   equivalent    to  our 
Bracklesham  Beds. 


JET.  16-18.]  VISIT    TO    BROSELEY.  25 

her  only  daughter,  to  whom  she  was  greatly  attached, 
the  young  Prestwiches  were  all  away  from  home. 
Kate,  the  second  grandchild,  happened  to  arrive  one 
day  at  "  The  Lawn  "  before  the  departure  of  her  grand- 
mother, whose  exclamation,  "  Snow  in  harvest,"  testified 
to  anything  but  pleasure  when  she  was  told  of  the  home- 
coming of  the  young  girl.  Doubtless  Mrs  Blakeway 
felt  disappointed  at  the  interruption  to  the  quiet  of  her 
visit,  and  at  the  distraction  that  a  child  in  the  house 
must  cause  to  the  mother.  On  her  visits  to  "  The 
Lawn,"  Mrs  Blakeway's  custom  had  been  to  give  a 
present  in  money  to  each  of  her  Prestwich  grand- 
children ;  but  to  Joseph,  the  eldest,  when  a  boy,  she 
only  gave  half  of  what  she  bestowed  011  his  sisters, 
saying  she  knew  "  that  his  money  would  be  all  spent 
directly  "  ! 

Yet  although  she  would  have  nothing  to  say  to  chil- 
dren, this  very  original  old  lady  had  keen  pleasure  in 
the  society  of  her  grandson  when  he  was  no  longer  a 
child.  His  name  must  have  been  made  widely  known 
throughout  the  Broseley  district  by  the  miners.  His 
youth,  his  enthusiasm  in  descending  and  working  among 
their  coal-pits,  and  his  characteristic  courtesy  to  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  must  have  won  their 
hearts. 

His  grandmother  often  declared  that  she  intended  to 
live  as  long  as  her  husband,  who  died  in  his  ninety-third 
year,  and  she  actually  attained  that  age. 


26 


CHAPTEE    II. 

1830-1834. 

CITY   AND    HOME    LIFE — ZETETICAL    SOCIETY — VISITS   TO 
SHROPSHIRE — NATURAL    HISTORY    SOCIETY. 

WHEN  Joseph  Prestwich  entered  upon  his  City  career, 
which  was  to  last  over  forty  years,  he  was  about 
eighteen  years  of  age.  It  was  not  the  career  he  would 
have  chosen,  it  was  not  congenial,  but  circumstances 
were  such  that  it  was  his  duty  to  adopt  it,  and  there- 
fore he  applied  himself  to  business  with  all  the  con- 
scientiousness and  earnestness  of  his  nature.  Perhaps 
there  are  few  endowed  as  he  was,  who  would  have  had 
the  moral  courage  to  resist  the  fascinations  of  science. 
At  the  outset  he  planned  out  his  life  and  resolved  that 
there  should  be  no  interruption  to  his  geological  work. 
The  hours  at  his  own  disposal  he  allotted,  as  before,  to 
the  identification  of  fossils  and  to  the  analysis  of 
minerals.  Time  for  that  work,  and  for  practical  chem- 
istry as  well  as  for  his  mathematics  and  reading,  had 
to  be  found  in  the  early  morning  before  breakfast  and 
after  his  return  from  the  City  at  six  or  seven  in  the 
evening,  when  each  hour  had  its  appointed  subject. 
By  this  method  he  was  able  to  accomplish  much ;  yet 
one  is  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  he  found  leisure 


JET.  18.]  HOME   STUDIES.  27 

also  for  painting  and  for  his  very  successful  lithog- 
raphy. As  will  be  seen  by  the  table  on  page  28,  he 
gave  a  stated  time  to  read  with  his  sisters,  who  were 
respectively  fourteen,  fifteen,  and  nearly  seventeen 
years  of  age. 

This  unobtrusive  little  table  is  strongly  significant. 
It  was  planned  by  no  promptings  from  without.  The 
youth  seemed  to  have  had  an  intuitive  consciousness 
that  there  was  something  for  him  to  do,  that  he  him- 
self might  aspire  to  demonstrate  some  truth  in  God's 
nature,  and  henceforward  every  hour  he  could  call  his 
own  was  set  apart  to  train  and  gird  himself  for  the 
task.  He  had  an  uplifting  purpose  in  life  from  which 
he  never  swerved,  and  hindrances  seemed  to  be  stimu- 
lants instead  of  deterrents.  Yet  with  all  this  stern  and 
persistent  devotion  to  close  study,  no  one  more  enjoyed 
with  gladness  of  heart  the  Christmas  dances  and  family 
parties.  There  was  constant  and  affectionate  inter- 
course between  the  Prestwiches  and  their  young 
cousins,  the  children  of  Mr  John  Blakeway.  One  of 
that  large  family  of  ten  cousins  was  Mrs  Houquette, 
with  whom  there  was  close  intimacy  throughout  life ; 
another  is  Mrs  Mushet ;  and  one  is  Mrs  G.  Murray 
Smith,  wife  of  the  publisher.  Young  Prestwich  had  a 
passion  for  waltzing,  an  exercise  which  suited  his  active 
temperament,  and  as  quadrille -parties  were  also  then 
in  fashion,  there  were  frequent  opportunities  for  this 
welcome  relaxation  from  incessant  desk  and  head  work. 
Music  was  always  a  great  pleasure  to  him  :  the  only 
instrument,  however,  that  he  played  was  the  flute. 

Eventually  he  found  that  there  was  time  for  little 
else  but  geology.  Saturdays  and  Sundays  came  to 
be  regarded  as  his  own,  when  he  went  out  to  observe 
and  learn,  and  when  the  foundation  was  laid  of  his 


28 


HOME    STUDIES. 


[1830. 


1 


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11 


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J3T.  18.1  GEOLOGICAL   RAMBLES.  29 

knowledge  of  the  geological  structure  of  the  London 
basin.  Dr  G.  Owen  Hees,1  his  friend  from  boyhood, 
was  a  frequent  companion  in  these  Saturday  and  Sun- 
day walks,  when  he  often  laughingly  declared  that 
Joseph  always  starved  him.  The  same  complaint  was 
made  in  after  years  by  one  or  two  other  friends,  who 
grumbled  at  the  hard  and  scant  fare,  yet  who  were 
always  eager  to  accompany  him.  One  in  especial  was 
Edward  I'Anson,2  the  eminent  architect,  whose  wife 
was  Catherine,  the  second  daughter  of  Mr  John  Blake- 
way,  the  uncle  of  our  geologist.  They  had  been  brought 
up  together  as  children — nay,  as  infants  (having  been 
near  neighbours),  and  throughout  life  they  remained 
the  same  attached  friends.  When  veterans  with  a  long 
retrospect  of  years,  it  was  touching  to  hear  them  ad- 
dress each  other  as  "Edward"  and  "Joseph,"  which 
they  did  to  the  last.  Hees  told  humorous  anecdotes  of 
their  geological  adventures.  Once,  late  on  a  Saturday 
night,  the  two  young  men  arrived  at  a  village  inn  not 
far  from  Prestwich's  future  home,  and  asked  for  quar- 
ters. Dusty  and  worn,  and  in  clothing  not  improved 
from  visits  to  pits,  and  one  of  them  probably  with  a 
rough  bag  of  fossils  and  sundry  specimens  of  clay  or 
gravel  slung  over  his  shoulders,  they  were  looked  upon 
as  suspicious  characters,  and  refused  admittance ;  so 
they  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  trudge  on  several  miles 
in  the  dark  to  a  more  hospitable  house,  which  was  not 
reached  until  midnight. 

When  the  family  in  1830  were  at  Boulogne  for  the 
holidays,  we  hear  that  Joseph  took  his  brother  Edward, 
a  boy  of  ten,  to  inspect  certain  quarries  which  were 

1  G.  Owen  Rees,  M.D.  ;  born  in  1813,  died  1889. 

2  Edward  I'Anson,  F.G.S.,  President  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British 
Architects  ;  born  in  1812,  died  in  1888. 


30  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  [1830-31. 

fifteen  miles  distant.  An  account-book  for  that  year  is 
chiefly  a  list  of  small  disbursements  for  fossils  and  many 
varieties  of  minerals,  showing  the  strong  bent  of  his 
mind. 

A  large  scrap-book  of  printed  geological  sections,  and 
quaint,  crude  views  of  coal-mines,  volcanoes,  basaltic 
rocks,  minerals,  skeletons  of  Plesiosaurus,  &c.,  and  with 
descriptive  letterpress,  is  very  interesting.  In  its  pages 
are  occasional  verses,  entirely  geological,  gleaned  chiefly 
from  '  An  Old  Fragment.'  A  quotation  from  Milton  is 
given  in  the  first  page  : — 

"  He  the  world 

Built  on  circumfluous  waters  calm,  in  wide 
Crystalline  ocean." 

This  scrap-book  also  contained  a  coloured  map  and 
sections  of  the  Boulogne  district,  which  were  evidently 
drawn  during  the  summer  sojourn  of  the  Prestwrich 
family  there,  as  they  bear  the  inscription  in  his  hand- 
writing :  "  Carte  et  Profils  geognostiques  du  Bassin  du 
Bas  Boulonnais,  par  M.  Rozet,  J.  Prestwich  fecit.  July 
1830."  He  was  then  eighteen  years  of  age. 

The  last  portion  of  the  autobiography  touches  upon 
another  favourite  holiday  resort: — 

I  soon  had  the  opportunity  of  studying  the  subject  in  the  field, 
my  holidays  being  [again]  spent  at  Broseley  in  the  Coalbrook  Dale 
Coalfield,  where  Pennystone  iron-ore  was  [still]  largely  worked, 
and  where  I  revelled  day  after  day.  I  was  shown  by  Mr  John 
Anstie  his  fine  collections  from  the  Madeley  pits,  and  he  kindly 
gave  me  every  facility  to  study  or  make  use  of  his  specimens. 
They  had  already  attracted  the  attention  of  Dr  Buckland,  who,  I 
was  told,  coming  one  day  to  see  the  collection  with  bag  and  much 
mudded,  went  to  the  back  door  and  experienced  some  difficulty 
from  the  servants  in  getting  admitted.  I  also  descended  a  large 
number  of  the  pits  to  see  the  underground  structure  of  the  fossil 
plants  in  situ. 


JET.  18-19.]  COALBROOK   DALE.  31 

His  father  naturally  did  not  like  those  descents  into 
coal-pits,  and  in  a  letter  (when  the  young  Joseph  had 
gone  to  Broseley,  accompanied  by  the  son  of  their  friend 
Mr  Newton)  writes  :  "  Mr  Newton,  senior,  has  nothing 
to  communicate.  On  my  part  I  have  to  request  that 
you  would  not  allow  his  son  to  go  into  a  coal-pit.  I 
do  not  like  the  exploit  for  yourself,  and  as  you  have 
already  descended  into  them  you  will  not  be  accused  of 
a  superficial  knowledge  of  your  subject  if  you  make 
your  further  researches  by  deputy." 

But  Joseph  Prestwich's  work  was  never  done  by 
deputy. 

For  a  small  remuneration  (for  then  the  wages  of  the  working 
miners  were  only  2s.  for  a  long  day),  I  enlisted  the  services  of 
several  working  men.  The  overlookers  were  also  generally 
very  willing  to  assist,  so  I  returned  night  after  night  with 
my  bag  full.  The  pits  were  not  large,  nor  were  they  very 
deep.  From  150  to  500  feet  was  the  general  run.  Descending 
them,  however,  was  often  a  rough  task.  Sometimes  we  de- 
scended on  trays ;  at  other  times  we  stood  on  the  platform ;  a 
chain  loop  attached  to  the  main  rope  was  handed  to  each  man, 
through  which  we  placed  one  leg.  At  a  given  signal  the  rope 
was  drawn  up  a  few  feet,  when  we  all  (generally  there  were  seven 
or  eight  men)  swung  together  like  so  many  herrings  at  the  end 
of  a  bunch,  and  then  holding  on  to  one  another  we  were  let 
down  to  the  bottom.  Sometimes  the  descent  was  in  an  up 
shaft  which  would  be  full  of  smoke  and  like  descending  a 
chimney.  However,  I  considered  myself  well  rewarded  by  the 
sight  of  the  strata  and  especially  the  faults,  nor  did  I  overlook 
the  surface.  The  one-inch  ordnance  map  of  the  district  was 
just  then  published,  the  cost  being  16s.  a -sheet.  On  this  I 
laid  down  the  surface  geology,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  pit 
sections,  which  were  ever  here  readily  given  to  me  with  per- 
mission to  copy,  I  drew  up  my  Memoir  on  Coalbrook  Dale, 
which,  later  on,  was  published  in  the  '  Transactions  of  the  Geo- 
logical Society.'  Sir  Koderick  Murchison,  who  was  working  in 


32  COALBROOK   DALE.  [l832. 

the  adjacent  Silurian  district,  kindly  gave  me  the  benefit  of 
his  advice  respecting  the  latter,  and  led  me  to  make  a  con- 
siderable collection  of  Wenlock  fossils.  My  kind  friends  the 
Pritchards  of  Broseley  also  placed  a  room  at  my  disposal,  which 
I  soon  filled. 

Lindley 1  was  then  bringing  out  his  '  Fossil  Flora  of  Great 
Britain/  and  I  was  able  to  furnish  him  with  several  new  species, 
and  to  profit  by  his  suggestions.  I  had  now  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  my  lifelong  friend,  [Professor]  John  Morris,2  who  under- 
took to  describe  and  figure  the  plants  for  my  Memoir,  while  the 
shells  were  taken  in  hand  by  Mr  Sowerby.  It  was  some  time, 
however,  before  the  paper  appeared  in  the  Transactions.  My 
works  of  reference  were  Artis's  '  Phytology,'  and  Lindley  and 
Button's  'Fossil  Flora,'  then  in  course  of  publication. 

Thus  the  results  of  his  work  among  the  Shropshire 
coal-pits  under  and  above  ground,  and  on  the  adjacent 
country,  were  embodied  in  a  memoir  read  before  the 
Geological  Society.  The  first  part,  "  On  Some  of  the 
Faults  which  affect  the  Coal-field  of  Coalbrookdale," 
was  read  in  February  1834;  while  the  second  and 
principal  part,  on  "  The  Geology  of  Coalbrookdale,"  was 
read  on  two  successive  meetings  of  the  Society,  in 
April  1836.  Although  not  published  in  the  'Transac- 
tions of  the  Geological  Society'  until  1838,  the  memoir 
was  in  great  part  written  when  the  author  had  just 
completed  his  twentieth  year.  His  friend  Sir  John 
Evans,  with  whom  he  was  on  terms  of  brotherly 
affection  until  the  end  of  life,  with  whom  indeed  he 
shared  every  joy  and  sorrow,  remarks  of  this  paper  in 
an  obituary  notice  to  the  Royal  Society,  "It  at  once 
established  his  reputation  as  a  geologist,  and  it  has 
ever  since  been  numbered  among  our  British  classics." 

1  Dr  John  Lindley,  Professor  of  Botany  in  University  College,  London  ; 
born  1799,  died  1865. 

2  John  Morris,  F.G.S.,  Professor  of  Geology  in  University  College,  Lon- 
don ;  born  1810,  died  1886. 


Photo  by  C.  Esscnliigh  Corke,  Sevenoaks. 

PROFESSOR  JOHN    MORRIS. 


Ml.  20.]  CITY    LIFE.  33 

Another  friend,1  the  writer  of  a  biographical  notice, 
remarks  : — 

Looking  at  it  now,  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  model  of  what  a 
memoir  should  be  on  such  a  subject  as  the  coalfield  and  its  asso- 
ciated strata.  The  Silurian  and  Carboniferous  rocks,  the  New 
Eed  Sandstone,  the  Igneous  rocks  and  the  drifts,  were  all  duly 
described,  and,  what  is  more  remarkable,  considering  the  youth  of 
the  author,  the  superficial  extent  of  the  various  rocks  was  shown 
on  a  map  of  the  scale  of  one  inch  to  a  mile,  in  a  manner  dif- 
fering in  no  very  important  particulars  from  the  subsequently 
published  map  of  the  Geological  Survey.  ...  So  highly  indeed 
would  we  speak  of  this  work,  that  had  the  author  done  nothing 
subsequently,  we  believe  it  would  have  entitled  him  to  a  per- 
manent place  on  the  roll  of  those  geologists  who  have  rendered 
distinguished  service. 

In  a  diary  which  he  kept  for  the  first  few  months  of 
1832,  while  practically  a  City  clerk,  we  are  startled  to 
find  how  often  his  midday  meal  was  sacrificed  in  order 
to  provide  money  for  the  purchase  of  philosophical 
instruments  and  materials  for  chemical  experiments. 
This  practice  had  become  a  regular  system.  In  the 
first  week  of  January  there  are  four  days  on  which  the 
entry  occurs  "  dined  on  biscuits."  On  the  19th  we  find 
his  dinner  consisted  of  "  oranges  and  biscuits."  His 
usual  routine  appears  to  have  been  at  least  two  hours' 
work  before  breakfast,  and  on  his  way  into  the  City  he 
seldom  missed  calling  at  "  Smith's,"  a  shop  where  he 
purchased,  or  had  made,  much  of  his  chemical  and 
other  apparatus.  A  few  extracts  from  this  diary, 
touching  only  on  his  geological  and  chemical  work, 
will  give  some  idea  of  its  scope. 

Jan.  5. —  .  .  .  Bought  a  lot  of  tubes,  bottles,  &c.  Usual  rou- 
tine of  business.  Called  at  Smith's  for  some  apparatus  to  explain 


1  Mr  H.  B.  Woodward,  F.E.S.,  'Natural  Science 'for  August  1896,  p.  90. 

C 


34  DIARY.  [1832. 

the  laws  of  the  radiation  of  heat.  Found  E.  T.  and  E.  G-.  at 
home ;  the  latter  favoured  us  with  several  songs.  Remained  some 
time  in  my  laboratory  to  prepare  some  apparatus ;  afterwards  I 
played  two  games  at  draughts,  &c.  .  .  . 

6. —  .  .  .  Called  at  York  Street  to  order  an  air-pump  and  sex- 
tant, the  former  second-hand.  .  .  . 

15. —  .  .  .  Arranged  my  blow-pipe.  Went  to  church.  Uncle 
John  called,  .  .  .  likewise  J.  Noble.  I  made  two  differential 
thermometers  and  several  other  [things]  before  dinner.  After 
dinner  we  had  reading  and  singing,  'both  of  which  I  avoided.  I 
shirked  to  bed  at  J-past  10. 

21. —  ...  I  wrote  some  verses,  No.  6,  for  Maria  or  Louisa — 
neither  would  accept  them.  Spent  the  evening  in  my  rooms ; 
filled  the  eudiometer  with  oxygen,  and  made  several  jars  of 
hydrogen,  and  likewise  an  eudiometer,1  &c. 

22. — Made  a  siphon  during  the  evening  (had  seen  Dr  Mitchell's2 
fossils  in  the  morning). 

23.— Went  to  an  "  at  home  "  at  Miss  Gordon's  [school].  .  .  . 
After  supper  I  prepared  a  few  jars  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  with 
which  I  gave  a  lecture  on  the  principal  characteristics ;  and 
likewise  a  few  striking  examples  of  chemical  affinity.  The  ex- 
periments went  off  well,  and  I  believe  pleased. 

26. — Called  on  E.  Evans,  giving  him  two  small  bell-jars  of  my 
making.  E.  lent  me  his  galvanic  trough.  ...  I  remained  until 
12,  making  an  eudiometer,  differential  thermometer,  &c. 

29. —  .  .  .  After  dinner  I  made  some  laughing-gas  at  T.  W.'s 
earnest  solicitation.  It  made  me  very  obstreperous,  but  had 
little  effect  upon  Tom  or  Edward. 

31. —  .  .  .  Made  a  gold-leaf  electroscope. 

Feb.  1. — I  spent  the  evening  in  my  rooms.  .  .  .  Burnt  my 
fingers  badly. 

1  An  instrument  for  the  volumetric  measurement  of  gases. 

2  James  Mitchell,  LL.D.,  F.G.S. ;  born  1785,  died  in  1844.     A  zealous 
worker  on  the  geology  of  the  London  area,  and  an  early  friend  of  Prest- 
wich's.     Mitchell's  observations  on  the  strata  and  wells  around  London 
were  carefully  recorded  in  five  MS.  folio  volumes,  and  these  were  deposited 
by  Prestwich,  in  1889,  in  the  library  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  Prestwich  owed  much  to  the  help  and  encourage- 
ment of  Mitchell,  as  acknowledged  by  him,  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  x. 
p.  141. 


J3T.  20.]  CHEMISTRY   AND    PHYSICS.  35 

3. —  .  .  .  Called  on  Carey.  Goniometer  not  yet  finished. 
Went  to  the  Geological  Society  to  see  the  museum  ;  introduced 
myself  to  Mr  Denis,  who  politely  offered  to  show  it  to  me  at 
any  other  time,  but  Mr  Lonsdale  and  some  other  gentlemen 
were  then  upstairs ;  he  likewise  invited  me  to  the  general 
meetings. 

7. — Took  my  eudiometer  to  have  it  graduated  ;  blew 
glass.  .  .  . 

18. —  ...  I  gave  a  lecture  (of  one  hour)  on  electricity  to  my 
father,  sisters,  &c. ;  succeeded  pretty  well ;  got  on  as  far  as  the 
development  of  the  two  theories — audience  well  pleased. 

°20. —  ...  At  J-past  9  gave  a  lecture  on  electricity  (1J 
hour) — went  on  as  far  as  the  laws  of  distribution — managed 
very  well. 

21. — Down  at  £-past  8.  Eead.  Mr  Brooke  brought  me  Biot's 
'  Geometric  Analytique.'  .  .  .  Went  to  Oeller  and  Gree»n's  to 
have  an  electrical  flask  blown  ;  saw  it  made  myself. 

83. —  .  .  .  Got  home  at  -J-past  6  ;  gave  them  a  lecture  on  elec- 
tricity one  hour  long — rather  tired. 

March  4- —  •  •  •  Excursion  from  Gravesend  to  Northfleet ; 
went  round  to  all  the  cottages ;  bought  all  the  fossils  we  [E. 
I' Alison  and  I]  saw. 

13. — Down  at  J-past  7.  Eead  mathematics.  Went  to  the 
lecture  on  chemistry  at  the  London  University ;  asked  Dr 
Turner  to  take  me  to  the  Geological  Society,  which  he  promised 
to  do.  .  .  . 

14- —  •  .  .  Eead  mathematics.  .  .  .  At  J-past  8  went  to  the 
Geological  Society ;  heard  a  very  animated  and  interesting  dis- 
cussion on  the  Oolitic  formations  [paper  read  by  Murchison  on 
the  Cotteswold  and  Cleveland  Hills].  Messrs  Murchison,  Cony- 
beare,  Sedgwick,  De  la  Beche,  Lyell,  Greenough  spoke ;  asked  Dr 
Turner  to  propose  me  as  a  member. 

%0. — Down  at  J-past  8.  Eead ;  cleaned  some  chalk  fossils.  .  .  . 
Walked  home.  E.  Newton  was  there.  Made  some  laughing-gas — 
E.  I'Anson,  Edward,  and  myself.  Nearly  threw  E.  I'A.  into  con- 
vulsions— all  of  us  much  frightened  ;  had  little  effect  on  E.,  very 
little  on  me  and  my  sisters  ;  E.  I'A.  and  E.  Newton  ran  away 
when  I  took  it.  Eead,  and  retired  at  J-past  11. 

21. —  .  .  .  E.  I'Anson  studied  with  me  at  the  goniometer. 


36  DIARY.  [1832. 

88. —  .  .  .  Called  at  the  Geological  Society ;  saw  young  Denis.1 
He  offered  to  propose  me  as  member.  Copied  a  section  of  Mur- 
chison's.  Bought  lOd.  worth  of  plaster  of  Paris.  Took  casts  of 
my  sisters  and  E.  I'Anson.  Stuck  to  Emily's  eyelashes — J  an 
hour  coming  off;  read;  retired  at  J  to  12. 

83. —  .  .  .  Eead.     Wrote  part  of  my  '  Geology  of  Shropshire.' 

88. — Down  at  J  to  7.  ...  Bought  some  objects  for  the  micro- 
scope. .  .  .  My  father  came ;  went  with  him  to  see  the  double- 
sighted  Scotch  child — very  well  managed  and  ingenious,  surprised 
both  of  us.  ...  At  i-past  8  went  to  the  Geological  Society, 
where  I  spent  a  very  pleasant  evening;  left  at  J-past  11;  home 
after  12. 

89. —  .  .  .  Found  G.  Grant  at  The  Lawn.  Spoilt  my  even- 
ing ;  very  weary ;  played  at  faarti  with  G.  G. ;  read ;  retired 
at  11. 

April  4- —  •  •  •  Went  to  Pastourelli's,  where  I  bought 
a  siphon  -  gauge,  &c.,  for  2s.  6d. ;  bought  a  map  of  England 
for  3d.  ... 

5. —  .  .  .  No  breakfast.  Eead  all  day  magazines,  reviews,  &c. 
.  .  .  Eead,  microscopised.  .  .  . 

S. —  .  .  .  Down  at  10.  Eead  as  before;  blew  more  glass. 
Eead  until  11 ;  got  through  a  great  deal. 

7. — Much  better ;  down  at  J  to  9.  Went  to  an  auction  of  a 
medical  man  in  Conduit  Street,  where  I  bought  a  fine  galvanic 
trough  for  16s.,  then  left  for  fear  of  spending  more. 

9. — Down  at  8  J  ;  read.  .  .  .  T.  Turner  called ;  walked  with 
him  nearly  an  hour  to  the  Seven  Dials,  where  I  had  an  elec- 
trometer made.  Home  at  7 ;  tired.  Intended  to  lecture  on 
electricity.  G.  Grant  came — played  at  dcartt. 

11. — Down  at  8.  Eead.  Went  to  Mark  Lane,  then  to  Dr 
Mitchell's,  who  had  received  the  fossils  from  Norwich,  of  which 
he  gave  me  a  large  portion,  and  also  some  lias  specimens.  .  .  . 
Intended  to  lecture  on  electricity,  but  E.  I'A[nson]  came ;  spent  a 
pleasant  evening  with  him;  .  .  .  retired  at  11£. 

14. — Down  at  8j- ;  read.    Wrote  a  letter  to  Mr  Anstie  and  an- 


1  The  only  Fellow  of  the  Geological  Society  of  the  name  at  this  period 
was  Nicholas  Dennys,  of  4  Cambridge  Terrace,  Eegent's  Park. 


JBT.  20.]  INDUSTRY   AND   FRUGALITY.  37 

other  to  Mr  Rose,1  to  each  of  whom  I  sent  about  50  or  60  chalk 
fossils.  My  father  came :  he  told  me  that  Meredith  had  sent 
me  some  fossils  from  Lyme  Eegis.  .  .  . 

With  the  practice  of  rigid,  and  to  us  painful,  econo- 
mies, it  must  not  be  thought  that  young  Prestwich  was 
parsimonious  or  illiberal.  His  nature  was  the  very 
reverse :  he  was  generous  to  a  fault ;  and  although 
throughout  life  it  was  a  principle  with  him  to  exercise 
strict  economy  in  his  own  personal  expenditure,  we 
believe  it  was  carried  out  to  enable  him  to  spend  more 
upon  others.  Deeds  of  unselfish  kindness,  involving  on 
his  part  no  little  self-denial — perhaps  known  only  to 
the  writer — cannot  be  spoken  of;  to  do  so  would  be  a 
violation  of  his  wishes.  In  later  years  we  come  upon  a 
touching  letter  from  one  who  was  a  stranger,  saying 
that  he  had  the  undying  gratitude  of  a  family  for  his 
generosity  in  saving  one  member  of  it  from  disgrace 
which  would  have  overwhelmed  one  and  all.  The  cir- 
cumstances were  made  known  to  Joseph  Prestwich,  and 
although  a  stranger,  and  his  income  at  the  time  circum- 
scribed, he  at  once  came  forward  with  a  sum  of  money 
which  the  family  was  unable  to  provide,  and  which  he 
gave  unreservedly.  Acts  such  as  these  were  unknown 
to  the  world. 

An  example  of  young  Prestwich's  patient  industry  is 
shown  in  a  quarto  volume  of  MS.  in  his  handwriting, 
giving  copies  of  geological  papers  and  their  accompany- 
ing illustrations  from  the  '  Transactions  of  the  Geologi- 
cal Society,'  the  '  Magazine  of  Natural  History/  the 
'  Annals  of  Philosophy,'  and  the  '  Edinburgh  New 
Philosophical  Journal.'  He  was  thus  enabled  to  study 
memoirs  by  Englefield,  Sedgwick,  Buckland,  Webster, 
&c.,  whose  writings  he  could  not  then  afford  to  pur- 

1  C.  B.  Rose,  F.R.C.S.,  F.G.S.,  of  Swaffham;  born  1790,  died  1872. 


38  ZETETICAL   SOCIETY.  [1833. 

chase.     In  the  same  volume  are  copious  extracts  from 
Dufrenoy  and  Elie  de  Beaumont,  Cuvier,  Galeotti,  &c. 

In  1833  Prestwich  established  an  association  for 
mutual  aid  and  self-improvement  named  the  "  Zetetical 
Society  " l  among  young  men  of  his  own  age,  and  all  of 
whom  were  his  personal  friends,  one  of  their  number 
being  [Dr]  G.  Owen  Rees.  The  rules  were  set  forth  in 
a  small  pamphlet. 

According  to  Rule  II.,  "  The  object  of  this  Society 
shall  be  the  cultivation  of  scientific  and  literary  know- 
ledge, by  placing  at  the  disposal  of  the  members  a 
library,  museum,  and  apparatus ;    and  its  proceedings 
shall  consist  of  lectures,  essays,  and  discussions  upon 
all  subjects  save  those  of  a  theological  nature."     Each 
member  had  in  turn  to   give  a  lecture,  or  propose  a 
subject  for  discussion,  under  the  penalty  of  a  fine.    The 
society  started  with  fifteen  members ;  the  weekly  meet- 
ings were  held  first  at  "  The  Lawn,"   and  afterwards 
alternately  at  the  homes  of  some  of  the  other  members, 
until,  owing  to  their  increased  numbers,  rooms  and  a 
small  laboratory  were  taken  for  the  Society  in  Surrey 
Street,  Strand.     The  list  of  chemical  apparatus  lent  by 
its  president  for  the  use  of  the  members  was  very  com- 
prehensive, comprising  a  small  French  furnace,  blow- 
pipe, retorts,  &c.,  and  all  sorts  of  chemical  appliances 
— in  short  it  was  a  complete  laboratory  equipment.     It 
included  a  good  microscope  and  a  cabinet  of  minerals. 
On  looking  over  the  list  sent  to  him  by  the  hon.  secre- 
tary, of  some   seventy   items,  one   cannot   forget   the 
effort,  the  self-denial,  and  the  care  that   had    brought 
each  piece  of  that  laboratory  equipment  together. 

The  Zetetical  Society  flourished  for  only  a  few  years. 
Joseph  Prestwich  soon  found  that  his  position  in  the 

1  The  term  "  Zetetical "  implies  the  direct  search  after  knowledge. 


JET.  21.]  TEMPERAMENT   AND   CHARACTER.  39 

City  compelled  frequent  absence  from  London  for 
several  weeks,  and  sometimes  months  at  a  time,  as  in 
the  case  of  Epernay,  where  he  remained  one  winter. 
The  other  members  of  the  Society  were  likewise 
summoned  away  one  by  one  to  their  professional  or 
business  avocations,  and  the  Zetetical  Society,  after 
its  brief  term  of  useful  and  improving  work,  was 
broken  up. 

Its  members  formed  an  interesting  group.  All  were 
steady,  earnest  young  men  entering  upon  life  —  all 
animated  by  the  same  spirit  —  all  eager  for  self- 
improvement.  Not  one,  alas !  survives  to  tell  the 
tale,  but  old  letters  which  come  to  light  reveal  that 
their  affection  for  their  young  leader  was  life-long,  and 
did  not  cease  with  the  breaking  up  of  the  Society. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  Joseph  Prestwich  was  a 
remarkable  man,  endowed  with  remarkable  gifts.  But 
for  that  extreme  diffidence,  that  constitutional  shyness 
which  he  had  inherited  from  his  mother,  and  which 
prevented  him  from  ever  possessing  the  confidence  in 
his  own  powers  necessary  for  every  public  man,  he 
might  have  come  much  more  prominently  to  the  front. 
Although  always  and  everywhere  very  popular,  that 
distrust  in  himself  interfered  with  his  career  as  a 
public  man  and  a  speaker.  This  lack  of  self-assertion, 
however,  did  not  lessen  the  number  of  his  personal 
friends,  for  no  one  ever  possessed  a  greater  gift  of 
attracting  and  winning  the  regard,  and  retaining  the 
attachment,  of  those  he  valued  and  who  knew  him 
intimately.  They  found  in  him  a  kindliness,  or  rather 
a  brotherliness,  peculiar  to  himself.  To  comparative 
strangers  he  appeared  reserved.  As  Prestwich's  old 
friend  Mr  S.  R  Pattison  justly  remarked,  "He  was 
free  from  assumption  of  any  kind,  and  always  began 


40  GEOLOGICAL   SOCIETY.  [l833. 

talking  on  a  subject  with  great  simplicity  and  humility." 
Perhaps  the  most  prominent  feature  in  his  character 
throughout  life  was  his  truthfulness  and  love  of  truth. 
He  had  also  a  strong  sense  of  justice.  He  abhorred 
"  the  falsity  of  exaggeration,"  and  although  no  student 
was  ever  more  fired  by  enthusiasm  for  his  subject,  even 
when  a  youth  his  words  expressed  the  exact  sense, 
justly  and  carefully  weighed.  This  habit  of  severe 
accuracy  has  assisted  in  no  small  measure  to  give  to 
his  writings  the  high  place  which  has  been  assigned 
to  them. 

It  was  in  1833,  the  year  of  his  coming  of  age, 
that  Joseph  Prestwich's  wish  was  fulfilled,  and  he 
was  elected,  while  Greenough  was  President,  a  Fellow 
of  the  Geological  Society  of  London,  a  fellowship  that 
was  to  last  for  sixty-three  years. 

At  this  date  also  he  attained  a  more  responsible 
business  position,  and  began  to  travel  for  his  father's 
firm,  as  we  find  letters  addressed  to  him  at  Falmouth, 
Worcester,  and  other  towns,  &c.  These  journeys  to 
all  parts  of  the  country,  and  often  abroad,  were  full 
of  interest,  and  were  prosecuted  during  a  large  portion 
of  his  life,  contributing  in  a  great  measure  to  his  wide 
and  rapid  acquisition  of  geological  knowledge.  From 
his  accustomed  seat  on  the  top  of  the  coach  he  was 
able,  like  William  Smith  in  earlier  days,  to  scan  the 
landscape  on  every  side,  and  his  trained  quick  eye, 
like  that  of  the  "  father  of  English  geology,"  enabled 
him  at  a  glance  to  grasp  the  physical  features  of  a 
new  district.  He  thoroughly  enjoyed  this  healthy 
out-door  life,  and  the  traversing  of  ground  so  often 
new. 

Yet  there  is  another  aspect  to  these  journeys,  and 
a  very  pathetic  one.  They  were  very  solitary  ;  he  was 


JET.  21.]  BUSINESS   JOURNEYS.  41 

thrown  upon  himself,  as,  although  always  courteous 
to  his  fellow-travellers,  there  were  none  who  sympa- 
thised with  his  tastes  and  with  that  ardent  desire  for 
knowledge — none  with  whom  he  could  hold  scientific 
converse.  After  dinner  at  a  small  table  his  note-books 
were  opened,  and  the  evening  was  spent  in  registering 
the  work  of  the  day,  and  in  entering  any  fresh  geologi- 
cal facts,  and  in  drawing  sections.  His  nature  was 
eminently  genial,  and  as  years  sped  on  this  lack  of 
companionship  pressed  hard  upon  him.  He  had  never 
been  talkative,  and  this  isolated  mode  of  life  made  him 
more  silent  and  more  self-contained,  whilst  at  the  same 
time  he  pined  for  fellowship.  He  rarely  complained, 
yet  again  and  again  during  long  absences  he  wrote 
to  some  member  of  the  family,  reiterating  that  he 
kept  counting  the  days  until  he  should  again  join 
"  the  dear  home  circle,"  or  be  back  in  his  "  dear  home." 

His  geology  had  become  all-absorbing,  and  had  grown 
to  be  the  passion  of  his  life  ;  yet  if  on  those  long  country 
tours  there  had  been  one  sympathetic  soul  to  whom  in 
the  evenings  spent  in  the  "  commercial  room  "  he  could 
have  communicated  new  points  made  out,  new  lights 
thrown  on  some  hitherto  obscure  relation  of  the  geo- 
logical strata,  his  pleasure  would  have  been  intensified 
tenfold.  He  was  realising  the  truth  so  graphically 
expressed  by  the  veteran  geologist,  the  Hev.  Adam 
Sedgwick,  for  whom  he  entertained  the  warmest  ad- 
miration and  regard,  that  "pleasures  would  be  with- 
ered things  if  we  could  not  impart  them,  and  our  joys 
would  be  but  lamplight  in  a  dungeon  if  there  were  no 
friend  to  rejoice  with  us." 

In  a   charming;  letter  written   in    French   to   "  mon 

C5 

cher  ami,"   one   of  his   old   Paris    schoolfellows    at    M. 
Colin's,  Joseph   Prestwich  repeats  that  never  had  he 


42  NATURAL   HISTORY    SOCIETY.  [l834. 

been  so  happy  in  any  school,  and  that  he  had  often 
wished  to  return  to  Paris.  He  confides  to  this  friend 
that  although  engaged  in  commerce  he  aspires  to  be 
a  geologist,  and  mentions  a  business  tour  in  Devon 
and  Cornwall. 

Cornwall,  qui  est  celebre  pour  ses  mines  de  cuivre  et  d'etain, 
offre  des  attractions  bien  grandes  pour  le  geologue  et  le  nrine'ral- 
ogiste,  et  je  me  place  dans  les  rangs  comme  un  humble  etudiant. 
Que  mes  vues  sont  change'es  depuis  que  je  t'ai  vu !  j'e*tais  con- 
tent d'e*tudier  ma  vocabulaire  latine  et  de  construire  des  themes ; 
a  present  je  voudrais  tout  savoir  —  tout  voir  —  tout  analyser. 
C'est  dire  beaucoup — tels  sont  mes  desirs.  Oh,  si  j'avais  le  temps 
a  lire  et  a  e*tudier  tout  ce  que  je  voudrais ! 

No  words  could  more  fitly  express  his  fervent  aspira- 
tions. 

It  was  in  all  probability  about  this  date  that  young 
Prestwich  projected  a  plan  for  a  Natural  History 
Society,  the  object  of  which  was  thoroughly  to  work 
out  the  geology,  botany,  &c.,  of  the  London  Basin  by 
the  personal  observations  of  its  members.  We  do  not 
hear  of  the  formal  establishment  of  this  Society  ;  but  as 
its  members  were  self-elected,  consisting  of  those  who 
could  contribute  to  the  knowledge  of  the  natural  history 
of  the  country  round  London,  and  as  in  its  beginning 
there  was  no  subscription,  it  is  possible  that  there  may 
have  been  many  meetings  at  the  London  Coffee- House 
in  St  Paul's  Churchyard,  where  the  members  were  to 
assemble  until  they  could  afford  the  expenses  of  a  fixed 
establishment.  The  scope  of  this  "Natural-Historical 
Society  of  the  Neighbourhood  of  London  "  is  somewhat 
ambitious,  and  is  given  in  his  own  handwriting.  Nor- 
folk and  Suffolk  were  not  included,  but  the  boundary 
line  of  the  country  to  be  examined  was  to  extend  from 
Harwich  westward  along  the  northern  extremity  of 


J5T.  22.]  ACQUISITION    OF    KNOWLEDGE.  43 

Essex,  whence  it  would  range  "  in  a  south-west  direction 
by  Henley-on-Thames  to  near  Hungerford,  when,  turn- 
ing abruptly  eastward,  it  bends  by  Guildford,  Croydon, 
and  thence  in  an  irregular  line  near  Chatham  and 
Canterbury  to  the  South  Foreland.  The  reason  for 
adopting  so  large  and  irregular  a  district  is  that  the 
zoological  and  botanical  distributions  are  materially 
influenced  by  geological  superposition,  and  that  the 
development  of  the  latter  would  be  extremely  incom- 
plete were  the  limits  more  restricted/' 

The  following  extract  is  from  a  letter  to  an  old  Head- 
ing schoolfellow,  Mr  Edward  Hurry,  at  Bogota  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  E.  Hurry. 

BIRMINGHAM.  Oct.  1834. 

MY  DEAR  EDWARD, —  ...  I  must  again  return  you  my  best 
thanks  for  your  kind  endeavours  to  procure  for  me  such  minerals 
and  fossils  as  you  may  meet  with.  The  district  in  which  you  are 
now  situated  affords  few  or  none  of  these,  but  the  sea,  I  should 
think,  would  abound  with  a  great  variety  of  corals,  shells,  sea- 
weeds, &c. — specimens  of  all  of  which  would  be  highly  accept- 
able. That  which  to  you  appears  trifling  and  valueless  from 
the  circumstance  of  its  being  commonplace  and  abundant  would 
be  of  much  interest  here.  No  object  of  natural  history  will  come 
amiss. 

The  letter  is  a  long  one,  giving  news  of  Dr  Valpy, 
and  reminiscences  of  schoolboy  days  at  Reading. 

Mr  E.  Hurry  in  reply  deplored  his  lack  of  knowledge 
of  geology  and  mineralogy,  and  besought  his  old  school- 
fellow to  put  him  in  the  way  of  acquiring  it,  adding 
that  he  had  sent  to  England  for  a  book  on  the  subject 
for  study.  We  find  ten  pages  of  large  letter-paper — 
a  closely  written  document  without  date,  beginning 
"  My  dear  Edward,"  which  was  the  draft  of  a  letter 
of  instruction  sent  to  Mr  Hurry  at  Carthagena.  After 


44  ADVANTAGES    OF   KNOWLEDGE.  [1834. 

a  warning  that  he  must  not  expect  to  be  able  to 
read  the  difficult  facts  in  geology  until  the  alphabet 
had  been  mastered,  he  advises  young  Hurry  to  select 
one  particular  subject  on  which  to  exercise  his  observa- 
tion, and  suggests  that  he  should  study,  for  example, 
the  action  of  water,  not  in  reference  to  its  chemical 
properties  nor  its  stagnant  state,  but  its  powerful 
mechanical  action  when  in  a  state  of  motion.  We 
quote  the  sequel,  as  it  may  be  a  help  and  encourage- 
ment to  some  earnest  young  geologist : — 

"We  are  all  endowed  with  reason  and  observation,  of  which  it 
is  your  duty  to  avail  yourself  to  the  utmost  extent.  Geology  is 
entirely  a  science  of  observation  and  comprehension ;  accustom 
yourself  on  all  occasions  to  employ  those  talents — notice  the 
effects  of  all  you  witness,  study  their  causes,  and  you  cannot  fail 
to  become  a  good  geologist.  And  what  can  afford  more  delight 
than  the  free  use  of  that  reason  wherewith  nature  has  endowed 
us  all !  What  infinite  pleasure  results  from  witnessing  the 
powers  and  exercising  the  capabilities  of  your  own  mind  !  And 
above  all  with  what  ecstasy,  with  what  gratification,  with  what 
feelings  of  admiration,  of  gratitude,  and  of  enthusiasm,  do  you 
trace  out  the  mighty  works  of  the  Deity,  do  you  fathom  their 
mysteries  and  unravel  their  intricacies  !  You  read  what  must 
have  been  His  thoughts,  His  ideas,  His  intentions,  when  you 
thus  perceive  the  results  of  His  wisdom  and  His  power,  for  in 
everything  will  you  find  intent  and  purpose.  When  thus  sur- 
rounded by  and  studying  His  works,  how  can  you  fail  to  look 

"Thro5  Nature  up  to  Nature's  God"  ? 

This  was  the  letter  of  a  mere  youth.     Its  influence  on 
his  friend  in  the  land  of  exile  can  never  be  known. 


45 


CHAPTER    III. 

1834-1849. 

GEOLOGY    OF    COALBROOK   DALE   AND   GAMRIE— 
TERTIARY   MEMOIRS. 

THE  early  part  of  1834  was  spent  in  Ireland,  and  the 
later  spring  months  in  Scotland.  The  result  of  the 
northern  journey  was  a  paper  read  in  1835  before  the 
Geological  Society,  "  On  the  Ich  thy  elites  of  Gamrie  in 
Banffshire,"  which,  though  written  subsequently  to  the 
Goalbrook  Dale  Memoir,  was  yet  his  first  published 
work,  as  it  appeared  in  an  abridged  form  in  1835. 
This  paper  was  supplemented  by  another  in  1837,  in 
which  was  first  noticed  the  occurrence  of  shells  in  the 
Till  at  high  levels  and  separate  from  raised  beaches. 
The  two  papers  were  published  in  full  in  1840. 

We  are  unable  to  ascertain  to  whom  the  following 
letter  was  addressed.  It  is  quoted  merely  to  show 
the  care  which  the  young  geologist  evinced  in  replying 
to  any  inquiry  : — 

LYNN,  lUh  June  1835. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  to  apologise  for  not  making  this  com- 
munication at  an  earlier  date.  I  had  expected  that  I  should 
have  been  enabled  to  have  done  so  upon  my  return  to  London 
last  April,  but  I  found  my  notes  upon  the  subject  so  scanty, 


46  JOURNEY   TO    SCOTLAND.  [1835. 

and  my  sketch  of  the  specimen  so  imperfect,  that  I  waited  until 
another  trip  to  Shropshire  would  enable  me  to  afford  you  more 
minute  details. 

The  fossil  in  question  was  found  in  a  vertical  position  in  a 
fine-grained  sandstone,  associated  with  numerous  plants,  prin- 
cipally of  the  genera  Calamites  and  Stigmaria,  lying  in  all  posi- 
tions. The  stem  was  truncated  ahout  eighteen  inches  above  the 
roots,  which,  to  the  number  of  four,  were  prolonged  from  it  to 
a  length  of  about  four  feet ;  but  as  the  seams  of  the  sandstone 
were  continued  through  these  roots,  the  lower  parts  of  them 
were  separated  and  lost  upon  the  removal  of  the  specimen, 
which,  at  the  time  that  I  saw  it,  had  been  so  acted  upon  by 
the  weather  that  the  external  marking  was  nearly  obliterated. 

This  sandstone  bed  overlies  a  thick  deposit  of  shale  contain- 
ing ironstone,  and  characterised  by  numerous  exuvise  which  are 
totally  wanting  in  the  sandstone.  In  this  latter,  in  common  with 
several  other  beds  of  sandstone,  the  larger  fossils  are  generally 
in  a  vertical  position,  traversing  several  divisions  of  the  rock, 
whereas  the  lesser  specimens  lie  in  all  positions,  but  most  fre- 
quently horizontally,  and  in  the  seams  of  the  beds.  .  .  . 
Trusting  that  this  slight  communication  may  be  yet  of  some 
service,  I  remain,  my  dear  sir,  yours  sincerely, 

J.  PKESTWICH,  Junr. 

As  a  worker  not  altogether  unknown,  for  the  value 
of  his  Coalbrook  Dale  paper  (although  not  yet  pub- 
lished) had  been  at  once  recognised,  he  was  present  at 
the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  in  Dublin  in 
1835.  In  the  same  year  he  again  made  a  length- 
ened tour  in  Scotland,  when  an  extract  from  a  letter 
posted  at  Inverness  gives  an  account  of  a  visit  to 
Edinburgh  :— 

J.  Prestwick  to  C.  Prestwich. 

MY  DEAREST  KATE, —  .  .  .  Now  I  must  take  you  back 
again  to  Edinburgh,  where  I  was  detained  much  longer  than 
was  agreeable.  However,  some  letters  of  introduction,  with 


MT.  23.]  EDINBURGH.  47 

which  Mr  Hutton  of  Newcastle l  kindly  furnished  me,  were 
the  means  of  making  me  acquainted  with  several  pleasant  and 
celebrated  men.  Among  others  I  had  the  honour  of  forming 
Professor  Jameson's  acquaintance,2  of  which  I  hope  to  be  able 
to  avail  myself  more  upon  a  future  visit.  This  time  I  merely 
had  the  opportunity  of  spending  a  short  half-hour  with  him,  as 
I  wished  to  be  in  Edinburgh  at  eleven,  and  the  doctor  resides 
about  two  miles  from  town.  He  received  me  very  politely, 
presented  me  with  a  few  specimens,  and  expressed  a  hope  that 
I  would  visit  him  when  again  in  Edinburgh.  An  interview 
with  Dr  Eobson,  secretary  to  the  R  S.,  enabled  me  to  inspect 
their  collection  of  Burdiehouse  [Carboniferous  fossils]  at  their 
rooms.  A  Mr  Ehind  was  going  to  introduce  me  to  Lord 
Greenock,  but  he  happened  to  be  out  of  town.  He  is  a  great 
coal-measure  and  ironstone  geologist.  I  am  anxious  to  compare 
notes  with  him.  The  great  analogy  presented  by  the  organic 
remains  of  the  limestone  at  Burdiehouse  with  those  of  the  coal- 
field of  Shropshire  made  me  very  desirous  to  visit  the  spot, 
which  is  distant  five  miles  from  Edinburgh.  In  order  to  find 
time  I  walked  out  there  with  a  Mr  Charlton  at  six  o'clock  one 
morning,  arrived  there  before  eight,  and  was  much  gratified  with 
the  deposit  and  its  elegant  flora,  still  could  see  no  proof  of  its 
deposition  in  fresh  and  shallow  water  according  to  Dr  Hibbert's 
hypothesis.  Many  of  our  present  geologists  are  too  fond  of 
tossing  up  and  down  a  few  hundred  square  miles  of  country,  as 
though  it  were  a  carpet  they  were  dusting :  this  terrestrial  [crust] 
is  formed  of  no  such  pliable  material.3 

J.  Prestwich  to  the  Same.  CARLISLE,  uth  Nov.  1835. 

MY  DEAREST  KATE, — It  is  to  me  a  source  of  infinite  gratifi- 
cation to  have  once  more  crossed  the  Border,  with  a  prospect  of 


1  Joint  author  with  Dr  John  Lindley  of  'The  Fossil  Flora  of  Great 
Britain.' 

2  Robert  Jameson,  Eegius  Professor  of  Natural  History  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh  ;  born  1774,  died  1854. 

3  The  evidence  of  intermittent  subsidence  is,  of  course,  admitted  (see 
Prestwich,  '  Geology,'  vol.  ii.  p.  3)  ;  the  fresh-  and  shallow- water  formation 
of  the  Burdiehouse  limestone  is  not  now  questioned. 


48  BANFFSHIRE.  [1836 

a  speedy  return  to  our  dear  and  happy  home.  You  can  scarcely, 
dear  Kate,  appreciate  all  the  attractions  of  that  delightful  spot. 
Many  and  many  an  event  which  from  its  daily  and  habitual 
occurrence  passed  unnoticed  in  the  pleasurable  m$Ue  is  now,  by 
contrast  with  similar  scenes,  but  scenes  differently  enacted,  and 
with  associations  totally  at  variance,  brought  to  my  recollection 
with  the  most  vivid  freshness  and  delight.  Still,  Kate,  not  only 
are  past  events  productive  of  much  pleasure,  but  so  also  are 
those  proceedings  which  are  hourly  and  constantly  taking  place 
in  my  absence,  and  with  a  brief  detail  of  which  I  had  hoped  to 
have  been  favoured  rather  more  frequently  than  I  have  been 
latterly.  ...  I  shall  fully  expect  to  hear  from  you  at  Liverpool. 
.  .  .  With  best  love  to  all,  believe  me,  your  very  affectionate 
brother,  J.  PRESTWICH,  Jr. 

Another  paper  on  the  Banffshire  coast  was  written 
after  his  second  long  tour  in  Scotland,  and  was  entitled 
"  On  some  recent  Elevations  of  the  Coast  of  Banffshire, 
and  on  a  Deposit  of  Clay  formerly  considered  to  be  Lias." 
It  was  read  at  the  Geological  Society  in  1837,  and  pub- 
lished in  full  in  1838. 

A  memoir  in  French,  which  likewise  was  written  at 
an  earlier  date,  was  read  in  the  1837-38  Session  of  the 
Soeiete  Geologique  de  France,  "  Sur  les  debris  de 
Mammiferes  terrestres,  qui  se  trouvent  dans  1'argile 
plastique  aux  environs  d'Epernay."  This  paper  was 
long  remembered  in  Paris  as  having  given  rise  to  an 
important  discussion,  in  which  Constant  Prevost, 
Deshayes,  Biviere,  and  others  took  part. 

A  letter  to  his  sister  Kate  expresses  his  happiness  to 
find  himself  again  in  his  beloved  France. 

RENNES,  July  1836,  Friday  Evening,  10. 

At  last,  my  dearest  Kate,  I  am  again  in  France:  that  long- 
anticipated  visit  is  now  performed,  and  I  enjoy  it  most  intensely. 
I  like  the  country,  the  people,  the  living,  and  in  fact  I  am 


2ET.  24.]  BRITISH    ASSOCIATION.  49 

inclined  to  be  displeased  with  nothing.  I  only  fear  that  I  shall 
be  satiated  with  the  continuance  of  enjoyment.  Every  moment 
has  its  pleasure  —  some  new  scene  is  unfolded  —  some  fresh 
variation  in  costume  or  in  manners  is  exhibited,  or  another 
town  is  to  be  explored.  But  the  very  excess  of  my  curiosity 
carries  with  it  a  drawback  which,  though  trifling  on  any  other 
occasion,  is,  at  the  present  time,  rather  tantalising.  I  feel 
dissatisfied  if  everybody  else  does  not  exhibit  the  same  en- 
thusiasm and  the  same  earnestness  in  viewing  and  exploring 
the  country. 

I  could  and  would  willingly  at  any  time  go  without  my 
dinner  rather  than  not  see  all  that  may  be  worth  examining  in 
a  town  when  we  remain  but  two  or  three  hours — and  of  course, 
in  order  to  make  the  most  of  so  short  a  time,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  use  some  activity  and  despatch,  or  I  have  no 
objection  to  rise  at  four  in  the  morning  for  the  same  object.  .  .  . 

In  another  letter  to  this  sister,  dated  from  Broseley, 
September  1836,  he  alludes  to  the  meeting  of  the 
British  Association  at  Bristol,  and  to  its  very  hospi- 
table reception  there.  "  All  the  head  men  of  the 
Association  were  received  at  private  houses ;  the  lesser 
men  were  of  course  obliged  to  be  content  with  the 
rascally  Bristol  inns.  I  was  very  well  pleased  to  meet 
with  Rees  on  Monday  morning,  more  especially  as  I 
always  feel  myself  rather  solitary  in  so  large  an  assembly 
where  I  am  intimate  with  no  one." 

In  a  rejoinder  to  the  above  letter,  we  quote  a  passage 
to  show  the  estimation  in  which  his  "  den"  was  held  by 
one  member  of  "  The  Lawn"  household  : — 

C.  Prestwich  to  J.  Prestwich.  THE  LAWN,  Sept.  23, 1836. 

.  .  .  "We  have  an  Irish  housemaid ;  she  is  very  ignorant 
and  a  Catholic — nothing  will  induce  her  to  go  into  your  little 
back  room ;  she  does  not  much  like  arranging  the  breakfast  room. 
She  has  taken  into  her  head  that  you  dissect  dead  bodies,  arid 
that  the  shark's  jaw  is  what  you  take  them  up  with.  I  should 

D 


50  VISIT    TO    IRELAND.  [1836-37. 

have  told  you  that  nurse  took  her  to  the  door  one  day,  when  she 
saw  all  these  things.  She  crossed  herself,  and  was  very  glad  to 
get  away.  It  is  said  that  the  housemaid  never  passed  the  door 
without  crossing  herself.  .  .  . 

One  of  his  earliest  (Tertiary)  geological  expeditions 
was  made  from  Norwich  in  1836,  where,  under  the 
guidance  of  Mr  Samuel  Woodward,  the  geologist  and 
antiquary,  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  the  Thorpe  Crag 
pits,  and  there  obtained  a  fine  molar  of  Elephas  meri- 
dionalis,  now  in  the  Norwich  Museum. 

What  with  geology  and  what  with  business,  1836 
was  indeed  a  busy  year  :  but  could  any  year  of  his  life 
be  pointed  to  which  was  not  busy  ? 

J.  Prestwich  to  his  Sister,  Mrs  JRussell  Scott. 

LIVERPOOL,  Nov.  25,  1836. 

MY  DEAKEST  ISABELLA, —  .  .  .  My  letter  to  "The  Lawn" 
will  probably  have  informed  you  of  my  proceedings  in  Ireland — 
of  my  trip  up  the  Shannon,  and  my  visit  to  Ballinasloe.  I  thence 
went  to  Galway.  As  this  is  the  most  thoroughly  Catholic  town 
in  Ireland  I  felt  curious  to  see  the  monastic  establishments,  and 
having  an  hour  to  spare  I  applied  to  a  Father  Flynn  for  direc- 
tions. He  very  civilly  volunteered  me  his  guidance.  We  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Presentation  Convent,  a  fine  large  building  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  town.  Its  objects  are  religious  seclusion  and  the 
education  of  the  poor.  I  was  much  pleased  with  the  schoolrooms, 
of  which  there  were  five,  containing  about  five  hundred  girls  from 
six  to  eighteen  years  of  age.  They  were  clean  and  tidy,  and  are 
taught  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  geography,  and  needlework. 
In  one  room  the  children  were  working  patterns  on  net,  a  large 
quantity  of  which  is  sent  over  by  the  Nottingham  manufacturers 
for  that  purpose.  I  found  the  nuns  very  obliging.  They  showed 
and  explained  everything  to  me.  Their  dress  somewhat  resembles 
that  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  Paris.  There  were  twenty-five  in 
this  convent ;  some  were  young  and  pretty.  One  of  them  had  a 
fortune  of  £10,000.  Poor  girl!  They  all  looked  happy  and 


JST.  24-25.]  BUSINESS   AND    SCIENCE.  51 

healthy.  We  afterwards  walked  through  the  garden  and  visited 
the  chapel,  which  contained  three  good  Italian  paintings.  One 
presented  that  strange  mass  of  incongruities  so  common  to  old 
religious  paintings, — St  John,  in  the  wilderness,  clothed  in  the 
skins  of  wild  beasts,  had  his  face  decorated  with  moustaches  and 
a  chin  piece,  and  was  attended  by  two  Franciscan  friars  in  full 
costume ! 

We  then  went  to  the  Franciscan  convent — it  is  nearly  extinct ; 
there  are  only  three  old  ladies  there.  The  national  school  of 
Galway  is  large,  and  calculated  to  accommodate  eight  hundred 
boys :  there  were  but  four  hundred  there  when  I  saw  it.  They 
are  taught  by  the  monks.  The  books  are  supplied  by  the  Board 
in  Dublin.  From  the  cursory  view  which  I  took  of  them,  they 
appeared  to  be  good  and  appropriate.  It  was  curious  to  see  boys 
without  shoes  and  stockings,  and  with  their  clothes  all  in  rags, 
answering  questions  in  geography,  mathematics,  astronomy,  &c. — 
Believe  me,  my  dearest  Isabella,  your  very  affectionate  brother, 

J.  PRESTWICH,  Junr. 

A  letter  of  January  2,  1837,  written  to  him  at  Paris 
by  his  sister  Kate,  contains  the  following  sentence : 
"  Your  account  of  your  reception  by  Madame  Colin  was 
really  quite  affecting,  and  must  have  been  very  gratify- 
ing to  you." 

Very  few  original  letters  of  the  next  few  years  are 
preserved,  with  the  exception  of  those  addressed  to  his 
brother-in-law,  Mr  Russell  Scott,  and  these  are  not  of 
general  interest,  being  on  family  and  business  affairs. 
To  our  geologist  Mr  Russell  Scott  was  the  very  kindest 
brother  :  he  was  a  man  of  high  character,  and  one  who 
had  the  privilege  of  his  friendship  can  only  speak  of  him 
with  reverence  and  affection.  He  saw  and  appreciated 
young  Prestwich's  talent,  and  appraised  the  difficulty  of 
his  leading  two  lives — the  commercial  and  the  geologi- 
cal— without  detriment  to  health.  Mr  Scott,  too,  had 
had  business  experience,  as  he  had  amassed  a  very  con- 


52  BEOREATION.  [1837-38. 

siderable  fortune  in  early  life.  He  invested  a  portion  of 
his  capital  in  the  Mark  Lane  firm,  and  thus  became  a 
sleeping  partner,  which  conferred  on  him  the  right  of 
giving  his  wise  counsel  and  advice.  It  is  impossible  to 
over-estimate  the  importance  of  his  now  life-long  affec- 
tion for  Joseph  Prestwich,  who  was  many  years  his 
junior. 

Later  on,  when  Prestwich  had  moved  into  Mark  Lane 
and  acquired  the  habit  of  working  at  his  geology  far 
into  the  hours  of  the  night,  Mr  Scott,  who  then  lived  at 
Gaddesdon  Hoo,  Hertfordshire,  often  wiled  him  away 
from  the  City  from  Saturday  until  Monday.  They 
generally  made  a  trysting-place  between  Mr  Scott's 
house  and  some  rather  distant  railway  station.  It  was 
characteristic  of  our  geologist  to  choose  a  station  several 
miles  from  the  house,  so  that  he  might  have  more 
ground  to  go  over,  and  the  chance  of  making  observa- 
tions in  a  fresh  and  wider  field.  He  thus  had  a  walk 
across  country  to  a  given  point  where  his  brother-in- 
law  waited,  the  latter  having  put  up  the  carriage  at 
some  village  inn.  These  walks  were  delightful  to  both, 
and  most  refreshing  to  the  City  man.  We  find  notes 
written  again  and  again  by  this  devoted  brother-in-law, 
urging  that  it  was  high  time  for  rest  and  a  holiday, 
little  thinking  that  perhaps  a  holiday  might  mean  the 
closest  working  time  of  all. 

Here  we  may  observe  that  Joseph  Prestwich  delighted 
in  the  society  of  children,  and  seemed  to  know  by  in- 
stinct what  pleased  each  child  most.  He  had  the  gift 
of  fascinating  and  amusing  them  as  no  one  else  within 
our  knowledge  ever  had,  and  it  was  a  joyous  time  for 
the  little  Scotts  when  "  Uncle  Joseph "  was  at  "  the 
Hoo."  Sophia,  the  eldest,  was  a  child  of  unusual 
promise,  with  a  mind  cast  somewhat  in  the  same  mould 


MT.  25-26.]        GEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY    OF   FRANCE.  53 

as  his  own — with  that  ardent  love  of  knowledge,  and 
that  intense  longing  to  seek  after  and  know  the  truth. 
The  following  fragment  of  a  letter,  without  a  date, 
addressed  to  her  when  a  child,  shows  the  writer's  ever- 
present  consciousness  of  the  Hand  at  the  helm,  and 
indicated  the  spirit  in  which  he  worked  :— 

Observe,  my  dear  Sophia,  the  wonders  which  surround  you. 
Study  and  admire  every  object  of  the  natural  world.  In  all 
that  you  see  there  is  beauty  and  harmony,  and  in  all  that  you 
examine  order  and  design.  There  is  nothing  so  vast  and  so 
complicated  but  what  you  may  hope  to  comprehend,  and  nothing 
so  insignificant  but  what  is  worthy  of  investigation.  All  has 
proceeded  from  the  same  hands,  and  all  indicate  the  same 
wisdom  and  admirable  adaptation.  Wonderful  are  His  works, 
and  perfect  and  unerring  are  His  laws.  Oh,  should  we  not 
be  thankful  that  we  are  endowed  with  capacities  to  comprehend 
His  works  and  to  study  His  laws,  and  being  thus  endowed  with 
the  means,  ought  we  not  to  avail  ourselves  of  so  great  and  happy 
a  privilege,  humbly  to  explore  and  strive  to  comprehend  the 
wonderful  works  of  His  hands,  and  gratefully  and  earnestly 
to  admire  their  beauty  and  perfection? 

Be  assured,  my  dear  little  niece,  that  such  objects  of  study 
and  contemplation  will  ever  afford  you  the  purest  and  most 
unalloyed  pleasure.  .  .  . 

In  Paris,  on  the  8th  January  1838,  he  had  the  gratifi- 
cation of  being  elected  a  member  of  the  Societe  Geolo- 
gique  de  France,  on  which  occasion  he  was  introduced 
by  two  eminent  members,  Constant  Prevost  and  Achille 
Delesse.  This  brought  him  into  contact  with  geolo- 
gists in  France  who  had  come  to  the  front,  and  hence 
the  foundation  was  laid  of  many  lasting  and  delightful 
friendships.  His  dear  friends  Albert  Gaudry  and 
A.  Daubree  became  prominent  members  of  the  French 
Geological  Society,  likewise  the  lamented  Edouard 
Lartet — but  we  are  anticipating — and  many  other  dis- 


54  ISLE    OF    ARRAN.  [1839-41. 

tinguished  names  will  in  due  time  be  added  to  the 
list. 

Again  we  hear  of  his  spending  some  time  about  this 
date  in  Epernay,  where  he  had  made  himself  master  of 
the  geology  of  the  district.  It  was  his  habit  to  medi- 
tate upon  any  observations  on  new  ground,  especially 
where  the  relations  or  conditions  of  the  strata  were 
difficult  to  decipher,  and  where  he  had  to  propound  a 
theory  and  show  facts  to  account  for  his  views  on  their 
superposition.  He  often  pondered  upon  some  unsolved 
geological  problem  for  years,  and  it  is  possible  that 
during  this  protracted  sojourn  in  France  he  was  amass- 
ing materials  for  his  important  paper,  "  Sur  la  Position 
geologique  des  Sables  et  du  Calcaire  lacustre  de  Eilly 
(Marne),"  which  was  not  given  to  the  French  Geologi- 
cal Society  until  the  session  of  1852-53. 

A  notebook  for  1840  gives  the  following  entry  :— 

Excursion  to  Arran  via  Ardrossan,  September  19,  1840. 
British  Association. 

Skirted  the  island  from  north  to  south,  Mr  Murchison  pointing 
out  the  superposition  of  a  red  sand  and  conglomerate,  which  he 
classes  as  the  New  Ked,  but  which  is  supposed  by  Jameson  and 
others  to  belong  to  the  Upper  Coal-Measures,  on  a  series  of 
impure  reddish  limestones  containing  the  Productus  hemisphcericus 
and  other  characteristic  mountain-limestone  fossils,  overlain  by  a 
thin  band  of  coal-measures  and  small  coal.  This  limestone  re- 
poses upon  a  series  of  beds  belonging  to  the  Old  Eed  Sandstone 
— a  quartzose  conglomerate  preponderating.  The  beds  of  these 
formations  dip  northward  until  we  arrive  at  Glen  Sannox,  where 
an  anticlinal  line  reverses  the  dip  to  the  south  about  26°,  again 
bringing  in  the  limestones  which  are  worked  at  Corrie  and  the 
overlying  red  sandstones  and  conglomerate,  which  continue  to 
Brodick,  frequently,  however,  traversed  and  much  disturbed  by 
protruded  Trap  rocks.  Landed  at  Corriegill  Point  to  examine  a 
beautiful  instance  of  the  intrusion  of  pitchstone  through  the  red 


^JT.  27-29.]  TERTIARY   MEMOIRS.  55 

sandstone.  The  pitchstone  is  compact,  and  contains  a  few  grains 
of  glassy  felspar.  A  few  of  the  red  sandstones  in  contact  with 
it  are  highly  indurated. 

This  Glasgow  meeting  was  a  signal  success,  and  its 
president,  Mr  (afterwards  Sir)  Eoderick  Murchison, 
wrote  of  "the  glorious  day  at  Arran,  when  I  lectured 
to  a  good  band  of  workmen  with  every  peak  of  Goatfell 
illlumined."  Prestwich  contributed  no  paper,  nor  do 
we  find  his  name  specially  mentioned.  From  what  we 
can  glean,  he  had  only  been  able  to  snatch  one  day,  or 
perhaps  two,  so  as  to  attend  the  Arran  excursion.  He 
was  the  reverse  of  self-assertive,  and  his  habitual  diffi- 
dence often  kept  him  in  the  background,  where,  never- 
theless, the  busy  brain-work  went  on,  and  where  he 
pondered  and  observed.  Memoirs  were  soon  to  eman- 
ate from  his  pen  which  were  to  give  him  a  European 
reputation. 

Onward  during  several  years  he  was  occupied  in 
following  up  those  researches  in  England  and  France, 
which  he  embodied  in  the  well-known  series  of  Tertiary 
papers.  Of  these  Sir  John  Evans  remarks  : 1  "  He  not 
only  reduced  the  little-known  English  Tertiaries  into 
proper  system  (establishing  the  separate  existence  of 
certain  local  beds  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  the 
Thanet  Sands,  proving  the  synchronism  of  the  Reading 
beds  with  those  of  Woolwich,  and  fixing  the  true  posi- 
tion of  the  London  Clay  with  respect  to  the  Hampshire 
basin),  but  he  succeeded  in  correlating  the  Tertiary  beds 
of  England,  France,  and  Belgium  in  such  a  manner 
that  his  classification  was  accepted  by  most  geologists, 
and  has  stood  the  test  of  time." 

In  1840  and  1841    Prestwich  resided  at  10  Devon- 

1  Obituary  Notice  to  the  Eoyal  Society,  vol.  lx.,  1896,  p.  xiii. 


56  NOTE-BOOKS.  [1842-46. 

shire  Street,  Portland  Place,  which  was  then  the  family 
home.  Early  in  1842,  when  the  scope  of  his  geological 
work  had  opened  out,  and  when  several  important 
memoirs  were  in  contemplation,  his  business  responsi- 
bilities became  heavier.  His  father  had  always  been 
speculative,  and  it  was  decided,  as  being  best  for  the 
interests  of  the  firm,  that  Joseph  Prestwich,  senior, 
should  withdraw,  and  that  our  geologist  should  take 
the  head  of  affairs.  Aided  by  a  partner,  he  agreed  to 
this  arrangement.  Thus  henceforward  business  journeys 
were  at  an  end,  and  travellers  were  appointed  in  his 
place.  But  this  increased  responsibility  did  not  stem 
the  tide  of  geological  papers,  which  flowed  on  apace. 
His  business  residence  in  1843  was  20  Mark  Lane,  and 
here  he  continued  until  1855. 

His  note-books  1840-1850  show  the  extraordinary 
industry  with  which  he  investigated  the  Tertiary 
deposits  in  every  locality  of  our  southern  and  eastern 
counties,  in  order  to  make  out  their  detailed  structure 
and  origin,  and  to  compare  and  correlate ,  them  with 
the  foreign  Tertiaries.  He  literally  went  over  every 
acre  of  ground.  The  index  in  one  note-book  gives  133 
places,  the  observations  on  each  locality  being  frequently 
illustrated  by  sections.  An  entry  of  quite  a  different 
character  in  a  note-book  for  1846  may  be  quoted,  as  it 
throws  light  on  his  frugal  mode  of  life.  "  1846,  'The 
Three  Crowns,'  at  Walton  near  Sarum — a  capital  house, 
excellent  ale,  home-brewed.  Dinner  off  a  loin  of  South 
Down  mutton,  household  bread,  1  pint  ale,  and  butter 
— 9d.  Conscience  forbid,  so  paid  Is.  Id." 

His  habits,  in  short,  were  of  the  simplest.  He  never 
indulged  in  smoking,  but  this  probably  arose  from  a 
dislike  to  tobacco  in  any  form.  He  scarcely  ever  rode 
on  horseback,  preferring  to  go  to  his  sections  every- 


JET.  30-34.]  SHAKESPEARE'S  CLIFF.  57 

where  on  foot ;  and  when  in  later  years  he  took  the 
reins  in  driving  a  pony-carriage,  he  was  so  much  en- 
grossed with  the  very  roadside  banks  that  the  pony 
ran  up  hill  and  down  hill  as  it  chose,  and  his  companion 
felt  that  these  drives  were  scarcely  safe. 

While  out  on  field-work,  letters  from  his  mother 
attest  her  constant  solicitude  about  his  health,  and 
her  anxiety  lest  he  should  take  unduly  long  walks  or 
over-tax  his  strength.  It  is  not  surprising  that  he  was 
an  inveterate  walker,  as  he  was  lithe  and  spare,  light  of 
step,  with  little  weight  to  carry.  It  goes  without  say- 
ing that  he  was  an  expert  climber  :  he  scrambled  over 
cliffs  and  rocks  with  a  nerve  which  was  never  shaken 
but  on  one  memorable  occasion,  to  which  he  scarcely 
cared  to  refer.  He  made  the  ascent — and  we  presume 
that  it  was  about  this  date — of  the  sea-face  of  Shake- 
speare's Cliff,  yet  never  spoke  of  it  without  a  shudder. 
Situated  about  a  mile  from  Dover,  it  rises  to  a  height 
of  340  feet,  and,  as  is  well  known,  presents  a  sheer  wall 
of  chalk  to  the  sea.  He  was  overtaken  by  the  tide, 
when  unaided  and  alone  he  began  the  ascent  of  the 
cliff.  He  had  climbed  up  half-way,  when  he  felt  un- 
able to  go  a  step  farther.  There  was  bare  foothold,  and 
retreat  was  impossible.  It  was  the  most  perilous  moment 
of  his  life.  He  made  a  desperate  effort,  and  we  can 
imagine  the  slim  tapering  fingers  so  curiously  delicate 
grasping  any  and  every  projection.  After  several  awful 
minutes,  the  summit  was  reached,  where  during  half  an 
hour  he  lay  on  his  back  on  the  grass,  unable  to  move. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  experience  was  never 
repeated. 

During  the  presidency  of  Sir  R.  I.  Murchison  in 
1846  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Council  of 
the  Geological  Society,  when  the  veterans  Sedgwick, 


58  ISLE   OF   WIGHT.  [1846-47. 

Buckland,  Fitton,  De  la  Beche,  Lyell,  and  others,  were 
his  associates. 

Meanwhile  Mr  and  Mrs  Russell  Scott  had  moved 
to  Summer  Hill,  near  Bath,  where  Prestwich  on  his 
flying  visits  made  good  use  of  his  time  in  studying  the 
features  of  that  neighbourhood. 

The  geology  of  the  northern  portions  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight  had  a  special  attraction  for  him,  and  year  after 
year  repeated  visits  were  made  by  him  to  unravel 
the  structure  of  the  district.  In  1846  he  read  a 
paper  at  the  Geological  Society,  "  On  the  Tertiary  or 
Supracretaceous  Formations  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  as 
exhibited  in  the  Sections  at  Alum  Bay  and  White 
Cliff  Bay."  In  this  he  showed  more  certainly  than 
had  been  done  before  that  the  elevation  of  the  chalk 
ridge  was  subsequent  to  the  deposition  of  the  Headon 
Hill  series,  and  he  pointed  out  the  connection  between 
the  lower  Eocene  beds  and  those  of  Bognor.  In 
the  same  year  he  wrote  a  joint  paper  with  his  old 
friend  Professor  John  Morris,  "  On  the  Wealden  Strata 
exposed  by  the  Tunbridge  Wells  Kail  way."  Both  of 
these  papers  appeared  in  the  Geological  Society's 
Journal,  vol.  ii.,  1846.  He  also  gave  a  notice  to  the 
British  Association  Meeting  at  Southampton  that  year, 
"  On  the  Occurrence  of  Cypris  in  a  part  of  the  Tertiary 
Freshwater  Strata  of  the  Isle  of  Wight." 

Early  in  1847,  the  Palseontographical  Society  had 
its  rise,  Joseph  Prestwich  having  been  one  of  its 
original  members.  From  Dr  H.  Woodward's1  inter- 
esting account  of  its  foundation  and  progress  we 
quote  the  following  passages  :— 

The  origin  was  mainly  due  to  the  prior  issue  of  Sowerby's 


1  Geol.  Mag.,  p.  385,  September  1896. 


JST.  34-35.]  PAL^EONTOGRAPHICAL    SOCIETY.  59 

'  Mineral  Conchology/  of  which  the  first  part  appeared  in  June 
1812,  and  was  followed  by  other  parts  for  over  thirty  years.  The 
portions  of  this  work  were  brought  out  slowly  and  irregularly, 
and  rarely  illustrated  more  than  ten  species  at  a  time.  During 
the  publication  of  this  contribution  to  geological  science,  an  asso- 
ciation was  formed  (about  the  year  1836),  called  "The  London 
Clay  Club,"  the  members  of  which  were  enthusiastic  collectors 
of  shells  of  the  Tertiary  deposits  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Metropolis.  At  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  club,  about  the  year 
1845,  the  late  Dr  (then  Mr)  J.  S.  Bowerbank  suggested  that  as 
the  '  Mineral  Conchology/  at  its  then  rate  of  issue,  could  not 
possibly  depict  all  the  British  fossils  within  a  moderate  period, 
it  would  be  well  to  have  recourse  to  a  new  method.  .  .  .  The 
idea  was  favourably  received ;  Mr  Sowerby  was  asked  to  under- 
take the  copperplate  engravings,  and  many  geologists  living  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  were  communicated  with.  In  the 
furtherance  of  this  object  Mr  Bowerbank  laboured  with  much 
zeal  and  energy. 

It  is  also  stated  that  at  a  meeting  held  at  the 
apartments  of  the  Geological  Society,  Somerset  House, 
on  March  23,  1847,  with  Sir  Henry  De  la  Beche  in 
the  chair,  it  was  resolved  that  a  society  should  be  con- 
stituted, the  object  of  which  should  be  "to  figure  and 
describe,  as  completely  as  possible,  a  stratigraphical 
series  of  British  fossils."  A  further  light  is  thrown  on 
the  foundation  of  the  Palseontographical  Society,  from 
a  paragraph  in  the  fascinating  '  Memoir  of  Edward 
Forbes,' l  in  which  it  appears  that  the  reading  of  a 
paper  by  Joseph  Prestwich  hastened  the  foundation  of 
a  projected  Tertiary  Publishing  Society. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Geological  Society  (February  3,  1847)  a 
discussion  ensued  upon  a  paper  by  Mr  Prestwich  on  the  "  Ter- 
tiaries  of  the  London  and  Hampshire  Basins."  Forbes,  in  the 
course  of  his  speech,  remarked  with  regret  how  much  information 


1  By  George  Wilson,  M.D.,  and  Sir  Archibald  Geikie,  p.  412. 


60  VISIT    TO    GERMANY.  [1847. 

on  this  subject  lay  scattered  in  different  books  and  periodicals. 
Mr  Bowerbank  followed,  and,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  sug- 
gested the  establishment  of  a  Tertiary  Publishing  Society.  The 
idea  immediately  found  favour,  and  afterwards,  at  tea  downstairs, 
it  was  expanded  into  a  proposition  to  found  a  society  for  pub- 
lishing plates  of  fossils,  not  from  the  Tertiary  deposits  only,  but 
from  all  the  British  formations.  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
Palseontographical  Society. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  Mr  Russell  Scott  urged 
our  geologist,  who  was  fagged  and  worn,  to  accompany 
him  to  a  water-cure  establishment  in  Germany,  and  try 
a  treatment  which  Mr  Scott  had  been  ordered.  It 
proved  of  the  utmost  benefit  to  the  latter,  but  the  over- 
worked City  man  was  so  much  reduced  by  the  diet  and 
treatment  that  he  never  quite  recovered  from  their 
effects.  Extracts  from  one  or  two  letters  from  Boppart 
show,  however,  that  he  had  regained  his  spirits,  which 
were  no  longer  affected  by  his  health  : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  Mrs  Russell  Scott.  MARIENBERG,  near  BOPPART, 

29th  August  1847. 

Here  we  are,  my  dearest  Isabella,  installed  in  our  respective 
dormitories,  with  visions  of  the  successive  operations  in  wet  sheets, 
sitzes,  £c.,  which  are  to  commence  at  five  to-morrow  morning.  I 
presume  I  am  in  the  cell  of  some  former  Sister  Theresa,  and  I 
suspect  with  very  little  addition  to  the  original  simplicity  of 
furniture.  .  .  .  The  view  from  the  window  is  most  beautiful. 
Below  me  is  the  terrace  in  front  of  the  house,  beyond  that 
orchards  sloping  down  to  the  old  walls  of  Boppart,  high  and 
ruinous,  and  now  serving  the  peaceful  part  of  supporting  vines 
and  peach-trees.  Over  them  appear  the  high-pitched  slate  roofs 
and  gable -ends  of  the  picturesque  old  town,  with  its  quaint 
towers  and  fine  old  church  in  the  Early  French  style.  Over  the 
town  I  could  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  Ehine,  on  the  other  side  of 
which  rise  abrupt  vine -clad  hills,  whilst  beyond  and  behind 
Boppart  are  delicious  plantations  of  all  sorts  of  fruit-trees,  sur- 
rounded by  high  hills  covered  with  wood,  with  here  and  there  a 


MT.  35.]  BOPPART.  61 

beautiful  ravine  running  through  them.  It  is  at  the  entrance  to 
one  of  these  ravines  that  this  house  stands — at  a  slight  elevation 
above  one  end  of  the  town,  and  about  a  quarter-mile  distant  from 
the  river.  This  situation  is  one  of  the  finest  you  can  conceive — 
the  establishment  upon  a  scale  of  size,  elegance,  and  complete- 
ness such  as  could  not  well  be  surpassed  (I  am  now  speaking  of 
it  as  a  water-cure  establishment  only).  The  house  was  formerly 
a  convent  with  150  bedrooms.  .  .  .  We  have  commenced  opera- 
tions. We  had  our  first  meal  here  (supper),  and  a  melancholy 
piece  of  business  it  was,  I  can  assure  you,  when  the  prospect  of 
its  continuance  for  three  or  four  weeks  is  considered.  My  im- 
pression is  that  it  is  the  worst  part  of  the  process.  I  had  to 
get  through  as  well  as  I  could  one  round  of  coarse  black  bread 
and  a  soup-plate  fall  of  sour  milk  and  two  tumblers  of  cold 
water,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  I  think  my  performance  did  me 
credit.  The  sour  milk  is  really  very  nasty.  Mr  Scott  was  let 
off  easier,  as  he  is  not  recommended  sour  milk,  dry  bread,  and 
water,  but  was  allowed  the  luxury  of  "  white  bread  and  butter," 
compote  depommes,  and  new  milk.  Happy  man  !  I  must  tell  you 
how  he  puzzled  the  doctor  to-day,  shortly  after  our  arrival.  We 
were  speaking  of  the  weather,  which,  the  doctor  informed  us,  has 
been  very  wet  for  a  few  days  past — so  much  so  that  in  two  days 
19  millimetres  of  rain  had  fallen.  To  this  mode  of  receiving 
the  information  Mr  Scott  immediately  dissented,  and  suggested 
that  the  doctor  should  solve  the  problem  into  legitimate  inches 
and  tenths  of  inches.  The  doctor  was  floored.  As  for  me,  I 
shall  become  as  expert  a  reckoner  as  the  country  boy.  .  .  .  Give 
my  love  to  Civil,  and  kisses  to  all  the  dear  children. — Your  affec- 
tionate brother,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

Another  Boppart  letter,  addressed  to  his  mother, 
gives  a  comical  account  of  the  process  of  tubbing  and 
packing  in  wet  sheets.  Again,  later,  he  writes  to  his 
sister,  Mrs  Russell  Scott  :— 

MAEIENBERG,  Sept.  18,  1847. 

MY  DEAREST  ISABELLA, — Your  very  welcome  letter  of  the  8th 
inst.  reached  me  yesterday.  ...  The  effects  of  the  cure  appear  tojbe 
very  variable.  ...  On  me  the  effects  appear  to  have  reached  their 


62  WATER-CURE.  [1847. 

maximum  on  the  second  day.  Since  then  I  perceive  no  difference 
in  my  health  or  feelings.  In  fact,  after  the  first  eight  days  I 
did  not  feel  quite  so  well,  and  I  found  myself  1J  Ib.  lighter — a 
loss  in  weight  I  could  ill  afford.  Nevertheless,  I  believe  I  shall 
be  benefited  by  the  treatment,  and  trust  that  its  ultimate  effect 
will  be  more  apparent  than  that  of  which  I  am  at  present  con- 
scious. Of  course  I  follow  the  rules  carefully.  It  gives  me, 
however,  very  great  pleasure  to  say  that  on  Mr  Scott  the  favour- 
able effects  of  the  cure  are  most  apparent.  He  will  inform  you 
of  his  general  feelings  and  symptoms;  I  will  tell  you  of  his 
visible  condition  and  actual  deeds.  Of  our  daily  walks  you  are 
doubtlessly  informed.  He  now  takes  them  without  fatigue  and 
with  much  regularity.  Last  week  we  took  a  walk  of  twenty 
miles.  Yesterday  (Sunday)  we  walked  from  Braubach  to  Ems 
and  thence  to  Stolzenfels.  The  day  was  very  hot  and  the  dis- 
tance about  seventeen  to  eighteen  miles,  and  yet  this  morning 
no  fatigue  or  weariness  is  perceptible.  Even  his  sore  feet,  which 
caused  him  to  limp  in  a  very  suspicious  manner  through  the 
ill -paved  town  of  Lahnstein,  cause  him  no  uneasiness  to-day. 
The  fact  is,  his  gait  through  that  respectable  town  was  anything 
but  decorous — being  far  from  steady,  and  such  as  would  cause 
strong  suspicions  of  our  water-diet  at  Ems.  The  paving-stones 
being  very  irregular — some  small,  others  large,  some  flat,  others 
pointed,  his  attention  was  directed  to  his  safe  transit  from  one 
large  flat  stone  to  another — a  proceeding  not  quite  compatible 
with  the  straight  course,  or  steadiness  of  movement,  but  per- 
formed with  much  proper  gravity  of  purpose. 

Having  now  stated  your  husband's  powers  of  endurance,  I  will 
now  mention  his  powers  of  consumption.  I  am  fond  of  facts : 
they  illustrate  briefly  and  to  the  point.  I  will  therefore  give  you 
a  practical  illustration  of  the  subject,  taken  at  a  late  period  and 
indiscriminately.  It  shall  be  our  dinner  yesterday  at  Ems. 
We  breakfasted  as  usual  at  8  A.M.  At  one  we  dined.  Primo,  A 
plate  of  consommd  au  riz.  2ndly,  I  saw  his  plate  well  covered 
with  bouilli  and  potatoes  (here  I  considered  he  stood  no  chance 
for  the  more  recherM  meats  at  the  end  of  the  dinner,  and  so 
intimated  to  him).  3rdly,  A  cotelette  pande  (not  small),  with  a 
spoonful  of  cauliflower  and  another  of  potatoes.  4thly,  Frican- 
deau  de  veau  au  purtfe  de  pommes  de  terre  (of  this  all  recollection 


JBT.  35.]  BAGSHOT   SANDS.  63 

was  subsequently  lost).  5thly,  A  leg  of  a  poulet  a  la  jardiniere 
(this  was  considered  trifling  with  one's  appetite).  6thly,  Ponding 
au  biscuit  sauce  d'abricots  (admitted  to  be  good,  and  eaten  accord- 
ingly). 7thly,  Filet  de  chevreuil  pique  (excellent,  but  considered 
to  be  very  tardily  served).  Sthly,  Gateau  de  pommes.  9thly, 
Dessert  of  grapes — accompaniments,  four  petits  pains  and  three 
tumblers  of  water.  Now  you  will,  I  am  sure,  my  dear  sister, 
be  as  much  pleased  with  your  husband's  performance  as  I  was, 
indicating,  as  I  believe  it  does,  an  excellent  state  of  health. 
My  own  satisfaction  I  expressed  half  an  hour  after  dinner,  and 
what  do  you  think  ?  Why,  he  doubted  whether  he  had  really 
made  a  good  dinner.  He  thought  he  could  eat  some  more.  In 
fact  he  seemed  to  consider  my  opinion  as  rather  unreasonable. 
I  must  tell  you,  however,  that  my  own  proceedings  were  in  keep- 
ing with  his,  with  the  exception  of  a  limitation  in  the  soup,  the 
bouilli,  the  vegetables,  and  the  bread.  .  .  . 

I  regret  much  I  have  not  my  calotype  with  me.  What  a 
picture  for  the  children — their  papa  packed  !  Adieu,  my  dearest 
Isabella.  My  best  love  to  my  mother ;  kisses  to  the  dear  children. 
— Your  affectionate  brother,  Jos.  PRESTWICH,  Jr. 

In  1847  two  important  memoirs  appeared,  both  of 
which  were  published  in  the  '  Geological  Society  Journal/ 
vol.  iii.,  for  1847.  One  was  "  On  the  Main  Points  of 
Structure  and  the  Probable  Age  of  the  Bagshot  Sands, 
and  on  their  presumed  equivalents  in  Hampshire  and 
France,"  after  the  discussion  on  which  the  Palseon- 
tographical  Society  was  formed.  In  this  paper  the 
author  pointed  out  the  immediate  superposition  of  the 
Bagshot  Sands  on  the  London  Clay,  and  their  division 
into  three  series,  of  which  the  central  one  was  syn- 
chronous with  the  Bracklesham  beds  and  the  Calcaire 
Grossier.  The  other  was  also  one  of  his  early  correl- 
ation papers,  "  On  the  Probable  Age  of  the  London 
Clay,  and  its  Relations  to  the  Hampshire  and  Paris 
Tertiary  Systems,"  in  which  he  showed  that  the  previ- 
ously received  opinion  of  the  age  of  the  clays  of  Sheppey, 


64  WILLIAM   LONSDALE.  [1847-48. 

Barton,  &c.,  was  wrong,  and  that  instead  of  being  of  the 
age  of  the  Calcaire  Grassier,  they  were  of  older  date. 

An  interesting  letter  to  Mr  W.  Lonsdale,  formerly 
the  esteemed  Curator  and  Librarian  of  the  Geological 
Society,  evidently  refers  to  those  two  papers  : — 

20  MARK  LANE,  LONDON,  21st  Dec.  1847. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — You  may  probably  not  recollect  the  circum- 
stance of  my  bringing  you,  in  the  year  1839,  a  paper  on  some 
detached  portions  of  the  Tertiary  series  of  the  neighbourhood 
of  London.  The  facts  were  incomplete,  and  did  not  possess 
much  novelty.  After  reading  the  paper,  you  recommended  me 
not  to  present  it  to  the  Society  at  that  time,  and  suggested  a 
further  examination  of  the  ground.  At  the  same  time  you 
expressed  a  regret  that  the  English  Tertiaries  had  not  met 
with  the  attention  which  the  French  Tertiaries  had. 

With  a  full  conviction  of  the  correctness  of  your  opinion, 
I  looked  further  into  the  state  of  our  knowledge  respecting  the 
English  Tertiaries,  and  endeavoured  to  make  myself  better 
acquainted  with  their  structure.  From  1839  to  the  present 
date  I  have  continued  without  interruption  at  my  limited  leisure 
moments  the  work  which  I  then  thought  would  require  but 
a  few  weeks,  and  have  still,  I  find,  much  to  do.  On  portions 
of  the  subject  I  have,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  district, 
been  led  to  form  different  views  [from]  those  held  generally, 
and  these  I  have  now  in  1847  communicated  to  the  Geological 
Society.  It  gives  me  now,  I  can  assure  you,  much  pleasure  to 
hand  you  for  your  kind  acceptance  a  copy  of  my  papers  pub- 
lished in  the  last  number  of  the  Journal.  If  there  is  any  merit 
in  them,  to  you  in  a  great  measure  do  I  attribute  such  a  result. 
It  was  at  your  suggestion  that  I  proceeded  in  the  work,  and  it 
has  been  the  cautious  and  philosophical  spirit  of  careful  in- 
vestigation and  comparison  of  facts  which  I  so  frequently 
experienced  in  you  that  has  helped  to  guide  me  through  it. 
With  my  best  and  sincere  wishes  for  your  health  and  welfare, 
and  with  a  grateful  recollection  of  your  frequent  kind  advice 
and  assistance  in  many  a  geological  difficulty,  I  remain,  my  dear 
sir,  very  sincerely  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH,  Jr. 


JET.  35-36.]  GEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY    CLUB.  65 

A  few  years  previously  Mr  Lonsdale  had  resigned 
office  on  account  of  his  health  ;  but  the  same  happy 
relations  continued  and  were  ever  maintained  between 
him  and  Joseph  Prestwich.  In  a  farewell  note  of 
November  1842,  written  with  "such  expressions  of 
friendly  good-bye  as  a  note  can  convey,"  Mr  Lonsdale 
fervently  wished  that  our  geologist  would  be  long 
spared  for  the  sake  of  his  friends  and  for  the  progress 
of  science,  and  that  every  success  would  attend  him 
through  life.  Letters  from  this  valued  friend  in  after 
years,  on  to  1861,  testify  to  the  pleasure  it  gave  him 
to  receive  occasional  geological  papers.  His  acknow- 
ledgment of  these  "acceptable  tokens  of  remembrance  " 
are  given  in  grateful  words. 

William  Lonsdale  was  unquestionably  one  of  the 
old  masters  of  geology.  His  memoir  "  On  the  Oolite 
District  of  Bath "  is  one  of  the  geological  classics : 
moreover,  as  remarked  by  Prestwich,  and  acknow- 
ledged by  others,  his  studies  of  fossil  corals  "  led  to 
the  establishment  of  the  Devonian  System."  It  fell 
to  the  lot  of  Prestwich,  while  he  was  President  of 
the  Geological  Society,  to  record  the  death  of  his  old 
friend ;  and  this  he  did  in  affectionate  and  touching 
terms.  Lonsdale  was  born  in  1794,  and  died  in  1871. 

In  1848  Prestwich  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Geological  Society  Club,  a  private  dining  club  which 
was  founded  on  November  5,  1824,  by  Greenough, 
Warburton,  Buckland,  Fitton,  Lyell,  and  twenty-six 
other  Fellows  of  the  Geological  Society. 

A  letter  of  4th  January  1849  was  in  reply  to  Mr 
Hussell  Scott,  who  wished  to  know  on  scientific  grounds 
the  reasons  for  and  against  trees  being  planted  near 
houses.  Prestwich  begins  by  saying  that  he  had  never 
paid  the  subject  more  than  general  consideration,  yet 

E 


66  WOLLASTON   MEDAL.  [l849. 

he  covers  more  than  seven  closely  written  pages  of 
foolscap  describing  the  functions  of  trees  and  foliage 
in  purifying  the  atmosphere.  He  dwells  on  the  won- 
derful part  which  leaves  perform  in  decomposing  the 
excess  of  carbonic  acid  gas  and  setting  free  its  oxygen. 
The  minute  care  and  detail  shown  in  this  letter  char- 
acterised all  that  he  ever  undertook. 

In  1849,  while  Sir  Henry  De  la  Beche  was  President, 
Joseph  Prestwich  was  awarded  the  Wollaston  Medal 
of  the  Geological  Society  for  his  researches  in  the 
coal  district  of  Coalbrook  Dale,  and  for  those  subse- 
quently carried  on  in  the  Tertiary  Districts  of  Lon- 
don and  Hampshire.  The  President  emphasised  this 
honour  by  remarking  that  he  was  aware  that  for  these 
geological  researches  the  time  which  the  recipient  of 
the  medal  had  at  his  disposal  could  "  only  be  snatched 
at  intervals  from  the  cares  of  commercial  life."  We 
cannot  do  better  than  quote  the  reply  :  it  summarises 
in  happy  terms  the  benefits  derived  from  a  study  of 
his  science.  After  expressing  his  grateful  acknow- 
ledgments, the  medallist  proceeded  to  say- 
It  is  true  that  I  entered  upon  this  field  as  a  student  and  for 
relaxation,  but  the  interest  and  difficulties  of  the  subject  speedily 
induced  me  to  take  it  up  with  more  earnestness  and  determina- 
tion, and  eventually  led  me  to  extend  the  inquiry  over  an  area 
which  I,  at  first,  never  contemplated. 

The  Tertiary  geology  of  the  neighbourhood  of  London  may  be 
wanting  in  beauty  of  stratigraphical  exhibition  and  in  perfect 
preservation  of  organic  types,  but  in  many  of  the  higher  ques- 
tions of  pure  geology, — in  clear  evidence  of  remarkable  physical 
changes,  in  curious  and  diversified  palseontological  data,  however 
defaced  the  inscriptions,  which  is  after  all  but  a  secondary  point, 
— few  departments  of  geology  offer,  I  think,  greater  attractions. 

The  pleasure  I  have  derived  from  the  study  of  the  remarkable 
phenomena  which  have  come  before  rae  in  the  course  of  the  in- 


JOSEPH    PRESTWICH. 


MT.  37.]  WOLLASTON   MEDAL.  67 

vestigation,  has  far  outbalanced  the  few  obstacles  I  have  had  to 
contend  against.  I,  in  fact,  feel  deeply  indebted  to  geology,  as  a 
source  of  healthful  recreation,  as  an  inestimable  relief  and  ab- 
straction in  due  season  from  the  cares  frequently  attendant  upon 
the  active  duties  of  life,  for  its  kindly  and  valued  associations, 
and  above  all  for  the  high  communing  into  which  it  constantly 
brings  us  in  the  contemplation  of  some  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
wonderful  works  of  the  creation. 

To  have  received  this,  the  highest  award  of  the 
Geological  Society,  when  he  was  not  quite  thirty-seven 
years  of  age,  was  a  remarkable  testimony  to  the  value 
of  the  work  which  Prestwich  had  then  achieved. 

In  the  memoir  of  Sir  Andrew  Ramsay1  an  incident 
is  mentioned  connected  with  the  award  of  the  medal. 

Ramsay's  account  of  this  anniversary  meeting  was 
as  follows  :  "  Sir  H.'s  speechifying  day — the  Geological 
Anniversary.  Prestwich  was  awarded  the  Wollaston 
Medal.  In  rising  to  present  it,  Sir  H.  upset  two  large 
oil-lamps  that  stood  on  the  table  before  him,  and  made 
a  prodigious  smash.  All  the  house  laughed,  and  poor 
P.  was  a  trifle  discomposed.  He  has  a  glorious  head." 

Dr  Owen  Rees  sent  his  congratulations  in  a  humor- 
ous note  : — 

6r.  Owen  Eees  to  J.  Prestwich. 

59  GUILDFORD  STREET,  March  10,  1849. 

MY  DEAR  JOSEPH, — I  heard  just  now  from  my  friend  Waring- 
ton  Smyth  that  the  Geological  Society  had  awarded  the  Wollaston 
Medal  to  you. 

Firstly,  allow  me  to  express  my  great  disgust  at  your  villainy 
in  not  informing  me  yourself,  as  you  have  thus  postponed  a  great 
pleasure  to  me,  who,  notwithstanding  your  numerous  bad  quali- 
ties, [am]  absurd  enough  to  regard  you  with  some  slight  amount 
of  esteem. 

Secondly,  allow  me  to  express  a  conviction — a  heartfelt  and 


1  By  Sir  Archibald  Geikie,  F.R.S.,  p.  144. 


68  STUDIES    OF    THE    DRIFT.  [l849. 

honest  one — that  the  Society  never  did  themselves  more  justice 
than  in  this  award ;  and  thirdly,  I  must  request  you  to  believe 
that  I  am  sincerely  rejoiced  at  your  well-deserved  success.  Don't 
be  proud — because  I  consider  you  enjoyed  great  advantages  in 
geologising  with  me.  You  surely  recollect  the  varied  and  pro- 
found discoveries,  the  great  principles  of  action  and  thought  for 
the  discovery  of  truth,  which  I  so  eloquently  poured  into  your 
ears,  and  to  all  of  which  I  mean  to  allude  whenever  your  name 
is  mentioned.  I  don't  mean  to  let  pass  so  good  an  opportunity 
for  a  puff.  Believe  me  in  all  sincerity  and  seriousness  most  joy- 
ful at  your  honours  so  nobly  acquired,  and  ever,  dear  Joseph, 
your  sincere  friend,  G.  OWEN  EEES. 

The  next  two  letters  are  in  reply  to  inquiries  from 
Sir  Charles  Lyell  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  LONDON,  1st  August  1849. 

MY  DEAK  SIR, — I  am  hardly  able  to  venture  an  opinion  upon  the 
subject  of  your  inquiry.  For  some  years  past  I  have  kept  myself 
so  exclusively  within  the  limits  of  the  Tertiaries,  that  I  fear  I 
am  not  yet  in  possession  of  facts  sufficient  to  enable  me  to  offer 
you  an  opinion  of  much  value.  I  have,  however,  this  summer 
made  several  excursions  into  the  Wealden,  and  only  yesterday 
returned  from  a  short  visit  to  Mr  Austen,  with  whom  I  ex- 
amined part  of  the  country  he  described.  In  my  observations 
on  the  Drift  period  I  have  taken  Essex  as  my  base,  for  I  have 
there  found  the  characters  of  the  different  deposits  by  far  the 
best  defined. 

From  this  as  a  centre  I  have  worked  over  the  district  to  the 
north  as  far  as  the  coast  of  Norfolk,  to  the  west  to  Devizes, 
eastward  to  the  Channel,  and  am  now  proceeding  over  the 
ground  southward,  for  I  feel  that  the  phenomena,  although  pre- 
senting great  variety  and  infinite  modifications,  must  be  viewed 
in  connection  over  larger  areas. 

I  quite  agree  with  you  that  in  the  Eocene  period,  prior  to  the 
formation  of  the  London  Clay,  shallow  seas  prevailed  over  a  large 
portion  of  our  Tertiary  area ;  for  we  have  distinct  and  positive 
evidence  of  debouchure  of  rivers,  of  the  formation  of  shingle  banks, 


MS.  37.]  DENUDATION    OF   THE   WEALD.  69 

and  of  the  existence  of  coast -lines,  in  the  fluviatile  beds  of 
Woolwich,  Upnor,  &c.,  in  the  banks  of  round  flint  pebbles  of  the 
hills  from  Croydon  to  Kochester,  and  in  the  presence  of  rocks 
bored  by  the  Pholas  in  parts  of  Kent,  Essex,  and  Middlesex. 
Yet  I  should  hesitate  in  placing  the  then  dry  land  in  the  position 
of  the  present  Wealden,  although  it  is  probable  that  a  large 
eastern  portion  of  this  district  may  have  been  dry  land.  But 
the  system  of  hills  and  valleys  is  so  uniform  through  the  Wealden, 
and,  I  think,  so  evidently  the  result  of  one  system  of  forces,  that 
no  partial  or  disconnected  actions  could  possiby  have  produced 
so  harmonious  a  result. 

I  fully  admit  the  force  of  your  observations  respecting  the 
obliteration  of  the  older  denudation  by  others  of  more  recent 
occurrence,  and  that  there  is  every  probability  that  some  portions 
of  the  Cretaceous  (and  possibly  the  Wealden)  rocks  were  above 
the  sea  during  the  Eocene  period;  but,  nevertheless,  I  cannot 
help  considering  the  entire  present  surface  of  the  Wealden  as 
resulting  from  causes  of  comparatively  recent  date,  subsequent 
even  to  the  period  of  the  Great  Northern  Clay  Drift.  I  cannot 
separate  the  denudation  of  the  Wealden  from  the  denudation  of 
the  valley  of  the  Thames  and  all  the  surrounding  districts,  yet 
there  are  some  strong  natural  historical  facts  to  militate  against 
this  view,  and  my  acquaintance  with  the  district  is  not  yet 
sufficient  to  allow  me  to  form  a  well-considered  opinion.  With 
the  country  around  London  I  am  better  acquainted,  and  hope  in 
the  course  of  the  next  session  to  have  the  pleasure  of  submitting 
to  you  some  papers  on  this  subject.  I  have  had  them  in  hand 
some  time,  but  have  hesitated  to  bring  them  forward  until  my 
observations  were  much  more  extended.  In  the  Tertiary  district 
the  Drift  must,  I  think,  be  separated  by  four  or  five  (may  be  even 
more)  well-marked  divisions,  part  of  them  older  than  the  Great 
Northern  Clay  Drift,  and  independent  of  the  present  configura- 
tion of  the  land,  and  part  of  them  of  date  subsequent  to  the 
denudation  of  the  existing  valleys.  Thus  I  am  rather  inclined 
to  the  opinion  that  the  commencement  of  the  Drift  period  cannot 
be  placed  farther  back  than  of  Post-Pliocene  age,  and  that  the 
denudation  of  the  Wealden  and  the  excavation  of  all  the  systems 
of  valleys  of  the  south-east  of  England  resulted  from  the  opera- 
tion of  forces  acting  simultaneously  throughout  this  area  during 


70  LONDON    CLAY.  [1849. 

this  Drift  period.  At  the  same  time,  I  hazard  this  opinion  in  its 
extension  to  the  Wealden  with  considerable  doubt,  although  I 
have  reason  to  hope  that  with  regard  to  the  other  districts  it 
will  be  found  fairly  grounded.  I  do  not  know  whether  in  this 
short  explanation  I  have  made  myself  clear,  or  whether  I  have 
entered  at  sufficient  length  on  the  points  you  wish.  In  any  case, 
I  shall  be  most  happy  to  communicate  to  you  any  other  facts  I 
may  be  in  possession  of,  or  to  enter  more  fully  into  any  of  my 
views  requiring  explanation ;  and  believe  me  to  remain,  my  dear 
sir,  very  sincerely  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

To  the  Same.  LONDON,  20th  August  1849. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  had  written  the  enclosed  letter  on  the  night 
of  the  31st  July,  when  on  the  1st  August  I  received  your  second 
letter  with  further  inquiries  respecting  the  Drift  period.  I  post- 
poned, therefore,  sending  it  until  I  had  again  considered  the 
subject,  and  seen  more  of  the  district  in  question. 

Since  the  publication  of  my  papers  on  the  London  Clay  and 
Bagshot  Beds,  I  have  only  communicated  to  the  Society  short 
papers  on  isolated  facts,  and  have  not  therefore  gone  again  into 
the  general  views  of  subsidence  and  elevation  affecting  large 
areas  and  requiring  lengthened  observation.  This  subject  I  am 
about  to  resume  in  a  paper  on  the  beds  between  the  London 
Clay  and  the  Chalk,  as  well  as  in  a  paper  on  the  Diluvial  period. 
"With  regard  to  ground  where  the  many  hundred  feet  of  London 
Clay  and  overlying  beds  were  derived,  I  yet  feel  at  a  loss  to  form 
an  opinion.  I  have  thought  much  about  it,  and  have  sought  in 
vain  for  any  transported  rock  specimens  in  the  body  of  the  beds 
to  show  their  origin.  I  have  only  one  such  specimen  from  the 
London  Clay,  and  that  is  not  very  distinct.  It  is,  at  all  events, 
some  old  and  distant  rock.  The  clays  of  Sheppey  indicate  the 
proximity  of  land  on  some  point,  I  think,  southward  of  that  island. 

In  the  beds  below  the  London  Clay  the  evidence  is,  however, 
stronger  and  clearer.  The  fluviatile  beds  of  Upnor,  Woolwich, 
and  Lewisham,  and  of  Guildford  appear  evidently  to  have  been 
local  things — small  rivers,  and  flowing  apparently  from  a  land 
on  the  south,  as  the  deposits  do  not  seem  to  have  extended 
themselves  far  from  the  then  existing  shore,  and  they  are  lost 


JET.  37.]  LOWER   TERTIARY   STRATA.  71 

in  the  other  strata  as  they  travel  northward.  On  no  part  of  the 
north  side  of  the  London  Tertiaries  am  I  aware  that  fluviatile 
beds  have  been  found.  At  the  period  just  before  the  London 
Clay  commenced  shallow  seas  and  lines  of  coast  are  indicated, 
both  by  these  river-deposits,  and  by  the  occurrence  at  several 
places  of  rocks  bored  by  the  Pholas.  These  south-coast  rivers 
would  certainly  seem  to  have  flowed  over  land  now  occupied  by 
the  area  of  the  Wealden,  but  whether  the  chalk  then  covered  it 
almost  to  the  exclusion  of  the  older  beds  or  not  it  is  difficult  to 
say.  I  am  rather  inclined  to  look  to  the  chalk  for  the  supply  of 
the  greater  part  of  the  beds  below  the  London  Clay,  but  yet  not 
to  this  entirely.  The  London  Clay  is,  I  think,  derived  from 
another  quarter,  and  a  more  distant  one.  The  first  deposited 
Tertiary  bed  was  broken  up,  and  its  fragments  scattered  in  some 
of  the  beds  but  little  younger;  and,  again,  the  London  Clay,  I 
believe,  swept  over  and  denuded  Tertiary  beds  older  than  itself, 
for  [to]  this  action  only  can  I  attribute  the  number  of  small  black 
flint  pebbles  thinly  dispersed  at  places  in  the  beds  of  the  London 
Clay.  These  pebbles,  I  believe,  come  from  the  shingle  beds  below 
the  London  Clay,  but  whence  they  were  originally  derived  it  is 
more  difficult  to  say — probably,  I  think,  from  upper  denuded 
beds  of  chalk.  This  is  a  point  I  am  looking  to  at  present.  The 
movement  which  upset  the  Tertiaries  of  the  Isle  of  Wight  I 
think  long  anterior  to  the  denudation  of  the  Weald  as  it'  now 
exists;  yet  may  it  not  be  quite  possible  that  the  elevation  of 
the  Weald  existed  before  this  period,  and  that  the  elevation  and 
denudation  were  independent  of  each  other  ? 

The  amount  of  vertical  subsidence  in  the  Isle  of  Wight 
between  the  Chalk  and  the  first  appearance  of  land  above 
the  waters  must,  I  think,  have  been  nearly  2000  feet  —  and 
that  an  uninterrupted,  tranquil,  and  noiseless  action.  (Never- 
theless I  believe  in  paroxysms.)  The  green-coated  flints  next 
the  Chalk  I  quite  agree  with  you  in  attributing  to  a  large  and 
extensive  destruction  of  the  Chalk.  This  was  the  commencing 
scene  of  our  English  Tertiaries.  The  plants  of  Alum  Bay 
and  Bournemouth  imply  no  doubt  the  contiguity  of  dry  land, 
but  still  probably  not  a  very  near  one,  and  an  open  sea,  whilst 
the  fresh-water  Eocenes  [Oligocene]  indicate  a  closing  up  of  the 
seas  and  the  extension  near  at  hand  of  fresh  water. 


72  METROPOLITAN    DRAINAGE.  [l849. 

D'Archiac,  in  his  '  Histoire  des  Progres  de  la  Geologic/  reviews 
the  subject,  but  does  not  go  very  fully  into  it,  nor  am  I  aware 
that  any  of  the  French  geologists  have  more  than  alluded  to  it 
briefly,  excepting,  however,  M.  D'Archiac,  who  has  well  and 
frequently  discussed  it  in  several  of  his  works. — I  remain,  my 
dear  sir,  yours  very  truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

With  reference  to  the  range  and  thickness  of  the 
local  Tertiaries,  the  following  is  the  draft  of  a  letter 
on  the  Metropolitan-  Main  Drainage,  addressed  to  Sir 
Henry  De  la  Beche  : — 

20  MARK  LANE,  Augt.  1849. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  HENRY, — In  the  report  of  the  meeting  of  the 
Commissioners  of  July  last  several  points  were  raised  connected 
with  the  geology  of  part  of  the  neighbourhood  of  London, 
especially  with  that  portion  of  it  extending  eastward  from 
St  Paul's  to  the  marshes  opposite  Woolwich.  The  subject  was 
discussed  in  connection  with  the  question  of  Mr  Phillips's  tunnel 
scheme,  on  which  it  has  no  doubt  an  important  bearing.  As 
considerable  doubt  seemed  to  exist  as  to  the  extent  of  the  range 
of  the  London  Clay  and  its  depth  through  Eastern  London, 
and  also  as  to  the  nature  of  the  beds  between  the  London 
Clay  and  the  Chalk,  I  venture  to  take  the  liberty  of  communi- 
cating the  few  facts  I  am  in  possession  of  connected  with  the 
geology  of  the  district.  As  I  believe  a  series  of  borings  is 
in  the  course  of  execution,  the  observations  may  probably  be 
of  no  use,  and  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  bring  them  forward. 
If,  however,  they  should  tend  to  throw  light  upon  any  one 
doubtful  point,  it  will  give  me  much  pleasure,  and  I  beg  you 
will  make  any  use  of  them  you  think  fit. 

The  consideration  of  t^his  question  geologically  has  led  me 
to  examine  with  some  attention  the  various  plans  proposed 
for  the  more  efficient  drainage  of  London,  and  at  the  risk  of 
being  probably  thought  by  you  very  presumptuous  in  venturing 
to  give  an  opinion  upon  such  a  subject,  I  have  in  paper  "B" 
expressed  some  difficulties  I  cannot  but  foresee  in  Mr  Phillips's 
plan,  and  have  given  a  sketch  of  a  plan  which  might  possibly 
obviate  some  of  them.  I  may  be  all  wrong — if  so,  burn  the 


MT.  37.]  TERTIARY   MEMOIRS.  73 

papers ;  if  not,  I  shall  be  happy  to  offer  any  further  explanation. 
I  should  never  have  ventured  to  have  submitted  this  to  you 
unless  a  gentleman  who  has  had  great  experience  in  sewers 
had  intimated  to  me  that  he  did  not  consider  my  plan  more 
impracticable  than  the  others,  and  advised  me  to  lay  it  before 
the  court.  May  I  claim  your  kind  services  in  taking  charge 
of  these  two  papers,  and  believe  me  to  remain.  .  .  . 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  Joseph  Prestwich 
prepared  a  "  Geological  Map  of  the  Estuary  of  the 
Thames  for  the  Referees  of  the  Main  Drainage  of  the 
Metropolis."  It  was  printed  by  order  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  4th  February  1858. 

Two  more  memoirs  were  in  1849  given  to  the  world, 
both  through  the  channel  of  the  Geological  Society— 
namely,  one  "  On  the  Position  and  general  Characters 
of  the  Strata  exhibited  in  the  Coast  Section  from 
Christchurch  Harbour  to  Poole  Harbour "  ;  the  other 
"  On  some  Fossiliferous  Beds  overlying  the  Red  Crag 
at  Chillesford  near  Orford,  Suffolk,"  in  which  latter 
he  showed  the  existence  at  Chillesford  of  a  peculiar 
Arctic  group  of  fossils  in  undisturbed  beds  above  the 
Red  Crag.  The  excursion  to  the  Crag  district  was 
made  in  company  with  Godwin-Austen,  Morris,  and 
Alfred  Tylor. 

During  the  forties  there  had  been  great  intellectual 
activity,  yet  if  we  compare  his  published  work  with 
that  in  the  decade  of  years  to  follow,  it  will  be  seen 
that  it  had  not  reached  its  maximum. 

On  August  7th  Prestwich  had  paid  a  visit  to  his 
old  friend  Mr  Wickham  Flower l  at  Croydon,  and 
a  week  later  he  was  at  Hastings,  exploring  Fairlight 

1  John  Wickham  Flower  ;  born  1807,  died  1873  :  best  known  for  his 
studies  of  the  deposits  yielding  palaeolithic  implements  near  Brandon  and 
Thetford. 


74  GEOLOGICAL   EXCURSIONS.  [1849. 

Hill  and  the  structure  of  the  surrounding  country, 
with  Dr  Fitton,  the  veteran  geologist.  On  September 
7th,  Professor  Morris  accompanied  him  to  New  Lewis- 
ham,  where  they  were  fully  occupied  with  sections 
and  notes,  and  on  the  10th  October  Mr  I'Anson  was 
his  companion  on  geological  work  from  Marlborough 
through  Man  ton  to  the  Valley  of  Rocks  (Devil's  Den). 
Early  in  November  Professor  Morris  was  again  with 
him  when  they  proceeded  to  Hertford, — this  excursion 
being  only  one  of  very  many  made  to  that  locality. 
In  short,  the  record  in  the  1849  not  e-book  of  the 
field-work  done  after  the  7th  August  is  extraordinary. 
The  districts  round  Brighton,  Epsom,  Leatherhead, 
Stamford  Hill,  Sutton,  Horsham,  Esher,  Basingstoke, 
Winchester,  and  Wimborne,  were  explored,  and  sec- 
tions were  noted  at  these  as  well  as  at  many  other 
localities  too  numerous  to  catalogue. 


75 


CHAPTER    IV. 

1849-1858. 

EASTER   EXCURSIONS — '  THE   WATER-BEARING   STRATA  '- 
'  THE    GROUND    BENEATH    US ' — FURTHER    TERTIARY 
MEMOIRS. 

FOR  several  years  Prestwich  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
making  a  short  excursion  into  the  country  at  Easter, 
when  he  was  accompanied  by  two  or  three  geological 
friends.  To  him  these  expeditions  were  most  bene- 
ficial :  he  was  fagged  by  the  end  of  the  winter,  and 
invariably  felt  refreshed  by  the  change  of  air  and 
scene.  He  delighted  in  geologising  and  exploring  in 
the  society  of  personal  friends  ;  and  as  time  went  on, 
these  Easter  parties  became  very  popular,  and  were 
usually  composed  of  four  or  five  "  brethren  of  the  ham- 
mer"; Prestwich,  from  his  knowledge  of  the  ground, 
being  director  and  keeper  of  the  common  purse.  It 
soon  became  known  that  to  be  one  of  Prestwich's 
Easter  party  was  a  very  good  thing  indeed,  and  those 
hard  workers  who  joined  it  were  like  so  many  happy 
school-boys  out  for  a  holiday.  Mention  is  made  in  a 
letter  to  his  old  friend  Mr  W.  Cunnington  of  one  of 
these  expeditions. 


76  DEATH    OF   HIS    MOTHER.  [1850. 

J.  Prestwich  to  W.  Cunnington.  LONDON,  25th  March  1850. 

DEAR  CUNNINGTON, — A  party  of  vagrant  geologists  will  alight 
on  Friday  morning  next,  somewhere  on  the  Chalk  Downs  south 
of  the  Farringdon  Eoad  Station.  On  Friday  night  they  will 
probably  sleep  at  Farringdon ;  on  Saturday  at  Swindon.  The 
party  will  consist  of  Austen,  Sharpe,  Prof.  E.  Forbes,  Mcol  (?), 
Tylor,  Morris  (?  ?),  and  myself.  Can  you  manage  to  join  us  ?  It 
would  give  me  much  pleasure  to  see  you.  I  expect  we  shall 
do  some  good  work  and  examine  a  considerable  tract  of  country, 
as  we  purpose  walking  about  twenty  miles  per  day.  I  intend 
to  try  to  get  them  (or  part  of  them)  as  far  as  Devizes.  If  so, 
we  shall  make  a  descent  then  on  Sunday  night  or  early  on 
Monday  morning,  so  as  to  meet  with  you  at  home  on  Monday 
as  a  likely  day.  Your  collection  is  one  which  a  man  of  the 
Greensand  as  Austen  ought  to  see.  If  you  can  manage  to  join 
us  I  will  give  you  fuller  particulars  where  to  meet.  I  leave 
town  on  Thursday  night. — Yours  very  sincerely, 

J.  PRESTWICH. 

In  the  early  summer  a  great  sorrow  overtook  him : 
in  June  1850  he  lost  his  mother,  who  had  been  in 
failing  health  for  several  years.  To  his  loving  nature 
this  was  a  keen  trial.  He  never  spoke  of  her  ex- 
cept with  great  reverence,  and  in  accents  which 
showed  how  tenderly  he  cherished  her  memory.  Like 
a  true  mother,  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of  reading 
every  word  of  her  son's  geological  memoirs — no  matter 
how  technical.  One  of  these  bears  the  inscription, 
"  To  my  dearly  loved  mother,  the  first  and  last 
thought  of  the  writer."  Her  miniature,  in  a  dress 
of  white  lace  devoid  of  ornament,  was  always  in  sight : 
it  hung  above  his  library  mantel-shelf. 

Among  letters  of  this  date  we  find  one  to  his  in- 
teresting young  niece  Sophia  Scott,  labelled  "  my  dear 
uncle,"  written  when  her  health  showed  symptoms  of 
fatal  decline.  Sophia  died  at  Malaga,  where  she  had 


JET.  38.]  LETTER   TO    HIS    NIECE.  77 

been  taken  in  the  vain  hope  that  her  life  might  be 
lengthened  by  residence  in  a  southern  climate.  This 
letter  displays  his  attention  to  every  detail  of  the 
observations  he  counselled  her  to  make,  and  his  solici- 
tude to  cherish  in  the  fading  young  life  an  unceasing 
interest  in  the  marvellous  works  of  nature.  In  read- 
ing between  the  lines  we  are  conscious  that  a  tender 
sympathy  is  expressed  :— 

LONDON,  25th  July  1850. 

MY  DEAR  SOPHIA, — The  plant  in  the  bottle  which  I  sent  you 
yesterday  is  a  water-grass,  in  repute  for  the  exhibition  of  the 
circulation  of  the  sap  in  vegetables.  You  will,  I  think,  find 
it  a  very  interesting  phenomenon.  It  is  easily  shown,  and  the 
specimen  can  be  preserved  for  any  length  of  time  in  water. 
You  can  plant  it  in  some  washed  vegetable  mould,  an  inch 
thick,  on  the  bottom  of  any  open  glass  jar  or  vase  filled  up  with 
water. 

What  I  should  recommend  you  to  do  would  be  to  get  any 
common  glass  jar,  about  8  to  12  inches  high,  and  4  to  8  inches 
across ;  place  at  the  bottom  of  it  about  1  or  1 J  inch  of  washed 
vegetable  mould  (washed,  because  it  would  otherwise  make  the 
water  too  muddy),  and  then  plant  it  with  this  and  any  other 
water  ground  plants  (mosses  especially).  Fill  the  jar  to  within 
an  inch  of  the  top  with  dirty  pond  water  (which  will  soon 
become  clear),  and  then  put  on  the  top  of  the  water  a  few 
floating  water-plants — such  as  duckweed  and  ranunculus.  In- 
troduce into  the  water  any  water-insects  or  fresh-water  shells 
and  small  Crustacea — as  the  Planorbis,  Lymnea,  Helix,  Cypris, 
&c.  The  plants  at  the  top  will  thus  prevent  evaporation,  whilst 
the  animal  and  vegetable  life  will  (as  long  as  they  are  alive) 
keep  the  water  fresh  and  free  from  putrefaction.  After  a  short 
time  the  water  will  teem  with  a  most  active  population,  whose 
habits  and  characters  you  can  study  at  your  leisure.  The  larger 
animals  will  be  visible  enough  through  the  glass,  whilst  the 
smaller  ones  you  can  get  out  and  place  under  the  microscope 
by  means  of  a  small  dipping-tube.  .  .  .  Your  mamma  will,  I 
have  no  doubt,  be  able  to  assist  you  in  all  the  manipulations, 


78  WATER-SUPPLY.  |inr,o. 

ami  will  toll  you  what  the  genera  are  which  I  have  referred 
to  above ;  and  your  papa  will  bo  able  to  assist  you  in  deciphering 
my  hieroglyphics  in  case  you  are  at  a  loss  in  any  part  <>!'  this 
letter,  which  I  urn  writing  as  usual  in  a  hurry,  The  Himly,  my 

<|r;ir  Soph  in.  n  I'  I  lit-   <>  nl.jrrl,",,  ::in;ill   a  :   lli.'y   MIT,   i:;   I'll  II   of  i  literal 

As  they  tiro  tlnm  kept  in  tho  propnr  ohmient,  you  will  he  nhlc 
to  watch  nil  tluM-hnn^cH  win.  h  I..K--  place  in  (Jinn.  Kvcry  <luy 
will  ;i.llnrd  IVi'Mli  pointM  for  <>l>Mrrvnl  ion,  .md  I  he  mm.-  you  sec  \.\\u 
more  you  will,  I  think,  wish  to  loarn,  so  beautiful  are  the  objects 
and  so  wonderful  is  their  variety.  Once  started,  there  is  no 
trouble  at  nil.  Keep  tho  jar  in  a  light  place,  with  occasional 
HunHhino  upon  it.  1  have  annexed  a  rough  sketch  of  the  jar, 
so  as  to  indicate  its  form  and  general  appearance  to  assist  you 
in  getting  it  up.  Trusting  that  it  may  prove  to  you,  my  dear 
Sophia,  a  source  of  pleasant  and  profitable  recreation  in  your 
close  confinement,— I  remain,  your  very  affecte.  uncle, 

J.  PKKSTWIOH,  Jr. 

One  of  the  special  subjects  to  which  for  some  time 
Prestwich  had  turned  his  attention  was  the  question 
of  water-supply,  especially  with  regard  to  the  service 
of  London.  Eventually  he  became  the  leading  auth- 
ority on  this  subject,  and  furnished  many  reports  to 

public,  bodies  ;md  institutions  thai  sought  l»is  advice. 
In  later  years  be  occasionally  received  in<|uiries  from 
private  individuals,  who  only  knew  him  by  reputation, 
asking  him  to  point  out  (lie  best  situation  in  \vliich 
to  build  a  country  house  (giving  the  range  of  a,  low 

cou nl  ie;;),  ;;<>  ;is  |o  ensure  a  i^ood  \va(er  supply.  Tho 
request  of  a.  si  ranker  writing  for  information  about 
tho  elfects  of  sea  waler  on  blocks  of  maj.;-nelic  iron  ore 
rernxed  immediate  attention. 

His  first  public  address  on  the  water-supply  of 
London  was  jjfivon  at  tho  Royal  Institute  of  llritish 
Architects,  Sth  July  I  S..O,  and  was  published  in  its 
Proceedings.  Its  title  was,  "On  the  (Jeoloincal  Con- 


MT.  88.]  TERTIARY   MEMOIRS.  79 

ditions  which  determine  the  Relative  Value  of  the 
Water-bearing  Strata  of  the  Tertiary  and  Cretaceous 
Series,  and  on  the  Probability  of  finding  in  the  Lower- 
Members  of  the  latter,  beneath  London,  Fresh  and 
Large  Sources  of  Water  Supply."  His  opinion,  how- 
ever, which  was  confirmed  by  the  experience  of  later 
years,  was  that  the  growing  needs  of  London  would 
necessitate  in  the  future)  an  ampler  supply,  for  which 
tho  far-off  mountains  of  Wales  might  be  the  best 
source. 

Boforo  tho  publication  of  his  book  on  *  The  Water- 
bearing Strata,'  tho  first  of  three  important  rnomoirs 
which  will  ovor  bo  associated  with  his  namo  was  read 
at  tho  Geological  Society—  "  On  tho  Structure  of  the 
Strata  between  tho  London  Clay  and  tho  Chalk  in  the 
London  and  Eampshire  Tertiary  Systems.  Part  I., 
Tho  BaHomont  H<*1  of  tho  London  Clay,  1850."  This 
papor  is  illustrated  by  twenty  admirable  sections,  and 
a  tablo  is  givon  showing  tho  goneral  range  and  dis- 
tribution of  tho  organic  remains  of  tho  basement  bod 

o 

of  tho  London  Cl ay  through  tho  Hampshire  and  Lon- 
don Tertiary  districts.  The  lino  of  range  is  taken  from 
tho  IH!O  of  Wight  north  to  Hungerford,  thence  east  to 
Homo  Hay. 

Thoso  three  papers  were  the  outcome  of  years  of 
caroful  research  :  thoy  defined  the  boundaries  of  indi- 
vidual bods  which  had  not  previously  been  discrimin- 
ated, or  had  boon  confused  with  each  other,  and  the 
relations  of  tho  Tertiary  strata  in  the  .London  and 
Hampshire  basins  woro  demonstrated. 

It,  IIRH  boon  pointed  out  by  Mr  II.  B.  Woodward1 
that  Prestwich,  commencing  in  the  London  area, 
zealously  traversed  tho  country  wherever  the  Lower 

1   Natural  Scionce,  Au#.  189(5,  p.  i)l. 


80  DR   FITTON.  [1850-51. 

Tertiary  strata  were  to  be  found,  and  hardly  an  out- 
lier of  any  importance  escaped  his  observation.  Mr 
Whitaker,  who  more  than  any  other  man  has  followed 
in  the  footsteps  of  Prestwich  over  this  large  region, 
referred  in  1872  to  the  literature  of  the  subject,  and 
remarked  that  the  period  1841  to  1860  "might  well 
be  called  the  '  Prestwichian  period/  from  the  author 
who  first  clearly  made  out  the  detailed  structure  of 
the  London  basin."  l ' 

Notebook  entries  for  August  1850  record  detailed  de- 
scriptions and  sections  made  when  on  a  tour  in  France. 
The  districts  round  Boulogne,  Glermont,  and  Beauvais 
were  again  explored,  and  the  repeated  exhibition  of 
" drift"  at  Beauvais,  and  its  resemblance  to  that  near 
Marlborough,  attracted  his  attention.  The  Abbe  Mail- 
lard  was  Prestwich's  companion  at  Bracheux  for  an 
examination  of  its  sands.  Epernay  was  the  locality 
from  which  he  dated  in  September,  where  he  was 
joined  by  "  Morris  and  Haines,"  and  on  this  occasion 
copious  notes  were  made  on  the  "  Sables  de  Billy." 
Those  repeated  visits  to  Epernay  bore  rich  fruit. 

With  the  growth  of  geological  knowledge  questions 
continually  arise  with  reference  to  geological  nomen- 
clature. Perhaps  no  names  of  formations  have  given 
rise  to  more  discussion  than  those  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Greensand  and  Neocomian.  The  views,  therefore,  of 
Dr  Fitton  —  one  of  the  old  masters  of  geology,  and 
the  chief  English  authority  on  the  Cretaceous  strata 
— will  be  read  with  interest : — 

W.  H.  Fitton  to  J.  Prestwich. 

53  UPPER  HARLEY  STREET,  15th  March  1851. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  hope  you  are  making  good  progress  with 
your  paper ;  and  I  wish  to  mention  to  you  (as  it  may  save  you 

1  Mem.  Geol.  Survey,  vol.  iv.  p.  395. 


JDT.  38-39.]  NEOCOMIAN.  81 

the  trouble  of  preparing  any  long  note  upon  the  subject)  that, 
after  going  through  most  of  the  French  papers  in  the  '  Bulletin 
de  la  Soc.  Ge'ol.  de  France,'  I  find  that  the  term  G-res  Vert  is  so 
frequently  used  in  a  right  sense  for  our  L.  G.  Sand ;  whilst,  as  you 
know,  the  French  geologists  have  already  distinct  and  different 
names  for  the  Upper  Green  sand  ("  Craie  tufau,"  "  Craie  chloritee," 
"  Glauconie  crayeuse "),  and  thus  have  avoided  the  impropriety 
of  joining,  as  we  have  done,  the  "  Upper  "  and  "  Lower "  Green 
sands,  which  have  really  no  connection.  It  would  be  very 
unlikely  that  the  use  of  a  new  term  would  be  accepted,  and 
thought  necessary  (if  that  is  the  only  ground  on  which  new 
names  can  be  acceptable)  in  France. 

I  think,  therefore,  after  fully  considering  the  subject,  that  I 
shall  confine  myself — at  present — to  proposing  simply  to  adopt 
the  term  "  Neocomian  "  for  the  lowest  divisions  of  our  Cretaceous 
deposits;  making  it  a  part  of  our  Lower  G-reen  sand,  and  in- 
cluding only  the  groups  I.,  II.,  and  III.  of  my  large  Table.1  The 
groups  next  above  IV.  to  XIV.  of  the  Table  will  then  be  the 
middle  division — distinguished  and  well  known  in  England  ever 
since  1824-25  by  containing  G-ryphcea  sinuata,  and  being  con- 
spicuously the  middle  division  of  my  section  at  Hythe  and  Folke- 
stone (Kent).  You  will  see  in  the  Table  that  in  XIV.  (6,  No. 
45)  there  is  a  continuous  line  of  fossils  going  out  there  in  a  very 
distinct  manner.  This  line  is,  I  am  very  glad  to  find,  also  very 
distinct  in  the  Hythe  section  (at  Sandgate) ;  and  there  also  separates 
the  middle  division  of  the  L.  Green  sand  from  the  uppermost 
division  (XV.  and  XVI.  of  the  Table),  which,  both  at  Atherfield 
and  near  Folkestone,  consists  chiefly  of  pure  whitish  or  buff  and 
yellowish-gray  sand,  with  very  few  fossils  (yet  with  some  shells, 
and  these  sometimes  silicified !).  This  upper  division  of  the 
L.  G.  S.  occurs  in  France  (and  I  suspect  also  in  Switzerland, 
where  it  has  caused  some  perplexity). 

The  "  Gault "  is  immediately  above  this  upper  light-coloured 
sandy  division,  and  makes  a  strongly  contrasted  boundary.  I 
think  of  giving  a  short  sketch  of  the  progress  of  inquiry,  so  far 
as  the  Neocomian  and  our  L.  G.  sand  are  concerned.  This  will 
enable  me  to  give  an  account  of  the  orginal  Terrain  "Neocomien  " 


1  See  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  p.  289. 
F 


82  GODWIN-AUSTEN.  [l851. 

—  or  rather,  as  it  was  called  at  first,  of  the  Terrain  crttace' 
inftricur. 

And  I  hope  thus  to  make  everything  clear  as  to  the  identities 
and  differences  existing  between  our  group  and  some  of  those  on 
the  Continent. 

When  the  members  of  the  Palseontological  Society  come  to 
Upper  Gfreensand  they  will  be  enabled  to  judge  of  the  expediency 
of  making  a  new  name  for  that  deposit.  And  this  additional 
change  will  by  that  time  have  been  rendered  more  easy  —  to 
introduce  further  alterations  if  they  should  then  be  desired. 
But  in  the  meantime  I  should  not  republish  my  note  about 
Vectine.1 — Yours  very  truly,  W.  H.  FITTON. 

One  of  the  intimate  friends  who  was  frequently  his 
companion  in  Easter  expeditions  was  Mr  R.  A.  C. 
Godwin- Austen,  F.R.S.,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
geologists  of  his  day,  whose  acute  reasoning  was  shown 
in  his  famous  paper  on  the  probable  underground 
extension  of  the  Coal  Measures  in  the  south-east  of 
England.  A  warm  friendship  existed  between  them, 
which  was  only  severed  by  the  death  of  Godwin- 
Austen  in  1884.2  They  often  went  abroad  together, 
perhaps  for  a  few  days  at  a  time,  to  France  or 
Belgium,  to  work  out  the  geology  of  some  particular 
district — the  route  having  been  carefully  planned.  The 
following  letter  throws  a  light  on  our  geologist's  pro- 
ceedings. He  had  indeed  made  for  himself  a  position 
altogether  unique  :— 

From  R.  A.  C.  [Gfodwin-]Austen  to  J.  Prestwich. 

CHILWORTH,  April  7,  1851. 

DEAE  PRESTWICH, — Do  you  intend  to  take  your  geological 
pupils  into  the  country  this  Easter?  If  so,  I  am  ready  for  a 


1  See  Proc.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  iv.  p.  406,  and  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  i. 
p.  189. 

2  Mr  Austen  took  the  additional  name  of  Godwin  in  1854.    He  was  born 
in  1808. 


Photo  by  Jl'.  7.  Hawker,  Bournemouth. 

R.   A.    C.    GODWIN-AUSTEN,    F.R.S. 


Ml.  39.]  MURCHISON.  83 

tramp  over  any  formation,  but  the  less  argillaceous  it  is  the 
better. 

I  will  leave  it  to  Sharpe  to  fight  the  battle  about  dinner.  All 
I  stipulate  for  (Farnham  being  my  prompter)  is,  that  you  will 
allow  us  breakfasts.  What  do  you  think  of  Oxford,  commencing 
with  Cumnor  Hurst,  and  so  looking  up  the  old  Doctor  [Fitton] 
over  his  Headington,  Garsington,  Hazeley,  Tetsworth,  and  Thame 
sections,  and  so  on  to  Tring  ? 

I  shall  not  be  able  to  be  at  the  next  "  Geological " ;  but  should 
it  be  proposed  to  renew  the  walk  of  the  last  year  or  two,  I  will 
join  the  force  any  day,  anywhere,  you  may  name. 

Do  not  let  my  suggestion  as  to  the  district  influence  you.  I 
am  such  a  wanderer  in  our  wide  field  that  any  district  will 
come  alike  to  me. — Ever  yours  very  truly, 

E.  A.  C.  AUSTEN. 

The  next  letter  is  from  another  geologist,  also  with  a 
request  for  Joseph  Prestwich  to  join  in  an  excursion  :— 

Sir  E.  I.  Murchison  to  J.  Prestivich. 

16  BELGRAVR  SQUARE,  April  14.  1851. 

MY  DEAR  Sm, — Would  it  suit  your  book  to  make  a  run  of  a 
day  or  two  to  the  other  side  of  the  Weald,  looking  at  a  few  points 
by  the  way,  and  at  some  of  the  transverse  splits  in  the  S.  Downs  ? 

I  intend  to  look  at  the  valley  of  the  Cuckmere,  E.  of  Brighton, 
and  at  the  "  Wealden  Drift  "  of  Barcombe,  mentioned  by  Mantell 
and  Lyell. 

I  think  of  going  on  Thursday  next.  I  shall  probably  return  by 
the  other  side  of  the  county — vid  Pulborough  and  Guildford. 

It  would  be  gratifying  to  me  to  have  a  playfellow  like  yourself 
for  a  part,  at  all  events,  of  my  tramp ;  and  if  you  have  a  little 
holiday,  you  may  not  dislike  to  employ  it  to  some  extent  in  this 
way. — Ever  yours,  BOD.  I.  MURCHISON. 

The  careful  research  necessary  for  the  elaboration  of 
his  Tertiary  papers  also  aided  him  largely  in  the 
acquisition  of  his  knowledge  of  the  permeable  and 
impermeable  strata,  and  of  the  action  of  springs  and 


84  THE   WATER-BEARING   STRATA.  [1851. 

underground  waters.  In  1851  his  volume  on  'The 
Water-bearing  Strata  of  the  Country  around  London, 
with  reference  especially  to  the  Water- Supply  of  the 
Metropolis/  was  published  by  his  friend  Van  Voorst, 
and  was  most  favourably  received.1  His  complete 
mastery  of  the  subject  must  have  taken  the  public  by 
surprise.  The  author  used  often  laughingly  to  affirm, 
that  if  he  had  only  at  that  time  set  up  as  a  consulting 
water  engineer,  he  would  have  become  a  rich  man. 

It  was  probably  about  this  date,  or  it  might  have 
been  earlier,  that  a  proposal  was  made  to  him  to  join  the 
late  Mr  Allnutt,  father  of  the  first  Lady  Brassey,  in 
business  as  active  partner.  This  partnership  wrould 
possibly  have  led  the  way  to  fortune,  but  Joseph  Prest- 
wich  (who  had  been  his  own  master  from  the  time  he 
had  assumed  the  headship  of  his  father's  firm)  saw  that 
under  such  circumstances  his  City  work  would  become 
more  exacting — that  it  would  in  a  greater  measure 
interfere  with  and  curtail  his  leisure  for  geologising  : 
on  that  account,  and  while  fully  alive  to  all  the  advan- 
tages offered,  he  declined. 

It  will  be  gleaned  from  the  following  letter  to  Mrs 
Russell  Scott  that  he  had  under  consideration  a  plan  for 
exchanging  City  work  for  some  other  avocation  in  which 
he  felt  that  his  talents  might  be  turned  to  better 
account  :— 

LONDON,  17th  May  1851. 

You  have  exactly  expressed,  my  own  dear  sister,  that  which  I 
feel  upon  the  subject  of  my  work.  I  care  very  little  about  any 
pecuniary  benefit  it  may  be  to  me,  provided  the  plan  should  prove 

1  This  issue  was  limited,  for  the  large  plate  which  accompanied  the 
volume  was  accidentally  destroyed  before  sufficient  copies  were  printed 
off.  In  1895,  however,  a  new  issue  was  published  (without  the  plate), 
and  this  contains  much  new  matter  and  some  corrections  in  the  form  of 
a  supplement. 


2BT.  39.]  BUSINESS   AND    GEOLOGY.  85 

of  benefit  and  advantage  to  my  fellow-men, — but  more  especially 
do  I  hope  and  trust  that  it  may  lead  to  some  amelioration  in  the 
condition  of  those  who,  by  circumstances,  are  placed  in  a  position 
of  toil  and  hardship  which  we  who  are  in  a  more  fortunate  posi- 
tion should  as  a  duty  alleviate  as  far  as  lies  in  our  power.  The 
misery  I  see  around  me  is  indeed  sad, — it  makes  my  heart  bleed. 
It  is  on  this  account  that  I  must  feel  my  dependent  situation— 
my  inability  to  assist  more  effectually  in  the  improvement  and 
welfare  of  the  poorer  classes.  Then  again,  with  reference  to 
Clapham,  I  deeply  feel  the  responsibility  to  maintain  a  proper 
provision  for  them  —  such  as  they  have  been  accustomed  to. 
It  is  these  considerations,  and  not  a  mere  question  of  £  s.  d., 
that  lead  me  to  hope,  as  a  possible  contingency,  that  some  change 
in  my  present  position  may  result  from  this  work.  Then  again, 
as  a  secondary  consideration,  I  feel  that  I  am  out  of  place  here — 
that  my  time  and  labour  are  not  employed  in  those  channels  in 
which  they  might  yield  their  proper  return.  I  feel  that  I  could 
make  more  of  them,  not  only  for  my  own  benefit,  but  also  in  that 
of  which  I  feel  the  paramount  importance  —  the  progress  of 
science  and  its  application  to  our  improvement,  intellectual  and 
physical. 

It  is  therefore  with  regard  to  the  public  advantage,  which  I 
hope  would  result  from  the  carrying  out  of  my  plans,  that  I 
should  feel  disappointed  if  my  calculations  should  not  prove 
correct.  Their  success  would  be  an  ample  reward  to  me,  and  no 
disappointment  should  I  experience  on  my  own  account  by  that 
proving  the  only  one. — In  haste,  I  remain,  my  dearest  Isabella, 
ever  your  affectionate  brother,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Nothing  came  of  the  project  mentioned  in  the  above 
letter.  Before  long  Prestwich  was  again  taking  one 
of  those  business  journeys  during  which  he  contrived 
to  make  fresh  geological  observations,  as  may  be 
inferred  from  the  following  letter  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  LyelL  DORCHESTER,  21st  June  1851. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  shall  be  most  happy  to  take  a  short  excursion. 
I  fear  that  we  cannot  reach  the  Eeculvers  or  Sandwich,  but  there 


86  HOLMFIRTH    FLOOD.  [1851-52. 

is  an  intermediate  section  of  great  interest  at  Upnor,  near 
Eochester,  which  we  might  easily  visit  by  means  of  a  return  day 
ticket  on  the  North  Kent  line ;  or,  if  you  prefer,  we  can  take  a 
day  ticket  to  Maidstone,  and  examine  the  Drift  and  Greensands. 
With  regard  to  the  Reculvers  and  Sandwich,  I  will  give  you  full 
particulars  of  the  best  localities  and  points,  and  mark  them  on 
the  Ordnance  Map,  in  case  you  wish  to  visit  them  on  your  way 
to  Belgium.  I  forgot  to  mention  the  Abbey  Wood  cutting.  It 
is  very  interesting.  The  other  section,  however,  which  I  men- 
tioned, on  Plumstead  Heath,  shows  the  same  phenomena.  I  arn 
not  going  beyond  this  town.  To-morrow  I  hope  to  spend  in  the 
Isle  of  Purbeck,  and  expect  to  be  in  London  on  Tuesday.  I  shall 
not,  therefore,  fail  to  be  present  at  the  next  meeting,  when  I 
shall  be  happy  to  arrange  the  excursion  in  any  way  that  may  be 
most  agreeable  to  you,  and  remain,  my  dear  sir,  yours  very 
truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

The  date  of  publication  of  his  paper  "  On  the  Drift 
at  Sangatte  Cliff,  near  Calais,"  was  1851,  while  that 
"On  some  of  the  Effects  of  the  Holmfirth  Flood" 
was  published  in  the  volume  of  the  Geological  Society 
for  1852.  Reference  is  made  to  the  latter  in  the 
following  note  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  W.  Cunnington.  DERBY,  8th  March  1852. 

DEAR  CUNNINGTON, —  ...  I  went  from  Huddersfield  to 
Holmfirth  and  then  on  to  the  Bilberry  reservoir.  The  effects  of 
the  flood  were  most  remarkable.  The  valley  was  in  many  places 
literally  strewed  with  debris  of  sand,  gravel,  and  rock,  1  to  6 
feet  thick.  Transported  blocks  of  2  to  5  feet  were  common. 
One  huge  fellow  measured  22  feet  by  6  and  2J  deep.  Talk  of 
glaciers  !  it  would  have  taken  one  fifty  years  to  have  done  what 
this  water-power  did  in  an  hour. — Yours  very  truly, 

J.  PEESTWICH. 

The  third  of  Prestwich's  great  Tertiary  memoirs  was 
likewise  published  in  the  Geological  Society's  Journal 


^T.  39-40.]  GEOLOGICAL   PAPERS.  87 

for  1852,  thus  appearing  two  years  in  advance  of  the 
second  part.  Its  title  was,  "  On  the  Structure  of  the 
Strata  between  the  London  Clay  and  the  Chalk  in  the 
London  and  Hampshire  Tertiary  Systems.  Part  III., 
The  Thanet  Sands." 

The  entry  in  the  note-book  for  this  year  is :  "  Easter 
Excursion,  6th  to  15th  April  1852. — Forbes,  Austen, 
Morris,  and  myself  started  on  Tuesday  for  Boulogne. 
D.  Sharpe  and  Tylor  joined  us  at  Calais  on  Wednesday 
night."  They  were  met  at  Tournay  by  M.  Dumont 
and  M.  Lambert,  who  were  their  guides  over  the  most 
interesting  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  Mons,  Liege, 
Aix,  &c. 

Another  letter  to  Mrs  Russell  Scott  mentions  the 
amount  of  time  spent  on  two  geological  papers  : — 

LONDON,  22nd  December  1852. 

MY  DEAREST  ISABELLA, — Notwithstanding  the  troubles  I  have 
gone  through,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  my  views  and  feelings 
continue  as  fresh  as  ever.  I  have  no  feelings  of  disappointment, 
and  an  abundance  of  hope.  As  contributing  to  this  desirable 
end,  I  find  geology  is  a  most  important  adjunct.  You  must  not, 
however,  judge  of  the  amount  of  labour  (one,  by  the  bye,  of  love, 
and  therefore  not  felt  as  a  burden  but  as  an  enjoyment)  by  the 
size  of  the  results.  The  paper  on  the  Thanet  Sands  is  part  of 
the  results  of  ten  to  twelve  years'  researches — that  on  the  Holm- 
firth  Flood  is  the  result  of  one  Sunday's  walk  on  a  fine  day  last 
February.  You  are  very  good  to  read  my  papers.  I  do  not 
expect  it.  You  form  an  honourable  exception  to  the  rest  of  the 
family.  My  poor  mother  used  to  be  the  only  member  of  it  who 
ever  had  the  patience  to  get  through  them. 

I  shall  be  delighted  to  see  the  children  in  town.  Kate  and 
her  children  are  coming  up  to-morrow.  With  my  best  love  to 
all  the  absentees,  and  wishing  them  all  a  happy  and  merry  Christ- 
mas, I  remain,  ever  your  affectionate  brother, 

J.  PRESTWICH,  Jun. 


88  GEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY   OF   FRANCE.  [1852-53. 

During  the  session  of  1852-53  of  the  Societe  Geolo- 
gique  de  France,  a  paper  which  excited  great  interest 
in  Paris  was  communicated  to  the  Society  by  its 
English  member,  Joseph  Prestwich.  Of  the  estimate 
of  this  paper  among  French  geologists  we  quote  the 
Notice  to  the  Society  in  November  1896  by  M.  Albert 
Gaudry,  the  eminent  palaeontologist. 

II  visite  ensuite  longuement  FEst  du  bassin  de  Paris  et  le 
Nord  de  la  France ;  enfin,  en  1883,  Prestwich  nous  a  donne  des 
renseignements  de  premiere  importance  "  Sur  la  position  geo- 
logique  des  sables  et  du  calcaire  de  Rilly  pres  Reims  "  (Bull.  Soc. 
Ge*ol.,  Ire  se"rie,  tome  x.,  p.  300).  II  avait  reconnu  que  les  sables 
de  Rilly  etaient  places  a  la  partie  superieure  des  sables  de 
Bracheux,  sur  le  prolongement  des  sables  de  Jonchery  et  de 
Chalons-sur-Vesles,  position  qui  est  aujourd'hui  hors  de  toute 
contestation,  tandis  que  Hebert  soutenait  que  ces  sables  et  le  cal- 
caire qui  les  surmonte  formaient  une  serie  distincte,  anterieure 
&  toutes  les  autres  formations  tertiaires  du  bassin  de  Paris. 

La  demonstration  de  Prestwich  paraissait  peremptoire,  ce- 
pendant  elle  ne  fut  pas  admise  par  Hubert,  qui,  dans  une  note 
detaille,  publi^e  I'ane'e  suivante,  maintint  ses  vues  et  combattit 
son  contradicteur  avec  une  energie  passionnee,  persistant  a 
enseigner  pendant  plus  de  trente  ans  la  meme  erreur  dix  fois 
re'pete'e.  Justement  froisse  de  la  rdponse  d'Hebert,  M.  Prestwich 
priva  notre  Bulletin  de  toute  nouvelle  communication,  et  ce  n'est 
que  tout  a  fait  a  la  fin  de  la  vie  d'He'bert,  que  nous  Favons  vu 
reprendre  ses  publications  sur  le  bassin  de  Paris  pour  etablir  la 
cornparaison  des  assises  de  ce  bassin  avec  celles  du  bassin  de 
Londres  qu'il  connaissait  a  fond  et  avec  le  tertiaire  beige  auquel 
il  s'inte'ressait  beaucoup  aussi.  Les  recherches  theoriques  ne 
lui  faisaient  pas  negliger  les  applications  pratiques  de  la  science 
et  il  s'est  occupe  activement  des  questions  de  recherches  d'eau, 
de  houille,  et  comme  conseil  pour  les  grands  travaux  publics. 
On  peut  re*sumer  d'un  mot  son  oeuvre  geologique  en  disant 
qu'elle  restera  pour  nous  tous  un  modele. 

Better  than  any  words  of  ours,  this  quotation  shows 


&T.  40-41.]  EDWARD    FORBES.  89 

the  position  that  Joseph  Prestwich  held  in  the  world 
of  science  in  France. 

During  this  and  the  preceding  year  the  subject  of 
this  Memoir  had  been  in  close  correspondence  with  the 
lamented  Edward  Forbes.  They  were  both  at  work 
on  the  geology  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  yet  there  is  not 
a  shade  of  jealousy  on  the  part  of  either.  They  were 
both  only  eager  to  help  each  other  —  eager  for  the 
elucidation  of  truth.  Among  several  letters  from  this 
distinguished  naturalist,  one  from  Sandown,  dated  17th 
December  1852,  begins  : — 

DEAR  PRESTWICH, — Your  letter  is  a  most  interesting  one  to 
me,  and  I  hope  you  will  write  another,  stating  objections  and 
suggestions,  as  it  is  of  consequence  to  me  that  I  should  look  to 
all  points  whilst  I  am  on  the  spot.  ...  I  have  had  your 
note  on  Hempstead  transcribed  and  sent  down  to  me,  and  have 
been  much  pleased  with  it.  ... 

A  second  long  letter  from  Sandown,  of  January  16, 
1853,  enters  into  detail  on  the  arguments  and  facts  in 
support  of  the  writer's  divisions  of  the  geological  beds 
of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  concludes  : — 

As  you  say,  it  is  difficult  to  judge  of  equivalents  owing  to  the 
very  defective  French  lists.  On  the  general  questions  discussed 
at  the  end  of  your  letter  it  will  be  better  to  talk.  I  hope  you 
will  let  me  join  your  Easter  expedition — it  is  exactly  where  I 
should  like  to  go ;  and  with  all  this  fresh  in  my  head,  I  may  be 
of  use. — Ever,  dear  Prestwich,  very  sincerely, 

EDWARD  FORBES. 

This  next  Easter  trip  is  recorded  very  briefly. 
"1853,  25th  March. — Lynn  with  Forbes  and  Austen." 

The  last  letter  from  Edward  Forbes  was  from  Hythe, 
25th  August  1853.  (He  died  in  1854.)  He  and  our 
geologist  had  arranged  to  make  an  excursion  to  France, 


90  EDWARD    FORBES.  [l853. 

the  former  to  be  accompanied  by  Mrs  Forbes.  Prest- 
wich  was  unable  to  cross  with  them,  and  followed  later. 
Forbes  wrote  : — 

I  see  no  reason  from  your  note  for  deviating  from  the  plans 
we  concocted.  If  you  can  leave  town  sooner  than  you  say,  so 
much  the  better.  Within  the  limits  of  being  back  in  England 
on  the  27th  of  next  month,  I  am  in  a  manner  free  to  move  in 
any  direction,  and  so  that  we  can  manage  to  see  all  that  we  pro- 
posed together,  I  can  spend  the  time  pleasantly  and  profitably  in 
any  direction  that  may  be  convenient.  ...  If  you  should  be 
delayed  longer  than  you  at  present  anticipate,  I  would  go  on  to 
Fontainebleau,  and  you  could  pick  us  up  there. 

If  you  have  any  hints  or  advice  to  give  about  seeing  points 
about  Paris,  a  line  addressed  here  will  find  me  until  Saturday  at 
midday. — Ever,  dear  Prestwich,  &c.,  EDWARD  FORBES. 

The  biographer  of  Forbes  remarks  :  "  These  few 
weeks  in  France  were  weeks  of  thorough  enjoyment. 
He  used  to  speak  of  them  as  his  '  honeymoon  trip,'  and 
as  the  very  happiest  time  of  his  whole  life.  He  made 
work  subservient  to  enjoyment,  and  the  holiday  was  in 
this  way  the  first,  not  on  duty,  that  Mrs  Forbes  and 
he  had  spent  together."  1 

Edward  Forbes  had  found  out  too  the  charm  of  the 
society  of  his  other  companion  on  this  expedition — a 
companion  who  was  so  modest  and  unassuming,  so  full 
of  knowledge,  and  ever  so  ready  to  impart  it.  In 
rough  notes  for  1853  we  read  that  on  September  23rd 
a  visit  (no  doubt  a  joint  one  with  E.  Forbes)  was  paid 
to  the  famous  conchological  collection  of  Deshayes, 
when  among  a  multitude  of  shells  Prestwich  detected 
a  Cyrena  semistriata  having  a  strong  resemblance  "  to 
the  unexp.  spec,  at  Deptford."  2 

1  Memoir  of  Edward  Forbes,  p.  522. 

2  See  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  x.  p.  138. 


JST.  41.]  ROYAL   SOCIETY.  91 

1853  was  the  date  of  his  election  into  the  Royal 
Society,  an  honour  prized  by  every  man  who  has  done 
original  work.  Prestwich's  certificate  of  candidature 
for  the  Royal  Society  was  signed  by  Lyell,  De  la  Beche, 
Murchison,  Edward  Forbes,  Ramsay,  Daniel  Sharpe, 
Bowerbank,  John  Phillips,  W.  B.  Carpenter,  George 
Busk,  and  Huxley. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  BRISTOL,  IBth  November  1853. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — I  am  hardly  yet  prepared  to  answer 
your  inquiries  so  distinctly  as  I  could  wish.  "  The  Drift " 
question  is  so  beset  with  difficulties,  and  is  of  such  extent,  that 
I  cannot  venture  to  bring  it  forward  at  one  time,  but  I  shall,  as 
with  my  Tertiary  papers,  discuss  each  stage  of  it  separately.  I 
hope,  therefore,  that  you  will  have  returned  before  I  bring  for- 
ward the  "Denudation  of  the  Weald,"  as  on  that  point  I  should 
particularly  wish  to  have  the  advantage  of  your  discussion.  In 
many  of  Mr  Trimmer's  views  I  quite  agree, — such  as  two  or  three 
periods  of  gravel-spread,  the  more  recent  date  of  the  mammalifer- 
ous  beds  of  the  Thames  valley  as  compared  with  the  boulder 
clay,  &c., — but  in  many  others  I  differ.  The  one  to  which  you 
allude — viz.,  the  extent  of  denudation  at  this  first  period  of  sub- 
sidence— I  cannot  agree  in.  The  denudation  of  the  Chalk  evi- 
dently commenced  at  the  commencement  of  the  Maestricht 
period,  and  was  continued  through  the  period  of  the  Thanet 
Sands  to  that  of  the  London  Clay.  During  this  long  interval  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  Chalk  over  the  Weald  was  planed  down  to 
a  mere  shell,  and  in  many  places  worn  away,  so  that  the  work 
of  denudation  left  to  be  done  at  the  more  recent  "drift"  period 
was  comparatively  small.  But  even  in  this  period  I  do  not 
believe  that  it  was  all  done  at  once — there  is,  I  think,  on  the 
contrary,  evidence  of  several  successive  clearances. 

At  the  same  time,  unlike  the  slow  wearing  away  of  the  older 
Eocene  period,  I  believe  these  recent  changes  to  have  been  sudden 
and  violent  in  their  operation.  Not  having  my  books  with  me, 
I  can  hardly  make  the  references  which  I  could  wish.  My 
section  (No.  8,  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  viii.  p.  258)  is,  as 


92  DE    LA   BECHE.  [l854. 

you    observe,   merely   a   representative   diagram.      It   probably 
conveys  my  idea  as  well  as  a  more  natural  section.     .     .     . 

It  seems  to  me  evident  that  such  a  mass  of  materials  derived 
apparently  from  the  Chalk  and  Greensands,  combined  with  the 
distinct  thinning  off  of  the  chalk,  before  it  was  covered  by  the 
Tertiaries,  as  we  approached  the  Wealden,  indicates  clearly  the 
destruction  and  removal  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Chalk  within 
the  Wealden  area  before  the  Drift  period.  Mr  Trimmer  in  his 
diagram  does  not  seem  to  allow  for  the  facts.  I  shall  be  most 
happy  on  my  return  to  town  in  a  week  or  ten  days  to  draw  out 
a  more  correct  section,  and  remain,  my  dear  Sir  Charles,  yours 
very  truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

My  first  communication  connected  with  this  subject  will  be  on 
the  Ked  and  Mammaliferous  Crags.  This  I  hope  to  have  ready 
in  the  spring. 

Many  years  elapsed,  however,  before  his  papers  on 
these  subjects  were  communicated  to  the  Geological 
Society. 

At  Easter,  in  1854,  Prestwich,  Austen,  Daniel 
Sharpe,  and  Forbes  paid  another  visit  to  France,  to 
explore  the  districts  called  the  Pays  de  Bray.1 

This  year  was  notable  in  the  life  of  Prestwich  for 
the  production  of  several  papers,  but  was  most  memor- 
able from  the  fact  of  a  proposition  having  been 
made  to  him,  which,  if  it  had  been  accepted,  must 
have  altered  his  whole  life.  Sir  Henry  De  la  Beche, 
the  well-known  founder  of  the  Geological  Survey, — 
his  good  and  constant  friend, — wrote  to  Prestwich 
offering  him  the  Professorship  of  Geology  at  the 
Thomason  College,  Roorkee,  adding  as  an  inducement 
that  it  would  be  an  opportunity  for  working  out  the 
geology  of  the  Himalayas.  In  the  kindest  way  Sir 
Henry  gave  him  to  understand  that  every  facility 
would  be  afforded  him  for  the  furtherance  of  this 

1  Memoir  of  Forbes,  p.  531. 


MT.  42.]  SEDGWICK.  93 

object,  with  regard  to  leave,  allowances,  &c.  The 
offer  was  tempting,  but  there  was  no  hesitation  in 
the  answer.  It  was  impossible  for  Joseph  Prestwich 
to  abandon  the  City  firm  which  held  the  family  for- 
tunes. Besides,  he  was  not  a  good  subject  to  begin 
a  career  in  a  climate  like  that  of  India  :  he  was  forty- 
two  years  of  age,  and  his  health  had  suffered  from  over- 
work. Added  to  these  reasons,  each  of  which  was 
imperative,  there  were  others  which  drew  and  held 
him  to  his  native  soil.  He  had  thrown  himself  heart 
and  soul  into  the  elaboration  of  his  Tertiary  papers  ; 
he  was  thinking  out  the  intricate  problems  which, 
until  his  Memoirs  appeared,  had  never  before  been 
clearly  made  out.  On  all  counts,  therefore,  he  de- 
cided to  remain  and  plod  on  as  the  hard  -  working 
City  man. 

A  letter  regarding  his  Tertiary  papers  from  the 
illustrious  Professor  Adam  Sedgwick l  will  be  read 
with  interest : — 

A.  Sedgwick  to  J.  Prestwich.  NORWICH,  May  n,  1854. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — During  the  single  day  I  was  in  London  I  left 
one  or  two  of  my  papers  in  a  parcel  addressed  to  you  at  the 
Geological  Society.  I  hope  you  will  accept  them  as  a  mark  of 
my  respect  and  gratitude  for  your  very  valuable  services  in  dis- 
entangling the  relations  of  our  Tertiary  series.  It  is  nearly  over 
with  me  as  a  field  geologist ;  for  my  health  has  failed  me  so  that 
I  am  now  incapable  of  the  hard  labour  in  which  I  once  delighted ; 
and  my  eyes  have  so  greatly  failed  that  I  am  unfitted  for  the 
comparatively  easy  work  of  collecting  specimens  in  the  quarries. 
Indeed  I  never  was  a  patient  collector,  though  once  I  had  in- 
tense pleasure  in  working  among  the  difficult  and  puzzling  sec- 
tions of  our  older  rocks :  but  that  work  is  nearly  over  on  my 

1  The  Kev.  Adam  Sedgwick  was  a  Canon  of  Norwich  Cathedral  and  also 
Wood  ward  ian  Professor  of  Geology  at  Cambridge.  Born  March  1785 ; 
died  January  27,  1873. 


94  TERTIARY   MEMOIRS.  [l854. 

part,  and  others  have  taken  it  up  with  great  effect.  I  should 
rejoice  to  see  you  in  Cambridge  any  time  that  I  am  resident. 
For  the  next  two  months  I  shall  be  a  prisoner  in  the  Cathedral 
Close. — Very  truly  yours,  A.  SEDGWICK. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  NORWICH,  3rd  July  1854. 

MY  DEAK  SIR  CHARLES, — I  shall  be  in  town  in  a  day  or  two, 
but  write  now  to  answer  your  question  about  the  sand-pipes  on 
the  escarpment  of  the  N.  Downs. 

I  drew  attention  to  the  fact  in  my  paper  read  in  March,  on 
account  of  its  importance  in  showing  at  how  very  recent  a  date 
the  last  most  important  denudation  of  the  Weald  took  place. 
The  section  I  gave  agrees  with  your  sketch.  The  slope,  when- 
ever I  have  seen  it,  is  quite  bare,  and  shows  no  signs  of  an  old 
cliff.  There  is,  it  is  true,  a  little  chalk  rubble,  but  that  might 
arise  from  pluvial  action. — I  remain,  my  dear  Sir  Charles,  yours 
very  truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

In  1854  we  have  also  an  array  of  papers  which 
appeared  during  that  year.  The  one  which  stands 
first  on  the  list  is  the  second  of  his  Tertiary  memoirs, 
"  On  the  Structure  of  the  Strata  between  the  London 
Clay  and  the  Chalk  in  the  London  and  Hampshire 
Tertiary  Systems.  Part  II.,  The  Woolwich  and  Head- 
ing Series."  In  this  paper  an  account  is  given  of 
the  impressions  of  fossil  leaves  from  a  bed  of  clay  in 
the  railway  -  cutting  for  the  Newbury  branch  line, 
through  the  hill  immediately  west  of  Heading.  An 
excellent  plate  shows  these  beautifully  preserved  im- 
pressions of  plants,  and  in  a  note  by  Sir  Joseph  D. 
Hooker,  also  accompanying  Prestwich's  paper,  the 
botanist  remarks  that,  "  both  in  a  geological  and 
botanical  point  of  view,  the  Reading  fossils  are  of 
first-rate  interest  and  importance,  as  presenting  us 
with  an  association  of  forms  so  entirely  analogous  to 
those  now  existing,  as  to  leave  no  grounds  for  assum- 


Ml.  42.]  TERTIARY   MEMOIRS.  95 

ing  that  the  now  prevalent  forms  of  foliage  amongst 
Dicotyledonous  plants  did  not  predominate  before  the 
glacial  epoch,  posterior  to  which  all  the  existing 
British  plants,  except  the  alpines,  were  introduced 
into  our  island,  as  has  been  shown  by  Professor  E. 
Forbes  in  his  Essay  on  the  Flora  and  Fauna  of  the 
British  Islands." 1  The  paper  following  it  is  a  short 
one,  "  On  some  Swallow  Holes  on  the  Chalk  Hills 
near  Canterbury."  That  which  succeeds  it  is  "  On 
the  Thickness  of  the  London  Clay ;  on  the  Relative 
Position  of  the  Fossiliferous  Beds  of  Sheppey,  High- 
gate,  Harwich,  Newnham,  Bognor,  &c.  ;  and  on  the 
Probable  Occurrence  of  the  Bagshot  Sands  in  the 
Isle  of  Sheppey."  The  memoir  immediately  next  to 
the  preceding,  and  which  treats  of  the  same  geological 
formations  from  the  palaepntological  side,  is  entitled, 
"  On  the  Distinctive  Physical  and  Palseontological 
Features  of  the  London  Clay  and  Bracklesham  Sands ; 
and  on  the  Independence  of  these  two  Groups  of 
Strata." 

Of  these  Eocene  memoirs,  Edward  Forbes  wrote — 
and  he  was  no  mean  judge  :  "  These  remarkable  essays 
embody  the  result  of  many  years'  careful  observation, 
and  are  unexcelled  for  completeness,  minuteness,  and 
excellence  of  generalisation." 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  1854  there  was  a  great 
amount  of  published  work.  It  is  true  that  all  this 
geological  literature  had  been  thought  out  and  worked 
at  before,  yet  the  amount  of  patient  labour  is  "  amaz- 
ing," when  it  is  remembered  that  his  daily  duties  ab- 
sorbed what  are  usually  deemed  the  working  hours  of 
the  day. 

Besides  the  writings  which  were  brought  out  by  the 

1  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  x.  p.  165,  1854. 


96  THE    GROUND    BENEATH    US.  [1854-55. 

Geological  Society  in  1854,  Prestwich  gave  the  first 
of  three  lectures  on  the  1st  May  at  the  Clapham 
Athenaeum,  on  the  geology  of  Clapham  and  of  London 
generally.  There  was  a  particular  fitness  in  his  de- 
livering these  lectures,  as  he  was  a  native  of  the  place, 
and  knew  every  inch  of  ground  described ;  they  were 
heartily  received  (the  two  other  lectures  being  given 
in  April  1856),  and  although  not  written  with  a  view 
to  publication,  they  were  brought  out  (at  the  request 
of  friends)  in  1857  in  book  form,  as  the  well-known 
little  work,  '  The  Ground  Beneath  Us  :  Its  Geological 
Phases  and  Changes.'  There  were  then  but  few 
elementary  treatises  of  geology,  and  none,  like  those 
at  the  present  time,  which  combined  the  soundest  in- 
struction in  the  most  simple  and  pleasing  language,  so 
as  to  make  geology  easy  ;  therefore  it  supplied  a  real 
want.  It  was  written  with  the  terse  clearness  which 
characterises  all  his  writings,  and  was  deservedly 
popular.  Letters  of  congratulation  on  the  appearance 
of  this  booklet  poured  in  from  the  old  geological 
leaders,  some  of  them  couched  in  the  most  generous 
terms.  It  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  best  possible 
introduction  to  geology,  and  had  a  large  sale.  Twenty 
years  later  Professor  Huxley  was  heard  by  the  writer 
to  single  it  out  and  recommend  it  to  his  class  for  study, 
as  the  best  exponent  of  the  geology  of  London  and  its 
neighbourhood. 

Although  the  record  of  geological  papers  for  1855  is 
shorter  than  that  for  1854,  still  1855  is  signalised  as 
being  the  year  which  produced  another  of  the  Tertiary 
memoirs  —  those  memoirs  on  which  his  fame  as  a 
geologist  will  to  a  certain  extent  rest.  It  bears  the 
title,  "  On  the  Correlation  of  the  Eocene  Tertiaries  of 
England,  France,  and  Belgium." 


MT.  42-43.]  VALLEY   GRAVELS.  97 

It  had  been  preceded  by  two  papers  of  relatively 
less  importance,  namely,  by  that  "  On  a  Fossiliferous 
Deposit  in  the  Gravel  at  West  Hackney,"  and  "  On 
a  Fossiliferous  Bed  of  the  Drift  Period  near  the 
Reculvers."  The  two  which  followed  it  were,  "  On  the 
Boring  through  the  Chalk  at  Kentish  Town,"  and  a 
"  Note  on  the  Gravel  near  Maidenhead,  in  which  the 
Skull  of  the  Musk  Buffalo  was  found."  These  were 
both  read  in  1855,  and  appeared  in  the  Geological 
Society's  Journal  in  1856. 

Reference  is  made  to  the  last  paper  in  the  following 
letter  to  Mr  Lubbock,1  who  subsequently  was  his  com- 
panion in  several  excursions  : — 

MARK  LANE,  10/7/55. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  am  rejoiced  to  hear  of  the  discovery  of  the 
musk-ox  in  the  Maidenhead  gravel.  .  .  .  There  are  several  other 
large  pits  in  the  valley  gravel  which  may  be  worth  examining. 
Could  you  also  inquire  whether  any  bones  were  found  in  the 
gravel  cutting  of  the  Wycombe  Railway  at  the  hill  (Folly  Hill) 
adjoining  Maidenhead  ?  I  inquired,  but  was  not  quite  satisfied  with 
the  answer  I  obtained,  although  it  was  in  the  negative  and  agreed 
with  my  general  views  on  the  subject.  On  Saturday  last  instead 
of  going  to  Staines  I  went  to  Brentwood  and  Warley.  I  shall 
most  probably  therefore  go  to  Staines  on  Saturday  next,  and  in 
that  case  shall  require  the  map  which  I  herewith  send.  If  you 
will  let  me  have  it  on  Friday  evening  or  Saturday  morning 
before  12,  it  will  do.  Sir  C.  Lyell  and  I  went  to  Grays  last 
week,  but  shall  have  to  return  to  Ilford  probably  on  Friday  or 
Monday  next.  We  shall  not  remain  long  at  the  pits,  but  would 
show  them  to  you,  and  possibly,  if  you  could  accompany  us, 
might  have  to  leave  you  there,  as  I  fear  there  might  not  be  room 
in  the  carriage  of  Mr  Meeson,  who  proposes  to  take  us  to  some 
other  pits  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  Grays  pits  are,  however, 
the  great  features,  and  these  I  shall  be  happy  to  show  you,  and 
to  join  you  again  there.  Believe  me  to  remain,  yours  very  truly. 

J.  PRESTWICH. 

1  Now  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart. 
G 


98  HIGH-LEVEL    GRAVEL.  [1855-56. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  MARK  LANE,  12th  July  1855. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES,  —  Unless  business  calls  me  out  of 
town,  any  alteration  of  the  days  will  be  immaterial  to  me. 

I  think  you  will  certainly  find  work  for  more  than  one  day  at 
Pulborough.  On  Wednesday,  the  18th,  I  am  engaged.  Thurs- 
day and  Friday  will  do  for  Flower's  and  Ilford.  When  we  go  to 
Ilford,  I  should  like  to  take  you  to  Havering-Atte-Bower, 
Chigwell,  and  Hainault  Forest,  so  that  you  may  see  the  relation 
of  the  Ilford  deposit  to  the  surrounding  drifts,  which  I  think 
always  essential. 

No  mammalian  remains  have  ever  been  found  in  the  high- 
level  gravel,  nor  I  believe  in  the  mid-level,  though  the  oppor- 
tunities for  finding  them  are  almost  equally  good  as  in  the  valley 
gravel.  The  bones  brought  by  Mr  Lubbock  from  the  valley 
gravel  of  Maidenhead  prove  to  belong  to  the  musk-ox,  —  the  first 
found  in  this  country,  —  a  capital  fact. 

A  newspaper  paragraph  which  I  have  not  yet  seen  announces 
the  discovery  also  of  bones  and  tusks  in  some  gravel  beds  near 
Kingston. 

The  correction  of  my  Correlation  paper  reminds  me  of  some 
questions  I  had  to  ask  you. 

You  give  a  list  of  shells  from  beds  of  sandstone  in  your  section 
of  Cassel  Hill  (Q.  J.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  viii.  p.  331).  May  not  these 
beds  belong  to  the  Nummulites  planulatus  series  ?  Although  this 
fossil  is  not  found  at  Cassel,  M.  D'Archiac  alludes  to  fossiliferous 
beds  of  that  age  at  Cassel.  I  have  ventured  to  refer  to  that  list 
(p.  3)  as  possibly  belonging  to  the  Lits  Coquilliers  zone.  Can 
you  now  furnish  me  with  a  more  complete  list  of  the  shells  of 
the  N.  planulatus  series  than  you  possessed  in  1852  ?  Have  you 
also  increased  your  list  of  fossils  of  the  N.  Icevigatus  (Calcaire 
Gfrossier)  series  of  Belgium  ? 

If  you  can  give  me  any  information  on  these  points  I  shall  feel 
much  obliged,  and  remain,  dear  Sir  Charles,  yours  very  truly, 

J.  PRESTWICH. 


—  I  should  much  like  to  see  Forbes's  MS.  about  the 
gravels.  He  has,  I  see,  adopted  my  term  of  high-  and  low-level 
gravels,  and  I  believe  agreed  in  several  of  my  views.  How 


JET.  43-44.]        TREASURER    OF   GEOLOGICAL   SOCIETY.  99 

deeply  I  regret  he  is  not  amongst  us  to  continue  the  inquiry 
and  description  with  us. 

The  following  note,  also  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  gives  a 
little  glimpse  of  Prestwich's  life  in  Mark  Lane  : — 

MARK  LANE,  Monday,  1855. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — I  am  not  surprised  that  you  com- 
plained of  the  exchanged  coat.  You  have  the  best  reason  for 
doing  so.  On  returning  home  this  morning  a  red  label  on  a  coat 
on  the  sofa  caught  my  eye.  My  housekeeper  sometimes  places 
there  an  old  coat  of  mine  that  I  use  to  read  or  work  in.  This  is 
missing.  When  here  on  Thursday  you  must  have  placed  yours 
on  or  by  mine  on  the  sofa,  and  in  going  away  have  taken  up  the 
wrong  coat.  I  am  glad  to  find  that  the  exchange  was  made  here 
and  not  in  the  railway  carriage.  ...  I  hasten  to  return  your 
coat,  which  I  hope  you  have  not  wanted,  and  remain  yours  very 
truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

P.S. — I  walked  yesterday  through  a  good  cutting  of  the  Lower 
Bagshot  at  Stroud  Green  and  one  good  one  of  the  Middle  (Green- 
sand)  Bagshot  at  King's  Beeches.  I  found  no  fossils,  but  traced 
the  Wealden  gravel  over  some  extent  of  the  ground.  I  have 
found  the  same  gravel,  but  not  quite  so  mixed  with  L.  G.  S.,  at 
Hazely  near  Strathfieldsaye. 

In  1855  Prestwich  was  elected  as  one  of  the  Secre- 
taries of  the  Geological  Society,  Mr  J.  Carrick  Moore 
being  the  other  Secretary.  This  honorary  post  he 
occupied  only  one  year,  as  in  1856  he  became  Treasurer 
of  the  Society,  an  office  which  he  held  until  1868.  In 
this  year  he  read  his  second  correlation  paper,  "  On 
the  Correlation  of  the  [Middle]  Eocene  Tertiaries  of 
England,  France,  and  Belgium."  This  was  published 
in  1857. 

The  following  letter  from  Sir  Charles  Lyell  refers  to 
this  paper,  and  especially  to  the  list  it  contains  of  those 
Bracklesham  shells  which  occur  also  in  the  Paris 


100  CITY    LIFE.  [1856-57. 

Tertiaries,  showing  their  vertical  distribution  in  the 
latter  series.  The  table  given  in  this  paper  of  the 
Barton  fossils,  with  their  equivalents  in  France  and 
Belgium,  is  also  most  elaborate. 

MILDENHALL,  SUFFOLK,  Janry.  30,  1857. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — I  only  received  your  proof  to-day,  sent 
me  here  into  the  country. 

It  makes  me  very  desirous  to  see  more — please  to  send  me 
other  proofs :  as  I  return  to  town  to-morrow,  I  shall  be  able  to  let 
you  have  them  again  immediately.  I  have  not  sent  to  the  press 
my  pp.  in  which  I  adopt  the  term  Lower  Miocene  as  the  name 
for  what  I  have  called  in  5th  edn.  Upper  Eocene,  but  I  must 
send  them  in  a  few  days. 

Your  paper  interests  me  much — the  tables  at  p.  10  [pp.  93, 118] 
in  particular.  They  are  well  imagined  and  startling,  and  remind 
one  of  Barrande's  Colonies,  on  which  I  am  writing — two  adjoining, 
contemporaneous,  distinct  natural-history  provinces.  You  have 
brought  out  the  difference  well. 

Darwin  will  make  much  of  it.  Some  barrier  there  must  have 
been,  but  I  daresay  the  so-called  species  are  permanent  varieties, 
as  you  suggest,  in  many  cases — like  Lowe's  varieties  of  many 
land  shells  in  the  different  Madeira  islands,  which  he  makes  into 
species. 

If  you  give  a  general  table  pray  send  it  to  me,  that  I  may  see 
your  divisions. — Ever,  &c.,  CHAS.  LYELL. 

Perhaps  Prestwich's  mode  of  life  at  this  time  con- 
duced to  the  marvellous  amount  of  published  work. 
Before  he  had  assumed  control  of  City  affairs  Mark 
Lane  had  been  his  home,  where  an  old  housekeeper 
ministered  to  his  wants  and  provided — in  conformity 
with  instructions — his  very  simple  fare.  Soon  after 
dinner,  or  about  eight  or  nine  o'clock,  the  note-books 
were  by  his  side,  with  maps  and  sections ;  and  with  a 
sheaf  of  foolscap  before  him,  it  became  his  regular 
practice  to  write  far  on  into  the  night.  It  was  thus 


MT.  44-45.]  DEATH    OF   HIS   FATHEil.  101 

in  the  hours  robbed  from  sleep  that  the  Tertiary 
memoirs  were  penned.  He  pursued  this  course,  this 
"  burning  the  candle  at  both  ends,"  not  without  mis- 
givings on  the  part  of  his  friends — and  they  were 
many.  When  practicable  he  went  into  the  country 
from  Saturday  until  Monday,  and  thus  had  a  refresh- 
ing change — a  change  which,  it  is  needless  to  add,  was 
utilised  for  his  geology.  Also  he  occasionally  spent 
an  evening  with  one  of  his  married  sisters,  the  three 
nearest  in  age  having  then  their  own  homes. 

The  genial  nature  of  the  man  w^as  shown  by  the 
evening  parties  which  he  contrived  to  give  in  his 
bachelor  City  establishment,  when  there  was  a  goodly 
muster  of  relatives  and  young  cousins,  whom  he  de- 
lighted to  have  round  him,  and  amongst  whom  there 
was  always  unanimity  as  to  the  great  success  of 
"  Cousin  Joseph's  party."  Of  course  there  was  dancing 
for  the  young  people,  no  one  joining  in  it  with  more 
zest  than  the  host  himself.  These  parties  made  a 
curious  yet  pleasant  break  in  the  monotony  of  his 
evening  work  :  in  calculating  the  daily  delivery  of 
springs  and  rivers  ;  in  tabulating  lists  of  fossils  ;  in 
the  careful  drawing  of  maps  and  sections ;  in  think- 
ing out,  and  in  throwing  new  light  upon,  obscure 
problems  in  geology. 

The  death  of  our  geologist's  father,  which  took 
place  in  November  1856,  made  a  great  change  in 
his  life,  as  it  led  to  his  return  to  the  family  home, 
where  his  youngest  sister,  Civil  Prestwich,  was  left 
alone.  Although  his  father  was  a  man  of  culture, 
he  had  little  interest  in  science  :  but  it  was  from  him, 
doubtless,  that  Joseph  Prestwich  inherited  his  artistic 
power  and  fastidiousness  in  matters  of  taste.  Collec- 
tions of  specimens  of  minerals,  &c.,  which  had  grown 


102  -  ^CrVlL"  F&ESTWICH.  [1857. 

in  bulk  in  Mark  Lane,1  of  course  accompanied  him, 
the  fossils  and  sands  and  clays  going,  as  we  can 
believe,  without  regret  on  the  part  of  the  worthy  old 
housekeeper.  Civil  Prestwich  was  ten  years  younger 
than  her  brother,  and  they  had  a  joint  home  until 
her  death  in  1866.  She  at  once  became  his  secretary 
and  amanuensis,  devoting  her  whole  time  to  the  fur- 
therance of  his  scientific  work,  freeing  his  mind  and 
time  from  all  the  wear  and  tear  of  petty  distractions. 
He  was  eminently  domestic  :  instead  of  the  solitary 
City  sitting-room  and  that  daily  Spartan  fare,  he  had 
now  all  the  comforts  of  a  happy  home.  Civil  was 
capable  and  intelligent,  and  under  our  geologist's 
guidance  rough  manuscripts  were  transcribed,  registers 
were  kept ;  and  a  folio  volume  of  references  which  lies 
open  before  us  is  entirely  in  her  handwriting,  and  is 
a  model  of  method  and  order.  There  are  four  columns 
—for  England,  France,  Europe,  and  other  parts  of  the 
world — and  the  authors  quoted  imply  a  wide  range  of 
research,  although  chiefly  on  Eocene,  Miocene,  and  later 
Tertiary  geology.  They  include  also  subjects  which 
were  discussed  in  subsequent  writings,  such  as  Raised 
Beaches,  Drift,  Boulder  Clay,  Glacial  Action,  River 
Deltas,  Wear  and  Tear  of  Land,  Caves,  Temperatures 
of  Mines,  &c.,  and  Theoretical  and  Cosmical  Geology. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell. 

2  SUFFOLK  LANE,  2nd  January  1857. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — The  question  is  a  difficult  one.  If 
Forbes  is  right  in  his  synchronism  of  the  Hempstead  Beds  with 
the  Fontainebleau  Sands,  then  I  do  not  see  where  to  draw  the 
line  of  demarcation  between  those  beds  and  the  Barton  Clays. 


1  The  business  house  was  subsequently  2  Suffolk  Lane,  Cannon  Street, 
and,  about  the  year  1862,  69  Mark  Lane. 


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RAISED    BEACH    AT    KRAUNTON,    1855. 


2ET.  45.]  CORRELATION    OF   TERTIARY   STRATA.  103 

I  am,  however,  not  yet  quite  satisfied  on  the  question  of  parallel- 
ism, nor  is  it  one  on  which  I  would  venture  on  a  positive  opinion 
without  the  few  months'  research  I  hope  to  be  able  to  devote  to 
it  this  summer.  At  present,  however,  I  am  inclined  strongly  to 
place  the  Gres  de  Fontainebleau  in  the  Eocene  period. 

I  think  it  will  be  a  great  pity  to  break  up  these  great  time 
divisions  into  small  sections.  Let  us  have,  if  they  like,  Lower, 
Middle,  and  Upper  Eocene,  and  Miocene,  &c.,  but  not  a  multitude 
of  terms  founded  on  that  base.  .  .  .  — Yours  very  truly, 

J.  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell. 

[14]  CLIFTON  ROAD  EAST  [ST  JOHN'S  WOOD],  12th  Jany.  1857. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES,— The  pressure  of  business,  of  family 
engagements,  and  a  visit  to  consult  various  books  on  the  subject 
of  your  inquiry,  have  been  the  cause  of  too  long  a  delay  in 
answering  your  last  notes. 

The  correlation  by  Forbes  of  the  Hempstead  series  with  those 
of  Limburg  seems  correct  enough,  but  the  English  beds  are  so 
much  related  to  those  beneath  the  Belgian  beds  also,  tho'  possibly 
to  a  lesser  extent;  whilst,  according  to  Hebert  and  others,  the 
Gres  de  Fontainebleau  is  so  little,  or  is  rather  so  very  distinct, — 
that  I  cannot  yet  feel  quite  satisfied  that  there  is  not  an  error 
somewhere  or  other. 

I  cannot  reconcile  myself  to  the  association  in  the  same  time- 
division  of  the  Faluns  of  Touraine  and  the  Fontainebleau  Sands. 
It  is  true  that  if  the  former  are  to  be  excluded,  the  Miocene 
period  becomes  reduced  to  very  narrow  limits,  or  rather  ex- 
hibition, in  France  and  England ;  but  then  there  is  the  point  to 
which  you  allude,  whether  in  other  parts  of  Europe  we  may  not 
find  the  time  marks,  the  strata  of  that  period.  I  think  we  must. 

If  the  Miocene  has  yet  to  have  its  limits  defined,  and  the 
Fontainebleau  Sands  are  to  be  considered  as  the  commencement 
of  a  new  period  of  change,  then  I  think  we  must  look  elsewhere 
than  in  the  French  Faluns  for  the  maximum  development  of  its 
peculiar  types.  I  should  not  at  all  object  in  that  way  to  take 
the  Fontainebleau  Sands  as  Lower  Miocene,  filling  up  the  centre 
and  top  with  German  or  yet  to  be  discovered  beds,  but  then  I 
should  feel  inclined  to  take  the  Faluns  of  Touraine  as  part  of 


104  CORRELATION    OF   TERTIARY    STRATA.  [l857. 

another  time  stage.  I  was  not  at  all  satisfied  from  what  I  saw 
at  Bordeaux  of  the  connection  there  said  by  some  to  exist  be- 
tween the  equiv.  of  the  F.  Sands  and  the  Faluns.  The  Fal. 
of  Leognan  are  said  to  underlie  certain  freshwater  limestones 
said  to  be  synchr.  with  those  of  La  Brise" — this  was  not  at  all 
clear  to  me.  One  fact  was  very  [clear],  that  the  Fal.  of  Sancats 
did  overlie  that  limestone,  and  that  the  latter  probably  overlaid 
the  Font.  Sands ;  but  then  between  the  limestone  and  the  Sancats 
Fal.  I  found  no  passage — on  the  contrary,  I  found  a  marked 
division.  The  limestone  was  all  fresh-water,  and  its  surface  was 
worn  and  covered  with  the  holes  of  boring  molluscs.  I  think  this 
had  not  been  noticed  before.  .  .  .  With  regard  to  the  other 
questions  you  ask  me,  I  think  the  Barton  Beds  at  Barton  form 
quite  an  exceptional  state  of  things.  I  have  shown  in  my  last 
paper  that  that  series  is  exceptionally  a  sandy  series,  and  that 
the  clays  set  in  in  places,  and  I  take  the  Headon  Hill  Sands 
as  rather  the  type  than  the  exception.  Certainly  the  line  should 
not,  I  think,  be  drawn  between  the  Barton  Clays  and  the  Headon 
Hill  Sands.  I  think  I  shall  draw  my  next  sub-line  at  the  base 
of  the  old  Upper  Marine,  but  to  this  point  I  have  not  yet  come. 

I  am  most  anxious  to  see  Forbes's  work  on  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
to  study  more  accurately  the  fossil  evidence  he  has  based  his 
divisions  upon.  I  hope  shortly  to  have  more  leisure  to  resume 
geology  and  to  attend  to  treasurership  duties.  In  the  meantime  I 
am  snatching  a  few  moments  to  get  a  paper  ready  for  the  next 
meeting.  The  subject  will,  I  think,  interest  you,  "  Crag  on  the 
North  Downs." — Yours  very  sincerely,  J.  PEESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  the  Same.  SUFFOLK  LANE,  Monday,  9th  Feb.  1857. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — I  do  object  very  much  to  placing  the 
Sables  de  Bracheux  on  the  parallel  of  the  Thanet  Sands.  It  is 
possible,  however,  that  the  latter  may  come  into  some  part  of 
the  French  area ;  and  in  mineral  character  there  would  be  so 
little  to  distinguish  them  that  they  would  all  pass  under  the 
name  of  the  G-lauconie  Infe'rieure,  but  I  think  they  would  be  found 
to  pass  under  the  S.  de  B. 

I  know  of  no  solid  argument  adduced  by  Hebert.  It  is  a 
point  I  worked  out  with  great  care,  and  it  was  only  after  a 
long  time  that  I  obtained  evidence  to  be  depended  upon.  It 


Photo  by  Elliott  &  Fry. 


SIR  JOHN    EVANS,    K.C.B. 


JET.  45.]  MR   JOHN    EVANS.  105 

could  not  be  done  in  France  —  the  evidence  is  wanting.  At 
Kichborough  the  one  distinctly  overlies  the  other.  See  my  first 
paper  on  the  "  Correlation  of  the  French  and  English  Tertiaries." 
There  are  a  few  species  in  common,  but  the  bulk  are  different. 
— In  haste,  ever  truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Before  the  date  of  the  annexed  note  Joseph  Prest- 
wich  made  the  acquaintance  in  the  railway  carriage 
of  a  fellow-traveller  who  had  likewise  been  summoned 
as  a  witness,  though  on  the  opposite  side,  of  a  cause 
set  down  for  trial  at  the  Kingston  Assizes  with  regard 
to  a  water  question  at  Croydon.  They  had  travelled 
to  Kingston  in  the  same  carriage  without  interchange 
of  a  word ;  but,  as  for  some  reason  the  trial  did  not 
come  off  that  day,  they  found  themselves  in  the  after- 
noon again  in  the  same  railway  carriage,  when  they 
entered  into  conversation  and  found  that  they  had 
many  interests  in  common.  This  was  our  geologist's 
first  meeting  with  Mr  John  Evans  of  Nash  Mills, 
Hemel  Hempstead,  who  in  a  letter  to  the  writer  re- 
marks :  "I  took  a  great  liking  for  him,  and  I  think 
that  he  did  not  dislike  me,  and  the  result  was  that 
I  called  on  him  in  Mark  Lane  and  he  returned  the 
visit  at  Nash  Mills,  and  thus  began  a  friendship  which 
lasted  forty  years,  and  which  most  materially  influ- 
enced the  course  of  my  life.  I  cannot  at  present  call 
to  mind  the  exact  year  of  our  meeting,  but  our  friend- 
ship was  already  of  some  standing  when  in  1857  he 
introduced  me  to  the  Geological  Society."  Much 
pleasant  field-work  was  afterwards  accomplished  by 
the  two  friends,  and  when  they  differed  on  geological 
questions  —  as  differ  they  did  —  it  never  caused  the 
slightest  abatement  nor  estrangement  of  the  brotherly 
affection  which  had  grown  up  between  them,  and  which 
was  ever  the  same  to  the  end. 


106  DR   J.    D.    HOOKER.  [1857-58. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  Oct.  24/57. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Elephants  appear  to  have  been  common  at 
Bedford  in  former  days.  Last  year,  or  the  year  before,  the  bones 
apparently  of  a  whole  herd  were  found  in  the  railway  cutting  a 
few  miles  north  of  the  town.  I  have  that  place  in  view  for  a 
trip  next  season,  and  shall  be  glad  if  we  can  manage  it  together. 
— With  kind  regards  to  Mrs  Evans,  I  am  ever  truly  yours, 

Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

My  trip  to  the  Alps  is  still  in  nubibus,  as  probably  the  Alps 
themselves  now  are. 

Dr  J.  D.  Hooker  to  J.  Prestwicli.  KEW,  Sunday  [1857]. 

DEAR  MR  PRESTWICH, — I  am  very  much  obliged  for  your  in- 
teresting, and  to  me  most  instructive,  lectures  to  the  Clapham 
Athenaeum. 

I  have  had  the  Reading  leaves  in  my  mind  very  often,  and 
saw  Dr  De  la  Harpe  when  he  was  here.  He  failed  in  persuading 
me  of  the  correctness  of  his  views,  from  what  in  such  cases  is 
too  much  the  inevitable  cause,  namely,  the  preoccupation  of  my 
mind  with  my  own  conclusions  ! 

I  cannot  see  even  a  probability  (much  less  an  evidence)  of  any 
of  the  leaves  being  referable  to  laurels,  Sapindacese,  Eugenias, 
Rhus,  and  Cassia,  all  of  which  Dr  De  la  Harpe  does  not  seem  to 
regard  as  tropical  families,  which  they  most  eminently  are.  It  is 
true  that  some  species  of  each  are  extra-tropical,  but  plenty  of 
species  of  the  European  trees  (amongst  which  I  would  prefer  to 
seek  analogues  for  the  Eeading  leaves)  are  also  subtropical  and 
tropical. 

No.  51  of  your  woodcuts  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  Rhus, 
though  as  species  of  Rhus  have  both  simple  and  compound  leaves 
of  all  shapes  and  many  varieties  of  nervation  and  texture,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  a  looser  or  less  tangible  affinity. 

With  regard  to  52,  which  he  refers  to  fig  or  mulberry,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  a  leaf  that  could  not  be  compared  with  some 
fig  or  other  of  the  200  or  300  known  species  of  that  genus ; 
and  as  figs  are  eminently  tropical  and  mulberries  temperate 
plants,  nothing  could  be  more  vague  than  such  an  identification. 


VET.  45-46.]  EOCENE   PLANTS.  107 

The  long  and  short  is  that  De  la  Harpe's  conclusions  do  really 
indicate  a  very  tropical  flora.  The  one  thing  that  De  la  Harpe 
and  I  agree  in  is  that  the  leaves  do  belong  to  the  very  commonest 
forms  in  the  vegetable  kingdom  of  dicot.  plants. — Believe  me,  ever 
most  truly  yours,  Jos.  D.  HOOKER. 

Besides  "  The  Ground  beneath  Us,"  only  one  paper 
was  contributed  in  1857,  namely,  that  "  On  some 
Fossiliferous  Iron  Sandstone  occurring  in  the  North 
Downs,"  and  this  under  a  slightly  modified  title  was 
published  during  the  following  year. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Dr  [Sir]  Joseph  D.  Hooker. 

CANTERBURY,  Janry.  30/58. 

DEAR  DR  HOOKER, — I  am  much  obliged  by  your  criticisms  on 
my  observations  about  the  Heading  leaves.  You  have,  I  suppose, 
seen  Dr  De  la  Harpe's  paper  recently  published  in  the  Bulln. 
Soc.  Vaudoise.  I  feel  that  further  evidence  is  necessary,  and 
must  try  if  the  Heading  cutting  is  still  accessible.  They  were  at 
work  in  the  bed  in  a  side  cutting  last  spring.  Could  you  pos- 
sibly manage  to  run  down  some  warm  spring  day,  for  the  work  is 
too  sedentary  for  this  weather  ?  I  should  much  like  to  go  down 
with  you.  The  leaves  are  most  abundant,  and  you  might  see 
much  that  might  escape  me.  First  of  all,  however,  I  should 
very  much  like  to  look  into  the  evidence  myself  to  the  small 
extent  that  I  may  venture  by  the  inspection  of  the  forms  of 
leaves  under  your  guidance.  My  sister  also  wants  to  look  at 
some  forms  of  ferns  and  a  palm  (?)  that  can  be  associated  for 
cultivation  in  our  smoky  atmosphere — not  as  a  botanist,  but  for 
the  pleasantness  of  green  leaves  and  beauty  of  form.  We  pur- 
pose, then,  visiting  Kew  Gardens  some  Saturday  (now  a  compara- 
tively leisure  day  with  me),  and  if  you  could  kindly  spare  me  an 
hour  or  two  to  put  me  in  the  way  of  looking  right  and  at  the 
right  things,  I  shall  feel  particularly  obliged.  I  shall  be  in  town 
again  after  Tuesday,  and  am  yours  most  truly, 

Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

The  following  letter  from  the  veteran  geologist,  Mr 


108  THE   GROUND   BENEATH    US.  [l858. 

Leonard  Horner,  father  of  Lady  Lyell,  expresses  his 
interest  in  our  geologist's  work : — 

L.  Horner  to  J.  Prestwich.  MANCHESTER,  7th  March  1858. 

MY  DEAK  PRESTWICH, — It  is  only  within  the  last  three  days 
that  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  reading  "  The  Ground  Beneath 
Us."  Here  in  the  evening,  when  the  spinning -jennies  are  at 
rest,  and  when  there  are  few  temptations  of  parties  and  learned 
societies,  I  get  through  some  very  agreeable  reading,  as  we  gener- 
ally bring  with  us  a  good  supply  of  books.  I  do  not  know  when 
I  have  read  anything  geological  that  has  pleased  me  so  much  as 
these  three  lectures.  In  a  clear  attractive  style  you  have  de- 
scribed the  great  and  minute  features  of  the  area,  not  in  the 
least  descending  to  what  is  commonly  called  "  a  popular  view," 
but  a  masterly  sketch,  that  must  be  perfectly  intelligible  to  every 
educated  person  who  for  the  first  time  has  had  geological  pheno- 
mena placed  before  him,  and  embracing  those  great  generalisa- 
tions which  must  awaken  the  deepest  interest  and  wonder. 

You  will  do  a  great  service  to  the  cause  of  philosophical  truth, 
will  awaken  a  widespread  interest  in  geology,  especially  among 
those  living  in  the  district  you  describe, — you  will  give  a  death- 
blow among  them  to  the  nonsense  of  Mosaic  geology  now  so 
widely  disseminated,  if  you  will  publish  these  lectures,  not  by 
Van  Voorst,  but  by  some  publisher  of  extensive  connections, 
such  as  Longmans  or  Murray.  You  have  no  occasion  to  add  any- 
thing. I  would  omit  from  the  title-page  "being  three  lectures 
on,"  &c.,  down  to  "  1856."  You  can  tell  this  in  a  brief  preface. 
If  you  will  do  this,  the  little  volume  will  be  translated,  I  have 
no  doubt,  both  in  French  and  German.  It  would  be  best  in 
12mo,  and  the  two  plates  might  fold  lengthways.  The  only 
criticism  I  have  to  make  is  to  request  you  to  consider  what  you 
say  at  p.  77,  that  the  alterations  in  the  proportions  of  sea  and 
land  could  not  cause  a  heat  sufficient  for  the  tropical  organisms 
of  the  London  Clay,  by  reading  again  Lyell's  chapters  on  Climate 
in  the  last  edition  of  his  '  Principles.' 

But  I  have  not  done  with  you :  follow  up  the  sketch  with  a 
volume  fully  descriptive  of  the  same  period.  You  say,  p.  37,  "  I 
could  have  said  much  more."  I  hope  you  will  say  all  you  have 
to  say. — Yours  faithfully,  LEONARD  HORNER. 


JET 


.  46.]  LEONARD   HORNER.  109 


The  above  letter  revives  happy  personal  recollections 
of  Mr  Horner,  whose  kindliness  and  steady  friendliness 
made  a  deep  impression  on  the  writer.  Mrs  Horner 
died  at  Florence  on  the  22nd  May  1862,  and  about  a 
month  later  a  copy  was  sent  from  there  of  the  pathetic 
inscription  on  her  tombstone  in  the  Protestant  ceme- 
tery. The  last  lines  run  :— 

"  Thus  do  we  walk  with  her,  and  keep  unbroken 

The  bond  which  Nature  gives ; 
Thinking  that  our  remembrance,  though  unspoken, 
May  reach  her  where  she  lives." 

The  little  message  in  his  handwriting  in  the  corner 
of  the  paper — "with  much  regard,  L.  H." — has  been  a 
prized  memento  of  both.  In  less  than  two  years  he 
had  rejoined  her,  his  death  having  taken  place  early 
in  March  1864.  Mr  Horner  had  been  twice  elected 
President  of  the  Geological  Society. 


110 


CHAPTER   V. 

1858-1859. 

BEIXHAM    CAVE — FLINT   IMPLEMENTS — VISITS    TO 
ABBEVILLE — GOWER   CAVES. 

PRESTWICH'S  attention  for  some  time  had  been  occupied 
with  fossiliferous  deposits  in  the  Drift  and  with  raised 
beaches,  his  investigations  of  the  latter  leading  to  those 
wide  generalisations  which  later  he  was  to  give  the 
world  in  a  series  of  papers  to  the  Royal  Society.  As 
a  whole,  his  work  had  been  chiefly  in  stratigraphical 
geology  :  he  had  worked  out  in  detail  the  structure  of 
the  London  and  Hampshire  basins  as  no  one  else  had 
done,  and  he  had  made  himself  the  chief  geological 
authority  on  water-supply.  But  his  powers  were  now 
to  be  directed  to  a  new  field  of  research,  in  which  he 
became  an  acknowledged  pioneer,  and  which  brought 
about  a  complete  revolution  of  modern  thought  re- 
garding the  antiquity  of  the  human  race.  In  this 
new  inquiry  his  extraordinary  memory  was  of  especial 
service.  He  never  forgot  what  he  had  observed  and 
written,  so  as  years  went  on  and  fresh  discoveries 
threw  further  light  on  unsettled  questions,  this  gift 
of  memory  enabled  him  to  bring  all  his  accumulated 
knowledge  to  bear  upon  the  subject  immediately  under 
consideration. 


DK   HUGH    FALCONER,    F.R.S. 


JET.  46.]  HUGH   FALCONER.  Ill 

In  his  researches  now  on  the  antiquity  of  man,  he 
went  hand  in  hand  with  his  friend,  Dr  Hugh  Falconer,1 
who  two  or  three  years  before  had  returned  to  England 
from  a  long  career  in  the  East,  where  for  a  time  he  had 
been  director  of  the  Botanic  Gardens  at  Saharunpore, 
and  subsequently  of  those  at  Calcutta.  It  was,  how- 
ever, as  a  paleontologist  that  Hugh  Falconer  was  best 
known,  and  as  joint  author  with  Sir  Proby  Cautley  of 
a  work  on  the  fossil  fauna  of  the  Sewalik  Hills,  the 
'  Fauna  Antiqua  Sivalensis.' 

Ossiferous  caves  had  from  time  to  time  been  dis- 
covered in  England,  but  after  the  publication  of  Dr 
Buckland's  'Reliquiae  Diluvianae'  in  1823,  the  subject 
long  ceased  to  attract  attention.  Falconer  and  Prest- 
wich  were,  however,  cognisant  of  the  fact  that  the 
fossil  contents  of  several  caverns  had  been  crowded 
together  pell-mell  in  local  museums,  occasionally  with- 
out any  label  to  show  where  they  had  been  found. 

Both  palaeontologist  and  geologist  were  keenly  alive 
to  the  importance  of  carefully  working  out  any  cave 
evidence,  and  the  opportunity  they  sought  soon  offered 
for  the  systematic  excavation  of  the  contents  of  a 
cavern. 

On  the  10th  of  May  1858,  Dr  Falconer  addressed 
a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Geological  Society  of 
London,  announcing  the  discovery  of  a  new  and  un- 
disturbed cave  on  Windmill  Hill  overhanging  Brixham 
village,  near  Torquay.  It  was  situated  on  a  slope  in 
the  same  tract  of  Devonian  limestone  in  which  the 
caverns  of  Kent's  Hole,  Anstey's  Cove,  Chudleigh,  and 
Berry  Head  are  found.  Mr  Philp,  a  dyer,  had  bought 
the  site  with  the  intention  of  utilising  the  limestone 
and  building  cottages,  when,  in  November  1857,  a  small 
hole  was  detected  in  quarrying.  Further  work  revealed 

1  Born  February  29,  1808  ;  died  January  31,  1865. 


112  BRIXHAM    CAVE.  [l858. 

a  wider  opening,  and  in  the  spring  of  1858  the  work- 
men were  no  longer  in  doubt  but  that  they  had  come 
upon  the  entrance  of  a  cave  with  branches.  Dr  Falconer 
urged  that,  as  the  fossil  contents  of  several  important 
English  caves  had  been  extracted  without  care  or  atten- 
tion, and  had  been  scattered  piecemeal,  the  Council 
should  take  immediate  steps  to  prevent  this  being 
repeated  in  the  case  of  the  Brixham  cave,  and  should 
arrange  for  systematic  investigation. 

The  consequence  of  this  letter  was,  that  a  recom- 
mendatory resolution  was  passed  by  the  Council  of  the 
Geological  Society,  with  the  result  that  "  the  Royal 
Society,  on  May  13th,  gave  a  grant  of  £100  towards 
the  exploration  of  the  cave  in  the  manner  suggested 
by  Dr  Falconer.  Miss  Burdett  -  Coutts  contributed 
£50  towards  the  same  object.  At  Dr  Falconer's  sug- 
gestion, a  committee  was  appointed  to  carry  the  design 
into  effect.  The  committee  consisted  of  Professor 
Ramsay,  Mr  Prestwich,  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  Professor 
Owen,  Mr  Beckles,  the  Rev.  R.  Everest,  and  Mr 
Godwin  -  Austen.  Dr  Falconer  was  entrusted  with 
laying  down  the  plan  and  giving  the  instructions  upon 
which  the  exploration  was  to  be  conducted,  and  the 
works  were  carried  on  under  the  immediate  superin- 
tendence of  Mr  Pengelly.  The  fossil  remains  were 
identified  by  Dr  Falconer.  On  the  9th  September 
1858  a  report  on  the  progress  of  the  operations,  drawn 
up  by  Professor  Ramsay,  Mr  Pengelly,  and  Dr  Falconer, 
was  submitted  to  the  General  Committee,  and  by  them 
was  forwarded  to  the  Royal  Society,  which,  from  the 
importance  of  the  results  already  elicited,  voted  an 
additional  sum  of  £100  to  prosecute  the  inquiry." 
Almost  immediately  afterwards  Dr  Falconer  was  com- 
pelled to  proceed  to  the  south  of  Europe  on  account 


JET.  46.]  BBIXHAM   CAVE.  113 

of  his  health,  but  the  explorations  were  continued  with 
unflagging  energy  and  enthusiasm  by  Mr  Pengelly.1 

Prestwich  heartily  co-operated  with  Falconer,  and 
approved  of  all  the  steps  taken.  Several  years  later, 
owing  to  the  death  of  Hugh  Falconer,  at  the  request  of 
the  General  Committee  he  drew  up  the  final  report  on 
Brixham  Cave.  The  excavations  in  it  yielded  rude 
flint  implements  of  human  workmanship,  associated 
with  the  fossil  bones  of  Pleistocene  mammalia,  thus 
indicating  the  presence  of  early  man. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  transcribe  the 
following  letter,  which  was  published  in  the  first 
volume  of  the  '  Geologist '  (p.  252).  It  shows  the 
interest  with  which  the  discoveries  in  Brixham  Cave 
were  welcomed,  and  its  date  almost  coincides  with  that 
of  Dr  Falconer's  letter  to  the  Geological  Society : — 

To  the  Editor  of  the  '  Geologist.'         [10]  KENT  TERRACE,  llth  May  1858. 

SIR, — Amongst  the  many  interesting  problems  we  have  to  in- 
vestigate, and  that  are,  now  in  particular,  attracting  the  attention 
of  geologists,  is  that  which  relates  to  the  character  of  the  fauna 
inhabiting  this  land  during  some  of  the  later  geological  periods. 
Those  only  who  have  worked  at  this  subject  can  form  any  idea 
of  the  vast  number  of  elephants,  rhinoceroses,  oxen,  deer,  &c., 
which  must,  at  more  than  one  period,  have  flourished  in  this 
country  on  surfaces  now  buried  beneath  drift  and  gravel.  Occa- 
sionally their  bones  are  met  with  in  very  large  quantities,  but 
their  distribution  is  very  irregular  and  uncertain.  The  fact  of 
their  occurrence,  however,  frequently  remains  unknown  beyond 
the  place  where  the  discovery  is  made,  and  the  knowledge  of 
such  facts  is  too  often  lost  or  forgotten  for  want  of  a  convenient 
and  ready  record.2  Your  pages  could  afford,  sir,  exactly  the 

1  Palaeontological  Memoirs  :  Hugh  Falconer,  vol.  ii.  p.  486. 

2  "There  is  a  case  in  point  in  another  communication  I  have  sent  you. 
In  that  instance  I  happened  to  visit  a  gravel-pit,  opened  only  temporarily, 
and  find  remains  of  elephants,  of  which  no  record  would  have  been  pre- 
served but  for  my  chance  visit.     See  '  Geologist,'  vol.  i.  p.  252." 

H 


114  FOSSIL   MAMMALS.  [1858. 

facilities  required.  Thus  it  would  be  of  great  use,  and  I,  for  my 
own  part,  should  feel  particularly  obliged  if  any  of  your  corre- 
spondents in  different  parts  of  the  country  could  furnish  us  with 
information  on  this  point.  I  would  confine  myself  more  especi- 
ally to  the  occurrence  of  the  bones  of  elephants  (the  teeth  and 
tusks  being  so  easily  recognised),  although,  at  the  same  time,  any 
information  respecting  the  bones  of  other  animals  would  be  very 
acceptable ;  and  I  would  ask  for  a  mention  of  their  occurrence — 
naming  place,  character  of  deposit,  depth  beneath  the  surface, 
position,  whether  in  valley  or  on  hill,  &c.  Such  information  you 
might  tabulate  monthly  or  quarterly,  mentioning  the  authority. 
Or  what  would  form  a  still  more  valuable  record  would  be,  that 
resident  correspondents  should  each  take  a  county,  and  give  a 
list  of  places  where  such  remains  are  or  have  been  found.  We 
particularly  require  information  in  this  respect  with  reference  to 
Northumberland,  Lancashire,  Cumberland,  Cheshire,  and  other 
northern  counties,  although  in  the  more  southern  counties  the 
same  particulars  are  also  in  many  cases  equally  required.  An 
additional  interest  now  attaches  to  this  subject,  from  the  circum- 
stance that  there  are  indications  of  each  different  stage  of  this 
Pleistocene  period  having  been  marked  by  different  species  of 
elephant,  &c.  If  these  can  be  distinguished  by  the  aid  of  Dr 
Falconer's  forthcoming  paper  in  the  '  Quarterly  Journal  of  the 
Geological  Society,'  the  information  furnished  will  be  the  more 
valuable. — I  am,  sir,  yours  truly,  JOSEPH  PKKSTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  10  KENT  TERRACE,  7/5/58. 

MY  DEAR  DR  FALCONER, — I  twice  had  Lartet's  paper  in  my 
pocket  to  call  on  you  with  it,  but  was  both  times  prevented  by 
business.  I  should  much  like  to  hear  more  of  your  Western 
progress,  and  will  take  an  early  opportunity  to  call  on  you,  if 
possible,  before  I  leave  town  on  Thursday.  I  shall  be  at  the 
Koyal  Society  to-morrow  evening.  If  I  do  not  see  you  there,  I 
will  try  to  call  on  you  at  5J  on  Monday. 

I  am  the  more  anxious  to  hear  what  you  have  seen  in  Devon 
as  I  am  going  there  shortly,  after  first  a  visit  to  Eouen,  Paris,  and 
Brussels,  and  intend  to  visit  Banwell  and  a  few  other  places  I 
have  not  yet  seen. 


2ET.  46.]  SWITZERLAND.  115 

I  was  at  Grays  a  short  time  since,  and  have  made  a  good  be- 
ginning with  the  plants.  I  return  there  again  in  2  or  3  weeks 
to  reap,  I  hope,  a  further  harvest,  having  set  all  the  people  to 
work,  and  Mr  Meeson  having  kindly  given  all  the  necessary 
orders  to  his  workmen,  and  taken  charge  of  all  specimens.  I 
went  also  to  Ilford  for  the  same  object,  but  at  present  without 
success.  I  am  going  again,  having  a  pit  opened  in  the  meantime. 
—Yours  very  truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Our  geologist's  movements  were  so  rapid  that  the 
expedition  to  the  Continent,  and  also  that  to  Banwell 
(in  Somerset)  and  Grays  (in  Essex),  were  doubtless 
made  before  he  set  out  on  the  2nd  July  1858  on  a 
journey  of  exploration  in  the  Swiss  Alps,  which  ex- 
tended over  several  weeks.  He  was  not  accompanied 
by  any  English  friend,  but  was  frequently  joined  by 
Swiss  geologists.  Much  as  he  delighted  in  working 
with  friends  and  sharing  with  them  his  matured 
views,  yet,  on  new  ground  or  in  face  of  any  unsolved 
problem,  he  preferred  to  think  out  the  difficulties 
and  every  aspect  of  the  case — alone. 

The  contents  of  a  note-book  for  July  and  part  of 
August  were  intended  to  serve  as  data  for  projected 
papers  on  glacial  action. 

The  first  few  days  were  occupied  with  railway  cut- 
tings and  in  quarries  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Neu- 
chatel.  Accompanied  by  M.  Desor,  the  geologist,  and 
by  M.  de  Pury,  the  husband  of  his  cousin  Henrietta 
Blakeway,  Prestwich  visited  the  Val  de  Travers  in  the 
Jura.  The  great  stratified  beds  of  gravel  on  the  way 
to  Berne  were  of  special  interest,  and  M.  Studer  pointed 
out  to  him  the  most  striking  geological  features  in  its 
vicinity. 

At  Basle  he  had  the  advantage  of  the  society  and 
advice  of  another  eminent  Swiss  geologist,  M.  Peter 


116  SWITZERLAND.  [l858. 

Merian,  where  the  roughly  stratified  gravel  over  the 
flats  adjoining  the  Rhine  engaged  his  attention.  The 
geology  of  Bex  is  given  in  a  few  sentences,  which  are 
followed  by  a  striking  outline  of  Les  Diablerets  with 
numerous  notes.  It  was  probably  on  this  occasion  that 
he  paid  the  visit  at  Gryon  to  M.  Renevier,  the  eminent 
Professor  of  Geology  at  Lausanne,  who  guided  him  to 
Anzeindaz  (Alpes  Vaudoises),  at  the  foot  of  the  Diab- 
lerets, where  our  geologist  made  a  collection  of  choice 
little  Eocene  fossils.  Professor  Renevier  writes  that  in 
returning  they  were  overtaken  by  rain,  and  arrived  at 
Gryon  completely  drenched.  Chamouni  was  afterwards 
Prestwich's  headquarters,  whence,  day  after  day,  ac- 
companied by  a  guide,  he  went  from  glacier  to  glacier, 
never  attempting  any  great  ascent.  He  had  looked 
longingly  at  certain  boulders  near  the  Talefre  glacier, 
where,  "  perched  on  the  top  of  this  cliff,  are  several 
blocks  of  granite  —  one  just  on  the  edge  of  the  cliff. 
Could  not  get  at  them  to  see  whether  foreign  to  the 
place."  He  was  intent  on  ascertaining  the  rate  of 
movement  of  the  ice,  the  origin  of  the  boulders,  and  the 
composition  of  the  moraine  gravels. 

The  numerous  notes  and  sections  give  the  altitude 
of  the  moraines  of  different  years,  the  smoothening  or 
polishing  of  granite  blocks — whether  sharp  or  rounded, 
angular  or  sub-angular,  or  striated — observations  on 
ice-action  in  every  phase,  which  would  chiefly  interest 
an  Alpine  geologist  familiar  with  the  high  Alps.  One 
sketch  is  that  of  the  "  ^Iboulement "  of  Les  Mossons, 
which  spreads  over  half  the  valley  now  covered  with 
fields  and  houses.  A  guide  refers  it  "  au  temps  du 
Deluge."  Visits  to  St  Gervais  and  to  Sallanches  ended 
this  tour  in  Switzerland. 

On  his  return  to  England  it  was  to  find  that  the 


MT.  46.]  CAVERN    RESEARCHES.  117 

results  obtained  from  the  excavations  at  Brixham  were 
of  much  importance.  In  writing  to  Falconer  on  14th 
September  1858,  he  suggests  that  another  cavern 
might  well  be  explored,  "  such  for  example  as  one  on 
the  Welsh  coast,  or  a  portion  of  Kent's  Cavern,  or 
100  yards  square  of  some  bone-strewed  surface  gravel, 
such  as  a  section  of  the  rich  bone-bearing  gravel  at 
Bedford,  or  Brentford,  or  Clacton,  or  Herne  Bay,  or 
Bracklesham,  or  many  others." 

The  caution  expressed  in  this  next  letter  is  char- 
acteristic :— 

/.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  LONDON,  21s«  Septr.  1858. 

MY  DEAR  DR  FALCONER, — I  have  to-day  read  the  report  and 
returned  it  to  Earnsay.  It  will  do  very  well  for  the  London 
Committee,  or  the  Eoy.  Soc.,  but  for  my  own  part  I  should  not 
like  to  have  it  read  at  the  Brit.  Assoc.  A  report  of  that  sort 
conies  with  a  degree  of  might  and  authority  which  a  short  notice 
would  not  have.  The  statement  you  make  with  regard  to 
human  industrial  remains  is  one  likely  to  give  rise  to  so  much 
controversy,  and  is  one  which  you  make  so  distinctly,  that  I 
do  not  like  to  see  it  embodied  in  a  report  which  may  be  sup- 
posed to  express  the  opinions  of  the  several  members  of  the 
Committee,  and  in  which  I  see  my  name  introduced. 

Now,  although  you  have  so  good  a  case  with  regard  to  occur- 
rence and  position  of  the  worked  flints,  I  yet  hesitate  to  accept 
the  conclusions,  and  many  others  will  probably  do  the  same. 
There  may  be  possibilities  of  mistake  which  further  working 
may  serve  to  correct,  or  on  the  other  hand  further  workings 
may  bring  to  light  other  facts  tending  to  prove  indisputably 
the  remarkable  association  you  allude  to. 

I  quite  agree  with  you  that  there  is  now  much  evidence  tend- 
ing in  the  same  direction — so  much  that  there  is  hope  that, 
if  true,  it  may  receive  some  unmistakable  corroboration  :  but 
until  we  have  that,  and  that  I  have  myself  worked  on  the  ground 
and  looked  at  all  the  bearings,  I  hesitate  and  wait. — My  dear  Dr 
Falconer,  yours  very  truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 


118  FOLKESTONE.  [l858. 

In  a  note  to  Falconer,  dated  28th  September,  he 
remarks  : — 

I  am  glad  you  have  been  to  Folkestone.  The  bones  there 
were  in  brick-earth  or  gravel.  Those  at  Dover  in  chalk  rubble. 
I  should  fear  from  what  you  say  and  what  I  have  seen  that 
the  ruminants  are  in  a  state  of  confusion.  It  is  not  surprising, 
considering  that  all  the  Drift  deposits  have  commonly  been 
shovelled  together  into  one  dirt  heap. — Ever  yours  truly, 

J.  PRESTWICH. 

Another  letter,  dated  "  Tuesday,"  refers  to  the 
Folkestone  fossils. 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer. 

See  '  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc./  vol.  vii.  p.  261.  You  will  there 
find  a  paper  by  Mackie  on  a  Pleistocene  deposit  at  Folkestone, 
and  among  the  fossils  the  hippopotamus  and  megaceros. 

Is  it  possible  that  the  hippopotamus  of  these  late  Pleistocene 
deposits  is  of  the  same  species  as  that  of  the  Norfolk  coast  ? 

With  regard  to  Shorncliffe,  I  heard  of  it  too  late  to  visit  it. 
Intending,  however,  to  go,  I  made  inquiries  about  the  where- 
abouts, and  found  that  although  the  bones  came  last  from  Shorn- 
cliffe they  came  first  from  Folkestone.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  same 
bed  as  described  by  Mackie,  and  was  reopened  in  enlarging 
or  repairing  some  of  the  works  connected  with  the  small  fort 
above  the  Pavilion.  The  collection  is  certainly  of  great  interest. 
— Ever  truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Three  of  his  geological  papers  appeared  this  year, 
the  most  important  being  that  on  the  westward  ex- 
tension of  the  Old  Raised  Beach  of  Brighton.  It 
was  significant  of  work  to  be  done  in  the  future. 

But  the  incident  for  which  1858  is  to  be  noted 
was  the  receipt  by  Prestwich  of  a  letter  from  Hugh 
Falconer,  written  from  Abbeville,  when  on  his  way 
to  Sicily  for  the  winter.  The  results  to  which  it  led 


M.    BOUCHER    DE    PERTHES. 


JET.  46.]  BOUCHER   DE   PERTHES.  119 

were  so  important,  bringing  about  so  suddenly  a  re- 
volution of  opinion  in  the  scientific  world,  that  we 
transcribe  it  in  full : — 

H.  Falconer  to  J.  Prestwich.  ABBEVILLE,  1st  Nov.  1858. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — As  the  weather  continued  fine,  I  de- 
termined on  coming  here  to  see  Boucher  de  Perthes'  collection. 
I  advised  him  of  my  intention  from  London,  and  my  note  luckily 
found  him  in  the  neighbourhood.  He  good-naturedly  came  in  to 
receive  me,  and  I  have  been  richly  rewarded.  His  collection  of 
wrought  flint  implements  and  of  the  objects  of  every  description 
associated  with  them  far  exceeds  anything  I  expected  to  have 
seen,  especially  from  a  single  locality.  He  had  made  great 
additions,  since  the  publication  of  his  first  volume,  in  the  second 
— which  I  have  now  by  me.  He  showed  me  "flint"  hatchets 
which  lie  had  dug  up  with  his  oiim  hands  mixed  indiscriminately 
with  the  molars  of  E.  primigenius.  I  examined  and  identified 
plates  of  the  molars — and  the  flint  objects,  which  were  got  along 
with  them.  Abbeville  is  an  out-of-the-way  place,  very  little 
visited,  and  the  French  savants  who  meet  him  in  Paris  laugh  at 
Monsieur  de  Perthes  and  his  researches.  But  after  devoting  the 
greater  part  of  a  day  to  his  vast  collection,  I  am  perfectly  satis- 
fied that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  fair  presumptive  evidence  in 
favour  of  many  of  his  speculations  regarding  the  remote  anti- 
quity of  these  industrial  objects,  and  their  association  with 
animals  now  extinct.  Monsieur  Boucher's  hotel  is  from  ground- 
floor  to  garret  a  continued  museum  filled  with  pictures,  medieval 
art,  and  Gaulish  antiquities,  including  antediluvian  flint  knives, 
fossil  bones,  &c.  If,  during  next  summer,  you  should  happen  to 
be  paying  a  visit  to  France,  let  me  strongly  recommend  you  to 
come  to  Abbeville.  You  could  leave  the  following  morning  by 
an  8  A.M.  train  to  Paris,  and  I  am  sure  you  would  be  richly 
rewarded.  You  are  the  only  English  geologist  I  know  of  who 
would  go  into  the  subject  con  amore.  I  am  satisfied  that  English 
geologists  are  much  behind  the  indications  of  the  materials  now 
in  existence  relative  to  this  walk  of  post  -  glacial  geology,  and 
you  are  the  man  to  bring  up  the  leeway.  Boucher  de  Perthes 
is  a  very  courteous  elderly  French  gentleman,  the  head  of  an 


120  BBIXHAM   CAVE.  [l859. 

old  and  affluent  family,  and,  if  you  wrote  to  him  beforehand,  he 
would  feel  your  visit  a  compliment  and  treat  it  as  such. 

I  saw  no  flint  specimens  in  his  collection  so  completely 
whitened  through  and  through  as  our  flint  knives — and  nothing 
exactly  like  the  mysterious  hatchet  which  I  made  up  of  the  two 
pieces.  What  I  have  seen  here  gives  me  still  greater  impulse 
to  persevere  in  our  Brixham  exploration.  .  .  .  — Yours  very 
truly,  H.  FALCONER. 

The  following  letter,  which  is  dated  London,  4th 
February  1859,  and  refers  to  Brixham  Cave,  is  ad- 
dressed to  Falconer,  who  was  then  in  Palermo  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, —  .  .  .  Austen  is  satisfied  that  the  flint 
instruments  occur  with  the  bones.  After  my  last  visit  I  cannot 
deny  it,  but  still  I  am  not  satisfied  without  seeking  every  other 
possible  explanation  besides  that  of  contemporaneous  existence. 
None  of  the  evidence  which  has  come  before  me  during  the  last 
ten  years  has  appeared  to  me  conclusive,  and  now  we  have  an 
opportunity  of  settling  the  question  more  satisfactorily,  we  can- 
not be  too  cautious. 

Austen  and  I  spent  a  day  at  the  cave,  and  left  Bristow 1  there 
to  take  a  plan  and  sections.  This  was  in  November.  From 
several  causes  we  have  not  yet  reed,  these  documents,  but  we 
are  now  positively  promised  them.  I  understand  they  were  not 
quite  finished.  When  we  have  them  before  us  we  shall,  now  we 
have  the  money  in  hand,  decide  how  next  to  proceed.  The  works 
have  not  been  interrupted  except  for  a  week  at  Christmas.  For 
some  weeks  past  but  little  has  been  found — the  greater  part  of 
the  loam  has  been  removed,  and  we  are  down  to  the  gravel. 
After  our  visit  in  November  we  decided  not  to  purchase  the 
adjoining  right  of  search.  It  was  a  gallery  traversing  the  next 
quarry,  and  the  greater  part  of  [which]  was  worked  away.  We 
have  plenty  to  do  in  the  body  of  the  hill.  We  left  instructions 
to  have  all  the  bones  packed  up  and  sent  to  the  Geological 


1  H.  W.  Bristow,  F.R.S.,  in  later  years  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey 
of  England  and  Wales  ;  born  1817,  died  1889. 


Mi.  47-]  CAVES    NEAR   PALERMO.  121 

Society.  They  are  not  yet  arrived.  Pengelly  has  so  much  to 
do,  and  is,  poor  fellow,  just  now  greatly  troubled  by  the  failing 
health  of  a  daughter.  We  had  an  interview  with  Vivian,  which 
ended  amicably,  and  by  his  consenting  to  withhold  the  publication 
of  his  notes  on  Kent's  Cave,  to  which  are  appended  numerous 
notes  respecting  the  Brixham  Cave.  Austen  and  I  do  not  exactly 
agree  about  our  report ;  but  nothing  less  will  satisfy  rne  than  a 
full  and  complete  examination  of  every  part  of  the  cave  (now 
worked),  the  emptying  to  the  very  bottom  of  everything  in  the 
several  galleries. 

I  am  very  glad  you  stopped  at  Abbeville,  and  am  thereby  fully 
confirmed  to  visit  that  locality  at  an  early  opportunity,  and,  as 
you  suggest,  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes. 
I  trust  you  are  enjoying  fine  weather,  good  health,  and  many 
caves. — Believe  me,  my  dear  Falconer,  very  truly  yours, 

Jos.  PKESTWICH. 

The  wish  expressed  in  the  last  sentence  of  the  above 
letter  with  regard  to  caves  was  literally  fulfilled.  It 
found  Falconer  at  Palermo  in  ecstasy  about  his  dis- 
covery of  flint  implements  associated  with  fossil  bones 
in  the  cave  of  Maccagnone.  He  was  also  zealously 
engaged  in  making  collections  of  hippopotamus  teeth, 
which  lay  scattered  in  great  quantity,  with  a  few 
molars  and  bones  of  other  extinct  animals,  outside  the 
"  Grotto  di  San  Giro"  or  "Mare  Dolce,"  near  Palermo, 
and  where  the  women  and  children  gathered  them  on 
the  field  in  front  of  the  cave  in  the  intervals  between 
his  daily  visits.  It  was  a  comical  scene  when  an 
infant  in  arms,  prompted  by  its  mother,  held  out  a 
tooth  of  hippopotamus  to  Dr  Falconer,  clasped  by  its 
tiny  fingers.  On  one  occasion  forty-two  mothers  and 
children  awaited  his  arrival,  each  provided  with  spoil. 
The  mothers  thought  themselves  liberally  rewarded 
with  a  few  quattrini,  the  smallest  Sicilian  coin. 

April  was   the   date   in    1859   when   Prestwich   pro- 


122  BOUCHER   DE   PERTHES.  [l859. 

ceeded  to  Abbeville  to  make  the  acquaintance  of 
M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  whom  he  found  a  hale,  hearty 
septuagenarian,  enthusiastic,  as  well  he  might  be,  about 
his  collection  of  flint  implements.  In  France  he  was 
well  known  as  an  antiquary  and  archaeologist  and  a 
voluminous  writer  of  light  literature, — perhaps  no  man 
was  ever  more  possessed  by  the  cacoethes  scribendi,— 
yet  in  England  few  had  ever  heard  mention  of  his 
name.  Although  not  a  geologist,  his  name  is  so 
inseparably  associated  with  the  discovery  of  flint  im- 
plements in  beds  of  Quaternary  age  in  France,  that 
a  few  notes  to  recount  his  discoveries  may  not  be 
out  of  place. 

With  a  far-seeing  sagacity  which  cannot  but  excite 
our  admiration,  M.  de  Perthes  had  predicted  the  cer- 
tainty of  his  finding  traces  of  man  in  the  gravels  of  the 
Abbeville  and  Amiens  district,  and  had  during  several 
years  closely  watched  the  excavations  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  canal  at  Abbeville.  Hence  when  in  1846  he 
announced  the  discovery  of  an  ancient  flint  imple- 
ment in  gravel  of  the  "  Drift,"  associated  with  bones 
of  elephant,  rhinoceros,  and  other  extinct  animals, 
and  when  again  in  1849  he  asserted  that  numbers  of 
rudely  worked  and  chipped  flint  implements  had  been 
found  with  remains  of  extinct  mammalia  in  the  same 
undisturbed  beds  of  gravel,  geologists  gave  no  heed  to 
his  announcement,  and  he  was  regarded  as  an  amiable 
visionary.  He  challenged  his  countrymen  to  put  his 
startling  theory  of  so  high  an  antiquity  for  his  flint 
weapons  to  the  test  and  make  excavations  for  them- 
selves in  unbroken  ground,  but  he  was  only  laughed 
at.  Dr  Rigollot  of  Amiens  appears  to  have  been  the 
one  person  in  France  who  came  forward  expressing 
his  dissent  from  the  universal  unbelief.  He  had  been 


&l.  47.]  ANTIQUITY   OF   MAN.  123 

a  vehement  opposer  of  the  views  of  M.  de  Perthes 
until  he  had  personally  examined  the  ground  and  the 
evidence,  when  his  opinions  underwent  a  complete 
change,  and  he  became  one  of  the  strongest  advocates 
for  the  recognition  of  the  worked  flints. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  this  famous  inquiry,  which 
had  been  prompted  by  that  letter  of  1st  November, 
1858,  from  Hugh  Falconer,  with  characteristic  gener- 
osity the  latter  invariably  assigned  the  precedence  to 
Prestwich,  saying,  "  What  I  did  was  to  stir  up  the 
embers  of  your  interest  in  the  matter  into  a  quick 
flame." 

In  a  chapter  on  "  Primeval  Man  and  his  Contem- 
poraries," 1  Falconer  remarks  of  MM.  de  Perthes  and 
Eigollot,  that— 

The  observations  of  both  were  either  scorned  or  discredited. 
At  the  same  time  a  quiet  observer,  of  matchless  sagacity  and 
indomitable  perseverance,  Mr  Prestwich,  was  making  the  Gravels 
in  England  an  object  of  special  investigation.  Engaged  during  a 
long  course  of  years  upon  the  study  of  the  European  Tertiaries, 
he  gradually  worked  his  way  up  to  the  superficial  deposits.  Mr 
Prestwich's  researches  upon  the  Tertiaries,  which  have  only  been 
partially  published,  have  earned  for  him  the  reputation  of  being 
one  of  the  ablest  geological  observers  of  his  time.  But  in  the 
Quaternary  sands  and  gravels  he  was  unrivalled.  Men  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  saying,  in  mingled  earnest  and  raillery,  that 
"  point  out  a  broken  pebble  amongst  a  thousand  others  in  a  gravel 
pit,  and  there  is  one  who  will  tell  you  the  point  of  the  compass 
from  which  it  came,  the  stratum  which  yielded  it,  the  distance 
it  had  travelled,  the  amount  of  rolling  it  had  undergone,  and  the 
time  it  had  occupied  in  the  journey."  The  power  thus  acquired 
was  soon  to  be  applied  with  clenching  authority  to  the  proofs  of 
the  antiquity  of  man  yielded  by  those  deposits. 

On  his  memorable  visit  to  Abbeville  in  April,  Prest- 

1  Hugh  Falconer  :  '  Palseont.  Memoirs,'  vol.  ii.  p.  584. 


124  AMIENS   AND    ABBEVILLE.  [l859. 

wich  had  been  joined  a  few  hours  after  arrival  by 
Evans ; l  and  next  day,  on  account  of  a  telegram  re- 
ceived, they  went  together  to  Amiens,  where  they  saw 
an  implement  in  situ  in  the  gravel,  and  had  the  section 
photographed.  The  great  caution  exercised  by  our 
geologist  in  accepting  no  evidence  except  that  which 
he  had  himself  personally  investigated  was  proverbial. 
In  this  case  his  decision  was  quickly  made.  On  the 
26th  of  May — one  month  after  his  arrival  at  Amiens 
— his  great  paper,  "  On  the  Occurrence  of  Flint-imple- 
ments, associated  with  Remains  of  Animals  of  Extinct 
Species  in  Beds  of  a  Late  Geological  Period,  in  France 
at  Amiens  and  Abbeville,  and  in  England  at  Hoxne," 
was  read  before  the  Royal  Society. 

Before  the  completion  of  this  memoir  he  made  a 
second  expedition  to  the  Abbeville  district,  accompanied 
by  Messrs  Godwin -Austen,  J.  Wickham  Flower,  and 
R.  W.  Mylne.  This  again  was  followed  by  a  brief  visit 
from  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  who  happened  to  be  in  Paris  at 
the  same  time. 

Sir  C.  Lyell  to  J.  Prestwick. 

45  RUE  DE  PONTHIETT,  Mli  April  [May  ?]. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — I  will  be  in  time  for  the  4  P.M.  train, 
and  shall  have  an  opportunity  of  talking  over  what  you  have 
seen  at  Joinville  as  we  go  to  Precy  together,  and  compare  notes, 
as  I  have  already  seen  C.  D'Orbigny's  section. 

I  shall  go  direct  to  Amiens,  as  I  cannot  stand  getting  there  in 
the  middle  of  the  night.  It  would  unfit  me  for  next  day's  work 
at  Amiens.  In  case  your  letters  prevent  you  starting,  I  may  say 
that  I  shall  go  at  any  rate  to  Amiens  to  the  Hotel  de  France  et 
d'Angleterre. 

I  shall  hope  at  any  rate  to  have  the  journey  together  to  Precy 
and  to  work  next  morning  at  Amiens. — Ever  most  truly  yours, 

CHA.  LYELL. 

1  Now  Sir  John  Evans,  K.C.B. 


.ET, 


.  47.]  HOXNE.  125 


J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  istk  May  1859. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  shall  be  restless  until  I  visit  Hoxne, 
especially  as  I  wish  to  see  it  before  my  paper  is  read  (which 
must  be  next  week,  if  at  all).  So  I  want  you  to  be  so  good  as 
let  me  postpone  my  visit  for  a  day  or  two.  Cannot  you  come  to 
Hoxne  with  me  next  Saturday  at  3  P.M.  and  return  on  Monday 
evening?  At  all  events  I  will,  if  convenient  to  you,  take  an 
early  afternoon  train  to  Nash  Mills  on  Tuesday  and  report  pro- 
gress, and  return  on  Wednesday  morning.  I  should  then  equally 
see  you  and  have  the  pleasure  of  the  introduction  which  you 
promised  me.  I  would  have  gone  to  Hoxne  last  Saturday,  but 
did  not  like  going  there  without  you  if  possible,  so  I  went  en 
attendant  to  Salisbury,  but  without  any  success. 

I  have  found  out  three  brick  pits  at  or  near  Hoxne,  and  hope 
to  find  traditions  of  the  discovery  and  to  have  a  trench  dug  on 
the  right  spot. — I  am,  ever  truly  yours,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

I  enclose  you  two  letters  just  received  from  M.  de  Perth es.  I 
shall  want  a  few  lines  from  you  for  the  Eoyal.  .  .  . 

This  expedition  to  Hoxne,  in  Suffolk,  was  the  result 
of  Mr  Evans  having  come  across  some  flint  implements 
found  there  in  the  end  of  the  last  century  by  Mr  John 
Frere,  F.R.S., — to  be  seen  in  the  museum  of  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries.  Mr  Evans's  attention  had  at  the  time 
also  been  called  by  the  late  Sir  A.  Wollaston  Franks 
to  a  flint  implement  found  in  Gray's  Inn  Lane,  and 
preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  and  of  which  he 
(Mr  Evans)  gave  notice  in  a  paper  to  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries.  This  flint  implement  is  notable  as  being 
the  first  discovered  in  Quaternary  gravels  in  this  or 
any  other  country.  The  paper  was  read  on  2nd  June 
1859,  a  week  after  Prestwich's  communication  to  the 
Royal  Society.  This  latter  made  a  great  sensation, 
demonstrating  as  it  did  that  a  large  portion  of  the 
flints  in  M.  de  Perthes'  collection  were  of  human 


126  FLINT   IMPLEMENTS.  [1859. 

workmanship,  and  pointing  out  their  undoubted  geo- 
logical position.  We  quote  one  or  two  passages  from 
the  abstract  of  this  paper  : — 

At  Abbeville  the  author  was  much  struck  with  the  extent  of 
M.  Boucher  de  Perthes'  collection.  There  were  many  forms  of 
flints,  in  which  he,  however,  failed  to  see  traces  of  design  and 
work,  and  which  he  should  only  consider  as  accidental ;  but  with 
regard  to  those  flint-instruments  termed  "  axes "  (haches)  by  M. 
de  Perthes,  he  entertains  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  their  artificial 
make.  They  are  of  two  forms,  generally  from  4  to  10  inches 
long,  .  .  .  and  were  the  work  of  a  people  probably  unacquainted 
with  the  use  of  metals.  The  author  was  not  fortunate  to  find 
any  specimens  himself,1  but  from  the  experience  of  M.  de  Perthes, 
and  the  evidence  of  the  workmen,  as  well  as  from  the  condition 
of  the  specimens  themselves,  he  is  fully  satisfied  of  the  correctness 
of  that  gentleman's  opinion,  that  they  there  also  occur  in  beds 
of  undisturbed  sand  and  gravel.2 

With  regard  to  the  geological  age  of  these  beds,  the  author 
refers  them  to  those  usually  designated  Post-Pliocene  (Pleisto- 
cene), and  notices  their  agreement  with  many  beds  of  that  age  in 
England. 

Finally,  our  geologist  stated  that  he — 

Purposely  abstained  for  the  present  from  all  theoretical  con- 
siderations, confining  himself  to  the  corroboration  of  the  facts : — 

1.  That  the  flint  implements  are  the  work  of  man. 

2.  That  they  were  found  in  undisturbed  ground. 

3.  That   they   are   associated   with   the    remains    of    extinct 

mammalia. 

1  This  only  refers  to  the  large  worked  haches.    On  his  first  visit  to  Menche- 
court,  the  day  after  his  arrival  at  Abbeville,  he  was  fortunate  enough  to 
obtain  in  one  excavation  he  had  made  to  a  depth  of  about  20  feet  beneath 
the  surface,  several  fine  flint  flakes  with  large  bulbs  of  percussion  in  a  bed 
with  abundant  remains  of  the  mammoth  and  other  extinct  mammalia. 

2  Subsequently,  Prestwich  was  summoned  by  a  telegram  from  Paris,  to 
which  he  responded  by  going  to  St  Acheul,  and  finding  an  implement  in 
situ. 


A    CONFERENCE    ON    FLINT    IMPLEMENTS. 


Prof.  JOHN  MORRIS.  F.   E.  EDWARDS. 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH.  SEARLES  V.  WOOD. 


^T.  47.]  ANTIQUITY    OF   MAN.  127 

4.  That  the  period  was  a  late  geological  one,  and  anterior  to 
the  surface  assuming  its  present  outline,  so  far  as  some 
of  its  minor  features  are  concerned. 

He  does  not,  however,  consider  that  the  facts  as  they  at  present 
stand  of  necessity  carry  back  man  in  past  time  more  than  they 
bring  forward  the  great  extinct  mammals  towards  our  own 
time,  the  evidence  having  reference  only  to  relative  and  not 
to  absolute  time ;  and  he  is  of  opinion  that  many  of  the  later 
geological  changes  may  have  been  sudden,  or  of  shorter  duration 
than  generally  considered.  In  fact,  from  the  evidence  here  ex- 
hibited, and  from  all  that  he  knows  regarding  Drift  phenomena 
generally,  the  author  sees  no  reason  against  the  conclusion  that 
this  period  of  man  and  the  extinct  mammalia — supposing  their 
contemporaneity  to  be  proved — was  brought  to  a  sudden  end  by 
a  temporary  inundation  of  the  land :  on  the  contrary,  he  sees 
much  to  support  such  a  view  on  purely  geological  considerations. 

Before  writing  this  paper,  Prestwich,  together  with 
Mr  Evans,  had  made  a  searching  examination  of  the 
flints  and  gravels  of  Amiens  as  well  as  of  Abbeville. 
Both  being  experts  in  different  departments — one  from 
his  practical  knowledge  of  geology,  especially  of  the 
more  recent  deposits,  and  the  other  holding  the  fore- 
most rank  in  archaeology — their  joint  opinion  carried 
great  weight.  Thus  when  their  belief  became  public, 
that  M.  de  Perthes  had  made  an  important  discovery, 
and  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  flint  implements  in 
his  collection  were  what  he  had  claimed  them  to  be, 
men  of  science  on  both  sides  of  the  Channel  cast  away 
their  doubts  and  unbelief.  Geologists  hastened  to 
Abbeville  to  give  their  congratulations  to  M.  Boucher 
de  Perthes,  whose  letters  of  this  date,  addressed  to 
Falconer  and  to  Prestwich,  are  expressive  of  lively 
gratitude.  This  gratitude,  however,  had  previously 
been  tempered.  It  devolved  on  his  English  friends 
to  point  out  to  M.  de  Perthes  several  spurious  flint 


128  FORGED   IMPLEMENTS.  [l859. 

implements  in  his  great  collection,  in  the  authenticity 
of  which  he  himself  had  implicit  faith.  These  carefully 
worked  counterfeits  lacked  the  vitreous  glaze  and  the 
staining  of  true  implements,  now  termed  "  pakeolithic," 
which  the  dishonest  fabricator  had  been  unable  to  re- 
produce. M.  de  Perthes  had  recklessly  held  out  too 
tempting  rewards  for  every  implement  found,  and  had 
probably  paved  the  way  for  these  forgeries  which  were 
readily  detected  by  the  experts,  but  they  did  not  for 
a  moment  invalidate  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  many 
genuine  flint  implements. 

Among  the  letters  addressed  to  Prestwich,  none 
throw  more  light  on  the  questions  which  at  that  date 
occupied  the  minds  of  geologists  than  those  from  Mr 
Godwin-Austen.  One  more  example  is  given  in  which  is 
expressed,  as  usual,  his  delightful  sense  of  humour: — 

R  A.  C.  Godwin- Austen  to  J.  Prestwich. 

CHILWORTH,  June  13  [1859  ?]. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — I  have  two  of  yours  unanswered :  the 
first  is  as  to  whether  "  Quaternary  "  would  not  be  a  better  word 
than  "Post-Pliocene."  Most  decidedly  so,  for  I  hope  to  see 
Eocene,  Miocene,  Pliocene,  and  all  their  degrees  ere  long  banished 
from  geological  nomenclature.  Their  introduction  was  a  worse 
event  for  geology  than  even  De  Beaumont's  mountain-systems. 

I  could  not  get  away  on  Saturday :  an  old  schoolfellow,  wife, 
and  children  came  here. 

The  Antiquity  of  Man  question,  in  respect  of  which  Owen  now 
has  his  say,  is  doomed  to  be  damaged  by  bad  evidence  and  worse 
reasoning.  I  have  long  seen  what  the  fate  of  the  geologist  would 
be  from  the  time  that  he  allied  himself  with  the  anthroDologist 

A.  O 

and  antiquarian.  Falconer  and  Evans  are  to  us  what  the  two 
cunning  Greeks  were  who  conducted  the  fatal  horse  into  Troy. 

The  only  thing  that  can  save  us  is  to  restrict  us  to  the  Silurian 
system  for  a  year  or  so. — Believe  me,  yours  ever  truly, 

EGBERT  A.  C.  GODWIN-AUSTEN. 


J3T.  47.]  BRIXHAM    CAVE.  129 

While  Prestwich's  researches  in  the  valley  of  the 
Somme  had  come  to  so  successful  an  issue,  he  was  ever 
watchful  of  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  excavations  in 
Brixham  and  other  caverns,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
following  letter  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  [22nd  June.] 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  have  just  received  your  note.  Little 
need  be  said  about  Brixham  Cave,  as  your  Palermo  cave  will  be 
the  main  business  of  the  evening.  Still  I  think  some  notice 
desirable.  It  is  not  necessary  to  give  all  particulars — a  slight 
sketch  will  suffice.  The  subject  is  altogether  new  at  the  Society. 
Ramsay's  plan  is  quite  sufficient  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the 
place,  and  an  abstract  of  your  first  report  will  give  all  the  main 
points.  I  can  speak  about  all  the  later  facts  (which  are  few), 
and  I  have  asked  Austen  to  bring  his  report,  and  written  to 
Bristow  to  ask  him  for  his.  I  think  it  important  to  bring  all 
forward,  as  the  two  cases  you  have  discovered  so  strongly  support 
one  another. — In  haste,  yours,  &c.  J.  PRESTWICH. 

In  the  Journal  of  the  Geological  Society  it  is  stated 
that- 

On  June  22,  1859,  Joseph  Prestwich,  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  gave  in  a 
few  words  the  results  of  the  examination  of  the  Bone-cave  at 
Brixham  in  Devonshire. 

The  cave  had  been  traced  along  three  large  galleries,  meeting 
or  intersecting  one  another  at  right  angles.  Numerous  bones  of 
Rhinoceros  tichorhinus,  Bos,  Equus,  Cervus  tarandus,  Ursus 
spelceus,  and  Hycena  have  been  found,  and  several  flint-imple- 
ments have  been  met  with  in  the  cave-earth  and  gravel  beneath. 
One  in  particular  was  met  with  immediately  beneath  a  fine 
antler  of  a  Eeindeer  and  a  bone  of  the  Cave-bear,  which  were 
imbedded  in  the  superficial  stalagmite  in  the  middle  of  the  cave.1 


1  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xvi.  p.  189.  See  also  remarks  on  the 
exploration  of  Brixham  Cavern,  in  Appendix,  by  Prof.  T.  G.  Bonney, 
F.R.S.,  to  the  'Memoir  of  William  Pengelly,'  by  his  Daughter,  1897,  pp. 
296-300. 


130  BRIXHAM    CAVE.  [l859. 

H.  Falconer  to  J.  Prestwich. 

31  SACKVILLE  STREET,  W.,  25th  June  1859. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — Many  thanks  for  both  your  kind 
notes.  I  feel  exceedingly  obliged  by  the  lively  interest  which 
you  have  taken  in  the  Brixham  Cave  matter  throughout.  It  is 
your  cordial  co-operation  that  has  led  to  so  much  being  effected. 
If  the  special  results  as  at  present  disclosed  are  not  very  striking, 
the  indirect  consequences  have  been  of  great  importance  in 
launching  the  question  of  the  antiquity  of  human  remains  in  a 
fair  and  unprejudiced  manner.  Much  attention  will  now  be 
directed  to  the  subject  everywhere,  by  inquirers  of  every  shade 
of  belief,  and  we  will  arrive  at  the  truth  shortly.  There  is 
nothing  that  you  have  done  in  the  matter  in  which  I  would  not 
have  joined.  .  .  . 

In  the  Maccagnone  cave  there  was  ample  work  for  a  pair  of 
collaborateurs  for  months.  I  pretend  to  have  done  nothing  more 
than  score  the  first  lines. 

Many  thanks  for  Vivian's  edition  of  M'Enery.  I  have  referred 
to  Desnoyer's  paper,  but  can  find  notice  only  of  bones  on  the 
walls,  not  on  the  roof  of  the  bone  cavern. 

We  must  make  an  effort  to  bring  out  the  plates  of  M'Enery's 
fossils,  &c.  If  the  Palseontographical  will  not  do  it,  we  must  set 
a  subscription  on  foot. — Yours  very  truly,  H.  FALCONER. 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  SUFFOLK  LANE,  28th  June  1859. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — Thanks  for  your  note.  I  quite  agree 
with  you  that  it  is  not  the  importance  and  beauty  of  the 
specimens  that  constitute  the  value  of  the  Brixham  Cave.  I 
have  constantly  heard  it  objected  that  we  have  got  but  a  poor 
collection  of  specimens.  No  doubt  Kent's  Cave  would  yield  a 
richer  store ;  but  that  is  a  subordinate  consideration.  The  great 
object  effected  at  Brixham  is  the  complete  and  thorough  exam- 
ination of  our  cave,  the  number  of  the  bones,  the  relative 
number  of  each  set  and  of  each  animal,  their  condition,  their 
place,  &c.,  &c.  Besides,  there  are  all  the  sections  and  valuable 
physical  data  obtained,  and  which  could  have  been  obtained 
by  no  other  means.  So  that  if  we  cannot  show  fine  specimens, 


JST.  47.]  FOSSIL   ELEPHANTS.  131 

we  shall  at  all  events  be  able  to  exhibit  a  yet  more  valuable, 
because  rarer,  array  of  figures  and  facts.  .  .  . 

You  will  find  a  notice  by  Tournal  of  bones  adhering  to  the 
roof  in  the  2nd  vol.  '  Bull.  Soc.  Geol.,'  p.  381 ;  and  again  by 
Teissier,  same  vol.,  pp.  22  and  56.  Marcel  de  Serres  also  some- 
where notices  the  same  fact — I  think  in  a  cavern  in  the  Pyrenees. 
I  will  try  and  find  out  the  reference. 

On  Saturday  I  was  at  Erith,  where  it  seems  to  me  the  E. 
primigenius  and  E.  antiquus  occur  together.  On  Sunday  I  saw 
only  some  Tertiary  sections. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  28,  6,  59. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — A  main  object  of  our  visit  to  Erith 
was  to  see  whether  the  E.  primigenius  and  E.  antiquus  occur 
there  in  different  beds.  We  found  nothing  in  situ  to  settle  the 
question ;  but  a  careful  inspection  of  Mr  Spurrell's  collection 
leads  me  to  the  belief  that  no  separation  can  at  present  be 
made.  The  greater  number  of  teeth  in  Mr  Spurrell's  collection 
are  of  the  E.  primigenius.  I  saw  only  two  of  the  E.  antiquus. 
In  universal  character  no  distinction  could  be  made.  Still,  the 
evidence  is  not  complete.  The  Menchecourt  species  is,  however, 
decidedly  the  E.  primigenius;  and  then  we  have  the  Cyrena 
fluminalis.  As  to  the  question  you  ask  me  about  the  Shackle- 
well  Gravel,  it  is  a  question  I  have  asked  myself  the  last  fifteen 
years  without  being  able  to  feel  certain  about  an  answer.  My 
opinion  long  inclined  to  the  belief  that  the  Grays  deposit  is 
newer  than  the  Boulder  Clay ;  these  other  gravels  of  the  Thames 
valley  are  consequently  of  the  same  recent  age.  Of  late  I  have 
not  felt  so  sure.  I  find  the  Boulder  Clay  sweeping  down  to  a 
very  low  level  in  Essex.  I  find  also  that  many  rock  specimens 
I  referred  to  the  Boulder  Clay  may  also  be  referred  to  the  great 
Western  Drift,  and  I  am  not  yet  satisfied  that  I  have  got  the 
correlation  of  these  two  drifts.  I  hope  this  summer  to  be  able 
to  work  up  all  my  evidence  and  go  through  all  my  collections. 
I  must  also  again  visit  a  few  places  in  the  eastern  counties.  I 
shall  then  begin  with  the  Clay  and  work  upwards,  when  I  hope 
to  find  the  difficulties  which  now  perplex  me  disappear  as  they 
are  handled  in  right  succession.  My  impression  at  present  is 


132  BRIXHAM    CAVE.  [l859. 

certainly  that  part  of  the  materials  of  the  Thames  valley  gravel 
is  derived  from  the  Boulder  Clay,  or  from  a  led  of  gravel  imme- 
diately preceding  it — that  the  Cyrena  lived  with  the  Mammoth, 
and  that  the  E.  antiquus  is  not  confined  to  the  age  of  the  Bacton 
Beds.  As  to  the  gravel  under  the  Cyrena -bed  at  Clapton,  it 
contains,  I  think,  almost  all  the  specimens  we  saw  at  Victoria 
Park.  Ten  years  since,  I  daresay  I  should  have  given  you  more 
definite  answers ;  but  the  more  I  see  of  the  subject,  the  more  I 
feel  involved  in  its  complications.  I  see  some  objections  to 
almost  every  position.  .  .  .  — Believe  me  to  be  very  truly  yours, 

J.  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  2nd  July  1859. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, —  .  .  .  The  points  for  your  inspection 
are  in  the  first  two  papers.  About  the  Brixham  Cave,  have 
I  rightly  expressed  myself  about  the  Eeport  to  the  Geological 
Society,  or  shall  I  mention  it  in  any  other  way  ?  That  to  you 
the  discovery  is  due  is  certain,  inasmuch  as  the  cave  was  started 
by  you  and  worked  in  your  way;  that  the  weight  of  your 
opinion  also  led  us  all  to  consider  the  matter  more  serious, 
and  seriously,  is  also  certain.  So  you  are  the  head  and  front 
of  the  cave,  and  the  leader  of  this  new  inquiry,  and  as  such 
you  must  allow  me  to  place  you.  Will  you  therefore  kindly 
look  to  these  two  pages  and  make  such  additions,  alterations, 
&c.,  as  you  think  fit?  .  .  . 

I  am  not  sure  now  that  I  have  said  all  that  I  want;  but 
these  letters  coming  in  the  hours  of  business,  and  on  a  busy 
Saturday,  leave  me  but  little  time  for  consideration.  Pray, 
however,  consider  me  always,  &c.,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell. 

2  SUFFOLK  LANE,  6th  July  1859. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — You  have  planned  a  charming  ex- 
cursion, and  I  wish  I  could  meet  you  at  Amiens  or  Rouen ;  but 
I  doubt  whether  I  shall  be  able.  I  shall  probably  return  there 
later.  At  present  the  levels  of  the  different  pits  are  being 
accurately  taken.  For  these  I  shall,  I  believe,  be  indebted 
to  the  Government  engineers.  Nothing  can  be  done  at  present 
in  collecting  shells  at  Menchecourt,  as  the  sands  in  which  they 


ME.  47.]  CYKENA.  133 

are  found  are  5  or  6  feet  beneath  the  bottom  of  the  pit,  and 
are  only  worked  in  winter.  I  had  three  trenches  dug,  but  they 
were  not  left  open.  M.  Marcotte,  a  friend  of  M.  de  Perthes, 
promised  to  collect  for  me  all  he  could  in  the  course  of  the 
autumn  or  winter.  There  is  no  Pharmacien  there  who  could 
do  it. 

If  you  have  a  trench  dug,  let  it  be  near  where  my  first 
trench  was.  At  the  last  two  I  had  dug  I  found  nothing  of 
importance. 

Of  the  sand  itself  you  will  find  a  good  heap  collected  in  one 
part  of  the  pit,  and  will  find  plenty  of  fresh-water  and  land 
shells  ;  but  various  shells  are  very  rare.  I  got  a  few  fragments  ; 
but  all  my  present  specimens  come  from  the  first  trench,  so  also 
the  Cyrena. 

As  for  the  Cyrena,  here  we  found  it  on  Saturday  week  high  up 
in  the  section  in  Simpson's  pit  at  Erith ;  and  you  may  remember 
that  Mr  Meeson  found  a  Gryphcea  incurva  in  the  ground  quite  at 
the  bottom  of  his  pit  at  Grays.  Was  this  from  the  Boulder 
Clay  ?  I  have  never  seen  one  in  the  Western  Drift.  As  for 
these  two  Drifts,  after  great  work  I  imagined  I  had  found  the 
latter  superimposed  on  the  former  on  the  top  of  a  hill  near 
Brandon ;  whilst  last  year  I  found  the  Boulder  Clay  in  a  valley 
near  St  Albans,  with  the  Western  Drift  capping  the  hills  flank- 
ing this  valley,  and  therefore  apparently  older  than  the  B.  Clay. 
I  must  get  a  third  case  to  serve  as  umpire. 

I  think  the  Cyrena  existed  at  the  time  of  the  ElepJias  primi- 
genius  both  at  Erith  and  Menchecourt.  Ilford  and  Grays  I  am 
not  certain  about ;  but  I  have  my  doubts.  The  fact  is,  we  have 
many  places  where  the  Cyrena  occurs;  but  unfortunately  from 
all  the  elephants  having  been  E.  primigenius  formerly,  sufficient 
information  of  the  exact  fact  is  now  wanting,  owing  to  many 
specimens  having  been  overlooked,  and  not  collected,  or  lost. 

When  you  go  to  the  Norfolk  Cliffs,  look  again  at  Mundesley. 
I  have  been  there  three  times,  and  on  each  occasion  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  shell-  and  peat -bed  there  was  above  the 
Boulder  Clay.  On  the  last  occasion  I,  however,  found  another 
bed  of  shells  under  the  B.  Clay. 

As  for  the  exact  order  of  succession,  it  is  so  complicated 
that,  as  often  as  I  imagined  I  had  detected  it,  as  often  have  I 


134  FLINT    IMPLEMENTS.  [1859. 

been  thrown  out  again.  When  I  think  about  it,  some  300  or  400 
sections  and  facts  flit  before  me,  some  tempting  me  one  way  and 
some  another,  until  I  feel  fairly  bewildered.  In  the  great  coast 
sections  the  matter  is  clear  enough,  but  when  we  come  inland  the 
confusion  is  great.  You  have  given  two  or  three  of  the  leading 
periods  in  your  note,  possibly  correctly.  I  herewith  give  you 
these  and  some  minor  ones.  I  do  not  attempt  any  order,  but 
give  them  in  round-robin  fashion,  merely  to  show  you  what  we 
want  room  for.  I  do,  however,  hope  this  summer  to  reduce  all 
my  observations,  when  I  Hope  all  will  fall  into  proper  order ;  and 
I  am,  my  dear  Sir  Charles,  yours  very  truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Satisfied  by  the  success  of  his  memoir  to  the  Royal 
Society,  Prestwich  addressed  a  letter  to  the  French 
Academy  of  Sciences  urging  the  significance  of  M.  de 
Perthes'  discoveries.  The  title  of  this  paper  was, 
"  Sur  la  Decouverte  d'Instruments  en  Silex  associes  a 
des  Restes  de  Mammiferes  d'Especes  perdues  dans  des 
Couches  non  -  remaniees  d'une  Formation  geologique 
recente,"  and  it  was  published  in  the  '  Comptes 
Rendus'  for  1859.  The  effect  of  this  communication 
was  that  his  friend  M.  Albert  Gaudry,  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  Institute,  visited  Abbeville  and  Amiens 
to  examine  the  implements  and  the  flint-bearing  beds. 
He  found  worked  flints  in  situ,  and  his  researches  con- 
firmed M.  de  Perthes'  statements  :  his  report  had  the 
effect  in  Paris  that  the  paper  to  the  Royal  Society  had 
in  England,  and  a  French  pilgrimage  to  the  valley  of 
the  Somme  began,  headed  by  well-known  members  of 
the  Institute,  among  whom  were  MM.  de  Quatrefages, 
Lartet,  Hebert,  and  many  others. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  LyelL  nth  August  1859,  LONDON. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — I   was   very   glad   to   receive   your 
letter  and  account  of  your  visit  to  Abbeville  and  Amiens. 
I  will  answer  your  questions  categorically.      My  Cyrena  is 


JST.  47.]  SEQUENCE   OF   DRIFTS.  135 

nearly  perfect.  The  most  important  part  of  the  hinge  remains, 
viz.,  that  part  showing  striations.  Morris  has  seen  it,  and  there 
can,  I  think,  be  little  doubt  of  it.  It  is  about  the  size  of  the  one 
from  Shacklewell.  I  found  1  Purpura  lapillus,  4  Littorina 
littorea,  1  Buccinum,  3  Tellina,  1  Cardium.  These  shells  are 
scarce  and  uncertain.  On  my  second  visit,  although  two  deep 
trenches  were  dug,  not  one  marine  specimen  was  obtained.  My 
first  trench  went  down  to  the  hard  conglomerate  rock — 3  or  4 
feet  beneath  the  flints. 

I  saw  Drucat  on  my  last  visit  and  was  much  interested  with 
the  section.  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  gave  me  a  flint  implement 
from  that  locality.  .  .  . 

I  have  often  seen  the  loess,  both  in  France  and  Belgium,  on 
different  levels.  A  good  exhibition  of  this  occurs  at  St  Peter's 
Mount,  Maestricht.  I  don't  believe  in  the  faults. 

With  regard  to  the  age  of  the  Eed  Clay  Drift  with  meulieres 
around  Paris,  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  in  my  own  mind  that 
it  is  older  than  the  drift  of  the  valleys  with  land  and  fresh-water 
shells,  bones,  and  granite,  and  that  the  valleys  were  excavated 
after  the  spread  of  the  up-level  Eed  Clay  Drift. 

I  missed  Chartres  on  my  last  visit  to  France.  I  was  going 
there,  but  waiting  for  some  of  my  companions  from  England  (who 
never  came),  I  was  detained  in  Paris  until  too  late  in  the  day. 
It  is  a  place  well  worth  visiting,  as  are  also  the  others  you  name. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  Moulin  Quignon  older  than  Menche- 
court.  I  would  not,  however,  assert  that  opinion.  So  I  think  St 
Acheul  older  than  St  Eoch.  This  is  in  physical  evidence,  but 
the  other  evidence  is  so  curious  that  I  must  again  go  over  the 
ground  and  examine  all  the  collateral  facts  before  venturing  at  a 
conclusion.  I  should  not  be  surprised  at  all  proving  of  the  same 
age,  or  nearly  so. 

I  shall  certainly  go  [to]  Boves,  and  will  write  to  M.  Pinsard. 
I  also  saw  one  very  white  flint  implement  (in  M.  Boucher  de 
Perthes'  collection)  with  red  clay  adhering  to  it.  It  was  from 
St  Eiquier.  I  do  not  remember  one  (white)  with  ochre,  sand,  or 
earth. 

I  am  going  out  of  town  this  afternoon  for  a  day  or  two,  and 
next  week  I  start  for  Wales,  but  I  doubt  whether  I  shall  be 
at  Aberdeen.  I  shall  be  very  glad,  therefore,  of  a  few  lines 


136  CHARLES   KINGSLEY.  [l859. 

to  inform  me  of  the  result  of  your  visit  to  Le  Puy,  and  with 
thanks  for  your  last  long  letter,  I  am,  ever  truly  yours, 

J.  PRESTWICH. 

I  enclose  you  a  curious  proces  verbal  I  have  received  from 
M.  de  Perthes.  Please  return  it  to  him  if  you  pass  through 
Abbeville. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Rev.  Charles  Kingsley 
must  have  given  pleasure  to  our  geologist  :— 

EVERSLEY  KECTORY,  WINCHFIELD, 
C.  Kingsley  to  J.  Prestwich.  August  26, 1859. 

MY  DEAR  Sm, — I  have  to  thank  you  for — what  I  had  no 
right  to  expect — sending  me  your  pamphlet  on  the  flint  arrow- 
heads of  Abbeville,  &c. 

From  your  conclusion  there  can  be  no  dissent.  I,  last  of  all 
men,  should  wish  to  impugn  it  from  other  causes :  I  have  long 
expected  some  such  discovery.  I  regret  much  that  I  missed  Dr 
Falconer's  paper  on  the  Brixham  Cave.  Perhaps  you  would 
kindly  tell  me  where  I  can  obtain  it. 

You,  I  am  sure,  will  appreciate  the  immense  importance  of 
your  own  statement.  If  corroborated,  it  must  lead  to  a  recon- 
sideration and  rearrangement  of  beliefs,  as  well  as  of  geologic 
theories.  It  seems  to  me  the  greatest  stride  forward  which  has 
been  made  since  the  Semitic  tradition  of  the  six-days'  creation 
was  abandoned  as  untenable. 

That  religious  persons  will  be  angry,  and  try  to  crush  the 
truth,  you  must  expect.  But  I  must  compliment  you  on  the 
modesty  and  tact  with  which  you  have  at  least  staved  off  the 
evil  day,  by  confining  yourself  to  facts,  and  building  no  theories 
on  them.  By  such  a  method,  sound  science  will  gain  a  firm  root 
in  thinking  minds  before  the  ignorant  and  suspicious  public  is 
even  aware  of  its  existence. 

I  must  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  to  you  my  deep 
obligations,  as  to  the  man  who  has  taught  me  to  find  boundless 
interest  and  instruction  in  those  barren  Bagshot  Sands  on  which 
I  live,  and  hope  to  die.— Believe  me,  ever  yours, 

C.  KINGSLEY. 

Ignorant  of  your  address,  I  send  this  to  Burlington  House. 


MT.  47.]  CAVES    IN    WALES.  137 

Prestwich,  eagerly  on  the  track  of  any  other  evidence 
which  might  throw  light  on  the  antiquity  of  man,  joined 
Falconer  in  the  autumn  of  1859  in  an  inspection  of  the 
ossiferous  caves  of  Gower  in  Glamorganshire,  when  they 
were  the  guests  at  Stouthall  of  their  kind  friends,  Col- 
onel and  Mrs  Wood.  Falconer  had  visited  the  caves 
in  1858  with  Colonel  Wood,  who  for  a  series  of  years 
had  been  engaged  in  excavations  in  most  of  the  caves 
in  succession.  He  had  discovered  and  explored  several 
that  were  previously  unknown,  and  unreservedly  had 
placed  his  large  collections  of  fossils  at  Dr  Falconer's 
disposal.  He  had  been  a  quiet,  persevering  worker  : 
the  contents  of  cave  after  cave  had  been  exhumed  at 
his  own  charge  and  without  public  recognition. 

Before  joining  Falconer  for  the  work  in  Gower, 
Prestwich  made  a  geological  tour  in  Wales,  extending 
over  several  weeks.  He  was  in  quest  of  Drift,  Boulder 
Clay,  and  ice  action,  and  had  in  view  a  personal  exam- 
ination of  the  slopes  of  Moel  Tryfaen,  where  shells  had 
been  found  at  a  height  of  1360  feet  underneath  a 
mass  of  Boulder  Clay.  Step  by  step,  halting  at  very 
many  stages,  the  ground  was  traversed  from  Oxford 
on  to  St  Asaph,  where  another  visit  to  Cefn  Cave1 
was  irresistible. 

/.  Prestwich  to  If,  Falconer.  LLANBERIS,  Septr.  7/59. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — On  receipt  of  your  first  note  I  wrote  you 
a  few  lines  from  Ludlow,  and  hoped  they  would  have  reached 
Bryn  Elwy  before  your  departure.  I  missed  you  by  one  day,  as 
I  arrived  on  Friday  evening.  I  was  most  kindly  and  hospitably 
received  by  your  friend  Captn.  Thomas,  who  met  me  at  the 
station — otherwise  I  should  have  gone  to  the  inn,  as  I  intended 
staying  but  one  day,  and  it  happened  to  be  the  first  week  in  Sep- 

1  Since  described  by  Professor  T.  M'K.  Hughes,  F.K.S.,  Journ.  An- 
thropological Inst.,  vol.  iii.  p.  387. 


138  ICE- ACTION    IN    WALES.  [l859. 

tember.  The  following  morning  we  drove  over  to  Cefn :  the  day 
was  fine,  and  we  had  a  most  delightful  walk  back.  The  geo- 
logical interest  also  I  found  great.  We  remained  some  time  in 
the  cave,  and  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  considerable 
number  of  fragments  of  bones  and  two  nearly  perfect  teeth.  I 
packed  them  up  as  I  disinterred  them,  and  have  not  looked  at 
them  since.  One,  I  think,  was  the  tooth  of  a  deer ;  the  other 
was  too  much  enveloped  in  its  matrix  to  say  what  it  was. 

I  left  Bryn  Elwy  on  Saturday  evening,  examined  the  coast 
section  at  Llandudno,  and  'am  now  here  to  see  the  Drift  and  ice- 
action  around  Snowdon.  I  remain  here  until  Tuesday  morning 
next,  then  proceed  to  Carnarvon,  Tremadoc,  and  Cardigan  to 
Swansea,  which  I  hope  to  reach  either  on  Monday  or  Tuesday 
week  next,  and  still,  I  trust,  in  time  to  find  you  there.  Please, 
however,  write  me  a  line  per  return  to  this  place,  to  say  the 
latest  day  to  which  you  will  remain  at  Stouthall,  and  I  will 
do  my  best  to  have  a  day  with  you  there. — I  am,  most  truly 
yours,  J.  PKESTWICH. 

After  noting  in  detail  the  glacial  features  of  Con  way 
and  Capel  Curig,  he  lingered  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Cwm  Glas  over  the  roches  moutonnees  and  blocs 
perches,  and  gives  a  striking  view  in  a  few  touches 
of  the  entrance  below  Cwm  Glas.  In  short,  the  geo- 
logy of  this  particular  district  fascinated  him,  and  it 
was  with  evident  reluctance  that  he  tore  himself  away. 

"  The  sides  of  Cwm  Glas  up  to  the  little  tarn  show 
traces  of  rounded  and  striated  rocks.  They  remind  me 
of  the  small  side  glaciers  pendent  on  the  mountain-sides 
between  the  Glacier  des  Bois  and  Montanvert.  I  could 
not  recognise  any  terminal  moraine.  The  moraine  at 
the  entrance  of  Cwm  seemed  to  me  to  be  part  of  the 
great  lateral  moraine  of  the  main  valley  of  Llanberis."  x 

1  It  may  be  interesting  to  mention  that  Kamsay's  account  of  "  The  Old 
Glaciers  of  Switzerland  and  North  Wales"  was  first  published  in  1859  as 
one  of  the  chapters  in  '  Peaks,  Passes,  and  Glaciers,3  by  members  of  the 
Alpine  Club.  It  was  reprinted  as  a  separate  volume  in  1860. 


.ET.  47.]  GOWER   CAVES.  139 

On  September  12th  he  ascended  Snowdon,  next  day 
proceeding  to  Carnarvon,  and  afterwards  to  Clynnog. 
Taking  a  circuitous  route,  he  arrived  at  Stouthall  from 
Swansea  on  the  20th.  Next  day,  with  the  assistance 
and  local  knowledge  of  Colonel  Wood,  he  commenced 
the  joint  investigation  with  Falconer  of  the  caves  on 
the  picturesque  coast  of  Gower.  To  quote  the  words 
of  Falconer,  "  Its  line  of  coast  stretches  from  the 
'  Mumbles '  on  the  E.  to  the  '  Worm's  Head '  on 
the  W.,  and  with  the  indentations  of  Port  Eynon, 
Oxwich,  and  smaller  bays,  it  presents  an  iron-bound 
wall  of  bold,  lofty,  and  precipitous  or  scarped  cliffs, 
occasionally  exhibiting  features  of  the  grandest 
description." 

The  best  known  of  the  caverns,  which  are  at  different 
heights  above  the  sea,  are  "  Bacon  Hole,"  "  Bosco's 
Den,"  "Minchin  Hole,"  "Long  Hole,"  and  "  Eaven's 
Cliff."  These  all  occur  in  this  southern  range  of  cliffs 
between  Worm's  Head  and  the  "  Mumbles."  Nor 
must  "  Paviland  Cave "  be  omitted,  which  was  de- 
scribed in  1821  by  Dr  Buckland,  and  where  the 
fragmentary  skeleton  of  a  woman  was  found.  The 
bones  were  stained  red ;  thus  the  skeleton  was  known 
in  Gower  as  "  The  Red  Lady  of  Paviland."  How 
the  poor  human  form  was  introduced  into  this  cave, 
and  came  to  be  found  in  association  with  tusks  and 
remains  of  elephant,  is  a  problem  that  will  never  be 
solved.  The  generally  accepted  explanation  is  that 
the  body  was  brought  and  laid  there  for  burial. 

One  of  the  best -known  of  the  caves  is  "  Spritsail 
Tor,"  situated  to  the  west  of  the  Gower  Peninsula 
and  facing  Carmarthen  Bay.  It  was  discovered  by 
quarrymen  in  1839,  who  had  cut  back  into  the  Car- 
boniferous Limestone.  Although  of  comparatively  small 


140  GOWER    CAVES.  [l859. 

size,  it  yielded  a  large  quantity  of  fossils.  In  1849  it 
was  thoroughly  explored  by  Colonel  Wood,  who  de- 
tected a  second  entrance. 

As  a  whole,  the  fossil  remains  from  the  Gower  caves, 
which  varied  in  each  case  in  numbers  and  species,  were 
of  surpassing  interest.  Teeth  of  Elephas  antiquus  and 
of  E.  primigenius ;  teeth  and  bones  of  Rhinoceros 
Jiemitcechus  and  Rh.  tichorhinus ;  bones  of  Bear  and 
Hycena  were  found ;  but  in  quantity  and  in  number 
of  species  the  remains  of  deer  were  in  the  greatest 
abundance,  especially  those  of  the  Cervus  Guettardi. 

In  a  list  of  fossil  bones  from  "  Long  Hole  "  given  in 
a  posthumous  note  to  Dr  Falconer's  '  Ossiferous  Caves 
of  Gower/  two  species  of  Elephas,  two  of  Rhinoceros, 
two  of  Equus,  and  four  of  Deer,  &c.,  are  given.  Also 
it  is  recorded  that  "  flint  implements,  unquestionably 
of  human  manufacture,  were  found  along  with  these 
fossil  remains,  and  were  sent  to  me  by  Colonel  Wood. 
One  very  fine  flint  arrow-head  was  found  contiguous 
to,  and  at  the  same  depth  as,  a  detached  shell  of  a 
milk  molar  of  R.  hemitcechus" 

It  was  on  this  joint  visit  to  Gower  in  1859  by 
Falconer  and  Prestwich  that  the  keen  eye  of  the 
latter  discovered  a  raised  beach  in  Mewslade  Bay,  a 
mile  in  length,  "perched  upon  the  out-cropping  edges 
of  the  limestone  strata  of  the  old  cliff,  which  is  but 
very  little  changed  in  the  shape  of  its  escarpment 
since  the  beach  was  formed,  although  still  in  close 
proximity  to  the  sea." 

He  made  an  attempt  to  reach  "  Bosco's  Den,"  but 
found  entrance  impossible.  The  entry  in  his  note- 
book records  that,  "  descending  to  the  coast  after 
[his  examination  of  Paviland  Cave],  I  found  a  superb 
raised  beach  thickly  covered  with  angular  debris.  The 


JET.  47.]  BOUCHER   DE    PERTHES.  141 

*  head '  decreases,  but  the  raised  beach  continues  to 
nearly  opposite  the  Worm's  Head.  Then  passing 
round  to  shore  on  w.  side  (Rhos  Sili  Bay),  the  fine 
bold  cliffs  are  precipitous,  with  no  traces  of  a  raised 
beach.  Passing  Rh6s  Sili,  the  shore  becomes  more 
shelving,  and  a  mass  of  debris  in  clay  slopes  down 
the  hill.  Farther  on  a  low  cliff  commences,  appar- 
ently Boulder  Clay.  Farther  on  a  seam  of  shingle 
sets  in,  and  in  it  I  found  several  shells — perfect  and 
broken,"  &c. 

Prestwich  returned  to  town  after  this  interesting 
exploration  of  the  Gower  coast,  yet  he  was  again 
westward  as  far  as  Salisbury  in  the  end  of  October. 

One  cannot  resist  giving  a  quotation  from  a  humor- 
ous note  of  Dr  Falconer's ;  it  is  dated  about  a  year 
after  his  first  visit  to  Abbeville  :— 

LONDON,  4<A  Nov.  1859. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — I  have  a  charming  letter  from  M. 
Boucher  de  Perthes,  full  of  gratitude  to  "perfide  Albion"  for 
helping  him  to  assured  immortality,  and  giving  him  a  lift  when 
his  countrymen  of  the  Institute  left  him  in  the  gutter.  He 
radiates  a  benignant  smile  from  his  lofty  pinnacle  on  you  and 
me — surpised  that  the  treacherous  Leopard  should  have  behaved 
so  well. 

M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  was  by  his  success  incited 
to  pursue  his  investigations  with  increased  ardour. 
That  bone  of  contention,  "  The  Moulin  Quignon  Jaw," 
had  not  then  come  to  light,  and  his  happiness  and 
serenity  were — for  a  while — undisturbed. 

J.  PTestwicll  to  H.  Falconer.  2  SUFFOLK  LANE,  Novr.  5,  1859. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  am  very  glad  to  hear  of  your  intention 
to  remain  in  England  this  week,  as  by  that  I  infer  you  are  better 
able  to  stand  this  climate ;  and  I  rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  your 


142  ROBERT   CHAMBERS.  [l859. 

overhauling  the  Brixham  Cave  spoils.  I  am  quite  of  your  opinion 
as  to  sending  down  the  cases  to  you  at  Torquay. 

I  was  at  Salisbury  last  week,  and  saw,  in  a  collection  just 
commenced  by  a  Dr  Blackmore,  the  bone  of  a  bird  and  part  of 
the  jaw  of  the  cave-tiger  from  Fisherton. 

I  also  have  had  some  very  pleasant  and  kind  letters  from 
Boucher  de  Perthes.  I  wrote  a  short  time  ago  to  the  French 
Institute  respecting  his  discovery  and  my  visit  to  the  Somme. 
Have  you  seen  M.  Gaudry's  paper,  the  one  he  read  before  the 
Academic  des  Sciences?'  He  has  sent  me  a  copy  of  it. — Ever 
truly  yours,  J.  PKESTWICH. 

P.S, — As  I  am  going  out  of  town  (north)  for  three  or  four  weeks, 
I  will  try  to  call  on  you  on  Monday  morning,  and  will  put 
Gaudry's  paper  in  my  pocket.  We  had  a  meeting  of  the  Cave 
Committee  on  Wednesday.  The  point  for  consideration  was 
where  we  should  send  the  collection  to.  We  considered  it 
desirable  to  consult  the  wishes  of  the  Eoy.  Soc.  on  this  point. 
I  also  wanted  to  know  yours. 

The  following  note  from  Dr  Robert  Chambers  is 
an  evidence  of  his  appreciation  of  the  flints  from  the 
valley  of  the  Somme  : — 

R.  Chambers  to  J.  Prestwich. 

31  SOMEESET  STREET,  Nov.  12,  1859. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  your  packet  containing  two 
of  the  Amiens  flint  weapons.  I  could  hardly  have  supposed  you 
were  willing  to  part  with  such  precious  relics  of  antiquity,  and 
still  feel  some  doubt  as  to  your  intentions.  Assuming,  however, 
in  the  meantime  that  you  design  me  to  retain  them,  I  beg  leave 
to  thank  you  for  them  most  earnestly.  I  shall  have  great  satis- 
faction in  showing  them  to  the  large  and  intelligent  audience 
of  the  Philosophical  Institution  in  Edinburgh  when  I  give  my 
lectures  next  month  ;  and  perhaps  it  will  ultimately  appear  best 
that  I  hand  them  into  our  National  Museum  of  Antiquities, 
which  already  contains  examples  of  such  weapons  (of  ungeo- 
logical  history)  collected  in  more  countries  than  one. — I  am,  ray 
dear  sir,  yours  very  sincerely,  E.  CHAMBEKS. 


JST.  47.]  MENCHECOURT.  143 

On  December  3rd  Prestwich  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  *  Athenaeum'  on  "Flint  Implements  in  the  Drift," 
in  reply  to  one  through  the  same  channel  from  Pro- 
fessor Henslow,  who  at  that  time  objected  to  our 
geologist's  conclusion  that  the  flint  implements  of 
Hoxne  were  in  all  probability  found  as  described  by 
Mr  Frere — i.e.,  associated  with  the  remains  of  the 
mammoth,  and  possibly  of  other  extinct  animals,  in 
undisturbed  beds  of  the  Post-Pliocene  age. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  C.  Lyell.  28«A  December  1859. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — I  think  the  report  of  the  occurrence 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  skeleton  of  a  rhinoceros  in  the  "  Sable 
aigu  "  at  Menchecourt  is  to  be  depended  upon.  It  is  not,  however, 
anywhere  referred  to  that  I  am  aware  of,  unless  by  Dr  Eavin  in 
the  Mem.  of  the  *  Societe  d'Emulation '  of  Abbeville.  I  have 
the  series,  but  that  volume  is  missing.  I  am  promised  it  by 
M.  B.  de  Perthes.  Nor  do  I  recollect  whether  M.  B.  de  Perthes 
refers  to  it  in  his  '  Anti[quite*s]  Ante[diluviennes].'  I  think  you 
have  the  vol.  containing  the  Menchecourt  section,  which  I  sent 
you  before  you  went  to  France.  It  is  in  the  "  Sable  aigu  "  that 
flint  implements  are  said  by  M.  B.  de  Perthes  to  have  been 
found,  but  I  do  not  think  the  evidence  conclusive.  Still  I  think 
it  probable  most  of  the  'haches'  M.  B.  de  P.  showed  from 
Menchecourt  had  an  opacity  and  porcelanic  aspect  which  indi- 
cated extraction  from  a  light-coloured  clayey  matrix,  and  I  found 
that  in  the  lower  part  of  the  "  Sable  aigu  "  there  often  is  a  sub- 
ordinate seam  of  whitish  clay.  Others  are  stained  ochreous,  and 
I  found  small  patches  of  ochreous  gravel  in  the  same  position. 
Others  again  seemed  to  me,  from  the  depth  noted  and  their 
colour,  &c.,  to  have  come  from  the  loess-like  deposit  over  the 
"  Sable  aigu."  That  the  Cyrena  came  from  "  Sable  aigu  "  I  have 
no  doubt.  M.  Marcotte  promised  to  collect  for  me  during  the 
winter  diggings.  I  shall,  however,  if  possible,  run  over  myself 
for  a  few  days.  It  would  certainly  not  be  safe  to  take  the 
hippopotamus  of  St  Eoch  as  of  the  same  set  of  things.  I  found 
no  worked  flints  there,  nor  had  the  present  workmen  ever  found 


144  OVERTON    LONGVILLE.  [l859. 

any  (this,  I  think,  should  lessen  or  remove  the  suspicion  which 
some  have  of  the  St  Acheul  workmen  possibly  manufacturing 
the  implements,  for  if  they  [fabricated]  these  why  not  the  St 
Koch  men  ?).  Still  Dr  Eigollot  mentions  them.  One  of  the  things 
poor  John  Brown l  did  before  his  death  was  to  spend  some  four 
or  five  days  at  Hoxne,  working  out  the  shells  there,  taking  a 
load  of  clay  away  with  him  to  continue  the  search  at  home.  He 
mentions  Cyclas  but  no  Cyrena.  I  had  a  visit  the  other  day  from 
man  A  at  Orton,  near  Peterborough.  He  still  maintained,  when 
I  showed  him  the  French  specimens  of  flint  implements,  that  he 
had  found  flints  like  them  in  the  Orton  gravel  pits,  and  man 
B,  who  accompanied,  confirmed  it,  and  observed  that  he  had  seen 
more  at  the  large  gravel  pits  at  Water  Newton  four  miles  from 
Orton,  and  where  the  gravel  is  20  feet  deep.  I  asked  him  to 
go  over  for  a  day  and  give  me  the  results. — Ever  truly  yours, 

J.  PEESTWICH. 

In  his  recent  edition  of  c  Ancient  Stone  Implements,' 
Sir  John  Evans  remarks,  "  At  Overton  Longville  or 
Little  Orton,  two  miles  S.W.  of  Peterborough,  a  spot 
visited  by  Sir  Joseph  Prestwich  and  myself  in  search 
af  palaeolithic  implements,  about  1861,  some  were  found 
a  few  years  ago  by  the  late  Dowager  Marchioness  of 
Huntly."2 

1  John  Brown,  F.G.S.,  of  Stanway,  near  Colchester,  a  zealous  worker  at 
the  Pleistocene  fresh- water  deposits  of  Essex  and  Suffolk.     Born  1779; 
died  1859. 

2  *  Ancient  Stone  Implements  of  Great  Britian,'  2nd  edition,  Longmans 
&  Co.,  1897. 


145 


CHAPTER    VI. 

1860-1863. 

ANTIQUITY   OF   MAN — FIELD    GEOLOGY- 
GEOLOGICAL   MAPS. 

THE  subject  of  the  Antiquity  of  Man  now  attracted 
universal  attention,  and  Prestwich,  who  with  Falconer 
had  all  along  duly  estimated  the  value  of  the  evidence 
afforded  by  the  English  caves,  was  more  eager  than 
ever  that  the  fossil  bones  exhumed  from  Brixham 
Cavern  should  be  accurately  determined.  They  had 
been  sent  to  the  Geological  Society  in  London,  but 
it  so  happened  that  as  Dr  Falconer  had  selected 
Torquay  this  winter  as  a  residence,  our  geologist  wrote 
early  in  January,  suggesting  that  the  Brixham  spoils 
should  be  returned  to  him  at  Torquay,  and  this  was 
accordingly  done. 

There  were  frequent  letters  between  Sir  Charles 
Lyell  and  Prestwich  at  this  date  : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.         SUFFOLK  LANE,  3rd  January  1860. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — There  is  no  doubt  you  were  wrong 
originally  about  Mundesley.  I  satisfied  myself  on  that  point 
some  years  since,  and  have  since  returned  three  times  to  make 
sure  about  it  before  bringing  forward  my  paper  on  the  Crag  and 

K 


146  MUNDESLEY.  [i860. 

beds  above  it.  I  worked  it  out  in  some  detail  when  I  was  there, 
with  Mr  [the  Eev.  John]  Gunn,  and  shall  be  happy  to  give 
you  any  particulars  of  my  section  you  may  require.  Seeing  its 
close  analogy  to  Hoxne,  I  set  off  to  Mundesley  again  last  August, 
and  reached  Mr  Gunn's.  I  there,  however,  heard  of  a  section  at 
Yarmouth  which  so  much  interested  me  and  Mr  Gunn  that  we 
both  started  for  Yarmouth  the  following  morning,  leaving  Mun- 
desley for  a  future  period.  I  much  wished  to  examine  the  bed 
of  gravel,  A,  under  the  peaty  bed,  as  there,  I  think,  there  might 
be  a  possibility  of  flint-  implements  occurring.  I  directed  Mr 
Gunn's  attention  to  this  point,  and  hope  he  may  some  day  have 
a  successful  search.  You  might  also  find  flints  in  your  bed  B, 
but  it  would  be  in  A  that  I  should  particularly  look  for  them. 
The  ElepJias  primigenius  has  not  been  found  here,  but  I  believe 
it  to  be  its  position.  The  ElepJias  teeth  at  Amiens  occur  in- 
discriminately throughout  the  white  gravel  just  as  the  flints 
do,  but  they  are  more  numerous  in  the  lower  part  of  it.  The 
place  of  one  specimen  was  shown  me  some  feet  above  the 
level  of  Mr  Flower's  flint.  I  wrote  two  letters  to  the  '  Athenaeum ' 
in  reply  to  Prof.  Henslow's  first  letter,  but  do  not  think  it  neces- 
sary to  write  in  reply  to  his  letter  in  the  last  No.  of  the 
'Athenaeum.'  I  have  not  drawn  up  my  last  notes  on  Hoxne, 
but  you  will  find  the  main  points  in  the  '  Athenaeum.'  I  pur- 
pose sending  them  to  the  Eoyal  Society.  I  hope,  however,  to 
see  you  to-morrow,  and  I  am,  ever  truly  yours, 

J.  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  the  Same.  SUFFOLK  LANE,  Uth  January  1860. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, —  My  collection  from  Mundesley  is 
very  small.  Your  list  I  found  so  good  that  I  did  not  set  to  work 
to  collect  much  from  the  same  bed,  but  went  to  new  ground. 
I  cannot  therefore  throw  any  light  upon  the  occurrence  there  of 
the  Paludina  marginata.  I  am  glad  you  feel  some  doubts  about 
Grays.  I  have  very  strong  ones.  Hoxne,  Mundesley,  and 
Amiens,  I  should  certainly  place  together,  and  I  believe  I  men- 
tioned so  in  my  paper  before  the  Royal  Society.  Another  place 
I  named  was  Copford,  which  I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of 
revisiting,  and  now  poor  old  John  Brown,  who  knew  every  inch 
of  that  ground,  is  dead. 


JET.  48.]  LETTER   TO    HIS    SISTER.  147 

You  asked  me  at  the  last  Club  dinner  to  look  again  at  the 
Supplement  you  last  published.  I  have  done  so.  I  do  not  quite 
agree  with  [S.  P.]  Woodward's  numbers,  as  I  make  the  species 
common  to  the  Eed  and  Norwich  Crag  greater.  The  difference, 
however,  is  not  great  or  important,  nor  are  my  own  lists  suffi- 
ciently complete  to  give  a  definite  answer.  The  general  fact  of 
a  refrigeration,  &c.,  I  quite  agree  in;  so  also  that  there  are 
more  recent  specimens  in  the  Norwich  Crag.  I  base  my  objec- 
tions rather  upon  physical  grounds  and  points  of  geological 
structure.  Annexed  is  a  rough  sketch  of  what  I  think  is  the 
order  of  sequence.  I  am  ever  truly  yours,  J.  PEESTWICH. 

There  was  less  literary  production  during  1860,  yet 
there  was  not  less  industry.  The  amount  of  field 
geology  accomplished  was  extraordinary.  Excursions 
were  made  to  various  parts  of  England — to  districts 
west,  south,  east,  north — and  all  explored  with  pains- 
taking care.  Frequent  journeys  were  also  made  to  the 
Somme  valley  :  a  flying  visit  was  paid  when  worked 
flints  had  been  found  in  any  number.  His  ever  active 
brain  was  marshalling  the  array  of  facts,  and  tracing 
the  outlines  of  the  great  work  which  was  to  be  given  to 
the  world  two  or  three  years  later  in  the  form  of  a 
memoir  on  the  Geological  Age  of  the  Drift  Deposits,  in 
which  remains  of  extinct  mammalia  had  been  found  in 
association  with  flint  implements.  This  persistent  de- 
votion to  his  science,  however,  was  never  allowed  to 
weaken  the  affectionate  relations  which  bound  him  to 
his  family.  He  was  ever  the  same  thoughtful,  kind 
brother. 

J.  Prestwich  to  C.  Thurburn.  LONDON  [31st  March],  1860. 

MY  DEAREST  KATE, — Very  many  happy  returns  of  the  day. 
Another  year  has  slipped  away,  and  here  is  the  memorable  1st 
April  and  your  birthday  come  round  again.  How  fast  time 
moves  seems  to  me  indicated  by  the  growth  of  these  dear  dupli- 


148  SOMME    VALLEY.  [i860. 

cates,  ending  with  little  Kittie,  rather  than  by  any  other  sign. 
The  more  one  becomes  acquainted  with  time,  the  more  slippery 
does  it  appear  to  be.  I  know  I  never  seem  to  have  enough  of  it 
between  one  12th  of  March  and  another,  and  I  doubt  not  that  it 
is  the  same  with  you  between  the  1st  April  and  the  31st  March. 
Yet  we  all  have  a  few  spare,  or  at  all  events  a  few  idle  or  lazy, 
hours.  To  aid  in  filling  up  such  intervals  with  what  I  conceive 
to  be,  and  I  trust  you  will  find  to  be,  pleasure  and  profit,  and  in 
the  hopes  that  many  long  years  may  afford  you  many  opportuni- 
ties, accept,  my  dear  sister,  not  the  enclosed  microscope  but  the 
microscope  of  which  the  key  is  enclosed,  and  which  I  will  take 
care  you  find  at  home  on  your  return.  I  only  wish  I  could  have 
presented  it  personally.  It  is  one  of  Powell  and  Lealand's.  I 
have  seen  that  they  have  made  it  with  care,  and  I  think  you  will 
find  it  work  easily  and  well.  .  .  .  Dearest  Kate,  your  affection- 
ate brother,  J.  PKESTWICH. 

A  note -book,  with  sections  of  gravel -pits  on  every 
alternate  page,  gives  April  as  the  date  when  Prestwich 
again  led  several  of  his  personal  friends  to  the  flint- 
bearing  districts  of  Amiens  and  Abbeville,  the  party 
including  Mr  Busk,  Captain  Galton,  and  Sir  John  Lub- 
bock.  A  host  of  geologists  and  others  followed  on  the 
same  errand.  Amongst  many  names  may  be  noted 
those  of  Sir  R.  Murchison,  Professors  Andrew  C.  Ram- 
say, Rupert  Jones,  Henslow,  Rogers,  and  Mr  Henry 
Christy. 

While  the  subject  of  this  Memoir  thus  went  back- 
wards and  forwards  to  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  gener- 
ally putting  up  for  the  night  at  his  favourite  quarters 
on  the  way  to  or  from  Paris,  at  the  H6tel  Tete  de 
Bceuf  at  Abbeville,  or  at  the  H6tel  du  Rhin  at  Amiens, 
and  tabulating  what  of  interest  might  have  been 
revealed  by  excavations  during  his  absence,  he  still 
continued  to  send  in  memoirs  to  the  Geological  Society 
of  London.  Two  papers  are  recorded  in  this  year,  one 


Ml.  48.]  GOWER   CAVES.  149 

being  "  Description  of  the  Gravels  from  Spitzbergen 
collected  by  Mr  Lamont,"  and  the  other,  "  On  the  Pres- 
ence of  the  London  Clay  in  Norfolk,  as  proved  by  a 
Well-boring  at  Yarmouth." 

No  week  passed  without  a  geological  expedition,  if 
only  for  the  day,  and  as  much  field-work  was  crowded 
into  that  one  day  as  was  possible. 

J.  Presturich  to  J.  Evans.  Monday,  May  1860. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — We  start  by  the  10.15  train  for  Erith, 
thence  to  the  Crayford  and  Perry  End  brick -pits.  Back  by 
train,  reaching  the  Lewisham  Station  at  2^  P.M.,  whence  to  the 
Lower  Tertiary  pits  of  Loam  Pit  Hill.  Morris  joins  us  at  the 
Lewisham  Station  by  train  from  London.  The  other  men  start 
with  me. — Yours  most  truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Some  idea  of  the  difficulty  of  access  to  the  Gower 
caverns  may  be  gained  from  the  letter  which,  at 
Falconer's  request,  Prestwich  wrote  as  an  Appendix 
to  the  memoir  by  the  former  "  On  the  Ossiferous  Caves 
of  Gower,"  communicated  to  the  Geological  Society  on 
May  30  and  June  13,  1860,  and  which  is  here  given  : — 

10  KENT  TERRACE,  May  17,  1860. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  have  much  pleasure  in  giving  you  a 
few  lines  respecting  the  raised  beach  I  met  with  last  autumn  to 
the  westward  of  Paviland  Cave  in  Gower.  I  find  my  notes  on 
this  subject  are  not  very  complete,  having  taken  only  a  first 
survey,  reserving  a  fuller  examination  of  the  coast  until  I  could 
obtain  access  to  the  caves.  You  will  remember  how  I  was 
baffled  on  the  last  occasion  by  the  state  of  the  tide  and  the 
weather.  Finding  it  quite  impossible  to  pass  round  the  foot  of 
the  cliff  to  gain  the  entrance  to  Paviland  Cave,  I  proceeded 
westward  along  that  iron-bound  and  magnificent  frontage  of 
limestone  cliffs,  ending  in  Worm's  Head,  with  the  intention  of 
examining  them  at  the  accessible  points,  to  see  whether  I  could 
detect  any  facts  bearing  upon  your  very  important  observations 


150  RAISED   BEACH   AT    GOWER.  [i860. 

on  "  Bosco's  Den,"  relating  to  the  connection  of  marine  remains 
under,  and  in  association  with,  the  wonderful  mass  of  bone 
cMbris  you  and  Colonel  Wood  had  discovered  there.  At  the 
distance  of  about  half-a-mile  west  of  Paviland  Cave  I  found  a 
gully,  by  which  I  got  down  to  the  shore. 

I  then  found  in  hollows  in  the  cliff,  and  at  an  elevation  of 
10  to  12  feet  above  the  beach,  a  layer  of  sand  and  rolled  lime- 
stone pebbles  having  all  the  characters  of  a  beach ;  but  in  the 
absence  of  shells,  and  looking  at  its  small  patchy  character,  no 
conclusion  could  be  drawn  from  it  alone.  The  passage  at  the 
foot  of  the  cliffs  being  still  impracticable,  I  had  to  confine  myself 
for  the  next  mile  or  two  to  one  or  two  descents,  where  I  again 
found  traces  of  what  appeared  to  be  a  raised  beach.  Still  I  was 
not  prepared  for  the  very  fine  and  remarkable  exhibition  I 
witnessed,  after  passing  Mewslade,  at  the  bottom  of  the  small 
bay  formed  by  Thurba  Eock  and  Tears  Point,  about  one  mile 
south  of  Rhos  Sili.  There,  perched  upon  the  escarped  edges  of 
the  grey  weathered  limestone,  is  an  old  beach,  raised  some  10  to 
12  feet  above  high-tide  mark.  It  is  composed  of  pebbles  and 
fragments  of  limestones,  thinly  mixed  with  a  coarse  red  sand, 
and  in  places  full  of  shells  and  fragments  of  shells.  There  are 
very  few  species :  the  Patella  vulgata  is  common ;  the  Littorina, 
littorea  abounds ;  there  are  a  few  Purpura  lapillus,  and  fragments 
of  Mytilus;  also  pebbles  of  limestone  drilled  by  boring  shells. 
The  whole,  which  is  3  to  4  feet  thick,  is  agglutinated  into  a 
semi -compact  mass,  and  is  overlain  by  a  remarkable  mass  of 
angular  ddbris,  from  20  to  30  feet  thick  in  some  places.  The 
beach  goes  back  only  a  few  feet,  as  the  limestone  hill  rises 
immediately  behind.  Coastways  the  raised  beach  continues 
almost  uninterruptedly,  but  diminishing  in  importance  for  half 
a  mile  westward,  ending  before  reaching  Tears  Point.  Its  level 
is  persistent  throughout.  .  .  . 

Taking  this  in  connection  with  the  well  -  known  "  raised 
beach"  at  the  Mumbles,  I  think  it  may  have  an  important 
bearing,  in  conjunction  with  your  discoveries  in  those  bone 
caves  in  Gower,  which  are  situated  on  the  coast  between  these 
two  points.  They  are  evidently  on  about  the  same  level,  and 
you  have  found  in  them  sand  and  sea-shells  under  all  the  bone 
remains.  Should  it  prove,  therefore,  that  the  caves  are  of  this 


J3T.  48.]  BOULDER   CLAY    AT    GOWER.  151 

Kaised  Beach  period,  and  that  the  elephant  and  other  remains 
have  been  subsequently  introduced,  we  shall  arrive  at  the  inter- 
esting and  curious  conclusion  that  this  particular  group  of  mam- 
malia lived  after  the  formation  of  those  beaches — beaches  which 
have  always  been  considered  as  of  very  recent  origin,  as  they 
contain  nothing,  so  far  as  they  have  been  examined,  but  the 
commonest  shells  of  our  coasts.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  they  contain  but  very  few  species,  and  that  no 
complete  and  thorough  investigation  of  them  has  yet  been 
made.  With  regard  to  your  suggestion  in  connection  with  the 
two  species  of  elephant,  I  must  confess  that  I  saw  nothing  in 
the  physical  features  of  the  scene,  during  the  somewhat  hurried 
and  imperfect  view  I  had  of  it,  to  lead  me  to  suppose  that  the 
caves,  or  rather  their  inhabitants,  might  be  referred  to  two 
periods.  I  should  hardly  have  hazarded  this  opinion  without  a 
further  examination  of  the  district ;  but  I  give  it  for  what  it  is 
worth,  and  waiting  further  data. 

With  respect  to  the  point  I  had  particularly  in  view,  viz.,  the 
relation  of  the  Gower  caves  to  the  Boulder  Clay,  I  am  unable 
as  yet  to  form  a  decided  opinion.  I  got  the  Boulder  Clay  within 
a  mile  of  the  raised  beach,  but  on  opposite  sides  of  the  point  of 
Khos  Sili.  It  spreads  from  the  sea-shore  to,  as  you  are  aware, 
the  top  of  the  hills.  In  Khos  Sili  Bay  I  found  intercalated  in  it, 
at  an  elevation  almost  exactly  corresponding  to  the  raised  beach 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  promontory,  a  bed  of  shingle  con- 
taining several  species  of  recent  shells,  but  not  one  of  the 
species  occurring  in  the  raised  beach.  Yet  the  two  would  appear 
to  be  synchronous :  the  difference  might  arise  from  the  one  being 
on  an  exposed  and  open  coast,  and  the  other  in  a  sheltered 
bay.  The  subject  requires  a  fuller  and  more  lengthened 
inquiry. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  23rd  May  1860. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — I  have  been  considering  some  of  the 
questions  you  propose  to  me,  for  the  purpose  of  adding  a  note 
to  Falconer's  paper,  which  he  reads  at  the  next  meeting.  I 
hope  to  finish  it  to-day  or  to-morrow,  and  will  send  you  a 
copy  of  it. 

The  Boulder  Clay  seems  to  reach  within  two  miles  of  the 


152  BOULDER    CLAY,  [i860. 

Gower  caves  and  occupies  higher  ground.  The  caves  I  believe 
to  be  subsequent  to  that  period — in  fact  [the  bones]  subsequent 
to  the  raised  beaches.  This  is  a  point  Falconer  will  go  more  fully 
into.  I  have  found  a  capital  raised  beach  in  very  close  relation  to 
the  caves.  I  do  not  think  Devon  and  Cornwall  were  submerged 
during  the  Boulder  Clay  period — yet  even  here  is  a  difficulty, 
for  I  have  in  one  place  a  raised  beach  under  land  which  clearly 
is  covered  in  part  with  B.  Clay.  I  do  not  in  fact  see  where  the 
break  is  that  would  ensue  upon  a  very  great  difference  in  the 
submergence.  Yet  I  have  evidence  of  shallowing  of  the  sea — 
but  the  subject  is  so  vast  and  complicated  that  I  should  require  a 
volume  rather  than  a  note  to  say  all  I  should  like  about  it. 

With  regard  to  South  Wales  more  especially,  I  must  return 
there,  as  with  the  exceptions  of  Carmarthen  and  Gower  I  dwelt 
nowhere.  However,  on  the  one  important  point  of  the  relative 
age  of  the  raised  beaches  of  South  Wales,  Devon,  and  Cornwall, 
I  hope  we  shall  be  able  to  decide.  [S.  P.]  Woodward  pronounces 
the  Menchecourt  shell  decidedly  Cyrena  fluminalis. — I  am,  my 
dear  Sir  Charles,  very  truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

H.  Falconer  to  J.  Prestwich. 

31  SACKVILLE  STREET,  W.,  2nd  Jtme  1860. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — You  know  what  a  fierce  onslaught  was 
made  on  me  by  Lyell  and  Austen.  I  thought  the  latter  was 
going  to  eat  me  up.  The  whole  subject  will  be  up  again  at  the 
next  meeting,  when  the  main  brunt  of  the  battle  will  fall  on  you. 
There  is  no  wavering  in  the  aspect  of  the  mammalian  evidence — 
it  is  coming  out  stronger  than  ever,  as  I  can  show  you  when  you 
happen  to  pass  this  way. 

But  we  must  be  prepared  for  every  aspect,  and  there  is  one 
point  I  specially  wish  to  ask  you  about,  namely,  the  Cefn  Cave. 
I  know  all  about  the  contained  mammalia,  having  had  the 
collection  up  here. 

But  Trimmer,  in  his  paper  on  the  Erratics  of  the  "  Norfolk 
Areas"  (Geol.  Proceedings,  November  20,  1850,  p.  20),  states 
that  "Britain  sank  as  well  as  rose  during  that  [the  Glacial] 
period.  These  proofs  consist  in  the  forest  of  Happisburgh  and 
Cromer  .  .  .  and  in  the  circumstance  that  on  the  western 
coast  the  northern  Drift,  with  its  marine  remains,  has  penetrated 


JET.  48.]  BOULDER   CLAY   OF   WALES.  153 

into  Cefn  Cave,  and,  by  its  superposition  to  the  deposits  con- 
taining mammalian  remains,  testifies,  like  the  buried  forest,  to 
the  presence  of  a  subaerial  surface  immediately  before  the 
transport  of  northern  blocks." 

Now  is  this  correct  ?  You  have  examined  the  deposits  and 
found  the  Boulder  Clay  near  Bryn  Elwy. 

Does  the  Boulder  Clay  penetrate  into  Cefn  and  overlie  the 
mammalian  deposits  ?  If  so,  it  is  a  fatal  blow  to  your  position 
in  Gower. 

Do  look  into  the  matter  and  let  me  have  a  line  in  reply. — 
Yours  very  sincerely,  H.  FALCONER. 

J.  Prestwick  to  If.  Falconer.  [Undated.] 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  have  this  morning  received  your  note, 
and  am  sorry  I  missed  you  in  town.  I  do  not  feel  in  the 
slightest  degree  uneasy  about  the  difficulties  raised  by  Austen 
and  Sir  Charles.  Trimmer  is  mistaken  altogether  about  Cefn 
Cave.1  There  is  plenty  of  Boulder  Clay  about  the  district,  but 
not  a  bit  in  the  cave.  Sand  and  shells,  like  your  caves,  do, 
however,  occur  there.  I  have  a  note  from  Mr  Homer  about 
extending  my  note  and  making  a  short  paper  of  it,  and  suggesting 
a  title.  The  former  I  accept — the  latter  will  not  do.  I  must  see 
more  about  the  Boulder  Clay  of  Gower  before  I  can  venture  to 
say  much  about  it.  The  raised  beach  I  feel  pretty  certain 
about.  Still  we  want  the  level  of  the  beach  at  the  Mumbles,  its 
position,  &c.  I  shall  if  possible  run  over  there  for  a  day  or  two 
before  I  return  to  town.  I  am  now  en  route  for  Exeter  and 
Plymouth.  If  you  have  any  suggestion  to  give  me,  please  drop 
me  [a  line]  either  [on]  your  return  to  Barnstaple,  or  else  on 
Thursday  to  the  P.O.,  Swansea. — Yours  ever  truly, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

A  few  extracts  from  one  of  the  1860  note -books 
mention  June  1  as  the  date  of  a  journey  to  Newbury, 

1  More  recent  observations  on  the  caves  in  the  Vale  of  Clwyd  seem  to 
show  that  certain  of  the  cave- deposits  with  Pleistocene  mammalia  are 
older  than  the  Boulder  Clay  of  the  district.  See  Dr  H.  Hicks,  Quart. 
Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xliv.  p.  561,  and  vol.  liv.  p.  91. 


154  GEOLOGICAL    EXCURSIONS.  [i860. 

when  sections  and  notes  record  the  most  interesting 
features.  Thence  he  proceeded  to  Devizes  to  visit  the 
collection  of  his  friend  Mr  W.  Cunnington.  On  3rd 
June  he  was  at  Yeovil  and  Sherborne.  The  obser- 
vations on  Wells  and  Banwell  are  voluminous,  as  are 
likewise  those  on  Weston-super-Mare.  Every  exhibi- 
tion of  drift  that  was  observed  is  carefully  noted  on 
the  route  from  Exeter  to  Barnstaple,  and  again  from 
Exeter  to  Sidmouth,  &c.  It  was  his  habit  when  on  a 
journey  to  alight  at  some  small  station,  scan  and 
interpret  the  geology  of  its  district,  and  proceed  by  a 
later  train. 

On  the  way  back  to  Bristol  he  had  been  struck  at 
Maiden  Newton  by  traces  of  flint  gravel  on  the  hills. 
He  also  observes  that  "  the  clay  beds  seem  to  have 
caught  the  gravel  (flint)  more  than  the  sandstones 
and  oolites,  which  are  bare.  Stop  at  Bruton  station 
next  time." 

On  this  occasion  the  geological  features  of  Clifton 
Down  and  Durdham  Down  were  studied ;  later  on 
one  of  many  visits  was  paid  to  Watford  and  to  a 
certain  gravel-pit  at  Bushey.  A  few  sentences  copied 
at  random  from  a  note-book,  or  a  catalogue  of  names 
of  places  visited,  give  a  totally  inadequate  idea  of  the 
amount  of  field  work  accomplished  on  one  geological 
journey. 

A  second  expedition  to  the  Abbeville  district  is 
noticed  as  having  been  made  this  year  on  July  5, 
when  Mr  Prestwich  went  the  round  of  several  gravel- 
pits,  accompanied  by  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes.  Intent 
on  ascertaining  the  levels  at  which  different  flint  im- 
plements had  been  found,  he  sought  information  from 
every  available  source.  He  emphasised  a  fact  com- 
municated to  him  by  Pierre  Halatre,  jardinier,  Rue 


JST.  48.]  JOHN   GUNN.  155 

de  T^glise,  Mautort — namely,  that  "  formerly  in  pits 
there,  and  in  sand  under  gravel  four  to  five  metres 
deep,  a  great  number  of  shells  had  been  found." 

They  then  proceeded  to  Amiens — on  from  one  gravel- 
pit  to  another,  exploring  ground  where  new  pits  had 
been  opened  or  fresh  excavations  made. 

His  correspondence  with  Falconer  had  become  very 
frequent :  a  community  of  tastes  had  drawn  them  to- 
gether, and  their  joint  work  was  a  keen  pleasure  to 
both. 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  2  SUFFOLK  LANE,  July  14,  i860. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  have  felt  rather  perplexed  how  to 
spend  my  spare  fortnight.  Inclination  attracts  me  to  the  pleasant 
quarters  at  Irstead  and  the  interesting  coast  of  Norfolk.  But  I 
have  now  visited  those  cliffs  so  frequently,  and  traced  every  yard 
of  ground  between  Weybourne  and  Harwich,  that  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  I  had  better  leave  them  for  some  shorter 
holiday  later  in  the  season,  and  take  this  fortnight  for  the  York- 
shire coast,  Kirkdale  Cave,  and  Market  Weigh  ton,  which  I  have 
long  wanted  to  visit,  and  are  at  present  unknown  ground  to  me. 
I  must  also  leave  North  and  South  Wales  to  a  later  period  of 
the  season. 

Since  you  questioned  the  fact  of  the  JSlephas  antiquus  occur- 
ring in  the  forest  bed  under  the  Boulder  Clay  I  have  not  had  time 
to  look  into  the  evidence,  but  my  impression  is  there  is  some 
evidence  and  much  indirect  testimony  to  confirm  that  fact.1  I 
hope  you  and  Mr  Gunn  will  look  to  it  closely.  Hear  above  all 
what  Mr  Fitch  of  Norwich  has  to  say  on  the  subject. 

Miss  Gurney's  collection  is,  I  fear,  dispersed.2  You,  however, 
have  probably  seen  it.  It  was  rich  in  specimens  considered  to 
be  from  under  the  Boulder  Clay.  In  my  own  mind  I  have  not  a 


1  The  occurrence  is  now  fully  established. 

2  Many  of  Miss  Anna  Gurney's  fossils  are  now  in  the  Norwich  Museum. 
See  'Memorials  of  John  Gunn,'  8vo,  Norwich,  1891  (edited  by  H.  B.  Wood- 
ward), in  which  work  are  numerous  references  to  visits  paid  by  Prestwich 
to  Norfolk. 


156  VISIT   TO   YORKSHIRE.  [i860. 

doubt  about  the  subject,  no  more  than  I  have  that  the  E.  primi- 
genius  is  above  the  Boulder  Clay  and  the  E.  meridionalis  in  the 
Norwich  Crag.  Also  that  the  E.  primigenius  and  E.  antiquus 
are  found  together  in  the  newer  beds  at  Erith,  Ilford,  Beading, 
and  some  half-dozen  other  places  I  could  name,  have  long  satis- 
fied me. 

If  I  could  have  spared  time  I  should  have  much  liked  to  have 
gone  over  some  of  the  coast  with  you  and  Mr  Gunn.  There  is  a 
spot  between  Cromer  and  Weybourne  where  I  have  found  bones 
in  situ,  but  there  was  nothing  determinable.  A  further  and 
longer  search  was  necessary.  It  was  at  the  base  of  the  cliff. 

Along  the  greater  part  of  the  Norfolk  cliffs  my  belief  is  that 
the  mammalian  remains  are  confined  to  the  beds  beneath  the 
Boulder  Clay,  and  that  they  are  not  found  in  the  Boulder  Clay  or 
in  the  beds  above  it,  with  a  few  rare  exceptions. — Pray  make 
my  kind  regards  to  Mr  Gunn,  and  believe  me  to  be,  ever  truly 
yours,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

Accompanied  by  Professor  Morris,  he  started  on  a 
Yorkshire  excursion  on  the  17th  July,  and  was  joined 
at  Blisworth  by  Mr  Samuel  Sharp  of  Northampton. 
Into  this  brief  excursion,  which  occupied  but  a  fort- 
night, many  important  observations  were  crowded. 
Besides  the  occurrence  of  "  Drift,"  our  geologist  was 
in  quest  of  Boulder  Clay,  and  his  pen  and  pencil 
were  fully  engaged.  After  seeing  the  Dallington  pits 
they  proceeded  from  Kettering  to  Bockingham,  and 
then  to  a  close  inspection  of  the  cliffs  at  Bridlington, 
Filey,  and  Speeton. 

At  Scarborough  Mr  Leckenby's  collection  was  visited, 
where  Prestwich  took  note  of  a  specimen  of  Cyrena 
consobrina  (fluminalis),  found  in  gravel  at  Hedon, 
near  Hull. 

From  gravel-pits  at  Beverley  their  next  point  was 
Market  Weighton,  where  a  section  is  drawn  of  a  large 
white  gravel-pit ;  thence  to  Holmehill,  Bidgemont,  Paul 


JET.  48.]  EASTERN    COUNTIES.  157 

Cliff,  and  Hull,  at  all  of  which  sections  are  noted,  and 
especially  careful  drawings  of  Kelsey  Hill  and  Kelsey 
Hill  Pit.  These  localities  are  only  a  few  of  those 
visited  in  this  memorable  fortnight ;  its  work  wound 
up  with  sketches  of  gravel-pits  at  Water  Newton  and 
at  Orton,  near  Peterborough. 

Early  in  September  Prestwich  was  again  out  on 
field-work.  Several  pages  of  a  note-book  are  covered 
with  sections  near  Whitstable  and  Swale  Cliff,  which 
are  succeeded  by  many  pages  of  sections  near  Canter- 
bury, following  a  few  sentences  of  notes.  At  Can- 
terbury he  was  joined  by  Professor  Morris  and  Dr 
Melville. 

Late  in  September  a  fresh  start  was  made,  and  many 
observations  are  registered,  beginning  with  Bury  St 
Edmunds,  and  through  an  interesting  East  Coast  dis- 
trict, ending  with  Hoxne,  &c.  The  geological  work 
done  was  no  make-believe.  One  biographer  has  described 
what  was  accomplished  in  a  year  as  "  amazing."  When 
it  is  remembered  that  field -geology  was  his  holiday 
work,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  so  much  could 
have  been  crowded  into  a  single  year.  It  may  be 
partly  accounted  for  in  that  his  City  partner  released 
him  as  much  as  was  possible,  but  chiefly  in  that,  wher- 
ever he  turned  his  steps,  whether  for  business  or  pleas- 
ure, he  was  always  geologising.  The  contents  of  the 
sixty  note-books — the  entries,  alas  !  in  several,  faint  by 
the  lapse  of  time — would  form  at  least  one  bulky  printed 
volume.  A  chronicle  of  the  Life  of  Joseph  Prestwich, 
to  be  faithful,  should  trace  his  progress  step  by  step, 
and  record  those  innumerable  journey  ings  made  year 
after  year,  from  cliff  to  cliff,  from  section  to  section, 
when,  to  use  his  own  expression  in  speaking  of  the 
eastern  counties,  he  knew  every  yard  of  ground.  The 


158  GEOLOGICAL   EXCURSIONS.  [i860. 

number  of  these  geological  journeys  is  simply  bewilder- 
ing, especially  as  debatable  points  were  visited  over 
and  over  again.1 

A  letter  from  Sir  Charles  Lyell 2  to  the  Rev.  W.  S. 
Symonds,  dated  October  1,  1860,  contains  a  reference 
to  Prestwich's  work  : — 

My  idea  of  going  to  South  Wales,  and  taking  your  district  on 
my  way,  and  getting  the  benefit  of  your  co-operation,  was  depen- 
dent on  some  progress  having  first  been  made  by  Prestwich,  Fal- 
coner, and  Colonel  Wood  in  regard  to  the  age  of  the  South  Wales 
caves,  with  not  only  Elephas  primigenius,  Rhinoceros  ticliorhinus, 
but  also  some  of  them  with  the  other  elephants  and  rhinoceroses 
(E.  antiquus  and  R.  leptorhinus,  now  called  by  Falconer  R. 
hemitcechus),  the  age  of  these  relatively  to  the  glaciers,  glaciation, 
and  submergence  of  Northern  Wales,  and  the  deposition  of  the 
northern  Drift. 

Again,  on  October  2nd,  a  geological  excursion  is 
reported  to  Hertford,  when  sections  of  a  new  cutting 
at  Hatfield,  with  those  of  gravel-pits  at  various  points, 
at  Collier's  End  and  near  Puckeridge,  are  given. 

The  following  letter  is  addressed  to  Dr  Falconer,  who 
was  about  to  spend  the  winter  on  the  Riviera  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  10  KENT  TERRACE,  Uth  Oct.  1860. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  am  very  sorry  I  missed  you  on  the 
last  two  occasions  I  called  at  Sackville  Street.  However,  you 
can  have  no  difficulty  about  Amiens.  The  pits  are  near  at  hand 
and  easily  accessible.  I  hope  M.  Pinsard  may  be  at  Amiens  to 
show  you  the  collections.  The  one  you  should  first  see  is  not  the 
town  collection  near  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  but  a  small  collection  in 


1  An  account  of  some  of  these  journeys  is  given  in  "Memoranda,  chiefly 
on  the  Drift  Deposits  in  various  parts   of   England   and  Wales  :   being 
Extracts  from  the  Note-books  and  other  MSS.  of  the  late  Sir  Joseph 
Prestwich,"  printed  in  the  Geological  Magazine,  Decade  iv.  vol.  v.  pp. 
404-417,  1898. 

2  Life  and  Letters  of  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  vol.  ii.  p.  358. 


J5T.  48.]  GEOLOGICAL   EXCURSIONS.  159 

the  Salle  at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  at  the  N.W.  corner  of 
the  town.  You  will  there  find  a  good  series  of  the  fossil  bones 
from  St  Koch.  If  you  cannot  meet  with  our  M.  Pinsard,  try  to 
see  M.  Gamier  at  the  Bibliotheque,  or  M.  Ferguson,  fils. 

It  was  M.  Pinsard  who  lent  me  the  elephant's  tooth  from  St 
Acheul,  and  to  whom  the  uncut  tooth  of  the  rhinoceros  from 
Boves  belongs.  I  should  much  [like]  to  have  a  few  lines  from 
you  after  your  visit  to  Amiens,  with  your  opinion  of  the  pits 
and  the  bones. 

Field  -  geology  for  this  year  was  by  no  means  at  an 
end.  Wells-upon-Sea  is  the  locality  where  he  was  at 
work  on  28th  October ;  a  description  of  its  marshes 
within  the  sea-wall  being  followed  by  pages  of  sections 
of  the  railway-cuttings  near  Walsingham.  Next  day 
he  was  at  Irstead  Rectory,  with  his  old  friend  the  Rev. 
John  Gunn,  who,  with  the  Rev.  S.  W.  King  (of  Sax- 
lingham,  near  Norwich),  joined  in  a  visit  to  Bacton. 
After  Happisburgh  and  Mundesley,  Norwich  was  visited 
on  the  way  back  to  London. 

Before  starting  on  a  tour  to  the  west,  a  working 
expedition  was  made  to  Brentwood  with  Professor 
Morris. 

The  long  western  journey  began  on  the  9th  November 
with  a  section  at  Froxfield,  four  miles  from  Hungerford. 
Two  days  later,  Prestwich  was  at  Frome,  sketching 
as  usual,  and  in  pursuit  of  the  tusk  of  an  elephant, 
which  had  been  found  at  Fairwood,  three  miles  from 
Frome,  in  making  the  railway.  Langport  occupied  one 
day,  and  Exeter  was  reached  on  the  16th.  From  Truro 
he  proceeded  to  St  Agnes  Bay,  where,  although  there 
was  no  evidence  of  any  raised  beach,  a  deposit  of  sand 
and  clay  spread  at  the  eastern  base  of  St  Agnes  Hill, 
and  also  over  its  western  shoulder,  attracted  his 
attention.  From  Penzance  he  went  on  to  Falmouth, 


160  PRESERVATION    OF    BONES.  [i860. 

where  he  was  rewarded  by  the  exhibition  of  a  fine 
raised  beach,  of  which  several  sketches  were  drawn ; 
thence  to  Bideford,  Sidmouth,  &c.,  in  search  of  gravel- 
pits  and  Drift.  Axminster  was  reached  on  the  25th, 
whence  visits  to  Colyton,  Seaton,  and  Axmouth 
brought  this  western  journey  to  a  close. 

In  those  short  November  days  our  geologist  must 
have  worked  from  sunrise  to  sunset. 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  LONDON,  7th  December  1860. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  was  much  obliged  by  and  interested  in 
your  letter  giving  me  the  account  of  your  visit  to  Amiens,  with 
the  results  of  your  inspection  of  the  fossil  bones.  I  made  the 
extracts  you  allowed  me  to  do,  and  then  handed  the  letter  to 
your  brother.  I  much  wish,  however,  not  only  to  have  your 
remarks  for  my  own  perusal,  but  I  should  much  like  to  give 
them  in  the  appendix  to  my  paper,  as  their  palseontological 
bearing  is  so  important.  I  do  not,  however,  feel  at  liberty  to  do 
so  before  consulting  you  and  showing  you  what  I  should  wish  to 
print — this,  not  only  for  your  permission,  but  also  in  case  you 
wish  to  make  any  alteration. 

With  regard  to  the  happement  a  la  langue,  I  am  not  inclined  to 
attach  very  much  importance  to  it.  I  find  it  varies  much  in 
specimens  from  the  same  deposit.  Much  depends  upon  the 
nature  of  the  bed  and  its  facility  of  percolation  by  water. 

The  lower  level  and  greater  accumulation  of  water,  and  the 
loose  gravel  of  St  Eoch,  would,  I  think,  lead  generally  to  a  more 
rapid  decomposition  of  the  bones  than  at  St  Acheul,  especially  in 
such  beds  of  the  latter  place  which  contain  any  iron.  There  is 
also  a  great  difference  between  bones  or  teeth  which  occur  in 
sand  and  in  chalk  rubble  :  the  latter  are  much  less  robbed  of  their 
original  materials,  the  matrix  of  carbonate  of  lime  robbing  the 
water  of  its  carbonic  acid  before  reaching  the  bones. 

With  regard  to  the  theoretical  views,  I  must  discuss  them  with 
you  hereafter.  I  may  here  merely  mention  that  I  think  the 
lower  gravel  as  well  as  the  sand  above  it  to  be  of  fluviatile  origin, 
and  not  of  very  tumultuous  origin,  for  in  it  there  are  at  places 


JET.  48.]  ST   ACHEUL.  161 

seams  of  sand  similar  in  composition,  and  containing  the  same 
fresh-water  shells  as  the  sand  above.  The  top  brick-earth  and 
gravel  I  feel  disposed  to  attribute  to  some  more  active  and  power- 
ful agency.  I  think,  with  you,  that  St  Koch  and  St  Acheul  can- 
not be  separated  by  material  interval.  (The  hippopotamus  tusks 
from  the  former  place  adhere  strongly  to  the  tongue.)  M.  Pinsard 
has  sent  me  the  levels  of  St  Acheul.  I  hope  you  find  your  winter 
quarters  pleasant  and  suitable,  and  hoping  shortly  to  hear  from  you, 
I  am,  my  dear  Falconer,  very  truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

I  have  just  returned  from  a  month's  journey  in  the  West. 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  LONDON,  27th  December  1860. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  wrote  you  a  short  time  since  to  ask 
your  permission  to  give  an  abstract  or  extract  of  your  last  letter 
to  me,  referring  to  the  elephant  remains  at  St  Acheul  and  St 
Eoch.  I  enclosed  also  a  copy  of  that  portion  of  your  letter  which 
bears  on  the  subject.  I  could  either  give  your  information  in 
the  form  of  a  short  paragraph  in  the  Appendix,  or,  as  the  revise 
is  still  in  my  hands,  I  could  add  the  E.  antiquus  to  the  list  of  St 
Acheul  organic  remains,  with  a  note  stating  it  was  on  your  auth- 
ority: probably  this  would  be  the  better  way,  as  it  would  be 
more  certain  to  be  seen.  I  wait,  however,  your  sanction  before 
taking  either  step.  As  I  expect  I  shall  shortly  have  to  give  in 
the  last  revise,  would  you  be  so  kind  as  to  oblige  me  with  an 
answer  at  your  early  convenience  ? 

I  understand  that  remains  of  the  hippopotamus  have  been 
found  this  autumn  at  St  Acheul.  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
see  the  specimen,  which  is  in  Mylne's  possession. 

Boucher  de  Perthes  writes  me  word  that  he  has  now  found 
several  specimens  of  the  Cyrena  consobrina  at  Menchecourt.  He 
also  asks  whether  you  are  in  town,  and  [says]  that  he  was  looking 
for  a  visit  from  you  this  fall. 

We  have  had  several  hard  Scotch  papers  this  session,  and  with 
a  further  store  in  reserve.  Nothing  yet  bearing  upon  the  super- 
ficial deposits. 

The  weather  here  has  been  very  severe  for  the  season.  My 
thermometer  marked  9°  at  8  A.M.  on  Christmas  day.  I  trust  you 
are  enjoying  a  mild  and  pleasant  winter,  &c.  .  .  . 

L 


162  RECULVERS.  [1861. 

J.  Prestwick  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  5th  Janry.  1861. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  have  this  instant  seen  four  flint  imple- 
ments of  the  true  race.  One  specimen  is  identical  with  one  of 
my  best  lance-head  shaped  specimens  from  Amiens ;  a  second 
has  the  point  broken  and  is  rolled ;  a  third  is  stained  brown  and 
is  also  worn ;  whilst  the  fourth  is  a  good  honest  Tertiary  flint 
pebble  about  the  size  of  a  goose  egg,  one  half  chipped  into  a  point, 
and  the  other  end  retaining  its  pebble  form.  They  were  brought 
me  by  a  Mr  Leech,  who  found  them  on  the  shore  at  the  bottom 
of  the  cliffs  between  Herne  Bay  and  the  Eeculvers.  The  cliffs 
are  there  capped  by  gravel,  but  he  could  not  get  at  it. 

He  is  going  down  again,  and  will  look  for  more  and  for  the 
deposit  of  them. — I  am  ever  truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

The  first  excursion  in  1861  was  apparently  that  on 
February  23rd :  "  With  Evans  to  Strood,  Herne  Bay, 
and  Reculvers."  Mr  Leech  joined  them  at  Faversham, 
when  they  proceeded  to  Whitstable — a,  frequent  resort. 
The  two  friends  were  both  successful  in  finding  flint 
implements  on  the  expedition  to  the  Reculvers,  and 
Mr  Evans  was  rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  one  at 
Swalecliffe. 

The  Easter  trip  is  briefly  mentioned  :  "  27th  March. 
To  Newhaven  and  Dieppe  with  Captain  Galton."  * 

The  same  system  of  work  was  carried  out — numerous 
sections  drawn,  with  explanations  and  notes  ;  the 
shingle,  gravel,  and  angular  flint  -  rubble  examined. 
"  Out  of  Eu  and  on  the  right  is  a  large  pit  of  loess — 
no  shells.  Ascending  the  hill  of  Canbles,  we  found  the 
sides  fringed  with  some  seven  or  eight  terraces,  and 
the  top  capped  with  Tertiaries  (Cyrena,  Ostrea,  &c.), 
sand,  and  clay."  Precy  and  Creil  were  also  visited. 

J.  Prestivich  to  Sir  G.  LyelL  April  9,  1861. 

MY  DEAR   SIR  CHARLES,  —  Thanks   for   the  account  of  your 

1  Afterwards  Sir  Douglas  Galton,  K.C.B. 


Photo  by  Dickinson,  London. 

SIR  DOUGLAS    GALTON,    K.C.15 


JET.  49.]  JAMES   WYATT.  163 

Abbeville  proceedings.  The  implement  question  is,  I  think, 
now  as  clear  there  as  at  Amiens.  On  my  first  visit  I  myself 
got  three  knives  or  flakes  from  the  flint-bed  under  the  Sable 
Aigre.  On  my  last  visit  the  workmen  procured  four  more  for 
me  from  the  same  bed,  and  you  now  have  obtained  five  more.  You 
say  you  reached  the  Chalk.  Did  you  meet  with  the  bed  of  sub- 
angular  gravel  immediately  over  it  ?  I  just  reached  it,  but  did 
not  traverse  it.  It  is  the  lowest  bed  which  you  saw  at  the  Porte 
Marcade. 

With  regard  to  Mautort,  there  can,  I  think,  be  little  doubt 
of  the  occurrence  of  marine  shells.  At  Ducastel's  pit  a  little 
boy,  hearing  my  inquiry,  said,  "  Oh  yes,  I  have  seen  (using  the 
common  name  for  Littorina  littorea,  which  I  forget)  "  come  out 
of  the  bottom  of  the  pit." 

The  pits  you  saw  at  Maneil  were  those  which  I  visited.  Were 
the  men  at  work  when  you  were  there  ? 

The  pit  at  Epagne  is  on  the  hill  on  the  road  to  the  pits  at  St 
Gilles. 

I  still  have  my  doubts  about  the  shells  at  Drucat.  One  frag- 
ment was  a  mere  hollow  piece  of  white  flint.  The  sands  are 
bent  in  all  the  pipes  there,  but  I  did  not  clearly  see  the  connec- 
tion between  the  indentation  where  the  flint  was  found  with  any 
pipe  at  present  exposed.  I  have  a  rude  white  implement  from 
the  upper  beds.  I  have  been  all  the  way  up  the  valley  from 
Abbeville  to  St  Eiquier.  It  is  full  of  brick-earth,  but  no  gravel 
till  at  St  Eiquier — and  that  very  angular  and  earthy.  I  also 
went  to  Ouen,  but  the  pits  there  are  now  filled  up.  They  were 
in  the  valley  near  the  brook,  and  three  to  four  inches  deep. — 
Ever  truly  yours,  J.  PKESTWTCH. 

The  following  letter  is  of  special  interest :  it  an- 
nounces the  discovery  of  flint  implements  in  the  very 
spot  indicated  by  the  two  friends  :— 

J.  Evans  to  J.  Prestwicli.  NASH  MILLS,  April  18,  1861. 

MY  DEAE  PKESTWICH, — Jubilate !  Wyatt  has  found  the  flint 
implements  we  have  so  long  been  looking  for  at  Bedford.  I  en- 
close his  letter  and  sketch,  which  please  return,  and  am  writing 
to  him  that  I  hope  to  be  at  Bedford  at  10.30  on  Saturday,  if  it 


164  BEDFORD.  [1861. 

will  suit  him  to  meet  me.  Can  you  come  ?  I  am  in  a  state  of 
disgust  at  finding  that  we  have  a  long-standing  engagement  to 
dinner  on  Saturday,  the  26th.  It  is  to  meet  a  bishop  with  a 
beard,  which  in  this  shaving  diocese  of  Eochester  is  a  rare  priv- 
ilege, and  under  all  circumstance  cannot  be  neglected.  If  you 
cannot  come  any  other  Saturday,  you  must  come  all  the  same 
that  day,  and  arrange  for  Monday  being  spent  somewhere  "  in 
the  Drift " :  but  if  you  can  go  to  Bedford  this  Saturday,  perhaps 
Miss  Prestwich  would  meet  you  here  on  our  return  and  arrange 
to  spend  a  few  days.  You  can  go  backwards  and  forwards  to 
Suffolk  Lane  just  as  well  from  here  as  from  Kent  Terrace,  and 
sleeping  in  the  country  will  do  you  good.  I  don't  wonder  at 
Wyatt  being  half  crazy  at  his  discovery.  It  is  most  wonderful 
and  satisfactory.  We  must  go  down  and  have  a  regular  day 
there  without  delay.  Excuse  this  hurried  and  distracted  letter. 
Ever  yours,  JOHN  EVANS. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  Thursday. 

MY  DEAK  EVANS, — I  also  had  a  note  from  Wyatt,  and  rejoiced 
to  hear  of  his  discovery.  Two  other  notes  (to  Sir  C.  Lyell  and 
Mr  Homer)  turned  up  at  the  Council  yesterday.  Sir  Charles 
proposed  going  down  as  soon  [as]  possible.  I  told  him  of  my 
visit  to  you  on  Sunday  week,  and  fixed  to  meet  him  at  Bedford 
on  the  following  Monday.  I  might  alter  the  day,  but,  after  the 
long  postponement,  I  think  it  had  better  stand,  notwithstanding 
the  Bishop.  If  I  am  down  early  on  Saturday  I  can  find  plenty 
of  amusement  and  occupation  in  your  library.  Besides  there  are 
the  children,  and  I  have  no  doubt  Master  Norman  will  feel  him- 
self fully  equal  to  receive  his  papa's  guest.  So  I  come  on  the 
understanding  that  it  makes  no  difference  in  your  and  Mrs 
Evans's  proceedings.  In  fact,  consider  me  in  the  nursery  for  the 
evening. 

I  have  asked  Wyatt  to  have  a  pit  opened  for  our  visit,  and  I 
am  ever  truly  yours,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

This  discovery  of  flint  implements  in  the  Bedford 
Gravel  was  of  great  importance.  In  the  year  1858 
Prestwich  had  known  of  the  occurrence  of  remains  of 


JET.  49.]  BEDFORD.  165 

elephant  and  other  extinct  mammalia  in  the  railway 
cuttings  there,  and  when  visiting  it  with  Evans,  after 
their  return  from  Abbeville  in  1859,  they  fixed  on  Bed- 
ford as  a  likely  place  to  yield  implements — Mr  Evans  on 
a  later  visit  directing  Mr  Wyatt  to  turn  his  particular 
attention  to  the  Biddenham  pit,  where  the  two  well- 
formed  flint  implements  were  actually  found.  This 
discovery,  following  on  the  recognition  of  flint  imple- 
ments in  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  was  corroborative 
and  irresistible  evidence  in  support  of  the  theory  of  the 
geological  age  which  Prestwich  assigned  to  primitive 
man.  The  prediction  of  the  two  enthusiasts  having 
been  so  literally  fulfilled,  was  a  well-earned  triumph 
for  both. 

Sir  Charles  Lyell,  in  a  letter1  to  Sir  C.  Bunbury, 
dated  26th  April  1861,  mentions  this  visit :  "I  am  laid 
up  for  a  day  or  two  after  an  excursion  to  Bedford  with 
Prestwich  and  Evans  to  see  a  section  where  a  Mr 
Wyatt,  editor  of  the  Bedford  provincial  newspaper,  has 
just  found  two  hatchets  of  the  true  Amiens  and  Hoxne 
type.  They  occurred  in  a  gravel  pit  at  Beddingham 
[Biddenham],  which  I  visited  more  than  thirty  years 
ago." 

In  June  our  geologist  was  alone  when  working  out 
the  district  round  Shelford  and  Cardington. 

According  to  a  foreign  note-book,  he  was  at  Chartres 
on  the  26th  July,  examining  the  remains  of  Elephas, 
Rhinoceros,  Hycena,  and  Cervus  in  M.  Boisvilette's 
collection,  also  a  species  of  Hippopotamus  which  he 
emphasises  as  being  distinct  from  H.  major.  An 
elaborate  section  is  given  of  Le  Mans.  High-level 
gravel  is  noted  near  Caen,  and  "  Drift "  in  a  cutting 
at  Bayeux.  From  Charenton  he  went  to  St  Sauveur, 

1  Life  and  Letters  of  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  vol.  ii.  p.  344. 


166  MOEL   TRYFAEN.  [1861. 

thence  by  St  Lou  to  Cherbourg,  and  on  by  rail  to 
Paris,  where  several  days  were  spent  in  viewing  the 
collections  in  the  Nicole  des  Mines  and  in  the  Jardin 
des  Plantes. 

This  French  excursion  was  one  of  close  work.  The 
heights  at  which  gravel  and  other  "Drift"  were  found 
are  recorded,  and  the  composition  of  these  in  each 
locality  is  carefully  noted.  He  was  preparing  for  an 
important  paper  on  the  geological  age  of  the  Drift  de- 
posits, which  was  read  next  year  at  the  Royal  Society. 

The  letter  which  follows  was  probably  written  at 
this  date  : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  KENT  TERRACE,  Saturday  [1861]. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — City  business  drove  yesterday  morn- 
ing's work  out  of  my  head  for  the  rest  of  the  day. 

On  my  return  at  night  I  looked  over  my  Grays  specimens, 
and  now  send  you  the  results  of  Heer's  examination.  I  hope 
next  winter  to  clear  up  some  of  the  points  of  doubt,  and  add  to 
the  list  before  publication.  Of  the  Mundesley  woods,  cones,  &c., 
the  only  specimens  that  could  be  determined  were,  as  I  told  you, 
Pinus  abies — common ;  Pinus  sylvestris — rarer — together  with  a 
seed  vessel.  .  .  . 

PLANTS — GRAYS. 

Quercus  robur,  var.  sessiliflora  ?  Hedera  Helix.  Vaccinium 
myrtillus  ?  ?  ?  Pteris  aquilina  ?  ?  Alnus  ?  Cyperus  ?  Fagus  ?  ? 
Eubus.  Populus.  Equisetum  and  Phragmites. 

This  is  very  good  so  far. 

In  September  he  was  at  work  at  Highbury  with  his 
friend  Mr  Alfred  Tylor. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyall.  Sept.  16, 1861. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — You  will  find  the  best  account  of 
Trimmer's  Moel  Tryfaen  case  in  his  paper  "  On  the  Drift  of  the 
Cambrian  Chain."  He  mentions  only  two  species  of  shells,  the 


JST.  49.]  GLACIAL    SUBMERGENCE.  167 

Fusus  Bamffius  and  Fusus  antiquus.  On  this  evidence  alone, 
the  question  of  age  could  hardly  be  decided.  In  Derbyshire  I 
have  got  marine  shells  at  a  level,  I  imagine,  of  at  least  700  feet 
above  the  sea. 

Of  the  extent  of  the  old  glaciers  in  Switzerland  there  can  be 
little  doubt,  and  I  am  of  your  opinion  that  the  Neuchatel  block 
was  transported  by  glacier  action.  With  regard  to  the  extent  of 
subsidence  during  the  Glacial  period,  that  period  lasted  so  long 
and  witnessed  so  many  changes  that  I  hardly  know  how  I  should 
fix  it.  If,  however,  you  take,  as  you  propose,  the  whole  period, 
then  I  should  be  disposed  to  leave  very  little  of  Scotland,  Wales, 
or  England  above  water.  Without  going  very  fully  into  the 
question,  your  map  seems  to  give  a  fairly  correct  approximation. 

I  was  at  Wycoinbe  yesterday,  and  discovered  another  Elephant 
and  Cyclas  bed  near  Princes  Eisborough.  I  have  sent  on  your 
note  to  Eamsay,  and  I  am  very  truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

The  three  papers  from  his  pen  published  during  this 
season  were  evidently  founded  in  part  upon  observations 
made  in  the  early  spring,  and  also  upon  his  researches 
in  previous  years.  The  first  on  the  list,  "  On  some 
New  Facts  in  Relation  to  the  Section  of  the  Cliff  at 
Mundesley,  Norfolk,"  appeared  in  the  '  Geologist,'  vol. 
iv.  pp.  68-71.  Mundesley  had  been  a  favourite  haunt. 

The  second,  which  came  out  in  the  Geological 
Society's  Journal,  was  entitled  :  "  Notes  on  some  fur- 
ther Discoveries  of  Flint  Implements  in  Beds  of  Post- 
Pliocene  Gravel  and  Clay ;  with  a  few  Suggestions  for 
Search  elsewhere."  The  materials  for  this  paper  were 
doubtless  obtained  from  his  researches  in  Suffolk,  at 
Bury  Sb  Edmunds  and  Icklingham ;  in  Kent,  between 
the  Heculvers  and  Herne  Bay,  and  at  Swalecliffe  near 
Whitstable,  which  he  had  visited  again  and  again  in 
the  hope  of  finding  flint  implements.  At  last  John 
Evans  was  fortunate  enough  to  discover  on  the  shore 
an  oval-shaped  implement  identical  in  form  with  those 


168  MR   JOHN    BUSKIN.  [l862. 

so  common  at  Abbeville.  A  long  list  of  localities  is 
given  where,  by  diligent  search,  flints  fashioned  by  the 
hand  of  man  are  likely  to  be  found. 

The  third  paper,  also  published  in  the  Geological 
Society's  Journal,  is  "  On  the  Occurrence  of  Cyrena 
fluminalis,  together  with  Marine  Shells  of  Recent 
Species,  in  Beds  of  Sand  and  Gravel  over  Beds  of 
Boulder  -  clay,  near  Hull ;  with  an  Account  of  some 
Borings  and  Well-sections  in  the  same  District."  This 
memoir  doubtless  embodied  his  observations  when  on 
the  Yorkshire  tour  in  the  preceding  year. 

A  note  of  thanks  from  Mr  Huskin  for  a  copy  of  the 
Flint  Implement  paper  is  expressed  in  quaint  terms  : — 

DENMARK  HILL,  6th  January  1862. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Eeturning  on  the  last  day  of  last  year  from 
Switzerland,  I  find  on  my  table  your  most  interesting  account  of 
the  flint  implements  of  the  French  Tertiaries,  inscribed,  "  With 
the  author's  compliments."  Pray  accept  my  best  thanks.  I 
wish  we  were  all  reduced  to  "  flint  implements "  once  more  — 
and  could  only  fight  with  arrow-heads  —  and  hadn't  chemistry 
enough  to  poison  them. — Most  truly  yours,  J.  EUSKIN. 

The  geological  memoir  which  was  read  at  the  Royal 
Society  this  year,  and  published  in  1864,  was  one  in 
which  its  author  widely  generalised,  and  was  entitled  : 
"  Theoretical  Considerations  on  the  Conditions  under 
which  the  (Drift)  Deposits  containing  the  Remains  of 
Extinct  Mammalia  and  Flint  Implements  were  accum- 
ulated, and  on  their  Geological  Age.  On  the  Loess 
of  the  Valleys  of  the  South  of  England,  and  of  the 
Somme  and  the  Seine." 

The  following  letter  apparently  refers  to  this 
Memoir  : — 


JET.  50.]  RIVER   DRIFT.  169 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  KENT  TERRACE  [undated]. 

MY  DEAK  FALCONER,— Thanks  for  your  friendly  criticism.  I 
am,  however,  going  to  contest  some  of  this.  First,  with  regard 
to  river  floods. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  peculiar  position  of  the 
Siberian  and  North  American  rivers  is  one  condition  in  the  case, 
but  it  is  not  the  only  one.  There  is  not  the  same  damming  up 
by  ice,  but  still  the  floods  in  rivers  such  as  the  Kama  and  the 
Volga,  which  flow  from  north  to  south,  are  also  annual  and 
considerable.  (See  Pallas's  Voyages,  vol.  vii.  pp.  39,  210 ;  vol. 
i.  p.  296.) 

So  again  in  Lapland  the  rivers  with  a  southern  flow  are  sub- 
ject to  very  considerable  spring  floods.  Wrangell  also  speaks 
of  the  floods  in  Southern  Eussia  as  well  as  Murchison  (his  '  Eus- 
sia ').  They  both  mention  that  whole  districts  are  flooded,  and 
the  river  valleys  converted  into  great  lakes.  The  majority  of 
these  rivers  have  a  southern  flow.  In  more  northern  regions, 
Eichardson  and  Simpson  speak  of  the  small  local  floods  caused 
by  the  melting  of  the  snows,  quite  independent  of  the  great 
rivers.  As  I  mentioned  yesterday,  I  conceive  the  effect  of  a 
severe  winter  must  be  to  store  up  the  rainfall  and  restrict  its 
delivery  to  a  short  period  in  the  spring — whence  increased  river 
discharges  and  floods. 

Now  with  regard  to  the  hippopotamus  I  give  its  tusk-teeth 
legitimate  use,  but  still  I  am  not  disposed  to  give  up  the  cold 
winter  and  its  cold- climate  associates.  It  is  certainly  found  with 
the  reindeer,  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  gravel  at 
Hurley  Bottom  with  the  hippopotamus,  and  that  at  Taplow  with 
the  musk-ox,  are  synchronous.  I  do  not  suppose  the  cold  to 
have  been  so  extreme  as  at  the  Terrace  Gravel  period,  and  if 
there  were  rapids  in  places  on  the  old  rivers  at  such  parts,  there 
might  have  been  open  water  all  the  winter.  Otters  are  found 
frequenting  such  rapids  in  the  severe  climate  of  North  America, 
and  in  rivers  which  at  other  places  are  frozen  all  the  winter. 

R.  A.  C.  Godwin- Austen  to  J.  Prestwich. 

CHILWORTH,  March  30  [1862]. 

DEAR  PRESTWICH, — Thursday  evening  last  places  me  under 
the  obligation  of  saying  how  much  I  congratulate  you  on  your 


170  MEMOIR   ON   DRIFT.  [l862. 

last  paper.  I  am  glad  that  you  took  the  subject  in  hand,  for  I 
fancied  that  others,  if  not  poaching  on  your  land,  were  at  least 
establishing  "  squatter  rights  "  on  what  you  had  left  unoccupied. 
It  was  with  feelings  akin  to  wonder  that  as  the  paper  proceeded 
I  found  that  you  had  become  a  Glacialist,  but  for  a  long  time  I 
fancied  that  you  were  putting  such  conditions  in  a  hypothetical 
form  only,  and  that  the  coup  de  grdce  was  at  last  to  be  dealt  out. 
I  congratulate  you  on  this. 

We  have  heard  of  thee 

"zeal 
Which  young  and  ardent  converts  feel"  ; 

and  on  thinking  over  the  matter  since,  I  am  still  of  opinion  that 
you  will  do  better  not  to  have  recourse  to  so  low  a  mean  winter 
temperature  as  you  have  named. 

There  is  a  difficulty  in  the  river  theory,  in  placing  the  terrace 
gravel  of  St  Acheul  with  that  at  Menchecourt,  unless  you  sup- 
pose that  all  at  that  place  belongs  to  the  second  or  lower  valley 
gravel.  I  do  not  see  any  objection  to  this,  but  I  know  that  such 
was  not  your  notion  at  one  time.  Hooker  was  mightily  taken 
with  the  speculation  as  to  the  ice-hatchets,  but  I  must  confess 
that  I  do  not  like  it.  As  perhaps  this  offspring  may  be  a 
favourite,  I  will  not  ask  you  to  discard  it,  but  I  think  that  if 
you  mentioned  it  in  a  footnote  it  would  be  enough. 

I  would  examine  into  the  question  of  the  Dreissena  polymorpha. 
I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  shell  will  turn  out  to  be  a  D. 
Brardii  washed  out  from  the  upper  Paris  Basin  beds,  where 
it  is  often  most  abundant.  In  the  Mainz  basin  it  is  washed  into 
the  alluvia  of  the  Ehine. — Yours  ever  truly, 

EGBERT  GODWIN- AUSTEN. 

The  first  note-book  entry  for  1862  is,  "Easter  Ex- 
cursion, 17th  April :  J.  Evans,  J.  Lubbock,  J.  P. 

"  Route. — St  Valery,  Abbeville,  Beauvais,  Rouen, 
Nantes,  Poissy,  Paris,  Creil,  Amiens ;  back  on  Monday 
morning  the  28th  inst." 

Although  only  one  geological  memoir  proceeded  from 
his  pen  in  this  year,  there  was  another  publication 


JET.  50.]  REPORT   ON   WINES.  1*71 

which,  in  its  exhaustiveness,  is  quite  as  remarkable. 
He  was  one  of  the  jurors  for  the  International  Ex- 
hibition for  1862,  and  was  requested  to  draw  up  the 
report  on  wines,  &c.,  of  different  countries.  It  was 
published  in  the  form  of  a  booklet,  and  is  written  with 
the  concise  clearness  which  characterises  all  his  work. 
As  one  who  knew  him  throughout  life  observed,  "  Every- 
thing that  he  did  was  done  in  the  best  possible  way." 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  KENT  TERRACE  [1862]. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, —  ...  I  have  been  much  engaged 
during  the  last  two  months  at  the  Exhibition  (as  a  juror  in 
Class  III.  section  C),  and  have  done  but  little  geology.  I  have 
been  down  at  Hertford,  and  took  the  opportunity  of  looking 
again  at  parts  of  the  valley  of  the  Lea.  The  high-level  Gravels 
are  tolerably  well  shown,  and  are  of  considerable  extent.  The 
lower-level  gravels  are  more  obscure — neither  contain  shells,  but 
both  elephant  and  rhinoceros  have  recently  been  found  in  the 
latter.  The  Boulder  Clay  is  just  now  well  shown  in  a  small  pit 
near  Woodhall  Park  (Abel  Smith's).  It  is  full  of  pebbles  and 
small  boulders  of  hard  chalk,  many  of  them  scratched. 

Next  week  I  am  going  to  the  North,  taking  Stamford,  Ketford, 
Gainsborough,  Hull,  Malton,  and  other  places  on  my  way  to 
Eichmond.  Thence  by  Stainmoor  to  Kendal.  Then  to  Black- 
pool, Preston,  and  Manchester,  back  by  the  1st  August.  I  call 
on  Mr  Wood  at  Eichmond,  and  Mr  Binney  meets  me  at  Kendal 
or  Blackpool.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  by  bearer  how  you  are, 
and  I  am,  dear  Sir  Charles,  yours  very  truly,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

This  year,  to  judge  from  the  evidence  of  note-books, 
was  as  notable  for  the  amount  of  field  geology  as  its 
predecessor.  Early  in  June,  "With  J.  E.  to  Wol- 
verton,  a  neighbourhood  where  certain  gravel  -  pits 
proved  of  special  interest."  July  12th  was  the  date 
on  which  Mr  Prestwich  started  on  a  tour  in  the 
northern  counties,  when  a  visit  was  made  to  Settle 


172  GEOLOGICAL   EXCURSIONS.  [l862. 

and  the  Victoria  Cave,  and  where  he  found  his  way 
again  to  Cefn  and  Llangollen.  During  the  first  week 
in  August  he  was  in  the  eastern  counties,  working  from 
pit  to  pit. 

J.  Prestwicli  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  7th  August  [1862]. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  hope  to  go  to  Auvergne  next  week  early. 
I  shall  spend  a  day  in  Paris.  When  Daubre*e  was  here  he 
expressed  a  great  wish  to  get  a  copy  of  your  paper.  I  don't 
know  which.  He  said  he  saw  it  at  Babbage's.  Can  I  take  a 
copy  over  for  him? 

I  have  had  a  very  pleasant  excursion  north.  I  was  a  day  at 
Settle,  and  saw  the  Victoria  and  other  caves,  and  the  collection 
of  British  and  Koman  antiquities  of  Mr  Jackson.  I  also  spent 
a  day  at  Salop  and  Wroxeter.  I  have  since  been  to  Colchester 
and  Saffron  Walden.  I  there  saw  at  the  enclosed  address  a 
so-called  British  coin,  but  it  appeared  to  me  to  be  too  fresh  and 
sharp,  and  the  metal  too  undecided.  The  device  was  all  right. 

A  fortnight's  tour  in  Auvergne,  beginning  on  the 
12th  August,  was  one  of  keen  enjoyment,  the  volcanic 
character  of  the  ground  traversed  being  of  special 
interest.  Towards  its  close  our  geologist  summarised 
in  a  sentence  : — 

The  general  features  of  this  excursion  so  far  are  the  un- 
disturbed position  of  the  scoria,  the  slight  decomposition  of 
the  lava,  the .  great  decomposition  of  the  granite  and  gneiss, 
and  the  considerable  decomposition  of  the  trachytes,  and  the 
absence  of  drift. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  22nd  September  1862. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — You  deserve  your  excellent  sight  from  the 
excellent  use  to  which  you  apply  it.  I  fancy  I  can  do  pretty 
well  in  a  state  of  rest,  but  for  geology  in  motion  none  equal  you. 
It  is  truly  progressive  geology.  I  am  glad  you  have  traced  the 
source  of  the  gravel.  I  am  quite  ready  for  the  hunt.  Shall  it 
be  direct,  or  from  Cambridge  ?  Orton  should  be  visited  again. 


JST.  50.]  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY.  173 

It  is  the  same  bed  no  doubt.  What  a  pleasant  excursion  you  are 
taking.  You  and  Mrs  Evans  must  enjoy  it  much.  When  at 
Torquay,  visit  Hope's  Nose  and  see  the  raised  beach  (if  you  have 
time).  First,  however,  see  Brixham  and  adjacent  caves.  Mr 
Pengelly,  to  whom  make  my  kind  regards,  is,  I  understand,  at 
Torquay,  and  will  give  you  any  information.  As  you  pass  up 
the  valley  between  Axminster  and  Chard,  look  at  the  gravels. 
See  also  the  gravels  on  cliff  between  Dawlish  and  Star  Cross.  I 
hope  to  [be]  at  Cambridge  from  the  Saturday  to  the  Monday 
evening. — Ever  truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

September  and  October  were  full  of  short  geological 
expeditions  made  from  town,  first,  in  examining  well- 
sections  at  Reigate  and  other  localities,  later  on  at 
Erith  and  Ilford  (both  of  which  places  had  been  visited 
a  score  of  times)  in  quest  of  elephants'  teeth  and  other 
fossil  remains. 

The  following  letter  shows  the  cordial  relations  exist- 
ing between  Prestwich  and  the  officers  of  the  Geologi- 
cal Survey,  and  their  appreciation  of  the  accuracy  of 
his  work  : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  10  KENT  TERRACE. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — You  asked  me  the  other  evening  to  let 
you  know  what  I  had  contributed  to  the  new  geological  map.1 
The  case  stands  thus :  Thirty  years  ago  I  commenced  exploring 
the  neighbourhood  of  London,  and,  seeing  there  was  no  map,  I 
laid  down  the  boundaries  of  all  the  beds  at  the  same  time  that  I 
worked  out  their  superposition.  Wishing  to  make  the  work 
complete,  and  with  a  view  to  publication,  I  worked  hard  at  it  for 
some  15  to  20  years.  Just,  however,  as  completed,  the  Survey 
came  up  with  me,  and  Sir  H.  De  la  Beche  asked  me  for  the  use  of 
my  maps,  which  I  gave  him ;  and  which  I  have  since  continued 


1  This  probably  referred  to  the  Greenough  Geological  Map  published  by 
the  Geological  Society,  new  editions  of  which  were  largely  based  not  only 
on  the  work  of  the  Geological  Survey,  but  on  that  of  Prestwich,  to  whom 
the  Geological  Survey  was  greatly  indebted. 


174  GEOLOGICAL   MAP.  [l863. 

to  give  to  Eamsay  as  required.     Whether  I  shall  do  anything 
further  with  them  I  know  not. 

When  the  new  map  was  commenced,  I  gave  Mr  Best  my  rough 
MS.  maps,  and  from  them  he  reduced  all  the  London  Basin 
district,  with  the  exception  of  the  portion  adjacent  to  and  west  of 
Newbury.  The  Eastern  counties  I  had  not  so  accurately  sur- 
veyed, and  therefore  only  laid  them  down  from  my  note-book  and 
recollection. 

I  send  you  some  of  my  working  maps  that  you  may  judge  of 
the  extent  of  work,  which,  though  long  and  laborious,  was  to  me 
for  many  years  a  source  of  great  pleasure,  recreation,  and  health. 

I  have  received  your  parcel,  which  I  shall  have  much  pleasure 
in  taking  to  M.  Lartet,  and  I  am,  ever  truly  yours, 

J.  PKESTWICH. 

P.S. — I  have  not  always  kept  to  the  same  colours.  I  com- 
menced the  Chalk  in  pink  after  Buckland,  but  ended  in  having 
it  uncoloured,  as  also  the  marsh  lands.  The  Gault  and  Upper 
Greensand  count  for  nothing,  being  [on]  a  more  general  plan  to 
match  the  boundary  of  the  Chalk  and  Tertiary  outliers.  The 
North  Down  Crag  I  have  also  only  put  in  red  outlines. 

In  his  address  to  the  Geological  Society  in  1865,  Mr 
W.  J.  Hamilton  referred  to  the  publication  of  a  new 
edition  of  the  Greenough  Geological  Map  of  England 
and  Wales,  mentioning  the  name  of  Mr  Prestwich 
among  "  the  most  active  contributors  to  this  work." 
He  states  that  "  Mr  J.  Prestwich  has  supplied  the 
geological  data  for  the  Tertiaries  round  London  and  in 
Kent,  and  the  Bagshot  series  in  Surrey  and  part  of 
Berkshire,  from  his  own  MS.  notes  on  the  1-inch 
Ordnance  maps,  at  which  he  had  worked  from  1835  to 
1855.  From  the  Newbury  district  to  the  Isle  of  Thanet 
and  Harwich  the  new  map  adopts  Mr  Prestwich's 
divisions  and  outlines  as  far  as  could  be  done  with  the 
imperfect  topography  of  the  original  plates.  Mr  Prest- 
wich also  undertook  to  put  in  the  Chalk,  Crag,  and  Drift 


2BT.  51.]  ATHENAEUM    CLUB.  175 

areas  in  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  and  adopted  the  division 
of  only  two  Crags,  a  conclusion  at  which  he  had  arrived 
after  some  years'  labour,  but  which  he  had  not  laid 
down  on  any  previously  published  map."  l 

The  Geological  Survey  has  at  all  times  been  indebted 
to  various  geologists,  who,  labouring  out  of  pure  love  of 
the  science,  have  made  maps  and  recorded  sections 
which  have  been  generously  placed  at  the  service  of  the 
Institution.  De  la  Beche  himself  gave  the  results  of 
many  years'  private  work  in  the  south-west  of  England 
as  the  basis  on  which  the  Geological  Survey  was  founded. 
Godwin-Austen  gave  effectual  help  in  Devonshire,  Wil- 
liam Sanders  in  Somerset  and  Gloucestershire,  William 
E.  Logan  in  South  Wales,  and  later  on  Prestwich 
largely  aided  the  field -staff  by  allowing  copies  to  be 
made  of  his  Tertiary  work  in  the  western  portions  of 
the  London  Basin. 

On  the  3rd  March  1863  Prestwich  had  the  honour 
of  being  specially  admitted  into  the  Athenaeum  Club 
by  the  Committee,  who  have  power  to  elect  annually 
nine  men  who  have  gained  distinction  in  science, 
literature,  or  art,  or  in  the  public  service. 

The  following  letter  gives  the  date  when  the  struc- 
ture of  the  Ouse  Valley  was  made  out  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer. 

GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY,  SOMERSET  HOUSE,   Tuesday. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  have  just  seen  Evans.  We  go  to 
Peterborough,  March,  and  Oundle  at  9  A.M.  on  Saturday  next, 
returning  at  8.15  P.M.  on  Monday.  We  shall  not  go  to  Bedford. 

Should  you  go,  you  will  easily  find  Mr  Jas.  Wyatt.  He  is,  or 
was,  the  editor  of  a  paper,  and  resides  at  the  other  end  of  the 
town,  near  a  church.  There  are  a  few  specimens  also  in  the 
museum ;  and  a  man  of  the  name  of  Read  has  the  original  haul 

1  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxi.  p.  Ivi. 


176  ANTIQUITY    OF   MAN.  [l863. 

taken  from  the  railway-cuttings,  which  first  drew  Evans  and  me 
there  after  my  return  from  St  Acheul.  I  see  by  my  note-books 
that  I  first  made  out  the  structure  of  the  Ouse  Valley  at  Bedford 
in  1854.  . 

The  Easter  excursion  is  thus  mentioned :  "  7th 
March  1863. — To  Peterborough  with  Evans  and  Lub- 
bock."  They  geologised  at  Peterborough,  March, 
Essendine,  Oundle,  and  Orton,  &c. 

The  publication  by  Lyell  in  1863  of  his  'Antiquity 
of  Man '  brought  prominently  before  the  general  public 
the  geological  evidences  of  the  great  age  of  the  stone 
implements.  Lyell  was  naturally  regarded  as  the  judge 
who  would  better  than  any  other  geologist  sum  up  the 
evidence,  and  place  it  clearly  and  intelligibly  before 
those  who  had  no  special  scientific  knowledge.  So  suc- 
cessful was  his  great  book  that  soon  a  second  edition 
was  called  for  ;  and  a  third  edition  was  issued  before  the 
end  of  the  year,  two  months  later.  It  was  unfortu- 
nate, however,  that  his  treatment  of  the  history  of  the 
subject  was  in  important  respects  so  meagre  that  the 
labours  of  the  original  investigators  were  not  made 
manifest.  Dr  Falconer  drew  attention  to  this  in  the 
pages  of  the 'Athenaeum'  (April  14,  1863),  and,  writing 
with  the  authorisation  of  his  friend  Prestwich,  he 
pointed  out  how  important  it  was  to  state  clearly  how, 
and  by  whom,  the  antiquity  of  man  was  established ; 
whereas  Lyell  had  mentioned  certain  conclusions  as  if 
they  were  original  results  arrived  at  by  himself,  and 
had  failed  in  many  cases  to  indicate  the  sources  whence 
his  information  was  derived. 

In  his  reply,  Lyell  contended  that  he  could  not  give 
a  full  history  of  the  various  views,  and  that  all  his. 
readers  wanted  was  to  learn  from  him,  in  as  few  words 
as  possible,  what  his  own  conclusions  were,  after  read- 


JET.  51.]  LYELL.  177 

ing  what  others  had  written,  and  after  examining  him- 
self the  clearest  sections  to  which  he  could  get  access. 
A  letter  from  Prestwich  (dated  April  20)  was  published 
in  a  later  number  of  the  '  Athenaeum/  wherein  the 
writer  pointed  out  that  Lyell  was  addressing  a  scien- 
tific as  well  as  a  popular  public,  and  that  it  was  not  so 
much  a  question  of  frequent  as  of  accurate  reference  to 
the  authorities  who  had  established  the  antiquity  of 
man. 

This  correspondence  was  at  the  time  naturally  pain- 
ful to  all  concerned.  If  we  turn  to  the  fourth  edition 
of  the  'Antiquity  of  Man,'  published  in  1873,  we  find 
that  the  author  completely  recast  the  chapter  relating 
to  Brixham  Cavern  and  Kent's  Hole,  and  that  the 
history  of  research  both  among  cavern  and  river  de- 
posits was  as  fully  told  as  the  original  workers  could 
desire.  Prestwich  and  Falconer  had  been  the  pioneers 
in  the  inquiry  throughout,  and  were  the  patient  in- 
vestigators of  the  evidence. 


M 


178 


CHAPTEE    VII. 

1863-1870. 

HUMAN    JAW    OF    ABBEVILLE — EOYAL     COAL     COMMISSION KOYAL 

WATER       COMMISSION PRESIDENCY     OF     THE     GEOLOGICAL 

SOCIETY. 

HITHERTO  the  excavations  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme 
had  yielded  a  rich  harvest  of  worked  flint  implements, 
yet  no  vestiges  of  man  himself  had  ever  come  to  light. 
But  on  the  9th  April  1863  a  startling  announcement 
was  made  by  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  in  the  '  Abbevil- 
lois,'  the  local  paper  of  that  date.  In  this  he  asserted 
that  a  workman  had  found  a  "  human  jaw  "  with  flint 
haches  in  the  Couche  noire  of  the  gravel-pit  of  Moulin 
Quignon.  In  a  letter  of  the  14th,  from  the  late  Dr 
W.  B.  Carpenter,  F.R.S.,  which  appeared  in  the  'Athen- 
aeum' of  the  18th,  he  remarked:  "I  may  add  that 
the  gravel -bed  of  Moulin  Quignon  is  about  100  feet 
above  the  present  level  of  the  river,  and  therefore 
corresponds  in  position  with  the  upper  Gravels  of  St 
Acheul,  not  with  the  lower  Gravels  of  Menchecourt,  so 
that  if  we  accept  the  conclusions  of  Mr  Prestwich  as  to 
the  relative  ages  of  these  Gravels,  this  human  jaw  was 
buried  in  the  deepest,  and  therefore  the  oldest,  portion 
of  the  earliest  of  those  fluviatile  deposits." 


JET.  51.]  MOULIN    QUIGNON.  179 

But  the  authenticity  of  the  jaw,  which  M.  Boucher 
de  Perthes  firmly  believed  to  be  of  the  same  age  as  the 
accepted  palaeolithic  implements,  was  generally  quest- 
ioned in  face  of  his  assertion  of  having  extricated  it 
with  his  own  hands  on  the  28th  of  March  1863.  The 
announcement,  as  we  have  said,  had  been  made  early 
in  April,  and  two  days  later  Evans  and  Prestwich  were 
at  Abbeville,  Falconer  following  on  the  14th,  when  the 
evidence  was  most  minutely  examined  and  sifted. 
Naturally  the  most  lively  interest  was  shown  in  the 
subject  on  both  sides  of  the  Channel.  Falconer  at  first 
had  been  inclined  to  believe  in  the  remote  age  of  the 
jaw,  but  the  "  deliberate  scrutiny "  of  the  materials 
which  he  carried  away  from  Abbeville  compelled  him 
eventually  to  alter  his  opinion. 

M.  de  Quatrefages,  the  eminent  naturalist,  was  also 
on  the  spot,  and  carried  the  jaw  back  with  him  to 
Paris,  while  M.  de  Perthes  confided  to  Falconer  a 
detached  molar  from  the  jaw,  which  he  took  to  London 
for  examination.  Here  it  was  submitted  to  his  two 
friends,  Mr  George  Busk,  F.R.S.,  and  Mr  (Sir  John) 
Tomes,  F.R.S.,  both  of  whom  were  practised  anthro- 
pologists. They  proceeded  to  saw  up  the  detached 
molar  from  Moulin  Quignon,  and  the  question  was  soon 
settled.  To  quote  Falconer's  words, — it  proved  to  be 
quite  recent ;  the  section  was  white,  glistening,  full  of 
gelatine,  and  fresh-looking.  There  was  an  end  of  the 
case.  First,  the  flint  hatchets  were  pronounced  by 
highly  competent  experts  (Evans  and  Prestwich)  to  be 
spurious ;  secondly,  the  reputed  fossil  jaw  showed  no 
character  different  from  those  that  may  be  met  with  in 
the  contents  of  a  London  churchyard. 

M.  de  Quatrefages,  like  the  majority  of  his  French 
confreres,  persisted  in  the  jaw  being  a  genuine  fossil, 


180  FOSSIL   HUMAN   JAW.  [l863. 

and  at  first  seemed  to  think  that  any  doubt  of  its 
authority  was  a  reflection  on  the  honour  of  France. 

"  The  French  savants,  the  more  they  went  into  the 
case,  were  more  convinced  of  the  soundness  of  their 
conclusions ;  while  their  English  opponents,  the  more 
they  weighed  the  evidence  before  them,  were  the  more 
strengthened  in  their  doubts." 

To  settle  the  question  definitely,  it  was  agreed  that 
a  conference  between  the  English  savants  and  their 
French  brethren  should  take  place,  and  that  for  this 
purpose  the  former  should  proceed  to  Paris.  As  is 
evident  from  his  note  on  the  occasion,  Falconer  wrote 
with  boyish  glee  at  the  prospect  of  a  good  fight : — 

H.  Falconer  to  J.  Prestwich.  5^  May  1863. 

MY  DEAR  PKESTWICH, — Make  your  arrangements  instanter. 

Dr  Carpenter  has  called  on  me  with  a  formal  cartel  from 
Quatrefages,  challenging  me,  you,  and  Evans  to  go  over  to  Paris, 
and  to  do  battle  about  the  Moulin  Quignon  human  jaw. 

I  have  written  to  Lartet,  accepting. 

Carpenter  as  "  avvocato  di  Diavolo,"  i.e.,  pro,  and  I,  con,  start 
by  the  mail  train  of  Friday  next,  8th,  for  Paris. 

Either  you  or  Evans  must  come.  He  cannot — you  can.  Get 
ready,  oh  Gravel  Sifter !  and  send  me  anyhow  all  your  forged 
Moulin  Quignon  hdches. 

Try  and  get  Alfred  Tylor  to  deliver  up  his  one. 

The  term  "gravel  sifter"  was  applied  to  Prestwich 
in  a  humorous  and  satirical  caricature  of  a  scientific 
controversy,  entitled  "  Report  of  a  sad  case,  recently 
tried  before  the  Lord  Mayor,  Owen  versus  Huxley, 
in  which  will  be  found  fully  given  the  merits  of  the 
great  recent  Bone  Case." 

This  was  attributed  to  Dr  Pycroft  of  Exeter,  and 
it  was  printed  anonymously  in  April  1863.  It  was 


2ET.  51.]  OWEN    VERSUS  HUXLEY.  181 

reprinted,    except    the    last    paragraph,     in     '  Public 
Opinion'  for  May  of  the  same  year. 

In  the  course  of  the  case  the  following  conversation 
is  supposed  to  take  place  :— 

The  Lord  Mayor  here  asked  whether  either  party  were  known 
to  the  police  ? 

Policeman  X.  Huxley,  your  Worship,  I  take  to  be  a  young 
hand,  but  very  vicious ;  but  Owen  I  have  seen  before.  He  got 
into  trouble  with  an  old  bone-man,  called  Mantell,  who  never 
could  be  off  complaining  as  Owen  prigged  his  bones.  People  did 
say  that  the  old  man  never  got  over  it,  and  Owen  worrited  him 
to  death ;  but  I  don't  think  it  was  so  bad  as  that.  Hears  as 
Owen  takes  the  chair  at  a  crib  in  Bloomsbury.  I  don't  think 
it  be  a  harmonic  meeting  altogether.  And  Huxley  hangs  out 
in  Jermyn  Street. 

Lord  Mayor.  Do  you  know  any  of  their  associates  ? 

Policeman  X.  I  have  heard  that  Hooker,  who  travels  in  the 
green  and  vegetable  line,  pats  Huxley  on  the  back  a  good  deal ; 
and  Lyell,  the  resurrectionist,  and  some  others,  who  keep  dark  at 
present,  are  pals  of  Huxley's. 

Lord  Mayor.  Lyell,  Lyell ;  surely  I  have  heard  that  name 
before. 

Policeman  X.  Very  like  you  may,  your  Worship;  there's  a 
fight  getting  up  between  him  and  Falconer,  the  old  bone-man, 
with  Prestwich,  the  gravel-sifter,  for  backer. 

J.  Preslwich  to  M.  Edouard  Lartet.  LONDON,  5th  May  1863. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  much  wish  I  could  accompany  Dr  Falconer 
to  Paris  to  assist  and  aid  at  this  curious  inquiry  respecting 
the  Abbeville  jaw,  which  promises  to  be  one  of  the  causes 
cttelres  in  science.  When  Mr  Evans  and  I  called  on  our  ex- 
cellent friend  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  early  in  the  morning  of 
Monday  the  13th  of  April,  M.  de  Perthes  at  once  showed  us  the 
jaw,  together  with  the  flint  implements  he  had  found  with  it. 
About  the  jaw  I  will  say  nothing  more,  as  we  were  not  com- 
petent witnesses  as  to  its  peculiarities,  and  as  to  its  fossil  con- 
dition we  had  no  opportunities  of  examining. 


182  MOULIN    QUIGNON.  [1863. 

We  were,  however,  both  at  once  struck  with  the  peculiar  form 
of  all  the  flint  implements,  with  the  sharpness  of  their  angles, 
and  with  their  peculiar  soiling.  We,  however,  reserved  our 
opinion  and  went  to  look  at  the  pit.  Unfortunately  a  fall  of 
the  gravel  had  taken  place,  and  the  section  was  covered  up  so 
that  we  could  only  see  one  end  of  it.  That  there  was  a  black 
band  was  evident,  and  one  fact  struck  me  in  favour  of  the 
probable  authenticity  of  the  specimens,  which  was,  that  hereto- 
fore all  the  specimens  of  the  flint  implements  had  been  obtained 
from  the  ochreous  gravel,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  if  ignorant 
workmen  wished  to  imitate  the  real  specimens,  they  would 
rather  have  adopted  the  usual  matrix  than  have  sought  one 
which  was  exceptional.  As  we  were  walking  to  St  Gilles  from 
Moulin  Quignon,  one  of  the  men  took  two  specimens  from  his 
pocket  and  gave  them  to  me.  These  were  both  from  an  ochreous 
or  ferruginous  matrix,  and  it  seemed  at  once  evident  to  us  that 
they  were  both  false.  I  therefore  took  the  opportunity  to  wash 
one  at  the  first  cottage  we  came  to.  All  the  soil  came  off  im- 
mediately, and  left  the  flint  quite  fresh  and  clean  and  sharp. 
This  further  evidence  satisfied  us  both  then  that  some  imposition 
was  practised,  and  immediately  we  got  back  to  Abbeville  I  at 
once  told  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  of  our  doubts  and  suspicions 
about  the  workmen.  He  did  not  see  it  in  the  same  light  that 
we  did,  even  after  he  had  himself  washed  one  of  the  specimens. 
We  were  unable  to  stop  longer  to  follow  up  the  inquiry,  and  I 
only  much  regret  that  M.  de  Perthes  did  not  mention  in  a 
sufficiently  pointed  manner  our  doubts  to  Dr  Falconer  and  M. 
Quatrefages,  as  it  might  have  led  to  a  stricter  examination  of  the 
flints  on  the  spot  and  more  reserve  on  the  part  of  my  friend.  It 
was  only  in  fact  after  washing  and  close  inspection  that  the 
nature  either  of  the  jaw  or  of  the  flints  could  be  determined. 
They  were  all  so  much  soiled,  and  that  seemingly  with  intent. 
The  reasons  why  I  doubt  the  genuineness  of  the  flints  are  these : — 

1.  Their  shape  upon  a  type  different  (only  slightly)  from  all 
others  previously  found  at  Abbeville  or  Amiens. 

2.  The  sharpness  of  all  their  angles,  whereas  all  the  specimens 
I  had  previously  seen  from  Moulin  Quignon  showed  more  wear 
than    the   specimens  from    any   other   locality   except   La    Porte 
Mercade. 


Mf.  51.]  FLINT    IMPLEMENTS.  183 

3.  The  entire  absence  of  staining  and  discolorisation,  except 
such  slight  effect  as  might  be  produced  by  a  few  days'  contact 
with  the  matrix,  whereas  I  had  never  before  seen  one  specimen 
out  of  six  (if  so  much)  but  what  were  much  stained  and  per- 
manently discoloured,  usually  "brown,  at  times  with  traces  of  "black. 

4.  The  absence  of  all  dendritic  markings,  and  of  any  portion, 
however  small,  of  the  matrix  adhering.     Such  absence  is  most 
unusual. 

5.  The  great  number  of  the  specimens.     I  had  been  before 
some  six  or  eight  times  to  Moulin  Quignon,  and  have  never 
been  present  at  the  discovery  of  a  single  specimen,  nor  had  the 
workmen  any  to  offer  me. 

6.  The  evident  soiling  of  all  the  specimens  as  though  they 
had  been  put  in  gravel  and  then  water  thrown  over  them,  or 
as  if  they  had  been  taken  in  the  hand  and  rubbed  with  wet 
gravel  and  sand.     In  fact,  on  two  specimens  I  have  seen  distinct 
streaks  produced  by  the  passing  of  gritty  particles  over  a  wet 
surface  and  of  adhering  matrix. 

These  are  my  chief  reasons ;  on  the  other  hand,  I  must  admit 
that  I  have  seen  two  specimens  which  have  the  appearance  I 
assign  to  the  false  ones,  and  which  yet  show  on  one  side  a  certain 
amount  of  wear.  Some  few  specimens  also  are  so  close  to  the 
genuine  forms  that  it  is  most  difficult  to  distinguish ;  and  further, 
Mr  Antonio  Brady,  who  has  just  returned  from  Abbeville,  and 
who  has  been  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  gravel -pits  around 
London,  has  been  to  Moulin  Quignon  and  carefully  examined  the 
section,  and  seems  satisfied  of  the  genuineness  of  the  discovery. 

I  have  now  given  you  the  "  pros  and  cons  "  respecting  the  flint 
implements  and  of  this  remarkable  case.  I  am  still  satisfied  that 
there  is  imposition  in  some,  if  not  the  greater  part,  of  the  flint 
implements,  and  that  of  course  throws  a  doubt  in  my  mind  on 
the  whole  affair.  The  ultimate  conclusions  must,  however,  depend 
upon  a  close  examination  and  analysis  of  the  jaw,  and  in  the  able 
hands  in  which  the  matter  now  rests  I  have  no  doubt  the  truth 
will  be  elicited.  I  much  regret  to  hear  how  much  our  difference 
of  opinion  affects  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  and  nothing  would 
please  me  better  than  he  should  be  able  either  to  substantiate 
this  case  or  be  the  first  to  prove  another. — Believe  me  to  be,  my 
dear  sir,  truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 


184  COMMISSION    OF   INQUIRY.  [l863. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  Saturday  [1863]. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  have  a  letter  of  twelve  pages  with  a 
supplement  of  two  from  Boucher  de  Perthes.  Dr  Falconer,  Car- 
penter, and  Busk  went  to  Paris  last  night.  I  have  a  letter  from 
Lartet  this  morning.  He  much  wishes  you  and  me  to  go  over : 
I  have  just  decided  to  do  so,  and  am  off  by  this  mail  train  to- 
night. If  you  have  anything  to  say,  or  if  you  come,  you  will  find 
me  at  the  Hotel  de  Tours.  Will  Friday  next  suit  you  as  well 
as  Wednesday  to  meet  Dr  Torrell  ?  I  shall  write  to  him  from 
Paris.  I  hope  to  be  back  on  Tuesday,  but  it  is  uncertain. — Ever 
truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestmch  to  H.  Falconer.  LONDON,  9th  May  1863. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER,— I  have  arranged  to  run  over  to  Paris, 
and  shall  start  by  mail  train  to-night.  As  M.  Quatrefages  could 
not  attend  a  meeting  to-day,  in  consequence  of  his  lecture,  until 
after  4J,  I  suppose  there  will  not  be  much  done  to-day,  and  that 
I  shall  not  be  much  after  time  if  I  present  myself  to-morrow 
morning.  I  propose  stopping  at  the  Hotel  de  Tours,  and  will 
call  at  M.  Lartet's  between  10J  and  11.  I  feel  the  case  to  be 
one  in  which  the  good  understanding  with  our  French  friends  is 
so  much  concerned  that  I  feel  as  you  do,  most  anxious  to  discuss 
in  a  personal  and  amicable  interview  all  points  of  difference,  and 
have  therefore  arranged  to  play  truant  from  the  City  for  two  or 
three  days. 

I  shall  bring  over  a  few  more  specimens  with  me,  together 
with  various  gravels  and  some  fragments  of  bone.  An  revoir. — 
Yours  ever  truly,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

Pray  thank  M.  Lartet  for  his  kind  letter  to  me  received  to-day, 
and  which  has  considerably  influenced  my  decision. 

The  English  deputation  consisted  of  Messrs  Prest- 
wich, Falconer,  Busk,  and  Carpenter,  while  the  French 
members  consisted  chiefly  of  members  of  the  Institute, 
— MM.  de  Quatrefages,  Edouard  Lartet  the  palaeon- 
tologist, Desnoyers  the  geologist,  and  Delesse,  professor 


JET.  51.]  MOULIN   QUIGNON.  185 

of  geology,  with  Milne-Edwards  the  zoologist  as  their 
president.  Other  distinguished  naturalists  joined  in 
the  investigation,  as,  for  example,  M.  Albert  Gaudry 
(our  geologist's  old  and  valued  friend),  M.  A.  Milne- 
Edwards,  and  the  Abbe  Bourgeois.  Mr  John  Evans, 
who,  as  we  have  seen,  had  taken  the  keenest  interest 
in  the  inquiry  from  the  time  the  asserted  discovery 
had  been  made,  was  prevented  by  other  engagements 
from  joining  at  this  stage. 

Three  meetings  of  the  Commission  were  held  in 
Paris  early  in  May  1863,  the  proceedings  being  con- 
ducted with  great  solemnity.  Each  member  present, 
whether  French  or  English,  had  been  led  to  recognise 
the  value  of  M.  de  Perthes'  discovery  of  flint  imple- 
ments in  the  valley  gravels  of  the  Somme,  by  the 
persuasive  power  of  one  of  their  number,  who  perhaps 
was  the  most  silent  though  not  the  least  thoughtful  in 
that  remarkable  assemblage.  It  was  Prestwich  who 
had  won  them  all  to  a  belief  in  those  old  worked  flint 
implements.  Nor  was  his  influence  the  least  among 
his  fellow-members  of  the  Conference. 

Unable  to  agree,  they  adjourned  to  Abbeville,  where 
the  members  were  reinforced  by  the  presence  of  M.  de 
Perthes,  with  that  also  of  several  eminent  savants,  such 
as  MM.  Hebert,  de  Vibraye,  &c.  The  sitting  was 
prolonged  far  into  the  night  at  the  quaint  old  Tete  de 
Boeuf.  They  separated  at  2  A.M.,  only  to  reassemble 
a  few  hours  later  for  the  summing  up.  The  proces 
verbaux  of  each  meeting  had  been  voluminous  and 
minute,  but  the  evidence  was  so  perplexing  that  there 
was  only  unanimity  on  the  first  clause,  namely,  "  The 
jaw  in  question  was  not  fraudulently  introduced  into 
the  gravel  -  pit  of  Moulin  Quignon  :  it  had  existed 
previously  in  the  spot  where  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes 


186  FOSSIL   HUMAN   JAW.  [l863. 

found  it  on  the  28th  March  1863."  Thus  the  proceed- 
ings of  this  cause  celebre  came  to  a  close. 

The  result  of  the  conference  was  a  bitter  disappoint- 
ment to  M.  de  Perthes,  since  his  English  friends, 
although  acknowledging  the  fact  of  the  human  jaw 
having  been  truly  found  as  he  described,  yet  refused  to 
admit  that  it  belonged  to  a  remote  antiquity.  His 
letters  subsequently  to  Prestwich  and  Falconer  were 
more  than  pathetic.  *  To  the  latter  he  wrote,  "  Vous 
m'avez  tue!"  Still  he  had  achieved  a  great  work: 
he  had  obtained  public  and  full  recognition  of  his  flint 
Mches  as  the  tools  and  weapons  of  primitive  man. 
"  Besides,  he  had  the  support  among  the  members  of 
the  Commission  who  were  his  distinguished  countrymen, 
and  might  well  have  been  content  to  leave  the  age  of 
the  famous  human  jaw  as  it  rested  in  the  minds  of  his 
English  friends — in  doubt." 

It  had  been  painful  to  Prestwich  and  Falconer  to 
differ  in  opinion  from  their  French  confreres  as  to  the 
remote  age  of  the  jaw,  but  the  latter  were  conscious  that 
their  English  brethren  were  loyal,  and  actuated  solely 
by  their  convictions,  and  by  anxiety  to  arrive  at  the 
truth.  If  we  except  the  natural  disappointment  of 
M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  the  two  sections  (the  French 
and  English)  separated  with  the  same  old  feeling 
of  friendship  and  esteem,  and  with  a  perfect  under- 
standing between  both  parties. 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  ABBEVILLE,  13«A  May  1863. 

MY  DEAR  FALCOKER, — I  seem  scarcely  to  have  had  time  to 
have  a  word  with  you  the  last  few  days.  It  is,  I  must  confess, 
with  surprise  I  find  myself  at  the  conclusion  to  which  we  have 
arrived.  The  case  is  a  remarkable  one,  and  apart  from  a  few 
impatient  words,  has,  I  think,  been  most  fairly  and  friendly 


JET.  51.]  FOSSIL   HUMAN   JAW.  187 

conducted.  It  is  with  pain,  however,  I  have  watched  its  effects 
on  you  the  last  two  days.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  truly  glad 
the  difference  has  been  so  speedily  arranged  and  the  mistake 
corrected.  I  must  take  some  blame  to  myself  for  expressing  an 
opinion  in  default  of  not  having  better  studied  the  section.  To 
you  there  attaches  nought  but  the  most  honourable  straight- 
forwardness. .  .  .  We  are  just  off  to  Boulogne.  My  kind 
regards  to  M.  Lartet. 

In  another  note  to  Falconer  of  the  20th  May,  he 
wrote,  "  I  am  glad  to  hear  matters  have  passed  off 
so  well  in  Paris.  Don't  you  go  and  fraternise  with 
Elie  de  Beaumont.  You  see  I  am  losing  all  reverence 
for  high  authorities." 

There  was  a  humorous  side  to  the  deliberations  over 
the  human  jaw  :— 

II.  A.  C.  Godwin- Austen  to  j.  Prestwicli. 

CHILWORTH,  May  21  [1863]. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — Strange  that  whilst  mine  of  yesterday 
was  on  its  way  to  you,  a  copy  of  the  '  Abbevillois '  should  be  on 
its  way  here,  in  answer  to  my  doubts. 

I  recognised  the  pen  of  M.  B.  de  Perthes,  but  has  it  all  passed 
off  as  he  narrates  ?  If  so,  it  must  have  been  an  interesting  sight. 
I  can  picture  the  procession  se  renclant  clicz  M.  de  Perthes  pour 
lui  [faire]  leurs  felicitations. 

Milne- Ed  wards.  Quatrefages. 

Lartet.  Delesse. 

Vibraye. 

(Here  come  the  three  English  heretics.) 
Hebert.  Desnoyers. 

L'Abbe  Bourgeois.  Garrigou. 

Gaudry.  Delanoue. 

A  strong  rearguard,  for  fear  Falconer  should  bolt. 

Here  in  England  we  must  have  a  day  :  the  Eoyal,  Geological,  and 
Anthropological  Societies  must  muster  in  the  quadrangle  of 


188  BEDFORD.  [1863. 

Burlington  House,  a  fire  must  be  kindled,  and  into  it  must  you, 
and  Falconer,  and  Lyell,  and  Tylor  cast  in  all  that  you  have 
written  against  B.  de  P.  and  his  gravel-diggers. 

On  the  same  day  you  shall  be  limited  to  such  a  dinner  as 
Galton  shall  order  for  you  at  the  Athenaeum.  —  Being  yours 
truly,  EGBERT  A.  C.  GODWIN- AUSTEN. 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  2  SUFFOLK  LANE,  25th  May  1863. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  was  not  anxious  to  write  to  the 
'  Athenaeum,'  and  as  your  short  notice  appeared  last  week,  I  think 
I  had  better  say  nothing.  ...  I  might  then  have  said  a  few 
words  about  the  beds,  but  should  have  been  silent  about  the 
jaw.  This,  in  fact,  will  be  very  much  the  subject  of  my  paper 
to  the  Geological  Society.  I  wish  to  confine  myself  strictly  to 
the  geological  evidence,  as  the  important  question  of  the  age  of 
the  beds  has  again  been  raised  by  Elie  de  Beaumont.  The  two 
points  are  independent— don't  let  us  mix  them.  We  were  at 
Bedford  yesterday.  I  wish  you  could  have  been  with  us.  I 
had  no  intention  of  going  when  I  went  to  ISTash  Mills  on  Satur- 
day. Mr  Wyatt  was  from  home :  I,  however,  called  on  my  ac- 
quaintance Eead,  and  found  his  collection  from  the  railway-cutting 
still  unsold.  I  made  a  bid  for  it,  and  have  obtained  possession. 
It  contains  some  capital  specimens.  One  remarkably  fine  tusk- 
tooth  of  hippopotamus.  Several  teeth  of  the  same  and  of  rhin- 
oceros, deer,  elephant,  felis,  &c.  Also  2  small  tusks  of  hipp. 
Would  you  kindly  look  at  this  collection?  I  should  much 
like  to  give  a  corrected  list  of  the  Bedford  mammalia  in  my 
notice  of  the  Bedford  beds  forming  part  of  my  paper  now  before 
the  Eoyal  Society.  I  am  sorry  to  find  that  neither  Christy  nor 
Busk  can  dine  with  us  to-day. — Ever  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

As  might  be  expected,  a  paper  on  the  subject  from 
Prestwich  was  read  at  the  Geological  Society,  entitled, 
"  On  the  Section  at  Moulin  Quignon,  Abbeville,  and  on 
the  Peculiar  Character  of  some  of  the  Flint  Implements 
recently  discovered  there."  The  following  letter  refers 
to  it :— 


^T.  51.]  ABBEVILLE.  189 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  2  SUFFOLK  LANE,  29th  May. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — I  send  you  the  title  of  my  paper.  I 
have  ascertained  that  the  3rd  and  4th  papers  do  not  come  on. 
So  I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  bring  on  your  notice  about  the 
jaw,  which  I  now  think  you  were  right  in  wishing  to  have  on 
the  same  evening  as  my  paper,  especially  as  there  is  but  one 
more  meeting  after  the  3rd  June.  The  1st  part  of  my  paper  on 
the  Geological  question  I  shall  send  in  to-morrow,  but  the  2nd 
part  on  the  Flints  I  must  reserve  till  Tuesday,  after  our  return 
from  Abbeville,  when  I  hope  the  question  of  their  authenticity 
or  forgery  will  be  finally  settled  by  the  further  opinion  of  Evans, 
Flower,  Lubbock,  and  possibly  Austen. 

As  the  matter  now  stands,  Evans  considers,  as  you,  that  there 
is  some  inexplicable  mystery  about  the  matter  which  he  cannot 
explain.  This,  however,  is  a  question  of  fact  respecting  which  I 
hope  he  will  be  able  to  satisfy  himself  one  way  or  the  other  on 
this  visit.  Not  so  the  jaw,  about  which  I  can  well  understand 
your  reserve,  though  I  do  not  share  it.  There  is  the  same 
mystery,  whilst  unfortunately  there  are  not  the  same  means  to 
investigate  it.  As  the  section  has  been  worked  so  many  feet 
back,  I  do  not  see  how  now  it  can  ever  be  solved  without  the 
discovery  of  another  jaw  or  human  bone  in  the  same  position, 
or,  if  there  has  been  fraud,  by  the  confession  of  the  culprit.  I 
send  you  Delesse's  letter,  which  please  return. 

A  note-book  entry  after  the  conference  records  : — 

30th  May  1863.— 3rd  visit  to  Abbeville  with  Evans,  Lubbock, 
and  Wickham  Flower.  Dr  F.  Garrigou  of  Toulouse  met  us  at 
Abbeville. 

31st,  morning,  to  1'Hopital  Champ  de  Mars  and  Moulin 
Quignon.  One  flint  implement  found  by  us  in  talus,  seemingly 
just  fallen  from  black-band.  .  .  . 

Out  to  Mesnieres  by  Mautort  and  Moyenville. 

A  letter  on  "  The  Human  Jaw  of  Abbeville,"  which 
appeared  in  the  '  Athenaeum '  of  June  13th,  was  from 


190  FOSSIL   HUMAN   JAW.  [l863. 

Prestwich' s  pen.     The  following  note  bears  reference 
to  it : — 

From  John  Evans  to  J.  Prestwich. 

NASH  MILLS,  HEMEL  HEMPSTEAD,  June  17,  1863. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — I  got  back  to  London  this  morning, 
having  left  Belfast  yesterday  and  spent  the  day  in  Dublin.  I 
had  to  get  down  here  by  midday  or  I  would  have  called,  as  I 
should  like  to  have  had  a  chat  with  you  about  two  letters  I  have 
seen  to-day — yours  to  the  '  Athenseum,'  and  one  to  me  from 
Keeping.  I  think  yours  "judicious,"  and  at  the  same  time 
"  suggestive."  It  gives  one  rather  the  impression  of  a  palimp- 
sest MS.,  in  which  beneath  the  modern  writing  one  can  discern 
the  traces  of  an  earlier  and  more  valuable  document.  However, 
I  quite  agree  with  your  standing  up  for  your  French  and  absent 
friends,  and  admire  your  audacity  in  calling  my  deliberate  ex- 
pression of  opinion  after  holding  my  tongue  so  patiently,  "  think- 
ing aloud."  Also  aren't  the  finger  and  brush  marks  just  like 
sand  scratches  ?  Mes  yeux !  as  Quatrefages  would  say.  .  .  . 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  Falconer.  2  SUFFOLK  LANE,  19th  June  1863. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — Pray  think  over  what  I  talked  to  you 
about  yesterday.  Eemember  that  Delesse  particularly  asked  to 
have  any  errata  or  omissions  pointed  out  to  him  for  correction, 
I  presume  before  publishing  in  France.  How  much  better  that 
the  version  so  corrected  should  be  published  there  and  here,  than 
that  a  wrong  version  should  appear,  subject  to  comments  and 
corrections  which  would  be  unnecessary  and  superfluous,  if,  in 
conformity  with  Delesse's  wish,  the  opportunity  be  given  him  to 
correct  if  he  saw  occasion.  I  do  not  in  fact  see  how,  without 
offence,  publication  can  take  place  without  previous  communica- 
tion. I  should  feel  aggrieved  if  I  were  in  Delesse's  place.  You 
have  known  my  opinion  all  along  about  these  corrections,  and  I 
think  you  have  seen  Delesse's  letters  both  to  Dr  C.  and  to  me. 
I  told  Delesse  I  saw  little  to  alter,  and  that  agreeably  with  your 
request  I  had  returned  you  the  Proces  Verbaux  to  complete  your 
examination  of  them.  Any  notes  or  corrections  beyond  my  own 
remarks  I  of  course  did  not  touch  upon,  presuming  that  each 


JET.  51.]         GEOLOGICAL  EXCURSIONS.  191 

member  would  see  to  his  own.  I  foresee  trouble  enough  with 
the  difference  of  opinion  on  the  main  question,  but  I  should  be 
very  sorry  to  see  other  causes  of  differences  with  the  French 
members  introduced.  I  wish  to  have  no  share  or  part  whatsoever 
in  the  contemplated  publication.  As  I  told  Delesse,  I  had  little 
to  alter  or  comment  upon.  My  opinions  are  fairly  represented, 
and  subsequent  events  I  have  recorded  as  far  as  I  wish  to  record 
them  in  the  '  Athenaeum '  and  at  the  Geological  Society.  With 
you  it  is  different.  You  wish,  if  I  understand  rightly,  to  show 
that  your  protest  implied  more  than  the  P.  V.  gives,  and  you 
amplify  your  reasons.  At  what  time  do  you  meet  on  Sunday 
morning  ?  I  will  try  to  be  present,  altho'  my  head  and  hands 
are  full  of  other  matters  at  present,  as  my  partnership  here 
shortly  expires,  and  the  question  of  renewal  is  just  now  under 
discussion.  I  had  some  idea  of  going  to  the  Scotts  at  Walton. 
If  I  don't,  I  will  make  a  point  of  calling  on  you  on  Sunday 
morning. — And  I  am  ever  truly  yours,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwicll  to  H.  Falconer.    '  2  SUFFOLK  LANE,  2±th  June  1863. 

MY  DEAR  FALCONER, — Thanks  for  your  note  and  enclosure. 
I  know  Lexden,  near  Colchester,  very  well.  I  have  visited  it 
several  times,  both  alone  and  with  John  Brown.  The  fossils  are 
not  found  in  a  bed  of  true  peat,  but  in  a  carbonaceous  bed  a  foot 
thick,  [such]  as  occurs  occasionally  at  Grays,  but  more  especially 
like  the  Mundesley  bed.  It  is  overlaid  by  loess.  .  .  . 

On  the  18th  July  Prestwich  was  again  out  on  a 
geological  tour,  beginning  with  Whitchurch  and  in- 
cluding eighteen  different  localities,  ending  with  Port- 
land Bill,  &c.  Later  on  he  was  at  Thame,  and  on 
September  6th  he  was  working  out  the  district  round 
Grayshot,  near  Haslemere,  and  Heigate. 

J.  Prestwicll  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  lith  Sept.  1863. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, —  ...  I  am  thinking  of  running  down  to 
Newmarket  to-morrow  evening,  and  back  on  Monday  morning.  / 
must  revise,  if  possible,  my  sections  of  Bedford,  Icklingham,  Herne 
Bay,  and  the  Waveney  Valley  for  my  Philosophical  Transactions 


192  ROYAL   INSTITUTION.  [l864. 

paper,  and  I  do  not  now  see  what  time  I  can  get  except  my  old 
plan  of  Saturday  night  to  Monday,  and  making  each  a  separate 
excursion.  I  must  also  try  for  two  days  at  Amiens. 

I  shall  be  glad  and  curious  to  hear  what  you  saw  and  what 
you  did  at  Icklingham.  Can  you  give  me  a  few  lines  by  the 
morning's  post,  or  have  you  not  been  there,  and  will  you  go  ? 

September  1 5th  was  the  date  of  this  visit  to  Bedford  ; 
on  the  19th  he  was  at  Herne  Bay,  and  on  the  26th  at 
Icklinorham. 

o 

Early  in  October  he  was  measuring  the  heights  round 
Harleston,  while  on  the  25th  he  was  back  in  the  valley 
of  the  Somme,  ascertaining  the  levels  and  dimensions 
of  the  beds  round  Amiens  and  St  Acheul.  This  expe- 
dition was  at  least  the  fourth  to  the  Amiens  district 
during  the  year. 

The  first  notice  of  a  geological  expedition  in  1864 
was  to  "  Fareham — Bed  Lion,  with  Evans,  14th  Feb- 
ruary 1864."  In  describing  the  coast  at  The  Hook,  he 
observes :  "  Gravel  rises  from  the  sea-level,  and  con- 
tinues without  break  to  highest  part  of  the  cliffs — 30 
feet  high.  Here  on  the  beach,  midway,  J.  Evans  found 
a  flint  implement  of  the  St  Acheul  type — worn,  but  not 
stained." 

During  the  spring,  one  of  the  Friday- evening  lectures 
was  given  by  Prestwich  at  the  Boyal  Institution,  its 
subject  being,  "On  the  Quaternary  Flint  Implements 
of  Abbeville,  Amiens,  Hoxne,  &c. :  their  Geological  Posi- 
tion and  History." 

The  following  letters  are  of  interest  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  69  MARK  LANE,  LONDON,  6th  May  1864. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  don't  think  you  have  ever  been  to  the 
Isle  of  Sheppey.  What  say  you  to  Sittingbourne  and  the  Island, 
back  mid-day  on  Monday  ?  Or  else  Walton  and  Clacton  ?  I  will 


Ml.  52.]  SOCIAL   LIFE.  193 

fix,  however,  definitely,  this  evening;  and  if  you  can  call  to- 
morrow at  Kent  Terrace,  or  write  me  here,  to  say  when  you  will 
call,  I  will  give  final  instructions. 

To  the  Same.  LONDON,  2Qth  Jutie  1864. 

MY  DEAK  EVANS, — My  sister  and  I  are  going  to  Kickmans- 
worth  this  morning  to  look  at  the  house  you  name.  I  have, 
however,  just  bought  eleven  acres  of  land  at  Shoreham  in  the 
valley  of  the  Dart.  The  sale  came  off  on  Friday  afternoon,  and 
the  situation  is  so  charming,  and  the  opportunity  so  rare,  that  I 
sent  down  Mr  Ellis  to  bid  for  me.  The  drawbacks  are  that 
there  is  not  a  drop  of  water,  and  scarcely  an  inch  of  soil  on  the 
ground.  It  is  a  bare  piece  of  chalk-down  with  a  topknot  of  wood. 

Late  in  August  he  was  at  Walton -on -the -Naze, 
where,  as  he  remained  several  days  with  his  sister  Civil, 
there  was  leisure  to  sketch  sections  and  to  visit  locali- 
ties within  reach,  such  as  Clacton,  &c.,  where  elephant 
remains  had  been  found. 

"  Grays,  Sept.  1864. — With  Austen  and  Tylor." 

The  above  brief  entry  precedes  minute  descriptions  of 
thirty-three  localities. 

"  Sept.  17,  1864.— To  Horshamand  Petworfch,"  where 
he  was  at  work  on  the  new  line  of  railway ;  then  on  to 
Chichester  and  Bognor. 

While  thus  in  vague  and  general  terms  indicating  the 
unswerving  devotion  to  his  favourite  science — how  he 
availed  himself  of  every  possible  opportunity  for  its 
prosecution,  and  how  it  absorbed  so  large  a  portion  of 
his  daily  life — it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  social 
side  of  his  life  was  a  very  full  and  active  one.  As  years 
went  on  the  affectionate  relations  with  his  family  never 
relaxed.  No  week  passed  without  at  least  one  happy 
little  family  meeting,  either  at  one  of  his  sisters'  houses 
or  his  own.  He  was  not  only  a  member  of  the  Geologi- 
cal Society  Club,  as  previously  noted,  but  also  of  the 

N 


194  ROYAL   COMMISSION    ON    WATER.  [1864-65. 

Philosophical  Club,  one  of  the  two  dining -clubs  com- 
posed of  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  he  very 
frequently  dined  out  with  friends.  His  Christmas  and 
New  Year  family  gatherings  were  invariably  a  success, 
when  his  house  seemed  to  have  developed  wonderful 
expanding  capacities. 

The  delightful  entertainments  given  each  Christmas 
for  the  young  nephews  and  nieces,  when  there  was  also 
a  muster  of  little  cousins,  were  the  occasions  when  our 
geologist,  surrounded  by  the  children,  was  in  his  very 
element.  It  was  his  custom  to  provide  himself  with  a 
bag  of  new  silver  "pennies"  for  distribution  among  the 
little  ones,  to  whom  no  party  was  ever  equal  to  Uncle 
Joseph's. 

One  paper  was  published  in  the  '  Geological  Maga- 
zine '  for  this  year — "  The  Brick-earth  with  Elephant 
Remains  at  Ilford." 

The  following  letter  from  Sir  Roderick  I.  Murchison 
refers  to  Prestwich's  appointment  as  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Water  Commission  : — 

1st  December  1864. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — On  Monday  last  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham explained  to  me  his  views  respecting  the  water-supply  of 
the  Metropolis,  as  set  forth  in  the  paper  enclosed,  and  asked  me 
to  recommend  the  person  best  qualified  as  a  geologist  to  form 
one  of  the  new  Koyal  Commission,  of  which,  at  the  Duke's  sug- 
gestion, the  Government  has  approved. 

I  hope  you  may  be  able  to  join  this  body,  and  if  you  abandon 
the  Jerusalem  search,  you  may  perhaps  do  so. 

At  all  events,  I  consider  this  question  of  the  water-supply 
more  pressing  and  more  serious  than  that  of  the  coal-supply ;  and 
knowing  your  capacity  to  aid  such  a  very  important  material 
enterprise,  I  felt  bound  to  mention  you  as  the  person  best  quali- 
fied for  the  task. — Yours  sincerely,  ROD.  I.  MURCHISON. 

You  will,  of  course,  send  your  answer  direct  to  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham  and  Chandos,  Council  Office. 


MT.  52-53.]  DEATH   OF   FALCONER.  195 

Another  memoir  was  read  at  the  Royal  Society,  "  On 
some  further  Evidence  bearing  on  the  Excavation  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Somme  by  River- Action,  as  exhibited 
in  a  Section  at  Drucat,  near  Abbeville." 

The  death  of  Hugh  Falconer,  which  took  place  on 
31st  January  1865,  was  a  severe  blow  to  Prestwich, 
who  to  the  end  of  his  life  did  not  cease  to  lament  the 
loss  of  this  friend.  They  had  been  on  terms  of  close 
intimacy  almost  from  the  date  of  Falconer's  return  from 
the  East,  some  ten  years  before  ;  they  had  joined  hand 
in  hand  in  attacking  difficult  geological  questions  ;  and 
they  had  made  plans  for  joint  work  in  the  future — 
plans,  alas  !  never  to  be  realised.  One  of  the  last  notes 
dictated  by  Falconer,  when  unable  to  hold  a  pen,  was 
addressed  to  Joseph  Prestwich,  requesting  him  to  take 
charge  of  the  interests  of  a  case  which  concerned  a 
mutual  friend,  for  whom  he  had  suggested  the  award  of 
the  proceeds  of  the  Wollaston  Fund.  "  I  would  have 
seen  you  to-day  if  I  could,  but  they  would  not  let  you 
come  up,"  were  among  the  last  words  dictated  by  Hugh 
Falconer. 

In  subsequent  years,  Prestwich  was  often  heard 
to  exclaim  when  handling  undetermined  specimens  of 
fossil  bones,  "  What  work  we  should  have  done  together 
if  he  only  had  been  spared  !  "  There  was  no  naturalist 
who  possessed  Hugh  Falconer's  vast  palseontological 
and  botanical  knowledge  combined  (botany  had  been  his 
profession),  no  one  more  ready  of  access  or  more  willing 
to  co-operate  and  impart  that  knowledge.  His  boyish 
mirth  and  racy  originality  made  him  a  brilliant  com- 
panion, while  underlying  all  the  glee  and  laughter- 
provoking  sallies  there  was  the  deeply  affectionate  and 
genial  nature  which  drew  Joseph  Prestwich  as  with  a 
magnet. 


196  SANGATTE.  [1865. 

The  Easter  excursion,  dating  14th  April,  was  made 
to  Antwerp  vid  Harwich,  when  the  three  friends  who 
accompanied  Prestwich  were  Captain  Douglas  Galton, 
Mr  J.  Gwyn- Jeffreys,  and  Mr  Godwin-Austen. 

To  judge  from  the  ground  traversed,  this  expedition 
to  Belgium  must  have  been  of  great  interest.  Our 
geologist,  as  usual,  was  in  search  of  Drift  and  Loess,  and 
intent  on  tracing  the  features  of  the  Gravel  deposits, 
in  which  remains  of  elephants  and  other  extinct 
mammalia  had  been  found,  the  observations  of  his 
friends  being  quoted  and  interwoven  in  his  voluminous 
notes.  When  at  .  Lie'ge  they  saw  the  Schmerling 
Collection ;  and  Prestwich  noted  "  the  Engis  skull 
very  fresh -looking,  so  also  some  of  the  bear  remains. 
The  Engis  Cave  worked  out." 

They  were  joined  at  Louvain  by  M.  Van  Beneden, 
and  at  Brussels  by  M.  Nyst.  Amongst  other  places 
visited  were  Maestricht,  the  Engis  Cave,  Dinant,  the 
Grotte  du  Frontal,  Namur,  Mons,  Spiennes,  &c.  It 
must  have  been  hard  work  to  crowd  so  much  practical 
geology  into  a  ten  days'  tour.  To  make  the  most 
of  their  time,  the  journey  from  Marsieres  to  Lille 
and  Calais  was  by  night  train.  One  day  was  devoted 
to  an  examination  of  Sangatte  Cliff,  to  which  Prest- 
wich returned  alone  on  the  24th.  He  was  keenly 
interested  in  the  geology  of  the  coast  between  Calais 
and  Sangatte,  and  in  going  back  to  the  ground  wished 
to  satisfy  himself  on  points  which  to  his  mind  had 
not  been  perfectly  clear.  He  was  desirous  of  ascer- 
taining the  composition  of  the  Raised  Beach  at  Sangatte 
—the  relative  proportion  of  angular  chert,  pieces  of 
rolled  red  granite,  lydian  stones,  and  pebbles  of  sand- 
stone, &c. 

How  many  visits  were  made  to  the  Calais  coast  ? 


JET.  53.]  GEOLOGICAL   EXCUBSIONS.  197 

Shall  we  say  twelve  \     Twice  twelve  would  be  within 
the  number ! 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  5th  August  1865. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — You  must  have  had  a  delightful  excursion. 
I  long  to  hear  the  details.  I  see  Dupont  has  sent  in  a  prelim- 
inary report  about  the  caves.  I  and  other  members  of  our  Easter 
party  abstained  from  any  communication  on  the  subject  until 
Dupont  and  Van  Beneden  had  made  theirs.  Do  you  know 
when  the  final  one  will  be,  as  I  shall  then  have  a  short  notice 
to  give  of  our  visit  ?  I  see  Dupont  has  modified  some  of  the 
views  he  held  when  we  saw  him.  Thanks  for  your  Archaeopteryx 
paper.  As  the  'Header'  has  taken  it  up,  you  will,  I  expect, 
have  a  battle  to  fight.  .  .  . 

A  paper  of  general  interest,  evidently  embodying 
the  observations  on  his  Easter  trip,  was  read  to  and 
published  by  the  Geological  Society,  entitled,  "  Addi- 
tional Observations  on  the  Raised  Beach  at  Sangatte 
with  Reference  to  the  Date  of  the  English  Channel, 
and  the  Presence  of  Loess  in  the  Cliff  Section." 

The  next  entry  in  a  note -book  for  this  year  is, 
"  Aldborough,  20th  August  1865.  By  Snape  Bridge 
and  Tunstall  to  the  Oyster  Inn  at  Butley,  with  J. 
Evans  and  M.  Gaudry,  &c." 

The  object  of  this  expedition  was  the  inspection 
of  various  crag -pits  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  the 
amassing  of  further  materials  for  his  series  of  Crag 
Memoirs. 

Weymouth  and  its  geology  engaged  his  attention 
in  October ;  and  Blackdown  Hill,  near  Dorchester, 
with  its  great  beds  of  flint,  and  quartzose  gravel,  and 
transported  blocks,  was  a  source  of  special  interest. 

The  last  expedition  for  this  year  was  apparently  that 
made  "to  Thetford  with  John  Evans  and  Wickham 


198  ROYAL   MEDAL. 


1865. 


Flower."  Before  walking  to  Brandon  by  the  river 
valley,  they  were  refreshed  by  the  sight  of  eight  fine 
flint  implements  belonging  to  Mr  Bartlett. 

It  was  in  1865  that  Prestwich  was  awarded  one  of 
the  Royal  Medals  of  the  Royal  Society,  in  recognition 
of  his  original  researches  on  the  valley-deposits  yielding 
flint  implements  and  weapons  of  early  man. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Rod.  I.  Murchison. 

69  MARK  LANE,  LONDON,  3rd  Novr.  1865. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  EODERICK, — Very  many  thanks  for  your  great 
kindness  in  bringing  me  forward  for  the  medal  of  the  Koyal 
Society,  and  for  the  very  kind  and  friendly  terms  in  which  you 
have  announced  to  me  the  award  of  the  Council.  I  am  not 
usually  ambitious  of  public  honours,  but  I  feel  deeply  sensible 
in  this  case  of  so  honourable  a  distinction,  and  especially  do 
I  value  it  as  a  mark  of  the  kind  interest  of  my  friends,  and 
amongst  them  of  one  so  distinguished  as  yourself. 

With  many  thanks,  believe  me  to  be,  my  dear  Sir  Eoderick, 
most  truly  yours,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

This  year  was  not  so  notable  for  field-work  crowded 
into  it  as  for  a  step  he  took  which,  though  apparently 
insignificant,  had  a  great  influence  on  his  life.  During 
several  years  he  had  been  living  and  working  at  the 
highest  pressure — pressure  so  severe  that  it  could  not 
go  on.  It  had  told  on  his  health  ;  and,  conscious  of 
the  strain,  he  felt  that  a  measure  of  rest  was  im- 
perative :  the  difficulty  was  to  tear  himself  from 
London  friends  and  from  the  Societies.  A  happy 
compromise  was  made.  A  country  cottage  as  a  sum- 
mer home  for  him  and  his  sister  Civil  was  first  thought 
of;  but  as  one  to  suit  was  not  easily  found,  Prestwich 
decided  to  build  on  the  few  acres  of  chalk  down  which 
had  happened  to  be  for  sale,  overlooking  the  valley 


MT.  53.]  DARENT-HULME.  199 

of  the  Darent,  and  just  above  the  picturesque  village 
of  Shoreham,  amid  its  hop-gardens.  Fascinated  by 
the  views  from  this  hill,  he  had  bought  the  land  off- 
hand in  the  summer  of  1864,  and  now  set  about  plant- 
ing and  building. 

Most  men  would  have  shrunk  from  erecting  a  house 
upon  a  high  position  which  was  bare  of  trees  and 
without  water ;  but  the  old  habit  of  mind  prevailed, 
and  difficulties  were  nowhere.  It  may  be  remarked 
that  ultimately  the  bleak  chalk  down  was  converted 
into  an  ideal  garden.  The  first  step  towards  building 
was  to  find  an  accessible  water-supply,  for  although 
the  Darent  was  in  sight,— 

"  The  still  Darenth,  in  whose  waters  cleane 
Ten  thousand  fishes  play  and  decke  his  pleasant  streame," — 

yet  it  was  far  down  in  the  valley,  shining  and  gleaming 
in  its  tranquil  winding  course,  just  as  in  the  day  when 
Spenser  sang  its  praise. 

So  confident  was  Prestwich  in  respect  of  water- 
supply,  that  he  at  once  engaged  an  old  well-digger 
to  sink  a  well  168  feet  deep.  The  boring  proceeded, 
but  when  a  depth  of  166  feet  was  reached,  the  two 
workmen  went  to  the  city  and  sought  an  interview 
with  their  employer,  whom  they  found  at  his  desk. 
They  explained  that  there  was  no  sign  of  water,  and 
that  in  their  opinion  it  was  useless  to  bore  to  a  greater 
depth.  "Go  on,"  was  the  quiet  rejoinder.  "You  will 
come  upon  water  to-morrow.  You  are  within  two  feet 
of  it." 

Next  day  it  proved  exactly  as  Prestwich  had  fore- 
told ;  and  ever  after,  among  many  of  the  denizens  of 
the  valley,  he  had  the  reputation — much  to  his  amuse- 
ment— of  not  being  quite  "  canny."  He  knew  the 


200  DARENT-HULME.  [l866. 

exact  level  of  the  springs  in  the  valley,  and  that  the 
well-diggers  must  touch  water  when  they  reached  that 
depth. 

The  laying  out  of  the  ground  and  planting  were 
carried  out  according  to  his  own  plans,  those  of  a 
professional  landscape  gardener  who  had  been  called 
in  not  being  approved.  An  Arctic  plantation  crowned 
the  highest  point,  and  a  clump  of  berberis  where  the 
soil  was  most  surly;  a  sophora  and  a  lavender  walk 
were  marked  off,  but  taking  precedence  of  all,  the 
only  level  strip  of  ground  was  transformed  into  an 
acacia  walk.  This  straight  formal  path,  bordered  by 
tuft -headed  acacias,  was  to  remind  him  of  a  garden 
in  his  beloved  France.  It  may  be  added  that  these 
little  acacias  have  had  a  hard  struggle  for  existence  : 
they  found  the  chalk  an  unfriendly  soil,  and  have 
had  to  be  replaced  from  time  to  time. 

When  the  foundation  of  the  house  was  laid,  it  was 
characteristic  of  our  geologist  that  he  invited  a  little 
festive  gathering  of  relatives  to  share  in  the  proceed- 
ings and  rejoice  with  him.  The  building  was  an 
interest  and  a  recreation,  and  it  is  not  surprising 
that  it  was  destined  to  illustrate  geology  within  and 
without.  Tertiary  flints  faced  the  outer  walls,  while 
the  coigns  and  mullions  were  of  white  Paris  stone. 
Within,  the  mantel -shelves  throughout  were  to  de- 
monstrate the  use  of  English  marbles.  As  a  matter 
of  course,  the  decorations  were  geological.  The  grace- 
ful fronds  and  foliage  of  the  Coal-measures  were  to  be 
adapted  for  cornice  ornament,  while  extinct  animals, 
which  had  flourished  in  this  country  in  bygone  ages, 
were  stencilled  in  panels  on  the  dining-room  ceiling, 
and  were  not  grotesque. 

It  was  in  this  year  (1866)  that  Prestwich  was  ap- 


JST.  54.]  ROYAL   COMMISSION    ON   COAL.  201 

pointed  a  member  of  the  Royal  Coal  Commission,  of 
which  he  became  a  prominent  worker.  He  contributed 
two  of  the  sub  -  reports, — one,  "  On  the  Quantity  of 
Unwrought  Coal  in  the  Coal-Fields  of  Somerset,"  and 
the  other,  "  On  the  Probability  of  finding  Coal  under 
the  Newer  Formations  of  the  South  of  England."  These 
were  written  in  1866,  and  printed  in  1871. 

In  reply  to  an  inquiry  about  water  -  supply  on  a 
farm  near  Ruddington,  four  pages  of  a  letter  are  written 
to  his  young  niece  Sarah  Scott,1  dated  21st  May  1866, 
and  describing  the  process  for  freeing  hard  water  from 
carbonate  of  lime.  He  then  proceeds  : — 

But  I  suspect  the  hardness  of  your  house -water  arises  not 
from  carbonate  of  lime,  but  from  the  presence  of  sulphate  of 
lime  (plaster  rock),  which  is  much  worse  and  more  difficult  to 
get  rid  of.  Boiling  will  do  something.  The  best  thing  to  do 
is,  however,  to  add  carbonate  of  soda  to  the  water,  and  then  boil 
it,  when  a  considerable  sediment  will  be  thrown  down.  Test 
with  reddened  litmus  paper  to  see  that  no  free  alkali  remains. 
One  or  other  of  these  processes  will,  I  trust,  my  dear  Sarah,  save 
your  complexion  and  Alice's  hands.  If  they  do  not  succeed, 
write  me  again  at  once.  It  is  a  great  bore  you  have  not  got 
a  garden — apply  forthwith  for  a  cottage  allotment.  I  should 
much  like  to  see  your  quarters :  I  hope  you  will  send  up  a 
sketch  of  them.  If  you  have  nothing  better  to  do,  write  very 
often  to  your  affectionate  uncle,  J.  PIIESTWICH. 

There  is  a  spice  of  fun  in  the  suggestion  of  a  cot- 
tage allotment :  the  farm  had  been  taken  by  a  nephew 
of  independent  means  as  an  interesting  experiment. 

In  1866  Dr  Henry  Woodward,  our  chief  authority 
on  fossil  Crustacea,  published  a  particular  account  of 
several  forms  allied  to  the  living  king-crabs  (Limulus), 
which  had  been  described  by  Prestwich  in  his  early 

1  Wife  of  Mr  O'Neill,  British  Consul  at  Eouen. 


202  DEATH    OF   CIVIL   PRESTWICH.  [1866-67. 

researches  on  the  coal-field  of  Coalbrook  Dale.  For 
the  two  species  of  Limulus  then  recorded  by  Prestwich 
Dr  Woodward  proposed  the  new  genus  Prestwichia,  as 


Prestivichia  (Limulus}  rotundata,  Prestw. 

it  was  necessary  to  separate  the  old  forms  of  Xiphosura 
from  those  now  living.1 

Prestwich  was  now  serving  on  two  Royal  Com- 
missions, his  practical  knowledge  of  each  subject 
rendering  him  a  valuable  member  of  both.  The  only 
leisure  for  superintending  his  planting  and  building 
was  snatched  on  Saturdays,  when  by  the  earliest 
train  on  dark  winter  mornings  he  and  his  sister 
Civil  made  their  way  to  Shoreham  to  watch  each 
step  of  progress.  But  before  the  end  of  December 
the  shadow  of  death  darkened  his  home,  and  he 
was  overtaken  by  the  greatest  calamity  which  had 
yet  befallen  him.  This  was  the  death,  after  a 
short  illness,  of  his  sister  Civil,  which  took  place  on 
the  27th  December.  She  had  been  his  devoted  com- 
panion during  the  last  ten  years  of  her  life.  This  loss 

1  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxiii.  p.  32. 


MT.  54-55.]  BOVEY  TRACEY.  203 

is   made   known   in   a   few   lines   to   his   friend   John 
Evans  :— 

10  KENT  TERRACE,  27th  Dec.  1866. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  have  lost  the  best  of  sisters.  She  passed 
away  this  morning  tranquilly  and  without  pain.  I  feel  the  loss 
is  to  me  irreparable.  She  was  my  object  in  life,  and  so  good, 
gentle,  and  affectionate.  I  feel  assured  of  your  sympathy.  With 
kind  regards  to  Mrs  Evans,  I  am,  your  affectionate  and  dis- 
tressed friend,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

His  kind  sister  Emily  took  the  vacant  place  :  she 
arranged  to  remain  and  make  a  home  for  him,  and  soon 
the  weekly  visits  to  Shoreham  were  resumed.  Happily, 
he  was  as  usual  overwhelmed  with  work,  and  in  the 
spring  he  led  a  little  band  of  his  old  companions  out 
on  a  geological  expedition. 

flaster  Excursion,  April  1867. — J.  P.,  God  win- Austen,  Gwyn- 
Jeffreys,  and  Captain  Galton ;  joined  at  Plymouth  by  Spence 
Bate. 

This  expedition  was  an  examination  of  the  Bovey 
Tracey  district.  The  age  of  its  interesting  Lignite  beds 
had,  until  Professor  Heer's  determination  of  the  plant 
remains,  been  an  unsettled  question  among  geologists. 
The  accuracy  of  his  opinion  that  the  group  of  the  Bovey 
Lignites  belonged  to  the  Lower  Miocene  period  has, 
however,  been  questioned  by  Mr  J.  Starkie  Gardner,1 
the  leading  authority  on  Tertiary  Flora,  who  considers 
the  Bovey  Tracey  fossil  plants  to  be  of  the  same  age  as 
those  found  at  Bournemouth,  and  therefore  to  belong 
to  the  Bagshot  Series. 

Prestwich's  object  was  not  so  much  to  explore  the 
Lignite  beds  as  to  examine  the  geological  structure  of 

1  British  Eocene  Flora,  Monographs  of  the  Palaeontographical  Society, 
vol.  xxiii.  (1879),  p.  19. 


204  ST  PAUL'S  CATHEDRAL. 

Bovey  Tracey  and  the  surrounding  district, — to  trace 
every  exhibition  of  Gravel,  ascertaining  its  constituents 
and  the  various  heights  of  its  occurrence  above  the 
river.  His  notes  are  suggestive  and  of  much  interest, 
but  we  give  only  one  brief  extract : * — 

Beyond  Bovey  Tracey  the  rocks  are  bare ;  but  descending  to  the 
river  at  Woolford  Bridge,  we  found  ledges  of  a  Gravel  terrace 
fringing  the  valley  at  a  height  of  about  25  feet  above  the  river. 
It  contained  largish  blocks  of  rolled  granite,  no  scratched  pebbles, 
and  is  about  4  to  6  feet  thick.  At  one  place  it  is  overlaid  by 
imperfect  loess  and  angular  debris.  • 

To  judge  from  one  early  morning's  start,  the  little 
band  of  geologists  was  indeed  enthusiastic — "  Saturday 
by  rail  to  St  Austell,  at  3  A.M." 

An  interchange  of  letters  with  Sir  Charles  Lyell 
took  place  this  year,  in  reference  to  the  foundations  of 
St  Paul's  Cathedral. 

Sir  C.  Lyell  to  J.  Prestwich. 

73  HARLEY  STREET,  LONDON,  12th  June  1867. 

DEAR  PRESTWICH, — I  have  been  requested  by  the  Dean  of  St 
Paul's  to  read  a  page  in  Wren's  '  Parentalia '  (p.  285),  in  which 
he  mentions  the  strata  or  layers  of  earth  one  above  another 
through  which  they  dug  when  they  made  the  foundation  of 
St  Paul's. 

It  is  said  that  the  old  church  had  stood  on  very  close  and  hard 
pot-earth,  which  was  about  six  feet  thick,  but  thinning  to  four 
feet  towards  the  south.  Below  this  they  found  nothing  but  dry 
sand ;  and  still  lower,  water  and  sand  mixed  with  periwinkles  and 
other  sea-shells.  These  were  about  the  level  of  low-water  mark. 
They  continued  boring  till  they  came  to  hard  clay.  In  conclusion, 
it  is  said,  "by  these  shells  it  was  evident  the  sea  had  been  where 
now  the  hill  is  on  which  St  Paul's  stands." 


1  Further  notes  have  been  printed  in  the  Geological  Magazine,  Decade  iv. 
vol.  v.  p.  414. 


Ml.  55.]  FOUNDATIONS    OF   ST   PAUI/S.  205 

I  remember  some  years  ago  somebody  showing  me  a  section 
which  was  dug  in  our  time  at  St  Paul's,  and  my  notion  is  that 
the  strata  belonged  to  the  Plastic  Clay  and  sands  below  the  Lon- 
don Clay.  Can  you  tell  me  whether  this  is  the  case,  and  whether 
anything  has  been  printed  on  the  subject  ?  I  suppose  Wren 
would  call  any  fossil  marine  univalves,  periwinkles. 

Milman  also  asks  me  what  the  pot-earth  is.  I  suppose,  as  he 
says  that  the  Eomans  made  pottery  of  it,  that  it  may  be  an 
argillaceous  bed  of  the  Plastic  Clay  series  ?  Wren  says  that, 
viewed  by  a  microscope  when  dissolved  in  water,  this  pot-earth 
was  impalpable  fine  sand  which  would  vitrify  with  fire. 

As  Milman  leaves  town  in  a  few  days,  I  should  be  very  glad  of 
an  early  reply.  Excuse  so  much  trouble,  and  believe  me,  ever 
truly  yours,  CHAS.  LYELL. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell. 

10  KENT  TEREACE,  H*A  June  1867. 

DEAR  SIR  CHARLES,  —  I  know  of  no  account  of  the  strata 
beneath  St  Paul's  besides  that  given  by  Wren.  Some  time 
ago  I  went  carefully  into  the  matter,  and  the  conclusion  I 
came  to  was  that  the  beds  he  described  were  all  Drift  beds. 

In  the  1st  place,  the  London  Clay  under  St  Paul's  must  be 
about  140  to  150  feet  thick,  and  in  it  no  bed  of  sand  occurs 
about  the  level  of  low-water  mark.  Secondly,  if  the  L.  C.  had 
been  traversed,  the  sand-bed  beneath  it  would  at  that  time  (what- 
ever may  now  be  the  case)  have  been  found  full  of  water.  If  by 
"  hard  beach "  had  been  meant  any  of  the  conglomerate  beds  of 
the  Woolwich  Series,  "  sand  "  and  not  "  natural  hard  clay  "  would 
most  probably  have  been  found  under  it.  It  is  true  that  the 
words  "periwinkles  and  other  marine  shells"  might  naturally 
enough  have  been  applied  to  the  fossil  Paludina  lenta,  the 
Pectunculus,  &c.,  of  those  beds,  or  might  apply  to  some  fossils 
of  the  London  Clay,  especially  the  masses  of  univalves  occasion- 
ally found  in  the  blocks  of  Septaria ;  but  the  other  reasons  are, 
I  think,  too  strong  against  the  description  referring  to  the  Ter- 
tiary strata. 

On  the  other  hand,  "  pot-earth,"  6  feet  thick,  and  thinning  off 
to  4  feet,  and  containing  fine  sand,  applies  very  well  to  the  top 
brick-earth ;  under  this  comes  dry  sand  (the  upper  part  of  the 


206  WORK    AND   RECREATION.  [1867-68. 

sand  and  gravel  is  always  dry) ;  then  the  lower  part  of  the  sand 
and  gravel,  in  which  the  water  is  held  up  by  the  London  Clay, 
and  in  which  all  the  old  pump  springs  of  London  occur,  is  all  in 
order.  In  this  part  of  the  series,  Unios,  Cyclas,  Limnea,  &c., 
might  occur,  and  it  would  not  be  surprising  that  Wren  should 
have  described  them  as  he  did,  as  the  occurrence  of  a  like  deposit 
in  the  gravel  at  Clapton  or  Hackney  was  described  in  some  of 
the  newspapers  in  nearly  similar  terms,  only  about  six  years 
since.  Certainly  the  depth  would  not  be  about  the  level  of  low- 
water  mark,  as  the  ground  at  St  Paul's  is  40  feet  above  the 
Thames,  and  the  depth  to  the  London  Clay  cannot  be  more  than 
20  to  25  feet,  but  it  might  have  been  considered  that  "  about " 
would  give  the  measure  near  enough. 

By  "  hard  beach  "  I  think  compact  subangular  gravel  must  be 
meant.  Beneath  this,  "  natural  hard  clay  "  applies  perfectly  to 
the  London  Clay.  Pray  excuse  this  rather  hurried  scrawl,  and 
believe  me  to  be  truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

There  is  no  record  of  published  papers  for  this  year, 
but  this  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  of  his  having 
thrown  himself  with  his  usual  zeal  into  the  require- 
ments of  the  .Royal  Water  Commission.  Every  spare 
hour  was  devoted  to  the  delineation  of  maps,  in  order 
to  show  the  available  sources  of  water-supply.  He  was 
also  elaborating  the  first  of  his  series  of  Crag  memoirs  ; 
and  although  he  had  explored  the  Eastern  counties 
times  without  count,  he  went  again  and  again  into 
Norfolk  during  this  year  to  investigate  some  special 
point,  or  to  obtain  some  fresh  piece  of  evidence. 

The  Saturdays  at  Shoreham  had  become  an  institu- 
tion, and  the  garden  an  unending  interest — each  shrub, 
each  tree,  being  planted  under  his  own  immediate  super- 
intendence. These  weekly  visits  to  the  garden  and 
frequent  geological  excursions  were  more  than  ever 
needed  for  the  restoration  of  his  health,  which  had 
become  impaired  by  continued  high  pressure.  His 


MT.  55-56.]  MEMOIRS    ON   THE   CRAG.  207 

kind  physician,  Dr  Owen  Rees,  declared  that  he  was 
suffering  from  "  nothing  but  overwork."  If  the  subjects 
on  which  he  was  engaged  could  be  passed  under  review, 
we  should  only  wonder  that  he  had  not  altogether  in- 
capacitated himself.  The  Reports  for  the  two  Royal 
Commissions  were  imperative,  so  that  his  own  personal 
work  had  for  a  time  to  be  set  aside.  He  had  been 
eagerly  amassing  and  arranging  materials  for  his 
memoirs  on  the  Crag ;  besides  which  the  Brixham 
Cave  Committee  had  passed  a  resolution  that  Mr 
Brest wich  should  draw  up  the  General  Beport  for 
the  Boyal  Society,  so  that  all  the  special  reports 
were  one  by  one  handed  over  to  him. 

Letters  to  his  attached  friend,  Mr  William  Colchester 
of  Ipswich,1  refer  to  his  forthcoming  Crag  memoir  : — 

J.  Prestwick  to  W.  Colchester. 

69  MARK  LANE,  LONDON,  23rd  January  1868. 

MY  DEAR  COLCHESTER, — My  long-in-hand  paper  on  the  Crag  is 
coming  on  at  the  Geological  [Society]  on  Febry.  26th.  Although 
my  sections  are  numerous,  I  find  I  want  some  exact  levels.  Do 
you  know  of  any  youth  at  Woodbridge  or  Ipswich  who  could  run 
a  line  of  level  from  the  river  at  Sutton,  passing  over  the  top  of 
the  hill  at  your  farm  (and  by  the  old  Coralline  Crag  coprolite 
pit),  then  by  the  Bullock-yard  pit  to  the  Crag  pit  at  Shottisham 
— a  day's  work  for  20s.  to  30s.  ? 

I  think  I  must  also  run  down  again  myself  to  see  it  done  and 
to  visit  a  coprolite  pit  I  have  heard  of  near  Orford,  and  which  I 
suspect  to  be  in  the  Coralline  Crag.  My  friend  Jeffreys,  the  dis- 
tinguished conchologist,  proposes  to  accompany  me.  Are  you 
disposed  to  join  us  ?  It  will  be  for  a  three-days'  run — camping 
out  at  Bawdsey  and  Orford.  I  shall  want  to  spend  an  evening 
also  at  Woodbridge  to  see  Mr  Whincopp.  No  fixed  time  yet. 
With  kind  regards  to  Mrs  Colchester  and  family,  I  am,  very  truly 
yours,  Jos.  PRESTWIUH. 

1  William  Colchester,  born  July  21, 1813  ;  died  November  15,  1898. 


208  MEMOIRS    ON    THE    CRAG.  [1868-69. 

J.  Prestwich  to  the  Same.  [February  1868.] 

MY  DEAR  COLCHESTER,  —  Mr  J.  Gwyn-  Jeffreys  and  I  have 
decided  to  leave  town  (Water  Commission  permitting)  on  the 
evening  of  Monday  the  10th.  We  shall  go  to  Wickham  Station, 
and  next  day  make  a  round  of  the  Orford  district.  We  shall  get 
to  Woodbridge  at  night,  and  pass  Wednesday  at  Sutton,  return- 
ing in  the  evening  to  see  Mr  Wliincopp's  collection.  Thursday 
we  shall  pass  at  Bawdsey  Cliff. 

Join  us  if  you  can  and  if  agreeable.  As  I  may  want  to  tres- 
pass at  Sutton,  can  you  oblige  me  with  a  line  to  anybody  there  ? 
Will  you  allow  me  also  to  dig  a  hole  or  holes  in  your  ground  ? 
We  shall  leave  on  Thursday  evening. — In  haste,  I  am,  very  truly 
yours,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

The  first  two  of  his  memoirs  on  the  Crag  were 
published  this  year  in  abstract  by  the  Geological 
Society,  the  full  text  not  appearing  until  1871.  He 
also  wrote  a  Report  for  the  Metropolitan  Board  of 
Works,  "On  Boring  Operations  at  Crossness." 

The  preparation  of  the  water -maps  did  not  alto- 
gether absorb  his  leisure,  since  early  in  May  we  read 
of  his  being  again  at  Walton-on-Naze,  working  on 
sections  doubtless  with  a  view  to  the  completion  of 
the  third  of  the  series  of  Crag  memoirs.  The  same 
object  led  him  to  Saxmundham,  where,  in  Mr  E. 
Cavell's  collection,  he  noted  "  one  beautiful  tooth  of 
Mastodon  with  Coralline  Crag  in  hollows."  Numerous 
Crag  localities  were  explored. 

During  Easter,  Prestwich  was  again  at  Amiens  and 
St  Acheul,  examining  the  pits  to  ascertain  whether  any 
new  features  had  been  disclosed.  Before  returning  to 
England  he  made  a  list  of  shells  in  M.  de  Vibraye's 
collection  from  Pontlevois. 

In  early  summer  he  was  geologising  with  his  friend 
Evans  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Nash  Mills,  the  inter- 


Ml.  56-57.]  DARENT-HULME.  209 

esting  home  of  the  latter,  which  is  practically  a  museum 
crowded  with  archaeological  and  antiquarian  riches,  and 
where  our  geologist  was  a  frequent  guest.  He  notes, 
"  June  7,  1868.  To  Kings  Langley,  thence  with  J.  E. 
to  Colney  Street." 

In  July  Devizes  and  Frome  were  the  centres  for  ex- 
ploration, and  in  August  Professor  Morris  accompanied 
him  to  another  old  haunt — Grays  Thurrock,  the  attrac- 
tion there  being  a  new  section,  of  which  several  sketches 
are  given,  and  in  which  he  discriminates  that  "these 
gravels  seem  derived  direct  from  the  high-level  gravels, 
and  are  not  like  those  in  adjoining  pits." 

But  the  field  work  for  this  year  was  not  yet  over, 
as  in  October  he  was  hard  at  work  in  the  coal-field  of 
Bristol  and  Radstock,  with  the  geology  of  which  he 
was  well  acquainted. 

Early  in  January  1869  the  final  move  was  made  to 
the  house  at  Shoreham,  which  was  called  "  Darent- 
Hulme  " — Hulme  being  in  remembrance  of  the  old  family 
place  in  Lancashire.  Instead  of  merely  a  cottage  for 
summer  sojourn,  it  was  henceforward  to  be  Prestwich's 
home,  the  bulky  collections  of  fossils,  minerals,  and 
flint  implements  filling  every  available  corner.  The 
season  was  midwinter,  but  he  was  eager  to  be  on  the 
spot,  ready  to  watch  the  first  promise  of  spring.  Ter- 
race walks  had  been  cut  on  the  steep  chalk  slope,  and 
other  paths  devised,  which  were  concealed  from  one 
another  by  intercepting  shrubberies.  The  pyramid  and 
cordon  fruit-trees  came  from  the  nursery-gardens  near 
Paris,  and  indoors  as  well  as  out-of-doors  there  were 
numerous  reminders  of  France. 

On  January  15  Prestwich  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  an  honour  which 
he  greatly  prized. 


210  GEOLOGICAL    EXCURSIONS.  [i860., 

The  two  companions  who  joined  him  at  Easter 
are  mentioned  thus:  "March  26,  1869.  Galton  and 
Smyth,"  l  with  both  of  whom  he  was  on  terms  of  closest 
friendship. 

From  Paris  they  made  a  delightful  tour  to  Cceuvres, 
and  at  Soissons  M.  Watelet  accompanied  them  in  their 
rounds.  From  Rheims  they  proceeded  to  Epernay, 
and  thence  to  Eilly.  Although  plant  remains  of  the 
Calcaire  Grassier  had  been  noted,  and  lignite  beds  at 
Avize  were  of  special  interest,  still  it  is  evident  that 
the  object  of  this  excursion  -was  to  note  the  localities 
in  which  "Drift"  could  be  traced.  Later  in  summer 
he  was  again  in  Belgium,  while  in  August  the  district 
round  Petersfield  was  explored  in  pursuit  of  "Drift"; 
and  for  the  same  object  nineteen  other  localities  were 
inspected  on  a  brief  ten  days'  tour.  The  following 
letter  refers  to  this  expedition,  and  to  the  meeting  of 
the  British  Association  at  Exeter : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  SIst  August  1869. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  returned  from  Belgium  here  yesterday, 
and  was  preparing  for  a  start  to  Suffolk  to-day.  I,  however,  last 
night  saw  occasion  to  alter  my  plans,  and  am  off  this  evening  to 
look  at  one  or  two  points  I  have  omitted  to  see,  regarding  the 
spread  of  the  gravels  between  Petersfield  and  Winchester.  I 
shall  take  the  opportunity  to  run  on  to  Southampton  and  Eomsey 
to  see  the  flint  implements  and  gravels  there.  Can  you  give  me 
the  exact  spots  ? — the  bearing  in  inches  and  from  the  nearest 
church  on  ordnance  map,  or  still  better,  if  you  are  yourself  dis- 
posed to  run  over  the  ground  again.  I  shall  go  to  Shaftesbury, 
and  possibly  farther.  At  present  letters  will  find  me  to-morrow 
(Wednesday),  P.  0.,  Petersfield.  On  Thursday  morning  I  shall 

1  Warington  W.  Smyth,  at  one  time  Mining  Geologist  to  the  Geological 
Survey,  Professor  of  Mining  at  the  Royal  School  of  Mines,  and  Crown 
Inspector  of  Mines ;  knighted  in  1887.  Born  1817 ;  died  1890. 


Photo  by  C.  Esscnhig/i  Corke,  Scvenoaks. 

SIR  WARINGTON   W.   SMYTH,    F.R.S. 


JET.  57.]  ROYAL   COMMISSIONS.  211 

be  at  Bishop's  Waltham.  On  Thursday  evening  at  Southampton. 
On  Friday  morning  at  Eomsey.  On  Saturday  morning  at  Gran- 
borne  (?).  You  seem  to  have  a  good  meeting  at  Exeter. — Believe 
me  to  be  truly  yours,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

During  this  season  the  maps  for  the  Royal  Water 
Commission  were  completed  and  handed  in.  Prestwich 
in  after  years  was  heard  to  say  that  they  had  cost 
him  two  years  of  hard  work.  But  as  the  colouring  of 
these  maps  for  publication  was  considered  too  costly, 
they  were  relegated  to  the  Stationery  Office,  where 
(such  was  his  belief)  they  have  been  lying  ever  since. 
The  subject  was  one  to  which  he  rarely  alluded,  but 
when  he  did  so,  it  was  to  express  his  intention  to 
request  some  friend  to  ask  a  question  in  Parliament 
as  to  the  fate  of  his  maps.  Somehow  this  was  never 
done. 

In  the  following  letter  Sir  Roderick  Murchison  writes 
in  generous  terms  as  to  our  geologist's  work  on  the 
Royal  Coal  Commission  : — 

Sir  R.  I.  Murchison  to  J.  Prestwich. 

16  BELGRAVE  SQUARE,  21st  October  1869. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — In  the  little  exordium  and  brief  sum- 
mary with  which  I  commence  the  Eeport  on  the  labours  of  the 
Committee  D  of  the  Coal  Commission,  it  is  my  wish  to  con- 
clude the  references  I  make  to  geological  labours  in  England  to 
strengthen  our  case,  by  a  citation  of  the  general  result  of  your 
labours  in  the  district  which  you  undertook  to  examine.  Your 
own  report  in  extenso  will  necessarily  follow. 

But  ad  interim  a  few  words  of  honest  praise  from  your  admirer 
and  old  friend  can  do  nothing  but  good,  and  it  will  gratify  me  to 
have  your  assent  for  the  insertion  in  my  preamble  of  the  accom- 
panying paragraph. — Yours  sincerely,  KOD.  I.  MURCHISON. 

"  Even  in  respect  to  the  well-known  coal-fields,  parts 


212  ROYAL    COMMISSION    ON    COAL.  [l869. 

of  which  are  covered  by  various  deposits,  and  wherein 
coal  exists  at  greater  depths  than  those  of  the  present 
workings,  I  am  bound  specially  to  record  my  admira- 
tion of  the  researches  of  one  of  my  colleagues.  In  his 
examination  of  the  Bristol  and  Gloucester  coal- basin, 
this  distinguished  geologist,  Mr  Joseph  Prestwich,  has 
shown  on  large  maps  and  elaborate  sections,  the  results 
of  much  close  work,  that  in  this  tract  alone  there  re- 
mains untouched  an  -amount  of  coal  which,  if  worked 
to  a  maximum  depth  of  2000  feet  (a  depth  now  reached 
in  some  coal-pits),  will  last  during  a  period  of  850  years 
at  the  present  rate  of  consumption  ! 

"  The  evidences  on  which  this  cheering  estimate  are 
founded  are  given  by  Mr  Prestwich  himself  in  his 
Special  Report  as  one  of  the  Royal  Commissioners." 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Rod.  I.  Murchison. 

SHOREHAM,  nr.  SEVENOAKS,  24JA  Oct.  1869. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  KODERICK, — Many  thanks  for  your  kind  note 
and  friendly  proposal  to  notice  my  work  in  the  Bristol  coal- 
field. I  can  assure  you  I  very  much  value  the  approval  of  so 
old  and  valued  a  friend,  and  my  early  leader  in  geology.  I 
have  no  alteration  to  suggest  in  your  paragraph  except  "  Somer- 
setshire "  for  "  Bristol,"  and  instead  of  "  will  last  during  a  period 
of  850  years  at  the  present  [rate]  of  consumption,"  it  should  be, 
"  would  suffice  for  the  consumption  of  the  district  now  supplied 
by  that  coal-field  for  a  period  of  850  years  at  the  present  rate  of 
consumption,"  for  my  estimates  referred  only  to  the  local  supply 
and  consumption.  —  Believe  me  to  be,  my  dear  Sir  Koderick, 
yours  truly  and  obliged,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

Professor  Huxley's  term  of  office  as  President  of  the 
Geological  Society  being  about  to  expire,  the  choice 
fell  upon  Prestwich  as  his  successor. 


J5T.  57.]      PRESIDENT    OF   THE   GEOLOGICAL   SOCIETY.       213 

T.  H.  Huxley  to  J.  Prestwich.  JERMYN  STREET,  Dec.  16,  1869. 

MY  DEAR  PKESTWICH, — Many  thanks  for  your  letter.  Your 
consent  to  become  President  for  the  next  period  will  give  as 
unfeigned  satisfaction  to  the  whole  body  of  the  Society  as  it 
does  to  me  and  your  other  personal  friends.  I  have  looked  upon 
the  affair  as  settled  since  our  last  talk,  and  a  very  great  relief  it 
has  been  to  my  mind. 

There  is  no  doubt  public  dinner  and  speaking  (and  indeed  all 
public  speaking)  is  nervous  work.  I  funk  horribly,  though  I 
never  get  the  credit  for  it.  But  it  is  like  swimming— the  worst 
of  it  is  in  the  first  plunge,  and  after  you  have  taken  your  header 
it  is  not  so  bad  (just  like  matrimony,  by  the  way,  only  don't  be 
so  mean  as  to  go  and  tell  a  certain  lady  I  said  so,  because  I  want 
to  stand  well  in  her  books). 

Of  course  you  may  command  me  in  all  ways  in  which  I  can 
possibly  be  of  use.  But  as  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Society,  and 
personally  and  scientifically  popular  with  the  whole  body,  you 
start  with  an  immense  advantage  over  me,  and  will  find  no  diffi- 
culties before  you. 

We  will  now  consider  this  business  generally  settled,  and  I 
shall  speak  of  it  officially. — Ever  yours  very  sincerely, 

T.  H.  HUXLEY. 


A  few  days  before  his  marriage  Mr  Prestwich,  on 
the  Anniversary  Meeting  of  the  Geological  Society, 
assumed  the  Presidency  on  his  friend  Professor  Huxley 
vacating  the  chair.  The  Anniversary  dinner  was  en- 
livened by  a  humorous  speech  from  the  retiring  Presi- 
dent, who  twitted  his  successor  in  office  on  having 
forsaken  the  geological  exploration  of  the  Holy  Land 
for  the  holy  estate  of  matrimony.  This  allusion  re- 
ferred to  the  fact  of  Prestwich  having  assented  to 
the  request  of  the  Committee  of  the  Palestine  Ex- 
ploration Fund  to  go  out  as  geologist  to  the  Holy 
Land.  Somehow  public  interest  in  the  subject  lagged, 


214          PRESIDENT    OF   THE   GEOLOGICAL   SOCIETY.         [1870. 

and  the  projected  expedition  was  not  for  some  years 
organised.1 

The  following  letter  refers  to  this  Anniversary 
dinner : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Rod.  I.  Murchison. 

SHOREHAM,  near  SEVENOAKS,  Feb.  20,  1870. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  RODERICK, — I  have  to  thank  you  very  much  and 
very  sincerely  for  the  kind  and  handsome  and  only  too  flatter- 
ing way  in  which  you  spoke  of  my  geological  work  on  Friday. 
One  of  the  pleasantest  recollections  of  my  life  was  that  to  which 
you  alluded,  when  I,  quite  as  a  young  man — almost  in  fact  a  boy 
— met  you  on  your  own  ground,  was  taken  by  you  by  the  hand, 
encouraged  to  persevere,  and  instructed  how  to  proceed. 

I  shall  always  remember  with  sincere  gratitude  the  effect  that 
encouragement  and  kindly  sympathy  had  on  me  —  a  kindness 
which  has  been  continued  and  repeated  on  many  subsequent 
occasions,  and  of  which  I  am  truly  and  deeply  sensible. 

I  alluded  in  my  speech  to  old  leadership  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Society  that  was  much  more  active  than  now.  I  well  recol- 
lect the  admiration  I  felt  for  your  work,  and  the  respect  I  felt 
for  your  opinion,  and  I  know  there  are  still  many  points  in 
theoretical  geology  on  which  our  opinions  still  show  strong 
alliances. 

I  feel  extremely  thankful  everything  went  off  so  well  the  other 
evening,  and  there  again  I  feel  much  indebted  to  the  support  of 
kind  and  valued  friends,  in  the  first  rank  of  whom  I  hope  you 
will  always  allow  me  to  consider  you.  And  I  am,  my  dear  Sir 
Eoderick,  most  sincerely  yours,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

Sir  E.  I.  Murchison  to  J.  Prestwich. 

16  BELGRAVE  SQUARE,  Feb.  21,  1870. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — I  am  glad  to  find  that  you  were  grati- 
fied with  the  manner  in  which  I  proposed  your  health  at  our 
anniversary. 

1  The  survey  of  Western  Palestine  was  eventually  undertaken  by  Prof. 
E.  Hull,  F.R.S.,  and  his  Eeport  was  published  in  1886. 


^T.  58.]      PRESIDENT    OF   THE    GEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY.       215 

I  spoke  from  the  warmest  feelings  of  my  heart,  and  I  re- 
joiced that  my  expressions  were  so  cordially  cheered  by  the 
assembly. 

So  much  reliance  do  I  place  on  your  judgment  and  fairness, 
that  if  it  should  be  considered  desirable  to  have  a  good  record  as 
to  truths  of  geology  prepared  under  the  title  of  a  '  Geological 
Bible'  you  should  be  the  man  I  would  select  to  bring  out  such  a 
work. 

Mr  [Charles]  Falconer  has  invited  me  to  your  wedding  and  the 
ddjeuner,  which  has  much  pleased  me,  and  I  shall  certainly  be 
present  to  wish  you  all  joy  and  happiness. — Ever  yours  sincerely, 

EOD.  I.  MURCHISON. 


216 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

1870-1874. 

MARRIAGE — VISIT  TO  PARIS — ITALY — RETIREMENT  FROM 
THE  CITY  —  AIX  -  LES  -  BAINS  —  PROFESSORSHIP  OF 
GEOLOGY  AT  OXFORD. 

ON  the  26th  February  1870  Mr  Prestwich's  marriage 
took  place  at  St  Marylebone  Church,  London,  with 
Grace  Anne,  eldest  daughter  of  James  Milne,  Esq.,  J.P., 
Findhorn,  Morayshire,  and  widow  of  George  M'Call, 
Esq.,  Glasgow.  She  was  the  niece  of  his  lamented 
friend  Hugh  Falconer,  at  whose  house  they  had  met. 

Before  proceeding  to  Italy,  Mr  and  Mrs  Prestwich 
spent  a  short  time  in  Paris,  taking  a  thorough  holiday. 
Several  of  Moliere's  plays  were  then  on  the  stage,  and 
as  our  geologist  had  a  keen  appreciation  of  good  French 
acting,  frequent  visits  were  paid  to  the  Theatre  Fran- 
£ais,  and  also  to  the  Opera  Comique.  With  boyish 
zest  he  viewed  the  popular  sights  in  Paris,  and  it 
would  have  astonished  the  members  of  the  Geological 
Society  not  a  little  could  they  have  seen  their  grave 
President  standing  with  his  wife  on  a  bench  in  the 
thick  of  the  voluble  French  crowd,  straining  and  eager 
for  a  good  view  of  the  procession  of  the  Bceuf  Gras.  It 
was  a  reminder  of  schoolboy  days. 


JET.  58.]  VISIT    TO    PARIS.  217 

Among  the  old  friends  of  whom  they  had  a  glimpse 
were  M.  Edouard  and  Madame  Lartet,  also  M.  Hebert 
and  M.  Desnoyers — both  of  geological  fame.  There  was 
also  one  who  had  shown  very  great  kindness  to  Mrs 
Prestwich  in  former  years,  and  whose  individuality  and 
originality  were  so  strongly  marked  that  her  name 
cannot  be  mentioned  without  a  brief  comment.  This 
was  Madame  Mohl,  author  of  '  Madame  Recamier  and 
the  History  of  Society  in  France.'  She  was  the 
wife  of  Jules  Mohl,  the  eminent  Oriental  scholar  ; 
and,  although  by  birth  an  Englishwoman,  she  had  for 
a  long  series  of  years  presided  over  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  salons  in  Paris.  Men  who  were  foremost 
in  science,  in  literature,  and  in  political  life  were 
habitues  of  Madame  Mohl's  salon,  where  they  came  in 
contact  with  men  and  women  who  had  risen  to  fame  as 
dramatists  or  artists.  Rank  and  fortune  were  them- 
selves in  her  estimation  of  no  account  :  only  individual 
merit  or  personal  distinction  gave  the  entree  to  her 
drawing-room,  with  the  exception  that  to  her  own  and 
her  husband's  old  friends — whether  distinguished  or 
not — a  warm  welcome  always  greeted  them. 

Mr  and  Mrs  Prestwich  called  at  an  early  hour  in 
the  Rue  du  Bac,  and  were  received  by  Madame  Mohl 
in  the  traditional  dressing-gown  and  in  curl  papers,  the 
latter  of  varied  and  brilliant  hues — red,  green,  and  blue 
circulars  being  utilised  for  this  purpose.  She  made 
no  apology  for  receiving  a  countryman — a  complete 
stranger — in  this  costume,  and  did  not  seem  to  con- 
sider that  any  apology  was  needed.  Her  attractive 
niece,  Miss  Mohl,  who  afterwards  became  Madame 
Helmholtz,  was  by  her  side,  busily  occupied  with 
her  painting.  The  use  of  the  curl  papers  was  one  of 
Madame  Mohl's  small  economies  which  amused  her 


218  VISIT    TO   ITALY.  [l870. 

friends,  who  knew  of  her  acts  of  noble  generosity  and 
benevolence. 

The  quaint,  gifted  little  woman  at  once  plunged  into 
conversation  with  Mr  Prestwich,  getting  with  direct 
questions  at  the  very  pith  of  the  subjects  discussed, 
and  becoming  so  much  engrossed  as  to  appear  uncon- 
scious that  any  one  else  was  present.  Her  vivacity 
and  sagacity  and  inexpressible  charai  of  manner  exer- 
cised a  magnetic  attraction  for  all  who  came  in  contact 
with  her.  She  made  use  of  her  talents  in  brightening 
the  lives  of  others,  and  there  are  many  still  surviving 
who  hold  dear  the  memory  of  Mary  Mohl. 

Mentone  was  the  point  aimed  at  after  Paris,  and 
where  Prestwich  made  an  inspection  of  the  Baussi 
Kaussi  Caves  in  the  red  limestone  cliffs  to  the  east  of 
the  town.  He  ascertained  their  position  and  general 
features,  clambering  up  to  the  high  -  road  through 
groves  of  oranges  and  lemons.  The  human  skeleton  in 
the  cave  of  "  La  Berma  du  Cavillon  "  had  not  then  been 
discovered  by  M.  Riviere — not  until  1872. 

Mr  Matthew  Moggridge  (who  was  spending  the  win- 
ter at  Mentone  on  account  of  his  invalid  son)  was  our 
geologist's  guide  to  the  most  interesting  points.  In  one 
locality  (not  named)  he  showed  to  Prestwich  "  a  bed 
of  sandy  clay  abounding  in  fossils  (sub-Apennine?), 
worked  for  bricks  at  base  of  hills  half  a  mile  from 
sea.  The  red  earth  and  angular  fragments  spread 
over  it  and  over  the  valley  to  the  sea.  This  red 
earth  was  still  more  apparent  in  other  valleys,  and 
could  be  traced  400  to  500  feet  high.  No  more  traces 
of  raised  beaches." 

Mr  Moggridge  also  pointed  out  a  fresh  -  water 
fountain  at  sea  near  the  cliffs  to  the  east  of  Men- 
tone,  its  subterranean  course  not  having  then  been 


MT.  58.]  VISIT    TO    ITALY.  219 

traced.  He  accompanied  the  tourists  as  far  as  Bor- 
dighera,  whence  two  days'  drive  along  the  coast  of  the 
Riviera  del  Ponente,  with  its  succession  of  beautiful 
bays  and  rocky  headlands,  brought  them  to  Savona. 

This  was  the  birthplace  of  Chiabrera  the  poet.  The 
inscription  which  he  wrote  for  his  tomb,  to  be  seen  in 
the  church  of  San  Giacomo,  is  as  follows  :— 

"  Amico,  io  vivendo,  cercava  conforto 

Nel  Monte  Parnasso, 
Ta,  meglio  consigliato,  cercarlo 
Nel  Monte  Calvario." 

The  travellers  could  not,  as  they  wished,  read  this 
epitaph  for  themselves  :  they  were  only  in  time  for 
their  train  to  Genoa,  where  a  short  stay  sufficed  for 
Prestwich  to  see  the  Museum  and  to  call  on  the  Mar- 
chese  Giacomo  Doria,  as  he  was  eager  to  press  on  for 
an  exploration  of  the  caverns  in  the  islets  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Spezzia.  The  route  lay  along 
the  comparatively  less  known  Riviera  del  Levante,  on 
through  the  magnificent  scenery  of  the  hills  of  Yarese. 
Leaving  the  railway  at  Chiavari,  the  journey  was  con- 
tinued in  a  light  carriage  to  Spezzia,  with  a  halt  at 
Borghetto  to  enable  Prestwich  to  visit  the  cave  of 
Cassana,  where  he  found  no  fossils,  but  satisfied  him- 
self as  to  the  physical  features.  The  expedition  to  this 
inland  cave  he  made  on  foot  with  a  desperate-looking 
character  for  a  guide,  and  when  his  stipulated  absence 
of  a  couple  of  hours  was  lengthened  to  several,  and  the 
shades  of  evening  began  to  fall,  the  anxiety  of  his  wife, 
who  waited  at  Borghetto,  was  very  real.  He  had 
called  on  the  "  superiore  "  of  the  district,  who  had  con- 
ducted him  to  other  caverns  in  an  adjoining  valley. 
Spezzia  was  reached  in  moonlight. 


220  ITALIAN    CAVES.  [1870. 

Next  day  was  chiefly  spent  in  a  boat  on  the  Gulf  of 
Spezzia,  our  geologist  being  desirous  of  seeing  the  Grotta 
dei  Colombi,  situated  high  in  the  steep  sea -cliff  of  the 
island  of  Palmaria.  The  two  excellent  boatmen  took 
an  interest  in  his  proceedings,  and  urged  that  they 
should  row  as  far  as  the  islet  of  Tinetto,  which  lay 
beyond  Palmaria,  and  where  they  reported  a  sea-cave 
full  of  living  natural- history  objects.  But  suddenly  a 
burrasco  struck  them,  and  with  it  breakers,  which 
prevented  any  attempt  at  landing.  Seeing  that  Pal- 
maria was  also  impossible,  Mr  Prestwich  directed  the 
boatmen  to  row  nearly  opposite  to  the  Grotta  dei 
Colombi,  and  as  near  to  it  as  possible,  eagerly  pointing 
out  its  position,  but  the  Italian  sailors  regretfully 
answered  that  they  dared  not  proceed  farther.  Head- 
ing round,  they  did  their  utmost  to  reach  Porto  Venere 
on  the  mainland  for  shelter,  where  there  was  a  deten- 
tion of  several  hours.  This  picturesque  spot  had  been 
a  nest  of  pirates  before  it  became  a  stronghold  of  the 
Genoese  Republic  :  it  also  had  its  cave,  called  the 
Grotta  di  Arpaia,  more  recently  known  as  the  Grotta 
di  Byron,  but  the  sea  was  running  high  and  it  could 
not  be  entered.  The  cliff  in  which  it  is  situated 
abounded  in  fossils,  which  the  Porto  Venere  boys  called 
the  frutta  di  mare.  The  detention  was  not  lost  time  : 
the  heights  and  vestiges  of  buildings  were  well  worth  a 
visit,  the  arches  of  the  ruined  church  showing  bands  of 
black  and  white  marble  intact.  As  the  day  wore  on 
the  wind  fell,  and  the  two  travellers,  re-entering  the 
boat,  were  at  last  landed  at  Palmaria,  where  Prestwich 
had  a  ramble  over  the  cliff  and  as  near  a  view  as 
possible  of  the  stratum  in  which  is  situated  the  fossil- 
iferous  Grotta  dei  Colombi. 

In  the  row  back  to  Spezzia  a  fountain  of  fresh  water 


Mi.  58.]  ITALIAN    CAVES.  221 

was  clearly  visible  at  a  distance,  from  the  circle  made 
by  it  in  the  salt  water.  The  water,  which  was  tasted 
in  passing,  was  brackish,  but  the  boatmen  asserted 
that  a  few  feet  below  the  surface  it  could  be  drawn  up 
perfectly  fresh.  Shelley's  house  was  pointed  out — a 
white  house  on  a  hill  of  olives  above  the  village  of  San 
Lorenzo  and  close  to  Lerici.  Two  or  three  boat-loads  of 
convicts,  who  had  been  at  work  at  the  arsenal,  crossed 
our  course  on  their  way  back  to  their  prison.  The 
golden  sunset  was  glorious,  and  each  incident  in  the 
day  had  been  like  a  bit  of  romance. 

By  a  hill-path  through  olive  grounds  and  vineyards, 
and  about  a  mile  from  Spezzia,  another  cave  was  ex- 
plored, named  La  Bocca  Lupara.  Most  picturesque  in 
itself  and  in  situation,  a  fringe  of  maiden  -  hair  and 
other  delicate  ferns  draped  the  low  entrance,  and  over- 
hung the  little  stream  which  flowed  out  from  it— 
this  stream  making  exit  and  entrance  rather  difficult. 
Several  peasants,  attracted  to  the  spot  by  the  appear- 
ance of  strangers,  were  employed  to  burn  straw  so  as  to 
show  its  dimensions.  These  twisted  blazing  torches  had 
a  weird  effect,  and  their  stifling  smoke  necessitated  a 
stay  for  one  and  all  of  brief  duration.  A  block  of  rock 
had  fallen,  obstructing  the  corner  in  the  cave  where 
fossil  bones  had  been  found. 

Very  soon  Prestwich  was  across  Italy  and  on  the 
Adriatic  shore,  examining  the  structure  of  the  grand 
headland  of  Ancona.  The  writer  has  a  vivid  recol- 
lection of  the  mode  in  which  his  observations  were 
made,  and  of  the  unpleasant  sensations  in  a  skiff  on  a 
chopping  sea,  and  of  her  outspoken  protests  lest  it 
should  be  driven  against  the  wave-washed  cliff. 

One  of  the  most  enjoyable  excursions  on  this  Italian 
tour  was  that  made  from  Rome  to  the  Lake  of  Albano 


222  MONTE    CAVO.  [l870. 

and  Monte  Cavo.  Prestwich,  with  his  wife  and  her 
sister,  joined  M.  de  Verneuil  at  Albano,  the  last 
accompanied  by  the  Archbishop  of  Rheims  and  Signor 
Mantovani  of  Rome.  Dr  Laodriot,  who  was  tall  and 
slight,  with  great  refinement  of  expression,  was  young 
in  years  to  hold  so  high  a  place  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  He  had  been  noted  for  his  scientific  tastes, 
and  to  him  it  was  an  evident  enjoyment  to  be  able  once 
more  to  indulge  in  his-  old  love  for  geology. 

An  order  being  given  for-  good  donkeys  for  the  party, 
the  people  of  the  Albergo  replied  that  the  best  had  all 
been  taken  by  American  excursionists  who  had  gone  on 
before.  A  sorry  lot  of  animals  was  brought  together. 
The  writer,  who  was  allotted  the  largest,  headed  the 
cavalcade  with  the  Archbishop,  who  was  mounted  on 
an  absurdly  small  donkey,  which  his  robe  completely 
covered,  the  feet  of  the  animal  only  showing  beneath 
it.  With  his  enormous  hat,  and  long  inflated  robe,  he 
presented  a  very  ludicrous  appearance,  and  conscious  of 
this,  he  laughed  until  the  tears  came,  the  others  join- 
ing. The  animal  which  the  writer  rode  began  to 
develop  a  will  of  its  own,  therefore  one  of  the  donkey 
guides  was  requested  to  hold  the  bridle  while  its 
rider  got  off.  "  Keep  quiet,  Signora,"  was  the  ad- 
monition sotto  voce,  "  keep  your  seat ;  yours  is  the  only 
one  that  has  not  been  down." 

The  little  animals,  however,  clambered  like  goats  up 
the  steep  crater-like  walls,  above  which  rose  Monte 
Cavo.  Prestwich  on  foot  was  soon  far  ahead  of  the 
party,  intent  on  pondering  upon  the  story  to  be  read 
in  that  marvellous  landscape.  What  added  to  the 
general  enjoyment  was  the  cloudless  sunshine,  the 
perfect  placidity  of  the  crater  lake,  the  first  fresh 
foliage  of  spring  which  clothed  its  walls,  and  the 


Mf.  58.]  NAPLES.  223 

masses  of  the  lovely  blue  Anemone  stellata,  starring  the 
delicate  undergrowth. 

Several  shorter  excursions  were  made  from  Rome, 
including  those  to  Monte  Mario,  to  the  Campagna,  &c. 
Prestwich  made  the  acquaintance  of  Professor  Ponzi, 
and,  in  the  Museum  of  the  University  of  Rome,  he 
noted  remains  of  three  species  of  elephant — all  from 
Ponte  Molle.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  him  also  to  have 
personal  intercourse  with  the  courtly  Monsignor  Castra- 
cane,  who  had  written  on  Diatomacece,  and  who  was 
as  enthusiastic  as  ever  on  his  special  subject. 

As  may  be  supposed,  the  Bay  of  Naples  and  its 
neighbourhood  were  of  surpassing  interest.  Baise  and 
its  classical  shores  fascinated  him,  and  the  time  was 
only  too  short  for  exploring  the  ground  a  little  way 
inland.  The  pillars  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Serapis, 
immortalised  by  Ly ell's  pen,  were  duly  inspected.  An 
elaborate  section  in  a  note-book,  now  dimmed  by  time, 
was  taken  from  a  point  one  mile  east  of  Pozzuoli ;  and 
another  page  gives  a  section  at  the  end  of  a  street  in 
Pompeii,  and  one  of  the  theatre  at  Herculaneum.  A 
visit  was  also  made  to  the  entrancing  shore  of  Amalfi. 
With  his  friends  M.  de  Verneuil  and  Sir  Archibald 
Geikie,  he  ascended  the  Anio,  and  on  the  8th  of  April 
with  the  latter  he  made  the  ascent  of  Vesuvius,  re- 
maining the  night  at  the  Observatory.  Next  day 
they  descended  from  Somma. 

Before  leaving  Naples,  Prestwich  had  an  interview 
with  the  aged  Mrs  Somerville,  who  was  then  living 
with  two  daughters  in  a  flat  on  the  Chiatamone. 
She  was  alone  when  he  called  with  his  wife,  the  latter 
having  had  the  privilege  of  knowing  the  authoress 
during  Dr  Somerville's  lifetime  in  the  home  at  Florence. 
They  were  received  with  the  old  cordial  welcome,  it 


224  MARY   SOMERVILLE.  [l870. 

giving  her  evident  pleasure  to  see  Mr  Prestwich,  who 
was  only  known  to  her  by  reputation.  Her  quaint 
Scotch  accent  and  the  remarkably  soft  voice  were 
unchanged,  and  the  simple  natural  manner  was  as  of 
old.  Perhaps  she  had  become  a  shade  more  grave,  still 
there  was  the  same  serenity,  the  same  unquenchable 
thirst  for  knowledge,  and  the  same  trenchant  questions. 
Her  mental  powers  were  keen  and  clear  as  ever,  and 
the  penetrating  grey  eyes,  which  had  not  lost  their 
shining  light,  were  turned  full  upon  the  speaker  with 
rapt  attention.  Vesuvius  and  volcanoes  were  dis- 
cussed by  Mrs  Somerville  and  our  geologist,  her  room 
— flooded  with  sunshine  —  admitting  a  view  of  the 
mountain  and  the  beautiful  bay. 

Mary  Somerville  was  then  verging  upon  ninety,  while 
Joseph  Prestwich  had  just  completed  his  fifty-eighth 
year.  What  a  picture  the  two  made  !  An  Ary  Scheffer 
would  have  done  justice  to  it.  Hers  was  a  glorious  old 
age.  Her  last  work,  which  was  published  in  the  pre- 
ceding year,  was  on  '  Molecular  and  Microscopic  Science/ 
appearing  just  three  years  before  her  death.  For  a 
motto  she  chose  as  most  appropriate,  "  Deus  magnus  in 
magnis,  maximus  in  minimis." 

Lingering  in  Italy  and  leaving  it  with  regret,  Mr  and 
Mrs  Prestwich  travelled  direct  to  Paris,  crossing  Mont 
Cenis  by  the  temporary  Fell  Railway,  which  wound  in 
serpentine  course  over  the  mountain.  They  reached 
home  in  time  for  the  outburst  of  the  early  summer,  for 
the  blossoming  of  the  may,  the  lilacs,  and  laburnums. 
During  their  absence  Emily  Prestwich  had  remained  at 
Darent-Hulme,  her  brother,  before  going  abroad,  having 
confided  to  her  the  care  of  the  Brixham  Cave  papers. 
His  one  injunction  in  case  of  fire  had  been,  "  Whatever 
.happens  to  the  house,  save  the  Brixham  Cave  papers." 


MT.  58.]  EASTERN   COUNTIES.  225 

Accordingly,  his  sister  retired  to  rest,  with  the  parcel 
of  manuscripts  on  a  sofa  at  the  foot  of  her  bed,  and  she 
was  heartily  glad  to  hand  it  safely  back  to  him. 

The  home  life,  apparently  so  quiet,  was  a  busy  one. 
Besides  our  geologist's  daily  journey  to  the  City,  there 
were  frequent  demands  upon  his  time,  owing  to  his 
official  position  as  President  of  the  Geological  Society. 
The  most  important  paper  during  this  year  from  his 
pen  was  one  sent  in  to  this  Society,  "  On  the  Crag  of 
Norfolk  and  Associated  Beds."  Among  minor  notices 
he  edited  a  MS.,  "  On  Earthquakes,"  written  by  his 
kinsman,  Sir  John  Prestwich,  about  the  year  1798.  It 
is  curious  as  a  record  of  the  crude  notions  on  volcanic 
phenomena  prevalent  so  near  to  our  own  time.  But 
the  engrossing  interest  was  the  elaboration  of  the  third 
and  last  of  his  series  of  Crag  Memoirs,  "  On  the 
Norwich  Crag  and  Westleton  Beds,"  which  was  to 
appear  the  following  year. 

For  the  completion  of  this  memoir  several  weeks 
were  spent  at  Lowest  oft  in  the  autumn,  whence  ex- 
peditions were  made  again  to  many  familiar  localities 
on  the  coast,  including  Gorton  and  Kessingland  ; 
repeated  visits  to  pits  near  Norwich,  and  visits  also 
to  Bacton,  Wangford,  Southwold,  Pakefield,  Easton 
Bavent,  &c.,  &c.  Thirty-eight  different  localities  were 
explored  in  this  East  Coast  excursion,  and  forty-nine 
sections  noted.  He  was  intent  on  observing  every  trace 
of  Westleton  Shingle,  and  on  ascertaining  the  origin  of 
the  boulders  occurring  in  this  district  in  the  Boulder 
Clay.  The  discovery  of  a  specimen  of  gneiss  in  the 
upper  Boulder  Clay  near  Kessingland  has  not  been 
forgotten.  Its  weight  was  beyond  the  power  of  any 
ordinary  mortal  to  carry,  but  aided  by  his  sister-in-law, 
with  immense  effort  it  was  moved,  or  rather  dragged, 

p 


226  ADDRESS    TO    GEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY.  [l871. 

two  miles  to  Lowestoft.  He  never  alluded  to  this 
exploit  without  a  smile.  No  day  passed  without  some 
point  visited — some  special  work  accomplished.  And 
thus  it  was  wherever  he  turned  his  footsteps. 

A  note  from  Sir  Roderick  Murchison  shows  that, 
although  debarred  by  failing  health  from  sharing  in 
public  functions,  the  heart  of  the  old  chief  was  with 
his  geological  brethren  on  their  anniversary  : — 

SIT  R.  I.  Murchison  to  J.  Prestwich. 

16  BELGRAVE  SQUARE,  ISth  February  1871. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — Although  shut  out  from  personal  par- 
ticipation in  the  affairs  of  the  Geological  Society,  I  cannot  allow 
the  approaching  anniversary  to  pass  by  without  assuring  you 
that  I  take  as  lively  an  interest  as  ever  in  the  advancement  of 
our  favourite  science.  I  rejoice  above  all  that  the  Society  is  now 
under  your  guidance,  and  it  has  of  course  given  me  great  satis- 
faction, as  Director-General  of  the  Geological  Survey,  to  observe 
that  you  have  given  the  Wollaston  Medal  this  year  to  my  dis- 
tinguished associate,  Professor  Eamsay. — Yours  ever  sincerely, 

EOD.  I.  MURCHISON. 

If  we  except  two  sub  -  reports  to  the  Hoyal  Coal 
Commission,  the  only  publications  in  1871  were  his 
Presidential  Address  and  the  memoir  on  "  The  Nor- 
wich Crag  and  Westleton  Beds." 

The  subject  chosen  for  his  address  to  the  Geological 
Society  was  "  Deep  Sea  Life  and  its  Relations  to 
Geology."  In  this  interesting  essay  he  reviewed, 
among  others,  the  researches  of  Edward  Forbes, 
Spratt,  Wallich,  Carpenter,  Gwyn  -  Jeffreys,  Wy ville 
Thomson,  &c.,  giving  lists  of  temperatures  at  depths  in 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  He  touched  upon  the  circu- 
lation of  cold  under-currents  in  the  great  oceans,  and 
the  influence  of  submarine  temperatures  on  pelagic  life. 


JET.  59.]  THE   DEEP   SEA.  227 

He  demonstrated  how  continental  Europe,  with  much  of 
its  western  sea-bed,  "was  subject  to  successive  changes 
of  level,  giving  rise  to  a  series  of  Eocene,  Miocene,  and 
Pliocene  strata,  with  their  diversified  and  varying 
faunas."  His  treatment  of  the  subject  gauged  the 
knowledge  up  to  date,  and  was  very  suggestive.  The 
study  of  the  circulation  of  polar  and  ocean  currents 
had  always  had  a  special  attraction  for  him. 

Instead  of  a  refreshing  Easter  excursion,  there  was 
persistent  home  with  city  work  at  high  pressure. 
The  result  was  indisposition,  and  peremptory  medical 
orders  for  change  and  rest. 

J.  Prestwicll  to  J.  Evans.  ST  LEONAKDS-ON-SEA,  9th  May  1871. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  thought  of  you  all  on  Friday,  and  have 
heard  from  Jeffreys  of  what  ,a  pleasant  and  large  party  you  had. 

I  at  last  got  permission  to  leave  town  on  Saturday.  We 
arrived  here  yesterday  in  most  beautiful  weather,  took  an  early 
dinner  with  Bowerbank,  and  settled  down  here  in  the  evening. 
I  like  none  of  these  seaside  places,  but  since  the  26th  February 
1870  I  feel  right  anywhere.  I  hope  also  to  polish  off  the 
Brixham  Cave  and  Coal  Eeport  No.  2.  We  may  be  here  for  a 
fortnight.  To-day  winter  seems  to  have  come  back  again.  It  is 
wet  and  cold.  I  am,  however,  I  am  happy  to  say,  decidedly 
better,  and  hope  to  be  at  my  posts  again  at  Somerset  House  and 
the  City  at  the  end  of  the  fortnight.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear 
that  Kaup  is  elected  to-morrow,  and,  believe  me,  ever  truly 
yours,  Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

The  quiet  of  Darent-Hulme  was  enlivened  by  fre- 
quent visits  from  relations,  and  by  the  welcome  sight 
of  busy  geological  friends,  whose  stay  was  usually 
limited  from  Saturday  until  an  early  train  on  Monday. 
The  walk  on  Sunday  afternoon  was  often  out  high 
upon  the  down,  whence  far  -  reaching  views  were  a 


228  DAKENT-HULME.  [l871. 

delight  to  the  eye.  Can  they  ever  be  forgotten  ?  On 
the  opposite  side  of  the  Darent  valley  was  the  steep 
chalk  slope,  presenting  an  unbroken  face  south- 
ward until  it  abutted  on  the  wide  fertile  Vale  of 
Holmesdale,  when  its  trend  was  suddenly  to  the  east. 
There  was  a  glimpse  of  the  plateaux  on  the  heights 
with  their  capping  of  red  clay  with  flints — a  soil  which 
is  transforming  the  district  into  one  great  fruit-garden. 
Wellhill  with  its  Tertiary  flints  made  an  attractive 
walk  for  active  geologists,  who,  by  skirting  hop- 
gardens, gained  the  steep  path  which  led  up  through 
rich  fruit-fields  to  the  summit ;  while  those  more  rest- 
fully  disposed  reclined  on  the  grassy  down  and  scanned 
the  far  distance  in  the  north-east,  where  perchance 
they  might  detect  the  smoke  of  an  ocean  liner  /m  her 
way  down  the  Thames,  and,  when  atmospheric  con- 
ditions were  very  favourable,  had  also  a  glimpse  of  the 
faint  hazy  outline  of  the  Essex  shore  beyond. 

"  0  tempo  passato,  perche  non  ritorni  1 " 

One  of  the  most  frequent  guests  was  Professor  John 
Morris,  the  palaeontologist,  so  well  known  as  the  author 
of  the  '  Catalogue  of  British  Fossils,'  a  book  necessary 
for  every  practical  geologist.  He  had  worked  with 
Prestwich  in-doors  and  out-of-doors,  and  was  perfectly 
happy  day  after  day  in  the  library,  consulting  or  mak- 
ing extracts  from  books.  He  seemed  to  prefer  wet 
weather,  or  any  weather  that  made  going  out  undesir- 
able, so  that  he  should  not  be  disturbed,  unless  that 
his  host  proposed  some  little  excursion  :  then  he  was 
all  alacrity,  ready  to  accompany,  observe,  and  enjoy. 
Few  possessed  such  an  amount  of  knowledge — know- 
ledge that  was  many-sided  —  and  withal  he  was  so 
modest  and  simple.  Professor  Morris  knew  the  pro- 


MT.  59.]  JOHN   MORRIS.  229 

perties  of  plants,  and  was  conversant  with  habits  of 
beasts  and  birds  and  creeping  things  :  an  expert 
chemist,  he  was  unconsciously  a  teacher  —  "a  born 
teacher,"  as  Canon  Bonney,  in  an  interesting  notice, 
describes  him — ever  ready,  when  appealed  to  by  the 
uriinstructed,  to  explain  the  why  and  wherefore  of 
common  things.  When  ordered  out  for  health's  sake, 
he  was  to  be  found  in  the  garden  tracing  earth-worms 
and  mole-hills,  or  with  his  host  he  walked  backwards 
and  forwards  discussing  the  marvellous  mechanism  and 
adaptation  of  natural  objects,  perhaps  speculating  on 
the  formation  of  dew. 

The  following  note  was  an  acknowledgment  to  Sir 
Roderick  Murchison  of  his  last  public  address.  The 
veteran  several  months  previously  had  been  struck  by 
paralysis,  and  had  partially  recovered,  but  this  address 
to  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  was  felt  to  be  a 
farewell  to  public  life.1 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  E.  I.  Murchison. 

SHOREHAM,  near  SEVENOAKS,  9th  June  71. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  RODERICK, — I  am  much  obliged  by  the  copy  of 
your  Address,  and  still  more  pleased  at  the  evidence  it  affords 
of  your  continued  mental  activity,  notwithstanding  the  severe 
illness  you  have  undergone. 

I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I,  in  common  with  all  your  geologi- 
cal friends,  rejoice  at  your  recovery,  and  at  the  same  time  how 
much  we  have  missed  you  at  our  Council  and  [evening]  meetings. 

Believe  me  to  be,  my  dear  Sir  Eoderick,  very  sincerely  yours, 

Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

Early  in  August  Prestwich  attended  the  meeting  of 
the  British  Association  in  Edinburgh,  where  perhaps 
he  was  less  attracted  by  papers  in  the  various  Sections 

1  Murchison  died  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age,  on  October  22,  1871. 


230  DARENT-HULME.  [l872. 

than  by  the  geology  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  the  beautiful  northern  city. 

He  made  a  longer  stay  at  St  Andrews  with  his  wife's 
family,  when  the  coast  north  and  south  of  the  pictur- 
esque old  university  town  was  explored.  Here  also  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Professor  Heddle  the  miner- 
alogist, whose  recent  death  has  been  so  much  deplored. 
His  search  was  for  traces  of  drift,  raised  beaches,  and 
ice-action,  and  Professor  Heddle's  local  knowledge  was 
most  generously  placed  at  his  disposal.  He  also  paid 
a  visit  to  the  famous  locality  of  Dura  Den,  observing 
the  fine  cliffs  of  soft,  yellow,  Old  Red  Sandstone,  and 
noting  that  "  the  fishes  occurred  in  a  single  bed  at  the 
base." 

Prestwich  returned  to  Darent  -  Hulme  with,  as 
usual,  many  fresh  observations  and  ascertained  facts, 
each  briefly  entered  in  a  sentence  or  two,  with  its  dis- 
tinct section.  He  was  ever  eager  to  work  up  the  un- 
published notes  of  all  his  excursions,  but  they  were 
accumulating  year  by  year,  and,  alas !  when  would 
there  be  time  ?  Each  day  he  went  backwards  and 
forwards  to  Mark  Lane,  and  in  addition  to  long  hours 
in  the  City,  nearly  four  were  spent  in  the  journey  out 
and  home.  At  the  end  of  the  day  he  was  refreshed 
by  a  walk  in  the  garden,  yet  was  little  able  to  throw 
himself  into  the  elaboration  of  those  geological  theories 
which  were  his  delight  to  demonstrate.  The  wear  and 
tear  of  these  daily  journeyings,  early  and  late,  did 
not  tell  injuriously  on  his  health, — on  the  contrary, 
those  drives  through  the  lovely  woods  to  Chelsfield 
Station  were  beneficial ;  but  he  begrudged  the  time 
abstracted  from  his  geology.  He  found  that  there 
was  actually  less  leisure  for  writing  than  when  living 
in  town  amid  its  many  interruptions,  and  he  became 


2ET.  60.]  HOME   LIFE.  231 

restlessly  anxious  as  he  thought  of  the  mass  of  un- 
published material,  and  especially  of  the  delay  in  bring- 
ing out  his  Report  on  Brixham  Cave.  The  writing  of 
this  Report  had  been  again  and  again  interrupted  by 
illness,  and  had  become  a  great  anxiety.  All  work, 
except  two  or  three  slight  papers,  had  been  set  aside 
for  the  Sub  -  Reports  and  Maps  of  the  two  Royal 
Commissions,  the  subjects  of  both  of  which  were 
especially  his  own.  The  fact  was  that  his  health 
being  no  longer  vigorous,  the  city  work  alone  taxed 
his  energies. 

He  was  not  a  letter-writer,  yet  had  a  large  corre- 
spondence—  notes  in  reply  to  frequent  inquiries  on 
geological  and  allied  subjects  being  dashed  off  with 
incredible  speed.  Still,  in  spite  of  the  resultant  fatigue 
after  a  full  day,  he  was  persistent  in  snatching  every 
hour,  or  rather  every  minute,  for  his  geology.  He 
made  a  point  of  making  himself  acquainted  with  the 
leading  articles  in  the  '  Times,'  but  otherwise  his  read- 
ing was  entirely  geological  literature.  He  felt  what 
his  true  vocation  was  and  adhered  to  it,  and  with  that 
tenacity  of  purpose  which  was  so  strong  a  feature  in 
his  character  he  refrained  from  opening  other  books. 

"  Why,  you  read  nothing  but  geology — your  very 
soul  is  steeped  in  geology,"  was  a  remark  made  to 
him  when  he  would  not  look  at  a  book  which  had 
made  a  sensation.  His  reply  was  a  smile  and  an 
affirmative  nod.  But  in  repeated  attacks  of  sciatica, 
which  his  kind  physician  altogether  attributed  to  over- 
work, and  when  ordered  to  read  nothing  but  novels, 
the  patient  was  entirely  submissive,  and  so  anxious 
to  get  rid  of  his  malady  that  he  read  novels  only, 
and  that  very  earnestly,  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  him- 
self. There  was  no  skipping  —  he  read  every  word. 


232  GARDENING.  [1872. 

As  soon  as  he  was  well  the  novels  were  discarded  and 
his  geological  books  resumed. 

He  indulged,  however,  in  one  passion,  and  that  was 
transplanting :  perhaps  the  open-air  exercise  it  neces- 
sitated prevented  a  complete  breakdown.  A  garden- 
book  was  kept,  in  which  he  had  during  summer  entered 
every  shrub  and  tree  to  be  moved  into  a  better  position 
at  the  proper  season.  Consequently,  in  November  the 
whole  garden  seemed  to  be  in  motion.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  which  succumbed,  the  result  was  generally 
good,  as  when  a  tree  changed  place  it  was  into  a  trench 
with  improved  soil,  and  so  with  holes  for  the  shrubs. 
Thus  they  made  more  vigorous  and  rapid  growth.  He 
liked  to  give  surprises,  and  used  to  introduce  his  wife 
to  some  clump  of  foliage,  which  without  her  knowledge 
had  been  rearranged  with  larger  plants,  and  mischiev- 
ously ask  whether  she  had  not  noticed  the  great  start 
they  had  made  during  the  year ! 

The  Sundays  were  such  happy  days,  and  really  a 
rest — they  never  seemed  long  enough.  He  was  rarely 
absent  from  Morning  Service,  leaving  guests  who  were 
not  disposed  to  go  to  church  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
When  fluctuating  health  prevented  his  attendance  at 
church,  he  always  liked  to  read  aloud  the  Morning 
Service  (or  greater  part  of  it)  verse  about  with  his 
wife,  one  of  them  repeating  the  responses. 

Certain  Sundays  can  never  be  forgotten :  one  in 
particular,  some  two  years  later,  stands  apart  in  the 
writer's  memory.  Mr  David  Forbes  the  metallurgist 
(brother  of  Edward  Forbes)  had  promised  to  bring 
down  his  charming  young  Polish  wife  for  the  day,  but 
as  they  did  not  arrive  at  the  appointed  time,  it  was 
supposed  that  the  steady  rain  had  prevented  them. 
Between  two  and  three  o'clock,  however,  a  mud-bespat- 


JET.  60.]  ADDRESS    TO    GEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY.  233 

tered  cab  drove  up  to  the  door,  bringing  Mr  and  Mrs 
Forbes,  who  had  been  carried  past  the  junction  at 
Swanley  on  to  Meopham,  whence  they  had  come  over 
the  many  miles  of  Chalk  plateau  and  down  the  steep 
escarpment  to  the  Darent  valley.  There  was  no  room, 
alas  !  for  them  for  the  night,  as  the  house  was  full,  so 
they  had  to  return  to  town.  Not  long  after  the  gentle 
Vanda  Forbes  was  called  away  from  her  husband  and 
little  children.  He  did  not  recover  from  the  shock, 
and  the  words  of  the  late  Dr  P.  Martin  Duncan,  the 
writer  of  the  Biographical  Notice  of  David  Forbes,  to 
the  Geological  Society,  are  of  deep  pathos  :  "  He  was 
wounded  in  spirit  by  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who  was 
singularly  adapted  to  his  tone  of  mind." 

The  address  which  Prestwich  gave  to  the  Geological 
Society  at  the  Anniversary  Meeting  in  1872,  the  second 
year  of  his  Presidency,  was  on  subjects  of  which  he  was 
master.  It  was  in  two  portions  :  the  first,  "  Our  Springs 
and  Water  Supply,"  and  the  second  half  on  "  Our  Coals 
and  Coal  Supply." 

An  Easter  excursion  was  planned  by  him,  as  shown 
in  the  following  letter  ;  but,  as  it  proved,  he  was  unable 
to  join,  and  this  particular  expedition  to  the  Boulogne 
district  was  therefore  postponed. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans. 

LONDON,  19th  March  1872. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — If  I  go  to  Boulogne  my  plans  are  as  follows. 
We  make  that  place  our  headquarters  and  visit — 

1.  Wissant  and  the  coast  on  one  side  to  Blanc  Nez,  and  the 

other  to  Gris  Nez. 

2.  La  Marquise,  with  the  Oolites,  Mountain  Limestone,  Coal- 

Measures,  and  Devonian  rocks  of  the  neighbourhood. 

3.  The  hills  beyond  Ferques,  Guisnes  (and  its  springs),  and 

the  Chalk  hills  around. 


234  GEOLOGICAL   EXCURSIONS.  [1872. 

4.  The  coast  on  the  other  side  of  the  Basin,  and  the  Dunes 

beyond. 

5.  Eue  and  Stables,  and  the  banks  of  the  Canche  for  Gravel 

beds. 

6.  Samer  (Lower  Greensand)  and  some  outliers  of  Tertiaries 

on  the  Chalk  hills  beyond. 

7.  Some  deep  valleys  among  the  Chalk  between  Boulogne  and 

Pol,  in  which  the  Palaeozoic  rocks  show  on  their  floor. 
We  shall  get  a  few  Drift  beds  on  various  levels,  and,  I  hope, 
traces  of  raised  beaches.  .  We  may  look  also  for  flint  imple- 
ments in  the  valleys  of  the  Canche  or  Authie.     We  will  talk  the 
matter  over  to-morrow.     .     .     . 

Instead  of  the  chosen  Boulogne  route,  his  friends 
selected  another  district,  when  it  is  evident  from  the 
annexed  letter,  in  which  the  subject  of  this  Memoir 
drafted  out  a  plan  for  their  guidance,  that  his  thoughts 
were  regretfully  with  them. 

J.  Prestwick  to  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  29th  March  1872. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — Yesterday  it  blew  a  gale  and  rained  inces- 
santly ;  to-day  we  have  the  rain  without  the  wind.  This,  how- 
ever, is  a  sorry  consolation  to  me,  and  very  sad  work,  I  fear,  for 
you  and  Galton.1  Gosselet  of  Lille  has  kindly  offered  to  meet  us 
at  Boulogne  and  accompany  us  on  a  proposed  excursion,  which  I 
still  hope  may  come  off  later  in  the  season.  If  the  weather  con- 
tinues so  bad,  go  to  Paris  and  luxuriate  in  the  museums  and 
theatres  there  under  cover.  Weather  permitting,  go  to  Beauvais, 
where  you  have — 

1.  A  valuable  local  museum. 

2.  A  magnificent  fragment  of  a  cathedral. 

3.  Loess  and  valley  Drift  one  mile  south  of  the  town. 

4.  A  fine  fossiliferous  exhibition  of  the  Calcaire  grossier,  and 

of  all  the  beds,  in  fact,  between  the  Chalk  and  the  Cal- 
caire lacustre  suptricur  ;  also  the  "Diluvium"  of  the 
French  at  Chaumont,  about  five  or  six  miles  distant. 


Sir  Douglas  Galton,  K.C.B.,  born  1822  ;  died  10th  March  1899. 


JET.  60.]  J.    F.    CAMPBELL.  235 

5.  The  Neocomian,  Greensands,  Wealden,  Portland  Beds,  and 

Kimmeridge  in  the  Pays  de  Bray. 

6.  Le  Chateau  de  Gisors.     Thence  across  to  Compiegne,  where 

you  have — • 

(1)  A  very  rich  locality  for  the  shells,  "  Lits  Coquilliers,"  in 

a  small  valley  just  beyond  Pierrefonds. 

(2)  The  fine  Chateau  de  Pierrefonds.     Again,  on  the  main 

line,  just  above  Anvers  or  Angers,  there  is  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Oise,  near  the  top  of  the  hill,  a  site  noted 
for  its  Quaternary  mammalian  remains. 

With  kind  regards  to  all  who  may  be  with  you,  and  wishing 
you  well  through  and  soon  out  of  this  weather,  I  am  sincerely 
yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Eemember  me  to  MM.  Pinsard  and  Gamier  if  you  see  them. 
My  wife  sympathises  more  with  Mrs  Evans  than  with  you — I 
don't. 

In  March  a  review  appeared  from  his  pen  in  '  Nature ' 
on  the  magnificent  work  of  his  old  friend  M.  Belgrand, 
on  '  La  Seine :  le  Bassin  Parisien  aux  Ages  ante- 
historiques.' 

A  very  pleasant  friendship  which  he  made  while  on 
the  Royal  Coal  Commission  was  with  its  secretary,  Mr 
J.  F.  Campbell,  the  accomplished  author  of  '  Frost  and 
Fire.' 

J.  F.  Campbell  to  J.  Prestwich. 

ISTiDDRY  LODGE,  KENSINGTON,  8th  May  1872. 

DEAR  PRESTWICH, — I  have  not  had  the  grace  to  thank  you  for 
your  Address,  but  I  have  been  much  obliged  and  instructed 
thereby.  When  you  happen  to  be  in  these  regions  come  and 
geologise  in  my  garden.  It  is  on  the  Clay  under  the  Gravel,  well 
on  the  top  of  which  some  Company  has  made  waterworks  and  a 
tower.  You  will  easily  find  your  way  by  the  tower,  and  if  the 
waterworks  burst,  you  will  return  to  the  Thames  faster  than  you 
came  up  this  hill. — I  am,  yours  very  truly,  J.  F.  CAMPBELL. 


236  RETIREMENT   FROM   BUSINESS.  [l872. 

Curiously  enough,  this  was  a  locality,  near  the  old 
Kensington  gravel-pits,  to  which  Prestwich  many  years 
before  had  often  paid  visits,  and  sometimes  in  company 
with  Professor  Morris. 

At  last,  to  his  infinite  relief,  and  that  of  his  friend 
Pengelly,  the  Brixham  Cave  Report  was  sent  in  to  the 
Royal  Society.  It  was  read  in  abstract  in  May,  and 
was  published  in  the  Royal  Society  Proceedings  for 
1872,  the  full  text  appearing  in  the  'Philosophical 
Transactions'  for  1873.  The  exploration  of  the  cave 
had  been  completed  in  1859,  but  largely  owing  to  the 
sad  death  of  Dr  Falconer,  the  full  report  was  unfortu- 
nately postponed.  In  the  end  the  animal  remains  were 
described  by  Mr  George  Busk,  and  the  worked  flints  by 
Sir  John  Evans. 

A  short  paper  on  a  raised  beach  at  Portsdown  Hill, 
near  Portsmouth,  was  published  in  the  '  Geological 
Journal ' ;  and  Prestwich  also  found  time  for  a  magazine 
article  (on  popular  lines)  on  the  probable  extension  of 
coal-measures  in  the  south-east  of  England,  which  ap- 
peared in  *  Popular  Science  Review/ 

The  event  which  signalised  this  year,  and  which  had 
a  marked  influence  on  his  subsequent  career,  was  his  re- 
tirement, after  forty  years  of  City  life,  from  business 
and  Mark  Lane.  This  step  was  not  taken  without 
long  and  anxious  deliberation,  but  when  his  mind  was 
once  made  up  there  was  prompt  action.  He  never  re- 
gretted this  step,  and  often  remarked  the  mistake  was 
that  he  had  not  retired  several  years  sooner.  Owing 
to  this,  a  reduction  in  the  home  establishment  became 
necessary,  but  could  such  a  consideration  ever  be 
weighed  in  the  balance  with  leisure  for  the  work  to 
which  he  had  dedicated  his  life ! 

His  character  and  integrity  were  recognised  in  the 


MS.  60.]  GEOLOGICAL   WORK.  237 

City,  and  his  wife  was  never  more  proud  of  him, 
never  more  deeply  touched,  than  when  told  that  the 
firm  who  had  purchased  his  business  property  had 
simply  taken  it  over  on  his  word.  In  later  years  his 
eyes  glistened  when  reverting  to  his  early  life,  and  to 
the  great  kindness  which  he  had  received  from  City 
friends. 

The  hard-earned  leisure  was  won,  yet  with  it  no  res- 
pite from  close  intellectual  work,  which  was  to  him  as 
a  second  nature.  Deprived  of  it,  he  would  have  been 
bereft  of  his  greatest  happiness ;  and  now  he  sat  down 
to  grapple  with  manuscripts,  with  papers  begun  on 
various  questions,  all  geological,  and  with  the  vast 
quantity  of  material  amassed  during  a  long  course  of 
years.  Perhaps  the  garden  was  then  of  greater  service 
as  a  distraction  than  at  any  other  time.  The  trees  and 
shrubs,  being  in  an  early  stage  of  growth,  were  in  need 
of  fostering  care ;  and  the  interest  and  occupation  of 
this  wiled  him  from  his  desk,  and  from  hours  spent  in 
tabulating  his  observations  on  Clays  or  Gravels,  and  in 
deciphering  the  history  which  they  reveal. 

For  the  first  time  since  moving  to  Darent  -  Hulme, 
he  was  able  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  collections, 
which  were  found  to  have  outgrown  the  space  assigned 
to  them.  A  room  originally  intended  for  the  library 
was  lined  with  cabinets,  some  of  them  reaching  to  the 
ceiling,  and  with  every  drawer  filled.  Cases  of  rock 
specimens  and  fossil  bones  had  to  be  left  unopened  in 
a  cellar  for  lack  of  space.  Prestwich  first  limited  his 
task  of  arrangement  to  the  contents  of  cabinets  in  the 
library  itself,  which  contained  the  specimens  of  Drift. 
A  folio-book  written  to  his  dictation  gives  the  very 
numerous  localities  where  he  had  examined  Drift  and 
the  component  parts  of  each  gravel,  a  work  exten- 


238  BOULOGNE.  [1872-73. 

sively  used  during  the  preparation  of  later  papers  011 
the  Westleton  Beds  and  more  recent  deposits. 

His  connection  with  City  life  had  been  severed  on  the 
1st  of  August,  and  on  the  12th  September  he  started 
for  Boulogne  with  his  two  friends,  Mr  Godwin-Austen 
and  Mr  H.  B.  Mackeson  of  Hythe,  both  of  whom  have, 
alas  !  since  passed  over  to  the  majority.  Never  losing 
sight  of  special  points  he  had  in  view,  the  route  was  a 
part  of  the  programme  planned  for  the  Easter  excur- 
sion, which,  owing  to  the  state  of  his  health  at  the 
time,  he  had  been  unable  to  join.  The  notes  and  sec- 
tions of  this  Boulogne  expedition  are  voluminous.  The 
three  friends  proceeded  to  Cape  Gris  Nez  by  Vimereux, 
Ambleteuse,  and  Andrecelles,  and  a  careful  analysis  is 
given  of  the  subangular  gravel  near  Wissant. 

"  Between  Wissant  and  Cape  Blanc  Nez  we  found 
Dunes,  but  under  them  in  places  cropped  out  the  Lower 
Greensand  (Sandgate  and  Folkestone  Beds),  capped 
by  angular  white  Drift,  same  as  that  which  overlies 
the  raised  beach  at  Sangatte ;  but  no  beach  occurred 
here." 

This  angular  Drift  at  Wissant  did  not  extend  far 
inland,  but  near  Equihen  he  found  the  strata  covered 
by  a  greater  thickness  of  flint  Drift.  In  short,  he  was 
noting  every  trace  of  Drift  and  Loess,  and  there  are 
forty-five  pages  of  notes  and  sections  on  this  one  ex- 
pedition. M.  Rigaux  of  Boulogne  informed  him  "  that 
the  fragments  of  elephant's  tusk,  and  tooth  of  rhino- 
ceros, were  found  in  the  rail  way -cutting  through  the 
Kimmeridge  Clay  between  Boulogne  and  Wimille,  at  a 
height  of  about  60  m.,  and  in  a  pocket  of  Drift." 

Wimille  was  visited  with  M.  Rigaux  just  a  year  later, 
when  another  of  the  many  expeditions  to  the  Boulon- 
nais  was  made. 


JST.  60-61.]  AIX-LES-BAINS.  239 

The  last  letter  which  we  find  addressed  to  Sir  Charles 
Lye]l  is  one  expressing  sympathy  on  the  death  of  the 
beloved  Lady  Lyell. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  nth  May  1873. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  CHARLES, — I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for 
the  copy  of  the  last  edition  of  the  '  Antiquity  of  Man/  which  I 
have  not  yet  had  the  opportunity  of  reading,  but  which  I  feel 
sure  I  shall  find  well  posted  up  to  the  day. 

My  wife  will  have  already  conveyed  to  you  through  Mrs  Lyell 
our  very  sincere  sympathy  in  your  sad  and  unexpected  bereave- 
ment. We  both  felt  and  shared  greatly  in  your  irreparable  loss, 
a  feeling  I  am  sure  in  which  all  who  knew  her  must  participate, 
for  I  believe  no  one  could  ever  have  inspired  a  more  general  feel- 
ing amongst  all,  of  true  regard  and  affection.  With  our  united 
kind  regards  and  best  wishes  for  your  own  health,  believe  me  to 
be  sincerely  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Towards  the  end  of  May  1873,  Mr  and  Mrs  Prest- 
wich hurried  to  Aix-les-Bains,  on  account  of  the  illness 
of  the  youngest  sister  of  the  latter,  whom  happily  they 
found  convalescent.  The  journey  was  one  of  interest 
(which  was  the  case  with  every  journey)  :  it  was,  how- 
ever, with  keen  pleasure  that  our  geologist  recognised 
the  long  plateau  of  Drift  Gravel  after  passing  Dijon, 
and  about  40  to  60  feet  "  or  may  be  less  "  above  the 
level  of  the  river,  planted  with  vines  and  extending 
for  several  miles. 

Aix  was  a  centre  whence  the  surrounding  neighbour- 
hood was  explored,  beginning  with  the  hill  above  it 
leading  to  Mouxy.  As  a  matter  of  course,  our  geologist 
was  interested  in  the  various  weapons,  tools,  &c. ,  dredged 
up  from  the  Lac  du  Bourget,  but  much  more  so  in  the 
natural  phenomena  and  features  of  the  district.  M. 
Perrin,  libraire  at  Chambery,  accompanied  him  to  its 


240  AIX-LES-BAINS.  [1873. 

Museum,  where  he  made  a  list  of  the  fossils  of  the 
"  Alluvions  Anciennes "  of  Sonnax.  M.  Fillet  guided 
him  to  the  section  at  La  Boisse,  near  Chambery,  and 
also  kindly  accompanied  him  by  train  to  Viviers, 
whence  they  visited  the  Lignite  Beds  of  Sonnax. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  drives  out  of  Aix  was 
made  to  a  small  underground  lake  some  ten  kilometres 
distant.  Situated  on  the  side  rather  near  the  foot  of  a 
mountain,  the  entrance  to  it,  which  resembled  that  of  a 
low  cave,  was  reached  through  fields  sloping  downwards 
from  it.  After  a  little  delay  two  or  three  peasants 
were  found  to  act  as  guides,  and  they  carried  lights 
showing  the  long  low  passage  which  widened  as  the 
explorers  penetrated  farther  underground,  and  where 
they  were  able  to  stand  upright.  It  felt  unworld-like 
and  uncanny  when  the  spacious  cavity  was  reached, 
and  its  size  was  shrouded  in  the  darkness  of  night. 
The  water  was  perfectly  still,  and  the  lights  shone  on 
it  and  its  strand  of  fine  white  sand,  which  showed  no 
sign  of  ripple-mark.  How  weird  it  all  looked  ! 

Prestwich  took  in  all  the  conditions  at  a  glance,  and 
was  speedily  satisfied.  After  a  brief  halt,  he  and  his 
companion  turned  to  leave,  and  keeping  close  to  the 
light-bearers,  picked  their  steps,  or  rather  crept  slowly 
through  the  long  slippery  channel  out  to  the  open  air. 
An  agreeable  incident  in  the  day  was  luncheon  after- 
wards at  the  homely  auberge.  Several  workmen 
trooped  in  to  the  kitchen,  the  only  room  for  dinner. 
Always  courteous,  the  Englishman,  speaking  their  lang- 
uage like  one  of  themselves,  was  treated  by  them  with 
the  most  marked  respect — with  a  consideration  equal 
to  his  own. 

It  was  in  1873  that  a  stay  was  made  at  Weymouth, 
which  was  one  of  great  enjoyment.  The  season  was  at 


Ml.  61.]  WEYMOUTH.  241 

its  best,  Mr  and  Mrs  Prestwich  being  there  during 
August  and  part  of  September,  occupying  rooms  near 
those  of  other  members  of  the  family,  with  whom  joint 
excursions  were  made.  The  isle  of  Portland  and  the 
Chesil  Beach  were  the  chief  attractions.  It  cannot  be 
averred  that  visits  were  paid  to  them  every  day,  as 
there  were  long  expeditions  to  Dorchester,  Maiden 
Castle,  and  Blackdown,  near  Portisham  (the  geology 
of  this  hill  of  gravel  being  a  special  object),  and  sep- 
arate days  to  Osmington,  Preston,  Lulworth,  Abbots- 
bury,  &c.,  also  to  Fleet  and  Up  way.  But  on  every 
day  possible,  Prestwich  was  off  by  steamboat  or  by 
road  with  hammer  and  bag,  to  Portland  and  the  Chesil 
Beach.  In  the  expedition  to  Maiden  Castle  and  Black- 
down  his  old  friend  Mr  Edward  Cunnington  accom- 
panied the  party,  Prestwich  breathlessly  busy  in  col- 
lecting, from  various  levels,  specimens  from  the  gravel 
of  rolled  and  subangular  flints,  and  of  quartz,  slate,  and 
other  pebbles.  He  was  much  interested  in  finding  on 
the  road  to  Dorchester  a  long  hill  on  the  right  capped 
with  precisely  the  same  gravel  as  at  Blackdown,  but 
about  300  to  400  feet  lower  in  level.  Mr  E.  Cunning- 
ton  also  joined  one  of  the  excursions  to  Abbotsbury, 
when,  besides  the  geology,  an  inspection  was  made  of 
the  swannery  and  the  decoy. 

Prestwich  paid  one  visit  to  Portland  with  Mr  J.  C. 
Mansel-Pleydell,1  the  Rev.  Osmond  Fisher,2  and  Captain 
Galton  —  the  last  -  named  being  his  guest.      He  con- 
ducted these  three  friends  to  the  Admiralty  Quarries 
—Captain  Clifton,  the  Governor  of  the  Convict  Prison, 

1  President  of  the  Dorset  Natural  History  Society.     Author  of  works 
on  the  Natural  History  of  Dorset. 

2  Author  of  'Physics  of  the  Earth's  Crust,'  and  many  geological  and 
mathematical  papers. 

Q 


242  PORTLAND.  [1873. 

being  especially  kind,  and  affording  every  facility  for 
seeing  the  stone  -  beds  and  specimens  obtained  from 
them. 

The  sojourn  at  Weymouth  would  have  been  delight- 
ful to  every  one  but  for  the  anxiety  of  our  geologist's 
visits  to  Portland  Bill.  In  1863  he  had  noted  a 
fragment  of  the  old  raised  beach  there  overhanging 
a  sheer  precipice,  with  the  wild  conflict  of  waters 
below.  Although  never  foolhardy,  the  risk  in  reach- 
ing this  vestige  of  beach  was  so  great  that,  after  the 
first  visit,  he  made  a  promise  never  to  climb  to  this 
perilous  point  without  the  help  of  either  the  light- 
house-keeper or  a  quarryman.  The  existence  of  this 
fragment  of  beach  was  important,  and  no  piece  of 
geological  evidence  was  ever  more  thoroughly  sifted. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  C.  Mansel-Pleydell. 

WEYMOUTH,  25th  August  1873. 

MY  DEAR  MR  MANSEL-PLEYDELL, — Thanks  for  the  names  of 
species.  I  am  glad  you  enjoyed  your  excursion  here,  and  shall 
be  glad  to  join  you  in  another  one.  I  cannot,  however,  yet  fix 
a  day  for  Swanage,  nor  am  sure  yet  that  I  shall  have  time  to 
spare,  as  I  want  to  work  out  Portland  fully.  I  was  at  the 
Bill  again  on  Saturday.  There  are  clear  indications  of  the 
Middle  and  Upper  Purbecks  having  existed  there;  while  I 
think  it  also  clear  that  the  movement  of  elevation  which  has 
raised  Portland  into  its  present  conspicuous  position  is  of  late 
Quaternary  date.1  You  will  find  me  here  until  the  3rd  Sep- 
tember, &c.,  &c. 

At  Lulworth  he  wished  to  examine  the  coast  in  the 
direction  of  the  White  Nore,  and  for  that  purpose 
engaged  a  tradesman's  cart,  the  only  obtainable  vehicle  ; 

1  This  view  of  the  age  of  the  Weymouth  anticline  is  not  generally 
accepted.  See  Hudleston,  *  Proc.  Geol.  Assoc.,'  vol.  xi.  p.  liii. ;  and 
A.  Strahan,  '  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,3  vol.  li.  p.  549,  and  '  Geology  of  the 
Isle  of  Purbeck  and  Weymouth,3  1898,  pp.  200,  229. 


JET.  61.]  CHESIL   BEACH.  243 

but  after  a  mile  and  a  half  found  the  roadway  impass- 
able. Our  geologist,  however,  had  full  occupation  at 
Lulworth.  The  day  was  one  of  fervent  heat,  and  the 
tiny  Acarus — that  pest  of  a  Chalk  district — was  seen 
to  cluster  in  large  red  blotches  on  the  face  of  an 
unfortunate  donkey. 

Next  to  the  Bill  of  Portland,  the  Chesil  Bank  ab- 
sorbed his  time  and  attention.  Day  after  day  he  stood 
on  its  ridge  watching  the  sweep  of  the  eddying  cur- 
rents :  sometimes  when  a  grand  sea  had  risen  and  the 
waves  swept  high  up,  sending  their  spray  right  over 
the  Bank  ;  sometimes  in  a  calm,  when  on  one  occasion 
there  was  an  enormous  haul  inshore  of  mackerel.  In 
storm  or  calm,  in  rain  or  sunshine,  as  he  stood  on  the 
ridge  listening  to  the  scour  and  friction  of  the  pebbles, 
or  speculating  silently  on  the  direction  of  the  currents, 
his  tall  figure  was  a  familiar  object  to  the  fishermen  of 
the  Chesil  Beach. 

In  a  letter  of  this  date  to  Mr  Evans,  he  remarks 
that  he  had  never  enjoyed  any  stay  at  the  seaside 
so  much  as  this  visit  to  Weymouth. 

Towards  the  end  of  September  he  was  again  at 
work  in  the  Boulonnais — a  district  which  had  already 
received  many  visits,  and  was  destined  to  receive  yet 
more.  On  this  occasion  he  was  accompanied  by  his 
old  friend  Mr  Colchester,  determinedly  carrying  out 
the  programme  which  he  had  planned  for  an  Easter 
excursion  a  year  and  a  half  before.  Again  he  was 
searching  the  district  for  traces  of  Drift  and  for  Loess, 
gleaning  materials  for  those  wide  generalisations  which 
were  to  be  embodied  in  subsequent  papers.  Much  of 
the  ground  traversed  in  the  year  preceding  was  further 
worked  over.  M.  Rigaux  of  Boulogne  accompanied  the 
friends  to  several  localities. 


244  REVIEWS.  [1873. 

Usually  an  early  morning's  start  was  made  after  a 
slight  breakfast,  with  the  understanding  that  he  would 
return  to  dinner  at  seven,  or  at  latest  eight,  o'clock  ; 
yet  often  nine  had  struck  before  he  appeared — tired, 
yet  very  happy  after  a  good  day's  work.  On  being 
questioned,  a  confession  was  made  that  lunch  had 
consisted  of  the  most  meagre  fare — perhaps  a  crust 
of  bread  with  wine  at  some  little  roadside  inn.  The 
equanimity  of  the  landlady  would  have  been  disturbed 
by  the  unwonted  late  and  early  hours,  but  for  the 
presence  of  a  faithful  old  servant  who  had  been  nearly 
thirty  years  in  the  service  of  our  geologist,  and  who 
made  all  the  domestic  machinery  work  smoothly. 

October  was  well  advanced  before  his  return  home, 
where,  although  now  his  own  master,  work  at  high 
pressure  was  resumed.  Early  in  the  year  he  had 
contributed  articles  to  the  '  Manchester  Guardian,' 
two  of  which  were  on  "  Coal  and  our  Coal  Supply " ; 
and  although  ostensibly  reviews  of  Professor  E.  Hull's 
work  '  On  the  Coalfields  of  Great  Britain,'  and  of  the 
Coal  Commission  Reports  (including  the  General  Re- 
port and  Sub -Reports),  they  were  practically  essays 
on  a  subject  on  which  he  was  well  qualified  to  give 
an  opinion.  In  August  a  notice  of  Professor  E.  Hull's 
'  Building  Stones '  also  appeared  in  the  '  Manchester 
Guardian,'  while  in  December  he  was  the  author  of 
an  article  on  Sir  Wyville  Thomson's  '  Depths  of  the 
Sea.' 

His  energies  were  now  centred  on  the  elaboration 
of  a  paper  on  Deep  Sea  Temperatures,  upon  which, 
with  infinite  care  and  trouble,  he  had  been  at  work 
for  some  time.  His  reading  hitherto,  as  we  have 
observed,  except  during  attacks  of  illness,  had  been 
purely  geological :  now  it  included  voyages  to  Polar 


JET.  61.]  DEEP-SEA   TEMPEB ATTIRES.  245 

regions,  Arctic  and  Antarctic.  This  paper  was,  in  fact, 
a  treatise  on  oceanic  circulation  in  relation  to  certain 
geological  questions.  He  had  theories  to  bring  for- 
ward which  he  had  long  thought  out,  and  in  support 
of  these  he  had  collected  and  reduced  all  the  obser- 
vations made,  from  1749  to  1868,  at  great  depths.  The 
conditions  which  these  observations  proved  were  dis- 
cussed, and  "  the  sections  of  bathymetrical  isotherms 
which  extend  from  Pole  to  Pole  gave  results  which, 
in  the  Pacific  especially,  were  quite  new."  Besides 
those  of  inland  seas,  548  observations  were  recorded 
in  the  Northern  hemisphere  and  522  in  the  Southern. 
A  valuable  adjunct  was  the  map  of  these  deep  -  sea 
temperature  soundings,  with  the  observations  marked 
in  figures.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the 
preparation  of  this  memoir,  more  especially  the  com- 
pilation of  the  tables  of  submarine  temperatures,  cost 
him  more  real  toil  than  any  other  of  his  numerous 
geological  writings. 

Letters  from  the  numerous  authorities  whom  he  con- 
sulted on  the  subject  of  temperatures  at  depths  are  of 
great  interest.  For  the  Mediterranean  temperatures  he 
was  indebted  to  his  old  friend  Admiral  Spratt,1  who 
supplied  him  with  the  soundings  made  when  he  was 
at  the  head  of  the  survey  in  the  Mediterranean.  Sir 
Edward  Belcher  sent  him  voluminous  notes,  as  did 
likewise  Captain  Pullen,  R.N.  Admiral  Bedford  stated 
that  the  temperatures  recorded  by  him  from  soundings 
were  all  his  own  and  his  officers'  personal  observations. 
In  one  of  Sir  Edward  Sabine's  letters  an  interesting 
account  is  given  of  his  work  in  taking  soundings  while 

1  Author  of  'Travels  and  Kesearches  in  Crete,'  and  joint  author  with 
Edward  Forbes  of  a  paper  'On  the  Geology  of  a  part  of  Euboaa  and 
Breotia ' ;  also  of  a  work,  '  Travels  in  Lycia,'  &c. 


246  CHANNEL   TUNNEL.  [1873-74. 

on  the  North  Sea  and  Arctic  voyages  of  the  Griper ; 
while  Dr  Hooker  furnished  the  details  of  evidence 
obtained  on  the  voyages  of  the  Erebus  and  Terror  in 
Antarctic  regions. 

The  materials  and  references  for  any  memoir  on 
which  he  happened  to  be  engaged  were  carried  to 
London  in  winter,  a  great  part  of  which  was  spent 
with  his  wife  at  21  Park  Crescent,  the  hospitable  home 
of  Mr  Charles  Falconer,  the  uncle  of  Mrs  Prestwich. 
This  house  was  always  open  to  them,  and  a  lengthened 
winter  visit  was  regarded  as  a  matter  of  course. 

The  date  on  which  a  paper  was  read  at  the  Institution 
of  Civil  Engineers,  "  On  the  Geological  Conditions 
affecting  the  Construction  of  a  Tunnel  between  Eng- 
land and  France,"  was  December  1873.  It  appeared  in 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Institution  for  1874.  Prest- 
wich's  knowledge  of  the  strata  on  both  English  and 
French  coasts  made  the  writing  an  easy  task.  The 
map,  sections,  and  soundings  are  given  with  the  utmost 
clearness  and  completeness,  and  the  reading  of  his 
paper  gave  rise  to  an  animated  discussion,  which  was 
resumed  at  the  next  meeting,  and  was  continued 
throughout  the  evening,  several  leading  engineers  as 
well  as  geologists  taking  part. 

After  reviewing  other  strata  through  which  a  tunnel 
might  be  possible,  Prestwich,  in  summing  up,  remarked 
that  "  the  great  mass  of  the  Palaeozoic  rocks,  so  pro- 
tected by  impermeable  overlying  strata,  is  of  such  great 
dimensions,  and  so  compact,  and  holds  its  range  so 
independently  of  the  more  irregular  range  of  the 
Secondary  strata,  that  it  offers  the  conditions  most 
favourable  for  the  secure  construction  of  a  submarine 
tunnel ;  and  that  such  strata  can  be  worked  in  safety, 
and  for  considerable  distances,  under  great  bodies  of 


JET.  61-62.]  COLONEL   E.    B.    WOOD.  247 

water,  has  been  proved  at  Whitehaven  and  Mons.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  depth  of  these  old  rocks  below 
the  surface  is  very  great,  and  they  are  much  more  dense 
and  harder  than  the  overlying  formations." 

The  following  letter,  in  acknowledgment  of  a  copy 
of  the  Brixham  Cave  Report,  from  Colonel  Wood  of 
Stouthall,  himself  the  explorer  of  so  many  caves,  reveals 
his  affection  for  the  lamented  Hugh  Falconer  : — 

Colonel  JE.  R.  Wood  to  J.  Prestwich. 

STOUTHALL,  SWANSEA,  23rd  March  1874. 

MY  DEAR  MR  PRESTWICH, — I  hasten  to  thank  you  for  having 
kindly  sent  ine  your  Eeport  on  the  Brixham  Cave.  I  shall 
peruse  it  with  very  great  pleasure.  The  descriptive  arrangement 
is  admirable,  and  detail  clear  and  intelligible. 

My  interest  in  this  branch  of  geology  is  not  keen  now ;  indeed 
I  almost  felt  a  distaste  for  the  subject  after  the  death  of  my  dear 
friend  Hugh  Falconer :  he  was  so  associated  with  the  pleasures 
which  I  experienced  in  the  pursuit  of  the  subject,  and  so  en- 
couraged and  assisted  me  by  his  kind  instructions,  that  when 
he  was  taken  from  us  I  found  a  void  which  I  have  never 
been  able  to  overcome.  Our  acquaintance  was  but  a  short  one, 
but  he  had  greatly  endeared  himself  to  me,  and  I  loved  him 
sincerely. 

I  send  you  a  flint  implement  for  your  collection,  but  I  am 
sorry  to  say  that  it  tells  no  tale.  It  was  picked  up  by  a  work- 
man on  the  coast  near  Long  Hole,  when  engaged  in  cutting  a 
pathway  for  bringing  the  debris  of  a  wreck  to  the  top  of  the 
cliff.  It  seems  to  me  a  capital  typical  specimen  of  its  kind, 
very  perfect  in  its  proportions  for  so  small  a  flint. 

Mrs  Wood  desires  me  to  send  her  best  love  to  Mrs  Prestwich, 
to  whom  also  I  offer  my  best  regards.  With  our  united  kind 
regards  to  you,  believe  me,  always  yours  sincerely, 

E.  E.  WOOD. 

Instead  of  accompanying  a  party  abroad  in  the 
following  Easter,  Prestwich  turned  his  steps  north- 


248  SETTLE    CAVE.  [l874. 

ward,  intent  on  working  out  some  special  points,  and 
after  two  days  of  solitary  exploration  of  the  hills 
between  Skiptoii  and  Lotherdale,  as  usual  in  quest 
of  "  Drift,"  on  the  2nd  April  he  joined  Professor  Boyd 
Dawkins  and  Mr  R.  H.  Tiddeman  of  the  Geological 
Survey,  at  the  New  Inn,  Clapham,  in  the  West  Riding 
of  Yorkshire,  which  was  made  their  headquarters.  He 
had  visited  the  Victoria  Cave  at  Settle,  at  least  once 
before,  but  the  first  day's  work  was  a  re-examination 
of  it  and  of  two  small  caves  near.  The  Cave  at  Ingle- 
borough  was  also  explored.  On  this  interesting  ex- 
cursion Prestwich  was  busily  engaged  with  his  two 
companions  in  noting  every  occurrence  of  boulders,  of 
Boulder  Clay,  or  traces  of  Drift  or  of  ice- act  ion,  in  the 
districts  of  Selside,  Long  Preston,  Whalley,  and  Hoi- 
combe,  &c. 

Early  in  May  his  great  paper  on  "  Deep  Sea 
Temperatures"  was  handed  in  to  the  Royal  Society. 
It  was  read  on  the  18th  June,  a  week  later  than  the 
date  on  which  another  of  his  papers  was  read  at  the 
Geological  Society,  entitled  "  Notes  on  the  Phenomena 
of  the  Quaternary  Period  in  the  Isle  of  Portland 
and  around  Weymouth."  Into  this  latter  were  woven 
many  of  the  observations  made  during  his  sojourn  at 
Weymouth  (see  p.  242). 

During  this  year  also,  a  translation  into  French  of 
his  memoirs  on  the  Crag — '  La  Structure  des  Couches 
du  Crag '  -  -  was  published  by  M.  Michel  Mourlon, 
Docteur-es-Sciences  at  Brussels. 

But  1874  was  a  year  memorable  in  the  life  of  Joseph 
Prestwich, — the  one  in  which  he  agreed  to  become 
the  successor  of  the  deeply  regretted  Professor  John 
Phillips,  and  to  fill  the  Chair  of  Geology  at  Oxford. 


249 


CHAPTER   IX. 

1874-1878. 

OXFORD — FIELD    GEOLOGY   IN   ENGLAND,    FRANCE, 
WALES,    AND    SCOTLAND. 

MR  PRESTWICH  was  not  a  candidate  for  the  vacant 
Professorship  at  Oxford,  and  the  intimation  that  the 
Chair  of  Geology  was  about  to  be  offered  to  him  came 
as  a  great  surprise.  It  was  so  unexpected  that  he  had 
actually  given  testimonials  to  two  of  the  candidates. 
An  official  position  in  the  old  University  was  very 
tempting,  yet  there  was  one  element  of  anxiety,  and 
that  was  his  uncertain  health.  Dr  Owen  Rees,  his 
medical  adviser  and  the  friend  of  his  boyhood,  on  being 
consulted,  gave  an  encouraging  opinion.  Accordingly 
a  prompt  acceptance  was  sent  to  the  letter,  dated  23rd 
June  1874,  from  the  late  Dr  Liddell,1  Dean  of  Christ 
Church,  who  at  the  time  was  Vice- Chancellor  of  the 
University,  and  in  right  of  his  office  made  the  offer  of 
the  appointment.  The  terms  in  which  the  Dean  wrote 
were  thought  only  too  complimentary  by  our  geologist. 
The  writer  cannot  withhold  a  brief  extract : — 

"  I  am  fully  sensible  that  the  University  will  derive 

1  The  Very  Reverend  Henry  George  Liddell,  born  February  6,  1811  ; 
died  January  18,  1898. 


250  PROFESSORSHIP   AT   OXFORD.  [l874. 

more  honour  from  having  a  person  so  eminent  as  your- 
self among  her  Professors  than  she  can  bestow  on  you 
by  receiving  you  into  their  numbers." 

These  words  from  the  Dean  foreshadowed  the  wel- 
come with  which  he  and  Mrs  Liddell  received  the  new 
Professor  and  his  wife.  Their  constant  kindness  led  to 
a  warm  mutual  friendship,  which  was  greatly  prized, 
and  which  throughout  a  thirteen  years'  residence  never 
faltered  nor  varied. 

Professor  Prestwich  was  the  recipient  of  a  number  of 
congratulatory  letters,  all  expressive  of  the  pleasure 
which  this  appointment  gave.  A  telegram  was  put 
into  his  hands  on  the  evening  of  the  1st  July,  dated 
from  the  "  Scientific  Club,"  with  hearty  congratula- 
tions. It  bore  the  signatures  of  "Ansted,  Rupert 
Jones,  Dallas,  Wallace,  Woodward,  Seeley,  Lobley, 
Davies,  Morris,  Green,  Hudleston,  and  Marshall  Hall." 
This  evidence  of  affectionate  interest  from  the  friends 
he  valued  gave  him  the  keenest  pleasure. 

A  note  from  Professor  Owen  is  dated  8th  July 
1874:- 

MY  DEAR  PROFESSOR, — Let  nie  first  congratulate  Oxford  on 
your  acceptance  of  its  Professorship  of  Geology.  When  I  first 
heard  of  the  probability,  I  thought  it  too  good  news  to  be  true. 
Next  accept  my  best  thanks  for  your  prompt  transmission  of  the 
vertebra  of  Ceteosaurus  Oxoniensis,  Phillips.  It  has  arrived  in  per- 
fect safety,  and  I  trust  you  will  receive  it  in  as  good  condition 
when  the  lithograph  is  finished. — Believe  me,  most  truly  yours, 

KICHARD  OWEN. 

The  new  Professor  lost  no  time  in  securing  a  house 
at  Oxford,  where  he  and  Mrs  Prestwich  were  received 
with  the  most  hospitable  kindness  by  Dr  1  and  by  Mrs 

1  Now  Sir  Henry  D.  Acland,  Bart. 


Photo  by  Hills  &  Saioit/t'rs,  Oxford. 

SIR   HENRY   D.    ACLAND,    BART. 


IET.  62.]  GEOLOGISTS'  ASSOCIATION.  251 

Acland  of  saintly  memory.  The  house  taken  was  that 
at  the  corner  of  Holy  well  and  Broad  Street,  its  recom- 
mendation being  that  it  was  within  two  doors  of  Dr 
and  Mrs  Acland.  When  the  wife  of  our  Professor  ex- 
pressed regret  at  their  not  having  succeeded  to  the 
pretty  Museum  villa  which  had  been  occupied  by  Pro- 
fessor Phillips,  instead  of  confessing  to  disappointment, 
he  declared  (and  he  was  so  true)  that  he  much  pre- 
ferred not  having  the  Museum  residence — that  it  would 
be  selfishness  to  hold  two  such  good  houses  as  it  and 
Darent-Hulme. 

Just  before  this  (June  26th),  he  had  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  receiving  the  members  of  the  Geologists' 
Association  at  Darent-Hulme,  when  their  excursion 
happened  to  include  Well  Hill  and  the  ground  in  the 
near  neighbourhood.1  Breaking  up  the  party  into 
two  sections,  the  one  half  made  way  for  the  other,  so 
that  all  were  rested  and  refreshed.  The  sun  shone  out 
brilliantly,  the  picturesque  highlands  of  Kent  looked 
their  best,  and  the  day — at  least  for  the  entertainers — 
was  a  very  happy  one. 

Preparations  for  Oxford  had  to  be  made  so  as  to  be 
in  residence  there  during  the  October  term.  Prest- 
wich  was  about  to  begin  a  new  life  and  altogether 
new  work,  yet  although  unaccustomed  to  lecture  to 
students,  he  was  conscious  that  the  Professorial  duties 
would  be  altogether  congenial,  and  he  began  without 
delay  to  shape  out  the  course  of  instruction  for  his 
class.  This  girding  himself  for  the  duties  of  the 
Oxford  chair  did  not,  however,  interfere  with  further 
geological  observations  which  he  had  in  view. 

Ilfracombe  in  North  Devon  was  the  centre,  in 
August,  whence  explorations  were  made  along  that 

1  See  Proc.  Geol.  Assoc.,  vol.  iv.  p.  155. 


252  NORTH    DEVON.  [1874. 

wild  rock-bound  coast.  The  first  was  to  Croyde  Point, 
where  the  consolidated  sands  were  noted,  and  also  the 
rarity  of  shells.  At  Westward  Ho  he  came  upon  the 
raised  beach  "  immediately  covered  by  the  Head,"  and 
traced  the  raised  beach  at  places  near  to  Morte  Point. 
At  Morte  Bay  he  descended  to  the  shore  with  his 
sister-in-law,  when  they  found  great  difficulty  in 
clambering  back  from  the  rising  tide.  Little  wonder 
that  wreckage  lay  scattered  near  to  those  awful  rocks 
with  their  knife-life  edges.  The  chief  interest,  how- 
ever, was  at  Baggy  Point,  where  he  was  busied  in 
securing  specimens  of  sand,  &c.,  from  fragments  of  the 
raised  beach  and  "  Head."  A  search  was  made  on 
the  hills  near  Berrynarbor  for  the  Drift  mentioned  in 
the  "  Guide,"  but  he  could  find  no  trace  of  it.  Bide- 
ford,  Barnstaple,  and  Clovelly  were  visited — in  short, 
every  part  of  the  north-west  coast  of  Devon  at  all 
accessible  was  carefully  examined. 

From  Lynton  and  Lynmouth  a  long  drive  skirting 
Exmoor  took  the  Professor  and  his  wife  down  to  the 
comfortable  little  inn  on  the  shore  of  Porlock  Bay, 
the  former  searching  at  low  tide  for  vestiges  of  the 
submerged  forest.  On  the  way  to  church  next  day  by 
the  shore-path  outside  Lord  Lovelace's  grounds,  the 
two  tourists  were  struck  by  the  extraordinary  luxuri- 
ance of  the  shrubs,  in  especial  by  the  marvellous 
colouring  of  the  arbutus,  all  testifying  to  the  mild- 
ness of  the  climate. 

Minehead  was  the  next  halting-place,  whence  the 
coast  was  examined  backward  toward  Porlock  :  inland 
excursions  were  also  made,  including  a  day  at  Dunster 
and  its  neighbourhood.  The  greatest  attraction,  how- 
ever, was  the  shore  at  Watchet,  where  the  gypsum 
beds  in  the  New  Red  Marl  and  the  Rhsetic  Beds  and 


JET.  62.]  RECEPTION   AT    OXFORD.  253 

Lower  Lias  are  so  clearly  exhibited.  His  intense  en- 
joyment of  this  out-of-door  work  was  infectious,  even 
for  those  to  whom  the  record  of  the  rocks  was  as  a 
sealed  book. 

When  the  date  drew  near  for  the  move  to  Oxford, 
Prestwich  had  to  face  the  prospect  of  leaving  his  home 
and  that  garden  so  entirely  his  own.  He  arranged  with 
his  wife  that  they  should  leave  it  only  after  nightfall, 
and  this  continued  to  be  their  practice  in  subsequent 
years  when  quitting  Darent-Hulme  at  the  end  of  the 
long  vacation.  It  was  less  of  a  pang  to  say  good-bye 
to  it  in  the  dark. 

Their  reception  at  Oxford  was  the  kindest,  and  not 
from  the  science  side  only,  but  from  all  sides.  They 
soon  came  under  the  spell  of  the  ancient  home  of 
learning,  and  perceived  that  there  was  a  subtle  essence 
in  its  mental  atmosphere  which  made  it  somewhat 
different  from  any  other.  They  felt  the  fascination 
of  the  place,  and  were  sensible  of  their  privilege. 
Shortly  after  his  arrival,  the  new  Professor  of  Geology 
had  the  honour  of  being  elected  a  member  of  Christ 
Church  College.  He  had  also  the  distinction  of  being 
chosen  one  of  "The  Club" — a  private  dining  club  which 
consisted  of  twelve  members  (several  of  whom  were 
Heads  of  colleges),  who  in  term  met  once  a  fortnight 
at  dinner  in  rotation  at  each  other's  houses  :  only  a 
Royal  command  was  allowed  to  interfere  with  this 
engagement.  A  larger  dining  club  was  the  "  Ash- 
molean,"  whose  members  were  chiefly  men  of  science, 
and  who  also  did  our  geologist  the  honour  of  adding 
him  to  their  number. 

He  likewise  had  a  cordial  invitation  from  Mr  Buskin 
to  co-operate  with  him  in  a  series  of  social  gatherings 
for  the  discussion  of  University  interests,  but  his  time 


254  JOHN   BUSKIN.  [1874-75. 

was  so  fully  occupied  that   he  was   quite    unable   to 
join. 

J.  Euskin  to  J.  Prestwich. 

CORPUS  CHRISTI  COLLEGE,  OXFORD,  7th  Novr.  '74. 

DEAR  PROFESSOR  PRESTWICH, — I  very  earnestly  petition  you, 
if  it  be  at  all  in  your  disposition  of  days  possible,  to  honour  me 
by  dining  with  me  at  Corpus  next  Thursday.  It  is  the  begin- 
ning of  a  series  of  quiet  meetings  which  I  hope  may  take  place 
weekly  in  my  rooms  :  any  Masters  of  the  University  coming 
who  care  to  talk  with  each  other,  over  the  coffee,  of  matters 
at  present  doubtful  in  our  University  work  and  prospects. 

It  seems  to  me  that,  not  prolonged  to  fatigue  and  conducted 
on  the  comfortable  after-dinner  principles,  such  discussion  may 
every  now  and  then  elicit  things  (otherwise  not  determinable) 
with  security  up  to  a  certain  point. 

Dinner  will  always  be  at  seven  punctually.  Coffee  at  half- 
past  eight,  when  any  chance  visitor  who  wishes  to  join  in  the 
talk  will  come  in.  Talk  to  finish  in  formality  at  ten.  Subject 
for  a  beginning  on  Thursday  next :  What  is  a  University  ?  The 
subjects  will  always  be  questions,  and  some  kind  of  answer  will 
be  set  down  in  memory  of  the  evening,  as  agreed  to  by  such  and 
such  guests.  The  records,  of  course,  always  private.  Please 
join  us.  I  want  you  so  much,  and  am  always  faithfully  yours, 

J.  EUSKIN. 

The  University  Museum  was  a  daily  resort,  or  rather 
it  should  be  said  the  working  day  was  spent  there. 
With  the  old  energy  he  sought  to  make  himself 
acquainted  with  the  geological  collections,  and  to 
complete  their  arrangement.  His  Inaugural  Lecture, 
"  On  the  Past  and  Future  of  Geology,"  was  very  well 
received,  the  audience  increased  by  friends  from  a  dis- 
tance. After  reviewing  the  strides  that  had  been 
made  in  geological  science,  and  indicating  how  much 
still  remained  to  be  accomplished,  he  summed  up  with 
a  profession  of  the  faith  which  had  been  his  from 


2ET.  62-63.]  EGBERT    MALLET.  255 

boyhood — "the  belief  of  great  purpose   and  all -wise 
design." 

On  this  subject  the  following  letter  is  interesting  : — 

ft.  Mallet  to  J.  Prestwich. 

ENMOKE,  THE  GROVE,  CLAPHAM  ROAD,  S.W.,  29<A  March  1875. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Let  me  thank  you  for  a  copy  of  your  Inaug- 
ural Address,  which  has  been  read  to  me,  and  from  which  I 
have  derived  great  pleasure  and  instruction.  You  have  touched 
on  none  but  important  and  broad  questions,  and  dealt  with  them 
ably  and  well. 

The  time  has  fully  come  for  us  to  clear  our  ideas  as  to  those 
shifty  old  shibboleths  of  the  past  generation,  Uniformitarianism 
and  Paroxysmalism,  and  it  delights  me  much  to  find  you  pre- 
senting a  courageous  front  towards  their  correction. 

I  wish  much  you  could  devote  a  share  of  your  powers  to  the 
clear  unprejudiced  statement  and  discussion  of  all  the  evidence 
for  and  against  the  notion1  of  a  glacial  epoch  and  the  limits  of 
ice-action  at  any  period.  People  talk  about  "  the  glacial  period  " 
much  as  an  older  world  did  about  "  the  golden  age  "  or  the  mil- 
lennium, and  without  a  thought  as  to  whether  there  be  or  be  not 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  any  one  of  the  three. 

To  me  the  admission  presents  immense  physical  and  mech- 
anical difficulties,  against  which  Palseontologieal  evidences  seem 
weak  and  dubious.  And  the  alleged  evidences  from  grooved 
and  scratched  rocks,  I  believe,  can  be  accounted  for  by  other 
than  glacial  action. 

Do  you  not  rather  overrate  the  toughness  of  the  inner  surface 
of  the  globe's  crust  ? 

A  section  to  true  scale  across  the  Pacific  Ocean  would  not  be 
a  trough,  but  an  urribo  covered  by  a  varying  but  always  relatively 
thin  stratum  of  water — a  saucer,  not  a  basin,  as  I  have  called  it 
elsewhere  (Fourth  Eeport,  Earthquakes). 

The  superior  inequalities,  however  great,  will  rapidly  tend  to 
lessen  as  we  pass  farther  inwards,  and  thus  the  nucleus  tends  to 
a  perfect  spheroid,  with  increase  of  depth. 

May  I  venture  to  add  another  remark  ?  —  you  seem  to  con- 
tinue to  attach  to  Hopkins's  precession  notions  and  to  Sir  W. 


256  GEOLOGICAL   PAPERS.  [l875. 

Thomson's  rigidity  theory  a  degree  of  authority  and  truth  to 
nature  to  which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  neither  are  entitled,  and 
both  which,  brought  forward  without  expression  of  doubt,  if  not 
of  discredit,  are  likely  to  exercise  a  retarding  effect  on  geological 
true  progress.  Both  seem  to  me  striking  examples  of  what  Huxley 
has  so  happily  styled  "  putting  peas -cods  into  the  mathematical 
mill  and  expecting  to  obtain  good  wholesome  flour." — With  much 
esteem,  sincerely  yours,  E.  MALLET. 

On  the  2nd  of  February  1875  Prestwich  read  a 
paper  at  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  which 
created  almost  as  lively  an  interest  as  his  Channel 
Tunnel  paper,  the  discussions  on  it  occupying  portions 
of  three  evenings,  and  in  which  engineers,  geologists, 
and  naval  men  took  part,  among  the  latter  his  old 
friend  Admiral  Spratt,  who  had  been  the  associate  of 
Edward  Forbes  in  researches  in  the  Mediterranean. 
It  was  entitled,  "  On  the  Origin  of  the  Chesil  Bank, 
and  on  the  Relation  of  the  existing  Beaches  to  past 
Geological  Changes  independent  of  the  present  Coast 
Action." 

It  was  only  on  a  special  occasion  such  as  this  that 
our  Professor  absented  himself  from  Oxford  during 
term.  By  the  end  of  it  the  strain  of  work,  added 
to  many  hospitable  social  engagements,  told  upon  his 
health,  and  he  was  ordered  by  Dr  Acland  to  the  south 
coast  to  recruit.  After  geologising  round  Eastbourne, 
at  Pevensey  and  St  Leonards,  following  the  same  skilled 
advice,  a  move  was  made  to  Hay  ling  Island.  At  that 
early  season  there  were  no  visitors,  so  that  Professor 
and  Mrs  Prestwich  had  the  hotel  at  South  Hayling 
all  to  themselves,  and  the  restful  week  spent  there 
was  ever  a  most  happy  reminiscence.  The  sea  air 
worked  like  a  charm,  and  as  on  arrival  a  glimpse  had 
been  had  of  numerous  scattered  boulders,  there  was 


J3T. 


}.]  HAYLING   ISLAND.  25*7 


constant  occupation.  On  the  strip  of  common  front- 
ing the  hotel  there  were  three  of  about  a  quarter  to 
half  a  ton  in  weight,  one  being  of  fine  white  granite, 
and  the  other  two  of  sandstone ;  while  within  the  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  thirty  boulders  were  counted  —  of 
granite,  sandstone,  diorite,  &c.  The  circuit  of  the 
island  was  made  in  a  pony  carriage,  which  was  gen- 
erally laden  with  chips  hammered  off  from  the  trans- 
ported blocks,  and  carried  away  for  examination. 
Fragments  of  Portland  fossil  wood  were  reported  to 
him,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  the  thin  spread  of 
gravel  on  the  south  shore  was  traced  and  inspected  : 
a  saltern  then  in  use  was  an  easy  walk  from  the 
hotel.  The  whole  place  felt  so  remote  and  out  of 
the  world,  yet  there  was  the  constant  sight  of  sail 
off  Spithead.  The  apple  -  trees,  so  plentiful  in  the 
island,  had  burst  out  in  blossom  in  the  continued 
sunshine,  and  in  the  memory  of  the  survivor  Hay- 
ling  Island  will  ever  be  associated  with  a  daily  search 
for  boulders  amid  clouds  of  apple-blossom. 

On  the  first  stage  of  the  way  back  to  Oxford  the 
drive  from  Havant  to  Fareham  over  Portsdown  Hill, 
keeping  close  to  the  fortifications,  was  magnificent. 
Putting  up  at  the  "Red  Lion"  at  Fareham,  Hill 
Head  and  Stubbington  Cliff  were  explored,  where  at 
both  places  the  Professor  lost  no  time  in  collecting 
old  rock  pebbles  and  subangular  fragments  of  quartz, 
granite,  &c.  Another  expedition  was  made  to  the 
fort  on  the  top  of  Wallington  Hill  to  inspect  the 
capping  of  fine  subangular  gravel,  three  to  four  feet 
thick. 

The  Saturday  excursions  for  his  students  in  the 
summer  term  out  from  Oxford  were  always  popular, 
and  by  no  means  restricted  to  his  class.  There  was 

B 


258  FIELD    CLASSES.  [l875. 

often  a  sprinkling  of  graduates,  and  always  a  certain 
number  of  ladies.  No  pains  were  spared  to  make  his 
lectures  and  the  instruction  in  the  field  perfectly  clear, 
and  it  was  a  duty  with  him  to  explore  any  new  ground 
before  leading  the  class  to  inspect  it.  Oxford  indeed 
was  a  splendid  centre. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  in  a  letter  to  Mr  Evans,  he 
remarked  :  "I  am  still  busy  here  lecturing  and  ex- 
amining. We  were  out,  thirty-two  of  us,  last  Satur- 
day at  Yarnton,  and  disinterred  a  mammoth's  tusk. 
To-day  we  go  to  Fawler  and  Stonesfield." 

One  of  the  most  popular  expeditions  and  one  of  the 
most  instructive  was  to  the  top  of  Shotover  Hill  with 
its  capping  of  ironsands.  The  several  strata  forming 
the  hill  were  clearly  seen  one  above  another  in  ascend- 
ing to  the  summit,  where  those  whose  walking  powers 
enabled  them  to  proceed  as  far  as  Wheatley  were  able 
to  distinguish  the  outcrop  of  several  of  the  strata  on 
the  farther  side  of  the  hill.  Enslow  Bridge,  so  rich  in 
fossils  of  the  Great  Oolite,  was  another  favourite  excur- 
sion, as  was  also  Kirtlington  and  its  fossils  in  the 
Forest  Marble.  The  neighbourhood  of  Cumnor  was 
likewise  a  frequent  resort,  and  many  busy  hours  were 
spent  in  its  pits  hunting  for  corals  and  other  specimens 
in  the  Coral  Rag,  and  always  with  success.  In  short, 
no  ground  within  reasonable  reach  of  Oxford  that  could 
serve  as  an  object-lesson  remained  un visited. 

The  new  Professor  was  determined  to  make  himself 
of  use  to  the  University,  and  without  delay  took  up 
the  question  of  a  better  water-supply  for  Oxford  :  some 
of  the  best-remembered  days  were  those  spent  in  ex- 
ploring the  distant  hills  in  search  of  springs  of  sufficient 
volume  to  be  utilised  for  the  purpose.  On  this  partic- 
ular quest  he  was  rarely  accompanied  by  his  students : 


JET.  63.]  LIFE   AT    OXFORD.  259 

for  these  long  distances  he  went  out  with  only  one 
companion. 

He  threw  himself  with  zest  into  the  Oxford  life,  en- 
joying it  to  the  utmost.  He  was  not  a  speaker  in 
Convocation,  yet  never  failed  to  be  present  among  the 
group  of  Natural  Science  men,  to  record  his  vote  when 
any  science  measure  was  under  discussion.  Delightful 
intimacies  grew  out  of  almost  daily  intercourse.  Fore- 
most among  his  Oxford  friends  were  Dr  and  Mrs 
Acland ;  many  evenings  were  spent  under  their  roof, 
when  (as  was  so  often  the  case)  they  had  a  houseful  of 
interesting  guests.  He  had  a  great  regard  for  his 
brother  Professors  at  the  Museum,  two  of  whom  indeed 
were  his  old  personal  friends,  Dr  Odling,  the  Waynflete 
Professor  of  Chemistry,  and  Professor  Clifton,  who  had 
the  chair  of  Experimental  Philosophy. 

Outside  the  Museum  staff  there  was  the  Hev.  Charles 
Pritchard,1  whose  friendship  was  of  many  years'  stand- 
ing, and  who  gave  him  a  hearty  welcome.  In  short, 
the  position  of  our  geologist  at  the  old  University  was 
peculiarly  happy. 

Two  of  the  friends  with  whom  he  was  much  in  con- 
tact in  the  early  years  of  his  professorship  were  Dr 
Rolleston,2  the  brilliant  speaker,  and  Professor  Henry  J. 
S.  Smith,3  the  mathematician,  who  succeeded  Professor 
Phillips  as  curator  of  the  University  Museum.  If  he 
did  not  possess  Dr  Rolleston's  rare  gift  of  oratory,  he 
had  nevertheless  that  almost  as  rare  power  of  persuasive 
speech.  With  inimitable  tact  Professor  Henry  Smith 

1  Savilian  Professor  of  Astronomy,  born  29th  February  1808  ;  died  28th 
May  1893. 

2  George  Eolleston,  Linacre  Professor  of  Physiology,  born  30th  July 
1829  ;  died  16th  June  1881. 

3  Henry  John  Stephen  Smith,  Savilian  Professor  of  Geometry,  born  2nd 
November  1826  ;  died  9th  February  1883. 


260  LIFE   AT    OXFORD.  [l875. 

struck  in  when  discussions  waxed  warm,  pouring  "  oil 
on  the  troubled  waters."  These  two  remarkable  men 
had  vied  with  each  other  in  holding  out  the  hand  of 
fellowship  to  Prestwich.  Alas  !  the  powerful  pleadings 
with  which  Dr  Rolleston  was  wont  to  electrify  Con- 
vocation on  behalf  of  some  liberal  measure,  and  the 
"golden  speech,"  as  it  has  been  fitly  termed,  of  the 
genial  Professor  Henry  Smith,  have  long  been  silent. 
Jowett,  in  his  •'  Recollections  of  Professor  Smith,'  ob- 
serves, "  He  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable persons  of  his  time." 

Outside  the  Professoriate,  Joseph  Prestwich  had 
gained  so  many  friends  that  the  difficulty  is  to  enum- 
erate them.  One  of  these  was  the  Rev.  Dr  Cradock, 
the  Principal  of  Brasenose,  who,  during  several  years, 
presided  at  the  geological  class  lectures :  the  kindness 
shown  by  him  and  Mrs  Cradock  was  constant  until  the 
end.  At  their  pleasant  luncheon-parties  the  new  Pro- 
fessor and  his  wife  were  frequent  guests.  When  after 
adjournment  to  the  drawing-room  it  was  the  practice 
of  the  sprightly  little  hostess  to  insist  on  any  man  of 
note  present  writing  an  epigram,  or  sonnet,  or  some- 
thing original,  in  her  book  of  autographs,  our  geologist 
finally  succeeded  in  satisfying  her  with  a  quotation. 
Mrs  Cradock  invariably  wore  black,  and  as  her  slight 
figure  was  draped  in  black  lace  which  was  thrown  over 
her  cap  and  fell  enveloping  her  shoulders,  the  appear- 
ance of  the  kind  little  hostess  was  unconventional  and 
highly  picturesque.  She  had  a  rose-garden  at  the  end 
of  Holywell  which  gave  much  pleasure  to  her  friends  ; 
but  each  year,  as  the  season  of  roses  drew  near,  our  Pro- 
fessor hurried  home  so  as  to  be  in  time  for  his  own 
beautiful  roses,  which  flourished  in  the  sunshine,  on 
that  high  chalk  hill  overlooking  the  Darent  valley. 


JET.  63.]  DARENT-HULME.  261 

At  the  beginning  of  the  long  vacation,  and  back  at 
Darent-Hulme,  he  was  almost  speechless  with  pleasure, 
going  from  shrub  to  shrub  and  from  tree  to  tree,  to 
ascertain  what  havoc  had  been  done  by  winter  frosts, 
and  to  contemplate  the  growth  made  during  his  ab- 
sence. The  young  Gingko  trees,  Salisburia  adiantifolia, 
were  among  the  first  to  be  inspected.  He  had  always 
been  eager  to  nurture  them  into  vigour,  but  it  must 
be  confessed  that  their  growth  was  stunted  and  the 
slowest.  Other  delicate  trees  of  which  he  took  special 
care  were  the  Cryptomeria  elegans,  whose  feathery 
foliage  was  beginning  to  recover  its  proper  tone  and 
throw  off  the  russet-brown  of  winter.  Then  there  were 
the  pines  in  all  their  varieties — the  "  Austrians,"  which 
flourished  everywhere,  and  those  from  more  sunny 
climates,  such  as  Pinus  Laricio,  P.  excelsa,  P.  pinea, 
P.  Pinaster,  &c.,  and  the  dark  green  P.  nobilis, — one  or 
two  of  them,  if  the  frosts  had  been  severe,  making 
new  leaders.  Prestwich's  residence  at  Oxford  gave 
some  respite  to  these  young  trees,  as  there  was  less 
transplanting  :  still,  every  season  a  certain  number  were 
marked  for  removal  into  other  positions — all  carefully 
indicated.  No  garden  ever  afforded  keener  enjoyment. 
No  one  realised  more  than  he  the  truth  of  the  words  of 
Douglas  Jerrold,  that  "  a  garden  is  a  beautiful  book, 
writ  by  the  finger  of  God  :  every  flower  and  every 
leaf  is  a  letter.  You  have  only  to  learn — and  he  is  a 
poor  dunce  that  cannot,  if  he  will,  do  that, — to  learn 
them  and  join  them,  and  then  to  go  on  reading  and 
reading,  and  you  will  find  yourself  carried  away 
from  the  earth  by  the  beautiful  story  you  are  going 
through." 

A  letter  with  his  views  on  the  origin  of  the  Drift 
and  its  relation  to  the  submergence  of  the  land  will  be 


262  MALVERN    DRIFT.  [1875. 

read  with  interest.     In  it  reference  is  made  to  a  visit 
paid  to  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Symonds  at  Pendock  Rectory. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Rev.  W.  S.  Symonds.  OXFORD,  16th  July  1875. 

MY  DEAR  MR  SYMONDS, — You  asked  me  to  give  you  some 
idea  of  what  my  views  were  of  the  Drift  phenomena  you  so 
kindly  guided  me  to  on  Monday  and  Tuesday  last. 

I  told  you  on  the  spot  what  generally  they  were,  and  I  have 
little  to  add  to  the  conclusions  I  then  came  to.  In  case,  however, 
I  did  not  clearly  express  myself,  and  to  avail  myself  of  the  use 
of  diagrams,  I  will  now  briefly  state  my  views,  so  far  as  I  can  at 
present  form  them.  To  commence  with  the  last  section,  which 
is  a  very  instructive  one,  I  think  we  there  have  the  only  instance 
I  saw  in  the  Malverns  of  old  river  action — of  the  same  age  prob- 
ably as  the  great  river  drifts  of  the  Severn  and  Avon,  but  of  a 
more  torrential  and  mountain-stream  character.  The  stream  in 
its  floods  carried  down  the  bodies  of  the  drowned  animals  and 
transported  large  quantities  of  gravel,  while  on  the  breaking  up 
of  the  winter  frosts  the  side-ice  of  the  stream  took  up  and 
carried  down  angular  blocks  of  the  rocks  higher  up.  We  thus 
have  mixed  together  rolled  and  rounded  gravel  and  sand,  and 
perfectly  angular  blocks,  together  with  detached  and  fragmentary 
bones  of  mammalia.  This  gravel  is  overlain  by  a  drift  of  angu- 
lar local  debris  derived  from  the  Wenlock  rocks  on  the  ridge 
above.  See  Section  No.  1,  which  shows  the  probable  relation  of 
the  different  points. 

Section  No.  2  shows  the  probable  relation  of  the  gravel  to 
the  valley  and  old  river.  There  may  be  more  than  one  terrace. 

The  other  mammalian  deposits  had  clearly  no  relation  to  old 
rivers,  for  the  two  chief  ones  were  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Malverns  at  places  where  the  ridge  was  continuous  and  no 
streams  or  valleys  debouched.  From  the  limited  localisation  and 
great  abundance  of  the  bones,  it  would  seem  that  the  carcasses  of 
many  animals  may  have  been  drifted  to  those  spots  ;  and,  in  the 
absence  of  evidence  of  river-action,  we  must  suppose  them  to 
have  been  drowned  by  the  encroachment  of  the  sea  on  the  land. 
Now  this  may  have  taken  place  at  the  time  of  the  northern  drift, 
and  the  deposit  of  sea-shells  in  the  Severn  valley ;  but,  from  the 


.] 


MALVERN    DRIFT. 


263 


character  of  the  animals,  it  may  have  been  of  later  date,  and 
the  only  evidence  of  the  possible  submergence  of  the  land  at 
that  later  period  is  the  angular  "  landwash  "  which  subtends  the 
base  of  all  your  hills. 

It  is  true  that  that  angular  debris  might  have  been  formed  by 
land-ice  and  snow ;  but,  besides  the  reasons  I  have  given  in  my 


Land-wash 
of  local  rocks.  &±-_ 

Gravel  with 
mamm.  remains. 


i.  SECTION  NEAR  CLENCHER'S  MILL,  MALVERN. 


2.  THEORETICAL  SECTION  ACROSS  VALLEY  AT  CLENCHER'S  MILL. 


Range  of  angiilar  debris 


Sea  Level 


3.  SECTION  OF  THE  MALVERNS  AND  ADJACENT  PLAIN  ON  THE  EAST  (NEARLY 
TRUE  SCALE  FOR  HEIGHT  AND  DISTANCE). 

Portland  paper  for  adopting  the  sea  view,  I  would  point  out, 
in  the  case  of  the  Malverns,  the  great  distance  to  which,  rela- 
tively to  the  height,  it  extends  from  the  base  of  the  hill. 

Section  No.  3  will  show  you  this  on  a  true  scale  of  height  and 
distance.  It  seems  to  me  that  no  bank  of  snow  on  the  slope  of 
the  Malverns  could  have  propelled  the  debris  the  distance  a  b  in 
an  open  plain.  It  might  have  extended  to  c  or  a  little  beyond, 
but  scarcely  more. 


264  WORK    AT    OXFORD.  [l875. 

I  do  not  think  the  cause  adequate  to  the  effect.  For  this,  and 
the  reasons  I  have  given  elsewhere,  I  am  inclined  to  consider  the 
angular  drift  of  the  West  and  South  of  England  all  referable  to 
the  cause  I  named  in  my  Portland  paper,  viz.,  the  submergence 
of  the  land,  and  its  emergence  in  a  comparatively  short  period  of 
time — like  that  which  might,  for  example,  accompany  a  series  of 
earthquake  movements.  This  would  give  a  considerable  trans- 
porting power,  but  a  transport  neither  of  sufficient  distance  nor 
of  sufficient  duration  to  produce  much,  or  any,  wear  of  the 
materials  which  we  might  expect  to  find  in  and  under  this 
(landwash),  namely,  the  remains  of  the  land  animals  and  land 
shells  which  lived  on  the  submerged  land.  I  take  the  red  mud 
deposit  with  its  heaped  collection  of  bones  to  be  evidence  of  the 
slowly  advancing  waters,  and  of  the  animals  drowned  in  the 
plains;  while  the  angular  debris  is  evidence  of  the  more  rapid 
emergence  and  off-flow  of  the  waters,  carrying  down  the  slopes 
of  the  hills,  and  for  some  distance  into  the  plains  and  valleys,  the 
loose  debris  of  the  submerged  hills. 

This  hypothesis  seems  to  me  to  explain  the  greater  number 
of  phenomena,  and  to  keep  a  reasonably  harmonious  relation 
between  the  several  sets  of  them.  It  is  one  I  have  not  arrived 
at  hastily.  It  has,  in  fact,  been  the  result  of  many  years'  observa- 
tions. Still  I  am  not  at  all  wedded  to  it,  and  if  it  can  be  shown 
that  ice  and  snow  or  any  other  causes  are  more  likely  to  have 
been  the  agents  which  have  operated  that  remarkable  series  of 
changes  of  which  you  have  so  interesting  an  example  in  the 
Severn  Valley,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  adopt  a  theory  which 
seems  better  or  truer. 

I  now  have  to  thank  you  for  two  very  pleasant  days  which  I 
enjoyed  much,  though  to  my  regret  I  found  out  that  my  walking 
powers  are  not  what  they  were ;  and  with  the  kind  regards  of  Mrs 
Prestwich  and  myself  to  Mrs  Symonds,  believe  me  to  be  very 
truly  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

During  the  first  few  years  at  Oxford,  Prestwich's 
time  was  absorbed  by  the  preparation  of  his  lectures 
and  by  work  connected  with  the  collections  at  the 
Museum ;  and,  having  no  scientific  assistant,  he  found 


JET.  63.]  EASTBOURNE.  265 

the  Museum  work  heavy  and  fatiguing.  In  1876  he 
brought  out  a  useful  pamphlet,  '  On  the  Geological 
Conditions  affecting  the  Water-Supply  to  Houses  and 
Towns,  with  Special  Reference  to  the  Needs  of  Oxford.' 

About  this  time  also  he  read  a  paper  to  the  Ash- 
molean  Society,  in  which  he  drew  attention  to  an 
artesian  well  of  mineral  water  at  St  Clement's,  a 
suburb  of  Oxford, — its  nearest  allies  among  English 
waters  being  those  of  Cheltenham  and  Leamington. 
The  existence  of  this  well  had  been  known  to  Dr 
Buckland,  who  in  1835  had  given  notice  of  it  to  the 
Geological  Society ;  afterwards  it  had  dropped  into 
oblivion.  Prestwich  expressed  his  opinion  that  the 
water  of  St  Clement's  had  its  origin  in  the  New  Red 
Sandstone,  consequently  that  the  Coal  Measures  might 
not  be  far  below — a  point  to  him  of  great  interest. 

Frequent  visits  at  Christmas  were  made  to  the 
Manor  House  at  Old  Eastbourne,  which  Mr  and  Mrs 
Russell  Scott  tenanted  for  several  years.  The  latter 
gave  her  two  guests  the  frequent  use  of  the  carriage, 
when  they  were  out  as  long  as  daylight  lasted,  and 
when  the  amount  of  country  traversed  was  startling 
to  the  coachman,  who  had  then  been  fifty  years  in 
Mr  Scott's  service.  When  out,  on  one  long  day, 
several  miles  from  Eastbourne,  and  when  directed  by 
the  Professor  to  drive  up  a  steep  chalk  slope  by  a  sort 
of  rough  track,  the  old  coachman  turned  round  and  said 
gravely,  and  with  due  respect — "  Sir,  I  would  do  a 
great  deal  for  you,  Mr  Prestwich,  but  I  could  not  take 
my  horses  up  there." 

Then  the  faithful  servant  glanced  again  at  the  sup- 
posed road,  and  at  its  utter  impracticability,  and  burst 
into  such  a  fit  of  laughter  that  the  two  occupants  of 
the  carriage  could  not  help  joining  heartily  with  him. 


266  DEATH    OF    HIS    BROTHER.  [1876-77. 

Our  Professor  had  wanted  to  see  what  was  the  capping 
of  that  impossible  hill. 

As  he  was  advised  to  keep  away  from  Darent-Hulme 
in  winter,  so  that  he  should  not  have  the  temptation  to 
stand  about  transplanting  trees,  a  week  of  the  Christ- 
mas vacation  was  generally  spent  at  Eastbourne  for 
several  successive  years,  and  the  remainder  with  his 
wife's  family  at  Park  Crescent,  where  he  was  within 
reach  of  many  old  friends. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1876  another  break  was  made 
in  the  family  circle  by  the  death,  after  a  brief  illness,  of 
Edward  Prestwich,  the  only  brother  of  our  geologist. 
He  had  returned  from  India  a  few  years  before  in 
shattered  health.  It  was  sad  that  the  telegram  which 
arrived  at  Oxford  announcing  his  alarming  illness  came 
too  late  for  his  brother  (who  hurried  to  town)  to  find 
him  in  life. 

A  short  Easter  trip  with  Mr  Waringtoii  Smyth  to 
the  Boulonnais,  where  they  were  joined  by  Mr  J.  Evans, 
was  very  enjoyable  and  of  much  geological  interest. 
Extracts  from  two  letters  show  how  vigorously  their 
work  was  prosecuted  : — 

To  his  Wife.  BOULOGNE,  April  2Brd,  7  A.M. 

We  returned  late  last  night,  and  to  my  regret  I  missed  the 
post  I  therefore  write  a  few  lines  this  morning,  knowing  not 
where  we  may  find  rest  for  letter- writing  before  night,  or  where 
we  may  sleep.  We  had  a  beautiful  summer's  morning  yesterday, 
and  drove  by  Le  Wast  to  Hardinghen,  where  we  met  Gosselet 
and  his  class.  After  visiting  the  coal-pits,  we  proceeded  to  Haut 
Baur  and  Ferques.  There  we  were  caught  at  about  4  in  a  most 
violent  thunderstorm,  so  that  we  had  to  shut  up  and  drive  back 
in  all  haste  to  Marquise,  where  we  left  Gosselet  and  afterwards 
returned  to  Boulogne,  none  the  worse  for  the  storm,  but  the 
delay  and  loss  of  sections. 


2ET.  64-65.]  THE   BOULONNAIS.  267 

This  morning  we  purpose  driving  to  Doesvres,  Brunembert,  and 
Lottinghen,  thence  per  rail  to  St  Omer,  and  then  probably  to 
Lillers — returning  to-morrow  night  here. 


To  Ms  Wife.  BOULOGNE,  Friday,  8  P.M. 

We  have  just  returned  from  our  Bethune  and  Lillers  excursion, 
which  has  been  highly  successful.  We  accomplished  all  we  went 
to  see,  and  have  suffered  no  inconveniences.  We  started  early 
yesterday  and  drove  to  Doesvres  ;  thence  to  Mennenville,  to  call 
on  the  curd  there,  an  archaeologist,  and  rather  a  stout  opponent 
of  the  Eepublic.  Thence  to  Brunembert  to  see  the  Wealden  iron- 
ores,  and  then  to  the  station  at  Lottinghen  to  catch  the  train  for 
St  Omer  and  Bethune,  where  we  arrived  at  6.  We  stopt  at  an 
old  Spanish-built  hotel — had  a  very  fair  dinner  at  7,  good  rooms 
and  coffee  in  the  morning,  and  our  bill  was  7  francs  each — that, 
by  the  bye,  included  a  bottle  of  margaux  at  5  francs.  .  .  .  This 
morning  we  started  at  5  A.M.  and  drove  to  Pernes — another 
unspoilt  place,  our  dejeuner' there  costing  us  1.50  each.  We  there 
saw  the  sections  we  wanted,  and  then  proceeded  to  Auchy-au- 
bois,  where  we  introduced  ourselves  to  the  engineer — an  excellent 
fellow,  who  gave  us  all  the  particulars,  and  they  were  extremely 
curious.  He  wanted  and  pressed  us  to  stop  to  lunch,  but  time  did 
not  allow.  We  made  ourselves  perfectly  acquainted  with  this, 
the  most  western,  prolongation  of  the  North  of  France  coal-field, 
and  with  some  geological  phenomena  of  great  interest.  He 
offered  to  send  us  on  to  Lillers  per  coal  railway-engine,  but  as  we 
had  already  experienced  a  mile  of  this  travelling  we  declined, 
and  managed  to  drive  to  Lillers  just  in  time  to  catch  the 
train.  To-morrow  we  start  at  7  for  Guines  and  Belinghen,  but 
shall  return  early.  I  am  also  looking  forward  now  to  travel 
home. 

He  generally  returned  from  an  Easter  excursion 
refreshed  and  invigorated. 

In  a  letter  of  6th  March  1877,  Captain  Petrie,  the 
courteous  Secretary  of  the  Victoria  Institute  and  editor 
of  its  journal,  requested  Prestwich  to  authorise  the 


268  THE    BIBLE   AND    GEOLOGY.  [l877. 

publication  of  a  sentence  quoted  by  the  Rev.  Professor 
Pritchard  in  a  communication  to  the  Institute,  namely, 
"  My  brother  Professor  of  Geology  tells  me  the  geology 
of  the  Bible  is  not  the  geology  of  nature."  To  this 
Joseph  Prestwich  made  reply  : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  F.  Petrie.  OXFORD,  7th  March  1877. 

SIR, — I  am  obliged  by  your  courtesy  in  submitting  to  me 
before  publication  the  words  I  am  reported  to  have  used  in 
conversation  with  my  friend  and  colleague  the  Professor  of 
Astronomy.  There  must  be  some  misunderstanding  on  the  part 
of  Professor  Pritchard  in  attributing  the  words  to  me,  as  the 
association  of  the  Bible  and  geology  is  one  I  never  make,  holding 
the  two  to  be  perfectly  distinct  and  to  be  studied  independently. 
I  accept  the  truths  concerning  our  moral  and  spiritual  nature 
from  the  Bible,  but  in  all  that  concerns  physical  nature  I  look  to 
Nature  herself  for  an  explanation. 

I  therefore  always  avoid  controversy  on  a  subject  where  the 
terms  are  not  equal,  and  which  do  not,  I  think,  at  present  admit  of 
discussion.  Wishing  to  adhere  to  this  rule,  kindly  avoid  bringing 
my  name  forward  in  the  matter,  and  I  am,  sir,  yours  faithfully, 

J.  PRESTWICH. 

I  have  just  seen  Professor  Pritchard,  who  will  write  to 
you.  In  the  general  sense  of  my  friend's  remarks  I  quite 
agree. 

In  an  article  in  'Nature'  (May  3,  1877),  on  "Deep 
Well-Borings  in  London,"  Professor  Judd,  F.RS.,  re- 
fers to  our  geologist's  work — 'The  Water  -  Bearing 
Strata  around  London,  &c.' — as 

A  masterpiece  of  minute  observations  and  close  and  accurate 
reasoning.  .  .  .  After  a  most  elaborate  study  of  the  nature  and 
relations  of  the  various  strata  which  crop  out  all  around  the 
London  Basin,  and  of  the  disturbances  to  which  they  have  been 
subjected  since  their  deposition,  Mr  Prestwich  ventured  on  a 
bold  prediction — namely,  that  the  Chalk  beneath  London  would 


Ml.  65.]      EXCURSION  TO  EAST  HEKDRED.         269 

be  found  to  have  a  thickness  of  650  feet,  the  Upper  Greensand 
of  40  feet,  and  the  Gault  of  150  feet.— Op.  cit.,  p.  142. 

At  the  time  when  this  announcement  was  made,  no  well  in 
London  had  been  sunk  to  a  greater  depth  than  300  feet  in  the 
Chalk ;  but  now  we  can  appeal  to  no  less  than  four  deep  borings 
in  the  Metropolis,  which  afford  the  most  convincing  proof  of  the 
reliability  of  the  data,  and  the  accuracy  of  the  reasoning  by  which 
Mr  Prestwich  arrived  at  his  interesting  result.  ...  It  will  be 
admitted  on  all  hands  that  the  agreement  between  the  estimated 
and  proved  results  is  marvellously  close. 

Further  investigations  for  a  better  water-supply  for 
Oxford  led  our  Professor  far  afield.  A  long  expedi- 
tion in  quest  of  perennial  springs  was  to  the  Cottes- 
wolds,  approached  from  Bourton-on-the- Water.  On  one 
other  he  ventured  to  take  his  class — namely,  to  the 
remote  village  of  East  Hendred,  nestling  in  a  depres- 
sion of  the  chalk-hills,  several  miles  above  Wantage. 
From  the  railway  at  Didcot  a  brake  carried  about  a 
dozen  of  the  party,  the  others  proceeding  on  foot. 
On  the  return  journey,  when  on  the  summit  of  the 
bare  down  (the  driver  of  the  brake  having  left  the 
road  and  having  begun  to  go  at  a  foot's  pace  down 
the  uneven,  grassy  slope),  the  party  was  overtaken 
by  a  terrific  thunderstorm.  The  undergraduates  had 
just  begun  to  troop  down  in  the  direction  of  the  fine 
spring  issuing  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  which 
had  been  the  sight  reserved  for  them  on  their  home- 
ward road,  when  the  rain  fell  as  if  from  a  water- 
spout. Coats  and  umbrellas  were  never  carried.  Our 
Professor  pulled  off  his  overcoat,  throwing  it  to  the 
first  man  overtaken.  The  only  course  was  to  make 
for  Didcot,  and,  pressing  on  at  their  hardest  pace,  it 
was  happily  reached  just  in  time  for  the  train  for 
Oxford.  Fortunately  none  of  the  students  caught  cold, 


270  JOHN   TYNDALL.  [l877. 

as  the  trusty  Caudell l  ascertained  by  inquiring  at  the 
several  colleges  next  morning.  It  was  an  experiment 
never  repeated. 

While  touching  on  this  subject,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  a  few  years  later  (1882)  Professor  Tyndall  wrote 
to  say  that  he  was  about  to  build  a  rural  retreat  on 
Hind  Head,  800  feet  above  the  sea.  After  explain- 
ing that  it  would  be  necessary  to  bore  to  a  great 
depth  for  water,  he -proceeded  to  say:  "If  by  any 
geological  magic  you  could  help  us  to  obtain  water 
on  cheaper  terms  than  the  sinking  of  a  [deep]  well ; 
and  if,  by  the  magic  of  kindness,  you  could  be  in- 
duced to  communicate  to  us  the  secret,  we  should  be 
greatly  obliged." 

Just  at  this  time  there  was  frequent  correspondence 
with  the  Rev.  Osmond  Fisher  on  cosmical  questions. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Rev.  0.  Fisher. 

SHOREHAM,  near  SEVENOAKS,  12th  July  1877. 

MY  DEAR  FISHER, — You  judge  rightly  that  we  are  here,  but, 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  only  in  part  enjoyment  of  my  country 
residence.  .  .  . 

The  glacial  action  was  so  general  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  America 
— and  we  have  reason  to  believe  also  in  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere— that  I  cannot  but  attribute  it  to  some  cosmical  phe- 
nomena, and  consider  that  the  earth  lost  more  heat  absolutely 
in  equal  periods  to  what  it  did  before  or  since.  You,  however, 
raise  a  question  I  had  not  considered  before,  and  which  I  will 
reflect  over.  I  am  sorry  to  hear  you  are  so  poorly.  As  soon 
as  I  am  better,  I  hope  you  will  come  and  take  a  few  days' 
change  here. 

Professor  and  Mrs  Prestwich  always  found  the 
kindest  of  friends  and  neighbours  at  Shoreham  Vicar- 

1  Henry  Caudell,  the  faithful  museum  servant  of  the  late  Professor 
Phillips,  and  subsequently  of  Professor  Prestwich. 


JET.  65.]  DRIVING   TOUR.  271 

age  in  the  Rev.  J.  and  Mrs  Lovett  Cameron  —  the 
parents  of  Commander  Verney  Lovett  Cameron,  the 
distinguished  African  traveller  and  pioneer,  who  had 
lately  returned  from  his  wonderful  walk  across  the 
Dark  Continent.  He  was  one  of  the  first  explorers 
of  Africa,  and  always  foretold  its  great  future. 

A  very  pleasant  trip  was  a  driving  tour  with  Mr 
and  Mrs  Evans.  The  start  was  made  from  Bletchley 
on  the  31st  July,  Mr  Evans's  carriage  having  been  sent 
on  in  advance.  The  route  was  through  Buckingham, 
skirting  Stowe  and  other  fine  country  seats,  on  to 
Towcester,  whence  next  day  they  proceeded  to  Dav- 
entry.  The  ostensible  object  of  this  tour  was  health 
and  recreation,  yet  it  was  combined  with  well-planned 
geological  purpose.  A  richly  wooded  and  undulating 
country  without  water  was  traversed,  until  they 
crossed  the  Avon  before  arriving  at  Warwick.  Each 
day  had  furnished  pits  as  well  as  spreads  of  gravel 
for  the  two  geologists,  who,  however,  joined  their 
wives  in  a  visit  to  the  museum  and  also  to  the 
historic  castle  --a  monument  of  ancient  splendour 
preserved  in  habitable  order. 

One  of  the  finest  views  seen  in  leaving  Warwick 
was  the  sweep  of  the  Avon  round  the  base  of  Guy's 
Cliff,  where,  by  the  side  of  the  river,  our  Professor 
detected  a  valley  terrace  eight  feet  above  it.  Both 
geologists  were  delighted  with  Kenil worth,  which,  in 
contrast  with  Warwick,  is  the  ancient  castle  in  ruins. 
Coventry,  with  its  great  churches  and  ribbon  factories, 
had  a  visit ;  yet  their  keenest  interest  was  in  gravel- 
pits  on  the  road  to  Atherstone,  and  in  the  large 
boulders  passed  in  approaching  Stoke  Golding.  Market 
Bosworth  was  selected  for  the  Sunday's  rest :  it  was 
full  of  memories  for  Mr  Evans,  being  his  father's 


272  CHABNWOOD   FOREST.  [l877. 

resting-place  and  that  of  several  of  his  kindred.  The 
drive  through  the  Moira  coal-district  showed  no  evi- 
dence of  its  being  a  mining  country,  except  for  the 
chimney-stalks  standing  in  the  greenest  of  fields. 

The  two  geologists  being  desirous  of  a  clear  day  for 
exploration  of  the  upper  Trent  Valley,  a  stay  of  two 
nights  was  made  at  Ashby-de-la-Zouch.  They  in- 
spected the  ruined  castle  of  Scott's  '  Ivanhoe,'  as  well 
as  the  "  Tournament  Ground"  ;  yet  it  was  with  keener 
zest  that  next  morning,  in  spite  of  rain,  they  started 
on  a  drive  of  many  miles  through  the  greenest  of  green 
valleys,  where  they  found  pits  to  please  them,  with 
exhibitions  of  "Drifts"  of  varied  character. 

From  Ashby-de-la-Zouch  the  route  was  through 
what  remained  of  Charnwood  Forest — the  scenery  on 
its  borders  most  striking  from  the  dark  slate  -  rocks 
which  protruded,  piled  up  in  ridges  and  pillars  011 
the  hills.  The  culminating  interest  of  this  tour  was, 
however,  in  the  granite  quarries  of  Mount  Sorrel :  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  Prestwich  could  be  persuaded 
to  leave  them.  After  a  hurried  glimpse  of  quarries 
of  blue  slates  at  a  little  distance  off,  their  road 
took  the  party  close  to  Bradgate  Castle,  the  early 
home  of  Lady  Jane  Grey  —  a  ruin  standing  in  the 
park,  with  a  picturesque  surrounding  of  gnarled  and 
knotted  old  oak  -  trees.  Grooby  Castle  had  also  a 
brief  visit.  But  for  two  of  the  party  the  ruin  was 
not  the  attraction  :  they  had  heard  of  a  certain  pit 
close  to  it,  and  also  of  a  syenite  quarry.  A  five  miles' 
drive  took  the  tourists  to  Leicester,  where  the  carriage 
was  exchanged  for  the  railway,  and  late  in  the  evening 
they  reached  Nash  Mills. 

The  excursion  had  been  altogether  delightful :  our 
Professor  had  got  rid  of  sciatica,  and  had  made  volum- 


JET.  65.]  THE   BARONETCY.  273 

inous  notes  of  pits  and  Drift  and  boulders.  The  great 
granite  quarries  of  Mount  Sorrel  alone  were  more  than 
enough  to  repay  a  journey  to  the  north. 

Folkestone,  which  was  familiar  ground,  was  a  resort 
in  the  autumn — one  excursion  being  made  to  Dover 
and  Walmer,  where,  it  can  be  affirmed,  he  knew  every 
bend  and  cliff  of  that  coast.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  Margate  and  Ramsgate,  where  a  day  was  spent, 
and  where  another  careful  survey  was  made. 

Early  in  October  he  was  accompanied  to  Maidstone 
by  the  Rev.  Osmond  Fisher,  whence  they  made  an 
inspection  of  the  pits  and  brickfield  near  Aylesford. 
Prestwich  next  paid  a  flying  visit  to  Hitchin,  in  order 
to  examine  a  certain  clay  -  pit  on  Messrs  Hansome's 
ground,  and  of  which  he  as  usual  sketched  a  section. 

He  had  been  repeatedly  urged  by  an  aged  relative — 
a  cousin  of  his  family — to  take  up  the  baronetcy,  and 
it  was  at  this  time  he  again  decided  to  have  his  claim 
to  it  sifted.  The  following  letter  was  addressed  to  a 
young  barrister,  his  nephew  by  marriage  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  H.  B.  Tomkins. 

SHOREHAM,  near  SEVENOAKS,  8th  October  1877. 

MY  DEAR  HENRY, — I  hear  you  have  been  devoting  much  time 
and  attention  to  the  family  genealogies.  My  own,  as  you  are 
probably  aware,  is  somewhat  intricate,  and  involves  the  holding 
of  a  baronetcy.  This  I  have  never  thought  fit  to  take  up,  from 
considerations  of  position,  incompleteness  of  evidence,  and  ex- 
pense. I  should  now  feel  disposed  to  take  it  up  if  the  evidence 
could  be  complete  without  too  much  expense.  My  old  friend  Mr 
Flower  the  solicitor  had  the  papers  in  his  hands  for  some  time, 
but  his  death  interrupted  his  friendly  investigation. 

What  I  should  like  now  to  do  would  be,  if  you  have  the  leisure 
and  inclination  to  undertake  such  a  work,  to  place  it  in  your 
hands  as  a  professional  matter.  It  may  give  you  a  little  occu- 

S 


274  PLAN   FOR   EASTER  EXCURSION.  [1878. 

pation  till  you  are  more  fully  engaged  in  your  ordinary  law 
business.  As  I  have  said,  the  evidence  is  incomplete,  but  it 
was,  I  believe,  at  one  time  complete  or  nearly  so,  but  many  of 
the  important  documents  were  lost  in  a  pocket-book  of  which 
my  father  was  robbed  many  years  ago.  His  cousin,  Sir  John 
Prestwich,  took  up  the  title,  but  did  not  enter  it.  It  is  his 
papers  chiefly  that  we  have,  and  as  he  or  his  father  was  de- 
scended from,  I  believe,  a  junior  brother,  his  collection  is  more 
complete  in  that  direction  than  my  father's.  All  the  papers, 
however,  such  as  they  are,  I  have,  and  I  can  place  them  in 
your  hands  to  look  at  and  see  what  could  be  made  of  them. 
As  your  Aunt  Emily  is  here,  I  will  ask  her  to  take  up  the  tin 
box  with  her  to  South  Street,  and  if  your  mother  could  kindly 
call  for  it  some  day  she  is  driving  past,  I  should  be  much  obliged. 
The  books  we  have  at  Oxford,  where  we  should  be  glad  to  see 
you  at  any  time ;  and  I  am,  your  affecte.  uncle, 

JOSEPH  PEESTWICH. 

I  enclose  a  copy  of  the  best  table  I  was  able  to  make  out 
many  years  since. 

The  death  of  Mr  H.  B.  Tomkins  took  place  before  he 
had  completed  his  search  among  the  old  family  papers 
and  registers,  and  no  other  steps  were  taken. 

The  following  letter  gives  the  route  for  an  Easter 
excursion,  which  was  afterwards  modified  : — 


J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  17 th  March. 

MY  DEAE  EVANS, — I  have  not  yet  quite  planned  the  route, 
but  as  well  as  I  can  make  out  the  points  we  should  visit,  it  will 
be  about  this : — 

Paris  to  Montlugon.     Miocene,  Granite,  and  Coal-Measures. 
Ahun  and  Lamaraix-les- Mines.     Coal-Measures  in  a  Granite 
basin.      Kaolin  works.      Valley   Drift.      Deep   valley   cut 
through  Gneiss  and  Granite  to 

Aubusson.     Thence,  if  there  is  a  road,  across  the  Correze  to 
Ussel.     Crystalline  rocks.     By  rail  (?)  to 


MT.  66.]  GEOLOGY   AND   MATHEMATICS.  275 

Tulle  and  Brives,  and  then  a  short  visit  to  some  pits  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Vezere  and  Dordogne. 

Then  Toulouse,  St  Gaudens,  Tarbes,  Pau,  Bayonne,  Biarritz,  St 
Jean  de  Luz,  and  Irun  for  caves  and  coast-sections. 

When  planned,  I  must  write  to  L.  Lartet  and  Eaulin.  I  hope 
to  see  you  on  Wednesday.  .  .  . 

You  see  I  omit  Limoges  and  keep  farther  east.  My  wife  says 
I  am  not  to  be  allowed  to  go  unless  you  are  of  the  party.  She 
has  just  been  looking  at  the  map,  and  condemns  somewhat 
strongly  the  Central  France  portion — hills,  mountains,  precipices, 
frost,  and  snow ;  but  approves  of  the  South  of  France  part.  I 
tell  her  we  can  report  of  the  country  when  we  come  back. 

J.  Prestwicli  to  Rev.  0.  Fisher.  OXFORD,  llth  March  1878. 

MY  DEAR  FISHER, — You  encourage  me  to  ask  you  any  geo- 
logical question  involving  mathematical  investigation.  There 
is  one  I  have  been  considering,  and  which  you  have  already 
closely  touched  upon.  Is  it  possible  that  earthquake  waves 
can  be  transmitted  by  a  crust  so  rigid  as  that  which  Sir  W. 
Thomson l  would  establish  ?  In  those  cases  where  trees  wave 
from  side  to  side,  and  we  have  other  evidences  of  a  rolling 
motion  of  the  crust,  it  seems  to  me  impossible  that  a  mere 
vibration  of  the  shock  is  sufficient.  Such  vibration  may  be 
transmitted,  but  it  seems  to  me  hardly  in  that  form  and  to 
such  distances. 

What  think  you  on  mathematical  grounds  ?  Are  you  going 
to  pay  Oxford  a  visit  this  term?  I  have  yet  two  weeks  of 
lectures  on  Tertiary  and  Quaternary  Strata.  Next  term  I  com- 
mence excursions,  and  lecture  on  the  ground  to  be  visited,  If 
you  can  join  in  any  of  them  it  will  give  me  much  pleasure. 
Mrs  Prestwich  desires  her  kind  regards,  and  hoping  you  and 
your  boys  are  all  well,  I  am,  sincerely  yours, 

Jos.  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestivich  to  Rev.  0.  Fisher.  OXFORD,  28th  March  [1878], 

MY  DEAR  FISHER, — Thanks  for  your  note  and  explanations. 
I  can  quite  understand  the  propagation  of  a  wave  in  a  given 


1  Now  Lord  Kelvin. 


276  THE  EARTH'S  CRUST.  [ms. 

direction  through  or  along  a  rigid  and  at  the  same  time  an 
elastic  body  like  steel,  provided  it  has  the  form  of  a  plate 
moving  in  or  on  media  not  of  sufficient  resistance  to  interfere 
materially  with  the  play  of  the  plate,  as  it  would  be  with  the 
crust  of  the  earth,  with  the  atmosphere  on  one  side  and  a  fluid 
nucleus  on  the  other.  But  I  cannot  understand  the  transmis- 
sion of  a  rolling  motion  and  the  production  of  great  transverse 
fissures  without  the  actual  movement,  as  you  would  have  in  the 
shaking  of  a  carpet,  of  the  whole  mass  of  the  crust  affected  by 
the  disturbance. 

Admitting  that  Sir  William  Thomson's  investigations  estab- 
lished great  rigidity  as  a  whole,  it  still  appears  to  me  that  there 
must  be  fluid  remnants  at  no  great  depth,  although  the  central 
nucleus  as  well  as  the  outer  crust  are  solidified.  I  certainly 
understand  from  Mallet's  description,  and  the  account  of  others, 
that  although  the  movement  or  shock  is  vertical  in  places,  that 
in  others  it  is  one  from  side  to  side. 

No  hypothesis,  it  seems  to  me,  meets  all  the  conditions  of 
geological  phenomena  so  well  (or  if  it  meets  [them]  all)  as  that 
of  the  original  fluidity  of  the  globe,  and  I  would  think  that  none 
meets  the  present  condition  of  volcanic  and  earthquake  dis- 
turbances so  well  as  that  the  solidification  is  not  yet  thoroughly 
complete,  though  the  remaining  quantity  of  fluid  matter  is  not 
such  as  to  interfere  with  the  rigidity  required  by  Sir  W.  T. 
to  answer  his  determined  conditions.  This,  in  fact,  is  very 
much  the  hypothesis  of  Mr  Hopkins,  but  I  should  hesitate  to 
accept  the  thickness  he  assigns  to  the  external  crust.  I  would 
refer  earthquakes  to  that  cause  which  has  ever  been  affecting 
the  crust  of  the  earth — the  incessant  readjustment  to  a  con- 
tracting nucleus,  however  small  that  contraction  may  have 
become. 

I  saw  Hughes1  yesterday,  and  heard  of  the  Barnwell  dis- 
covery. I  hope  he  will  accompany  Evans  and  myself  this 
Easter  to  some  of  the  French  caves.  I  am  sorry  to  hear  your 
armchair  has  such  a  hold  of  you,  but  trust  it  will  become  less 
fixed  as  summer  advances ;  and  with  our  united  kind  regards,  I 
am,  sincerely  yours,  Jos.  PHESTWICH. 

1  Woodwardian  Professor  of  Geology,  Cambridge. 


JET.  66.]  EASTER   EXCURSION.  277 

The  following  letter  gives  the  itinerary  for  the  Easter 
excursion ;  it  was  only  slightly  altered  on  the  return 
journey  to  Paris  :— 

J.  Prestwick  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  28th  March  1878. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — M.  Massenat  will  do  as  well  as  M.  Laval- 
lant  for  Brives.  What  was  the  place  you  had  in  view  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Poitiers  ?  The  caves  on  the  Charente,  between 
Civray  and  Charroux,  seem  to  me  of  considerable  interest.  See 
M.  de  Longuemar's  'Kapport  sur  une  Exploration  methodique 
des  Grottes  du  Chaffaud ' ;  also  the  1869  '  Congres  International 
d'Anthropologie,'  Copenhagen,  pp.  128-134. 

I  would  therefore  propose  to  take  the  9.30  A.M.  train  on  the 
14th  April  from  Paris  to  Civray,  and  the  omnibus  at  once  to 
Charroux,  where  a  M.  Brouillet  has  a  collection. 

15.  Work  our  way  along  the  Charente  to  Civray :  sleep  there, 
and  take  the  9.14  A.M.  train  to  Dax. 

16.  Proceed  by  the  11.25  A.M.  train  to  Bayonne. 

17.  Bayonne  and  neighbourhood. 

18.  Coast  from  Biarritz  to  St  Jean  de  Luz,  &c.,  on  to  Irun  or 
San  Sebastian. 

19.  Coast-section,  and  return  to  Bayonne. 

20.  5.50  A.M.  train  to  Toulouse,  stopping  one  day  at  some  place 
to  be  settled  on  en  route. 

22  and  23.  Toulouse  and  neighbourhood. 

24.  5  A.M.  train  to  Brives,  and  spend  the  day  there.  You 
know,  I  suppose,  the  few  papers  on  this  district. 

25  and  26.  Brives  to  Tarascon,  and  thence  along  the  Vezere  by 
Martignac  to  Le  Bugue  and  Les  Eyzies. 

27.  Perigueux  and  some  other  place,  and  on  to  Limoges. 

28.  10  A.M.  train  to  Paris. 

29.  Eeturn  to  London,  or  if  the  3  train  would  do  for  our 
return  there,  we  might  have  a  day  to  spare  for  Paris  or  else- 
where.    I  find  I  must  leave  out  the  Creuse  and  the  Correze. 
Our  route  south  of  Bayonne  must  also  depend  on  information 
we  receive  there.     You  can  discuss  this  plan  with  Hughes  on 
Sunday,  and  next  week  I  hope  to  meet  you  at  the  Geological. — 
Ever  sincerely  yours,  J.  PEESTWICH. 


278  BRITISH    ASSOCIATION.  [l878. 

Prestwich  had  invited  his  old  friend  Mr  George 
Busk,1  the  distinguished  surgeon  and  anthropologist, 
to  be  one  of  the  party : — 

G.  Busk  to  J.  Prestwich.  32  HARLEY  STREET,  March  28, 1878. 

MY  DEAR  PKESTWICH, — I  have  taken  two  or  three  days  to 
think  the  matter  over,  and  though  sorely  tempted,  feel  that  it  will 
be  better  that  I  should  not  attempt  to  join  your  party  at  Easter. 
The  party  and  the  route  are  equally  tempting,  and  I  should  have 
been  much  delighted  to  visit  Toulouse.  ...  I  am  above  measure 
delighted,  however,  to  find  that  you  are  so  well  as  to  induce  Mrs 
Prestwich  to  allow  you  to  go.  Pray  give  her  our  kindest  re- 
gards. Believe  me,  yours  very  truly,  GEO.  BUSK. 

Before  starting  on  this  Easter  trip,  Prestwich  was 
made  a  livery-man  of  the  City  of  London,  having  been 
elected  a  member  of  the  Turners'  Company. 

On  the  8th  of  April  a  letter  was  received  from  the 
General  Secretary  of  the  British  Association  (Captain 
Douglas  Galton)  requesting  Prestwich  to  allow  himself 
to  be  put  in  nomination  for  the  office  of  President  of  the 
British  Association  Meeting  for  1879.  He  was  much 
gratified,  yet  felt  it  his  duty  to  decline  the  honour. 
He  was  living  at  far  too  high  pressure,  and  decided  to 
accept  no  office  nor  duties  which  would  abstract  time 
from  his  own  science. 

A  few  days  later  he  set  out  for  Bordeaux,  Toulouse, 
&c.,  with  "  Evans,  Galton,  and  Hughes,  Smyth  joining 
for  three  days  at  Bayonne."  An  extract  is  given  from 
a  letter  to  his  wife  from  Paris,  to  which  he  travelled 
with  Professor  Hughes  :-— 

We  arrived  here  in  due  course,  and  by  7.30  we  were  comfort- 
ably at  dinner  in  the  Corazza  Cafe  in  the  Palais  Eoyal.  Evans 


George  Busk,  born  1807  ;  died  1886. 


JET.  66.]  PARIS    AND   THE   PYRENEES.  279 

and  Galton  arrived  this  morning,  and  we  have  been  out  the 
whole  of  the  day,  having  returned  just  in  time  for  these  few 
lines.  The  weather  is  lovely — cloudless  and  warm — the  chestnut 
trees  green  with  young  leaf.  We  have  seen  Hamy,  Quatrefages, 
and  Hubert,  who  has  invited  us  to  dinner  on  Sunday  fortnight. 
We  called  also  on  Gaudry,  but  only  found  Madame  at  home. 
Daubree  I  hope  to  see  to-morrow — Emily  also.  Paris  is  more 
beautiful  than  ever — little  traces  now  of  the  war.  The  Hotel  de 
Ville  is,  however,  still  to  be  rebuilt.  How  I  wish  you  were  here 
with  me.  We  are  now  off  to  Champeaux  and  then  to  the  Vaude- 
ville or  the  Variete's. 

Again  to  his  wife  on  leaving  Paris,  14th  April : — 

Just  one  line  as  we  are  starting.  .  .  .  We  were  out  the  whole 
of  the  day,  visiting  Gaudry,  Hebert,  Daubree,  &c.,  and  found  it 
difficult  to  get  away  from  them  and  from  Paris.  The  weather 
continues  lovely,  and  we  leave  at  8.45  this  morning.  M.  Longue- 
mar  wishes  us  to  stop  three  hours  at  Poitiers,  so  we  are  doing 
so,  and  reach  Civray  at  the  same  hour,  6.20.  You  cannot  now 
hear  from  me  till  Wednesday. 

To  his  Wife.  BAYONNE,  20th  April. 

After  all  we  are  going  to  San  Sebastian.  We  are  now  just 
starting  for  St  Jean  de  Luz,  and  thence  on  to  Irun  and  San  Sebas- 
tian. We  return  here  on  Sunday  night  to  proceed  by  early  train 
to  Caresse,  Lourdes,  and  Toulouse,  which  we  shall  reach  on 
Tuesday  and  remain  at  till  Thursday,  or  rather  Friday  morning. 
The  weather  is  again  lovely.  Yesterday  we  had  a  most  delight- 
ful day  in  one  of  the  beautiful  valleys  in  the  Pyrenees  with 
M.  Detroyat  and  Le  Marquis  de  Folin.  The  latter  is  Mr  Jeffreys' 
friend  and  a  capital  fellow.  They  are  most  hospitable  and  kind. 
In  fact,  we  find  it  difficult  to  get  away.  Yesterday,  while  at 
Itzatzou,  a  carriage  passed  with  a  friend  of  one  of  our  compan- 
ions, who  invited  us  all  to  proceed  and  spend  the  night  and  next 
day  with  him  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Pyrenees.  We  met  with 
at  this  little  village  an  excellent  geologist — a  Dr  Guidu — who 
acted  as  our  guide,  and  showed  us  a  fine  collection  of  the  rocks  of 


280  SAN    SEBASTIAN.  [1878. 

the  Pyrenees.  We  are  fully  occupied  and  out  all  day  long,  but 
it  suits  me  perfectly,  and  I  am  quite  well  and  enjoying  myself 
immensely.  My  only  wish  that  you  were  with  me. 

To  the  Same.  LOTTRDBS,  23rd  April  1878. 

Since  writing  to  you  from  Bayonne  we  have  been  to  La 
Guetanz,  thence  along  the  cliffs  to  St  Jean  de  Luz,  and  by 
carriage  to  Hendaye.  On  this  walk  I  witnessed  one  of  the  most 
singular  tempests  I  ever  experienced.  The  morning  was  hot  and 
sultry  in  the  extreme — not  a  breath  of  air,  so  hot  that  even  I 
had  to  put  up  my  umbrella.  At  Guetanz  we  went  at  1  to  the 
hotel  to  breakfast,  or  rather  lunch.  Suddenly  the  sky  clouded 
over,  the  wind  rose,  and  in  fifteen  minutes  it  was  blowing  a 
hurricane  as  though  it  would  blow  the  house  down.  It  lasted 
two  hours  and  then  partly  ceased,  when  we  continued  our  route. 
The  sea  was  a  mass  of  foam  and  running  very  high.  At  a  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  from  shore  we  saw  a  boat  full  of  people,  whose 
position  we  thought  extremely  dangerous.  In  fact,  after  watch- 
ing it  for  ten  minutes  we  walked  on,  but  on  looking  there  again 
we  could  see  nothing  of  the  unfortunate  boat.  The  next  day  we 
heard  that  almost  every  village  along  the  coast  had  lost  boats 
which  had  gone  out  and  were  caught  by  the  suddenness  of  the 
gale.  We  heard  of  50  lives  having  been  lost.  The  high  road 
was  blocked  by  fallen  trees.  I  hope  this  gale  did  not  reach  our 
coasts. 

On  Sunday  morning  we  drove  over  from  Hendaye  to  San  Sebas- 
tian— got  there  to  breakfast,  and  then  went  to  high  mass  at  the 
large  church.  The  music  was  a  full  orchestral  band.  I  called 
on  a  M.  Brunet,  who  insisted  on  accompanying  us  to  the  coast 
and  to  the  various  sections  in  the  neighbourhood.  There  was 
not,  however,  much  to  see.  After  dinner  at  an  excellent  hotel, 
where,  however,  the  cuisine  was  entirely  French,  we  returned  to 
Bayonne,  which  we  reached  at  10.15  P.M.  We  found  the  com- 
mandant and  M.  Detroyat  waiting  our  arrival,  and  the  latter 
offered  to  accompany  us  to-day — an  offer  which  we  gladly  ac- 
cepted. Starting  at  5.45,  we  stopped  at  Peyrehorade,  and  then 
hired  to  visit  "  la  grotte  de  Sordes  "  and  some  implement-bearing 
beds  on  the  top  of  a  hill  above  Caresse. 

The  weather  at  starting  was  very  wet,  but  it  cleared  up  and 


MT.  66.]  SOUTH   WALES.  281 

we  have  had  a  fine  day.  At  3  we  came  on  to  this  place,  stopping 
half  an  hour  at  Pau,  which  gave  us  time  to  see  the  Terrace  and 
Castle.  ...  I  must  confess  that  I  am  disappointed  with  the 
scenery.  There  are  places  of  great  beauty,  such  as  Cambo  and 
Itzatzou,  and  this,  but  the  rest  of  the  scenery  we  passed  through, 
were  it  not  for  the  distant  Pyrenees,  is  somewhat  tame  and 
monotonous.  This  place  is  in  a  beautiful  situation.  After 
dinner  we  strolled  down  to  the  Grotte  Miraculeuse.  It  was  like 
going  through  a  fair — solicited  on  all  sides  to  buy  photographs, 
wax  candles,  rosaries,  medals,  &c.  .  .  .  To-morrow  we  see  the 
other  (ossiferous)  grottes,  and  then  proceed  to  Lannemezean  and 
Toulouse,  which  I  hope  to  reach  at  9.20  P.M.,  and  there  to  find 
letters  from  you. 

To  his  Wife.  TOULOUSE,  21th  April  1878. 

On  arriving  here  last  night  we  found  L.  Lartet  waiting  for  us. 
He  has  been  out  with  us  all  day,  and  we  have  arranged  to  go 
this  evening  at  5.50  to  Foix  in  the  Pyrenees.  So  I  have  only 
time  to  write  a  very  few  lines.  We  return  here  to-morrow 
morning — stop  here  Friday,  and  proceed  early  on  Saturday  to 
Brives.  After  that  it  is  uncertain  where  we  stop,  unless  at  Peri- 
gueux.  So  please  write  to  P.  E.,  Paris.  Madame  Lartet  inquired 
particularly  after  all — Uncle  Charles  and  sisters — and  hopes  to 
see  you  here  some  day.  .  .  . 

The  Lartets  are  full  of  recollections  of  your  dear  Uncle  Hugh. 

The  party  travelled  home  vid  Paris,  and  the  Pro- 
fessor reached  Oxford  at  the  given  date  to  begin  his 
summer-class  excursions.  At  the  end  of  term,  on  the 
22nd  June,  he  set  out  on  a  journey  of  exploration  to  the 
Gower  Coast  and  St  David's.  Two  or  three  days  were 
spent  at  Gloucester,  where  he  was  joined  by  Mr  W.  C. 
Lucy  in  examining  the  gravel  which  caps  some  of  the 
hills  in  various  directions  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  in 
ascertaining  its  component  parts. 

From  Swansea  he  proceeded  by  the  Gower  coast  to 
Rhos  Sili  in  a  day  of  fervent  heat,  which  added  greatly 


282  A   HOT   DAY.  [1878. 

to  the  fatigue,  there  being  no  shelter.  Still,  as  he  had 
come  upon  evidence  of  a  raised  beach  on  the  hill  be- 
tween Full  Bay  and  Rh6s  Sili,  and  of  a  large  bed  of 
Drift,  he  would  not  hear  of  fatigue  or  exhaustion. 
When  hour  after  hour  had  passed,  and  his  wife  urged 
that  the  heat  was  hardly  endurable,  and  that  although 
there  was  "  water,  water  everywhere,  yet  not  a  drop 
to  drink,"  he  only  applied  himself  harder  to  work, 
with  the  old  answer,  "  Now  or  never,"  and  climbing  up 
the  beach  as  if  on  springs,  set  to  dig  out  specimens  of 
it  and  of  the  Drift  to  carry  to  Oxford.  His  exertions 
in  that  fierce  glow  seemed  superhuman. 

They  reached  Rhos  Sili  when  the  shades  of  even  had 
gathered,  the  horse  almost  as  exhausted  as  the  two 
tourists.  Entering  the  lodging  engaged,  Mrs  Prest- 
wich's  first  petition  was  for  water  or  something  to 
quench  their  thirst.  "  Please,  some  soda  water,  and 
quick ! " 

To  the  puzzled  landlady,  it  was  explained  with  a 
gesture  that  it  was  water  that  fizzed  up. 

"  Ah,  ma'am,  you  will  be  meaning  pop  ? " 

"Yes,  pop,  but  please  quick,  quick!1' 

The  landlady  hereupon  sent  to  the  "  Ship "  for 
"  pop,"  but  owing  to  the  heat  it  had  all  been  sold  out. 

"  We  shall  be  so  thankful  to  have  something  to  eat 
— we  have  had  no  dinner." 

"  Dinner,  ma'am — and  what  have  you  brought  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  we  have  brought  nothing." 

"  Every  one  brings  their  victuals  here,  ma'am." 

It  was  a  poor  look-out,  no  meat  in  the  village  and 
one  egg  in  the  cottage  !  The  worthy  landlady  did  her 
best ;  tea  and  eggs  were  forthcoming,  but  as  it  proved 
afterwards,  two  days  upon  this  fare  did  not  suit  our 
geologist  to  work  upon,  while  making  very  unusual 


Ml. 


5.]  RHOS   SILI    BAY.  283 


exertion.  Yet  the  scarcity  of  food,  or  rather  the  ab- 
stention from  food  that  he  could  not  eat,  did  not 
trouble  him  in  the  very  least,  though  it  did  trouble 
his  companion.  He  was  so  absorbed  and  delighted 
with  the  Drift  and  the  fragments  of  a  raised  beach, 
that  he  only  thought  of  the  details  of  the  day  being 
entered  in  a  note-book. 

Next  morning  they  called  on  the  Rev.  Ponsonby 
and  Mrs  Lucas,  to  whom  they  had  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction, the  former  the  brother  of  the  late  Lady 
Gardner  Wilkinson.  They  had  heard  of  a  gentleman 
and  lady  passing  the  night  in  the  village,  and  had  been 
compassionating  them  on  account  of  the  unprecedented 
heat.  When  Professor  Prestwich  expressed  his  inten- 
tion to  send  his  wife  across  country  in  the  waggonette, 
while  he  himself  should  walk  along  the  shore  north  of 
Rhos  Sili  Bay,  so  as  to  examine  the  coast,  Mr  Lucas 
most  kindly  volunteered  to  accompany  him.  The  long 
walk  with  its  traces  of  old  beach  was  one  of  surpassing 
interest  to  the  geologist,  who  also  came  upon  vestiges 
of  Drift,  but  it  caused  Mr  Lucas  a  serious  illness.  The 
heat  was  so  great  that  they  could  not  sit  down  to  rest 
on  the  glowing  sands,  and  many  weeks  passed  before 
Mr  Lucas  recovered. 

Prestwich  prophesied  a  future  for  Rhos  Sili  and  its 
stretch  of  beautiful  sands, — that  one  day  it  would  be- 
come a  great  sea-side  resort.  He  found  traces  of 
raised  beach  at  Burry  Holmes,  Sprit  sail  Point,  and  at 
the  station  next  beyond  Llanelly. 

The  drive  from  Haverfordwest  to  St  David's  was  a 
comparative  rest,  but  at  the  end  of  a  week  of  severe 
climbing  up  and  down  the  old  rocks  on  the  rugged 
coast  of  St  David's,  to  Porthclais,  Caerbuddy,  Porth- 
lisky,  not  forgetting  a  day  at  Whitesand  Bay,  he  was 


284  HAVERFORDWEST.  [l878. 

struck  down  by  an  attack  of  sciatica.  The  kind 
doctor  at  St  David's  advised  immediate  return  to 
Oxford,  with  the  halt  of  a  night  at  Neath.  The 
first  part  of  the  journey  was  a  terrible  experience. 
The  invalid  had  been  assisted  out  and  lifted  up  be- 
side the  driver  of  a  waggonette,  his  wife  behind  with 
their  light  luggage.  When  about  five  miles  from  St 
David's,  with  nearly  twelve  to  be  traversed  before 
reaching  Haverfordwest,  and  on  a  bare  exposed  road 
beyond  reach  of  aid  or  shelter,  a  violent  thunderstorm 
burst.  When  at  its  height — the  lightning  vivid,  and 
the  rain  falling  in  such  force  that  it  penetrated  the 
leather  bags  —  the  Professor  called  out  to  the  driver 
to  stop,  that  his  leg  must  be  moved — that  his  position 
was  insupportable !  What  a  moment !  And  what  a 
journey !  Mercifully,  the  storm  was  not  of  long 
duration,  and  the  last  few  miles  to  the  railway  at 
Haverfordwest  were  got  over  without  further  incident. 
After  a  fortnight's  rest  at  Oxford,  Prestwich  was 
able  to  accompany  Professor  Morris  to  Wantage,  and 
also  to  drive  with  him  and  Mr  Hudleston  to  examine 
the  summit  of  Brill  Hill,  which  had  always  been  of 
special  interest.  In  the  end  of  July  a  long  day  was 
spent  at  Ewelme,  the  object  being  to  see  the  fine  spring 
which  rises  at  the  base  of  the  Chilterns,  issuing  at  the 
foot  of  a  slope  in  the  garden  of  the  Manor  House,  which 
is  situated  at  the  north  end  of  the  village.  On  being 
told  that  all  the  members  of  the  squire's  family  were 
absent,  the  Professor,  followed  by  his  wife,  went  down 
through  the  garden,  and  they  on  their  knees  were 
rejoicingly  laving  up  the  pure  water  from  its  source, 
when  they  were  startled  by  a  voice.  The  trespassers 
scrambled  to  their  feet,  and  made  apologies  to  a  young 
man,  apparently  one  of  the  family,  who  was  much 


JET.  66.]  JOURNEY   TO    LOCHABER.  285 

amused  :  he  begged  of  Professor  Prestwich  to  continue 
his  researches,  and  hurried  away. 

It  was  not  the  geology  only  of  such  places  as 
Dorchester,  Shillingford,  and  Wallingford,  which  were 
explored  on  the  way  to  Ewelme,  that  made  the  visit  to 
it  memorable.  The  history  of  several  of  the  localities 
appealed  powerfully  to  the  imagination,  most  of  all  that 
of  the  old-world  village  of  Ewelme  itself.  A  pathetic 
human  interest  pervades  its  very  atmosphere,  and  its 
group  of  ancient  buildings.  The  church,  grammar- 
school,  and  especially  its  picturesque  old  alms-house, 
could  not  be  dissociated  in  one's  mind  from  the  tragic 
end  of  the  ill-fated  Duke  of  Suffolk,  their  unhappy 
founder. 

The  excursion,  however,  which  stands  out  amongst  all 
other  excursions,  was  that  made  in  the  autumn  of  1878 
to  Glen  Roy  and  the  Parallel  Roads  of  Lochaber. 
Prestwich  had  long  been  desirous  of  seeing  these  famous 
16  terraces"  for  himself,  and  he  now  planned  a  journey 
to  the  north,  which  should  include  also  a  search  along 
the  western  and  south-western  shores  of  Scotland  for 
raised  beaches,  boulders,  and  Drift. 

After  a  couple  of  days  with  relatives  at  Stirling, 
when  every  hour  was  utilised  in  reading  off  the  feat- 
ures of  the  district,  the  two  tourists  proceeded  to  Tyn- 
drum  and  on  by  coach  through  Glencoe  to  Ballachulish 
on  Loch  Leven.  Heavy  rain  compelled  them  to  take  in- 
side seats  in  the  Glencoe  coach  :  fortunately,  however, 
they  had  the  coupe,  so  that  views  were  had  of  the  wild 
Highland  country.  At  Inveroran,  where  horses  were 
changed,  they  had  a  pleasant  meeting  with  Mr  Herbert 
Spencer,  who  had  been  waiting  there  several  days  for 
rain  which  was  needed  for  fishing.  The  downpour 
had  resolved  itself  into  fitful  showers,  and  the  storm 


286  GLENCOE.  [1878. 

clouds  which  had  veiled  the  mountains  were  uplifted 
as  they  entered  the  never-to-be-forgotten  Pass  of 
Glencoe.  Gradually  a  glorious  sunset  lighted  and 
touched  the  mountain  summits  and  outlines  with  a 
beauty  indescribable.  The  scene  was  solemn  and  awe- 
inspiring,  and  the  travellers  sat  in  silence,  almost  over- 
powered by  its  grandeur.  That  sunset  upon  the 
rugged  towering  cliffs,  apart  from  the  tragic  memories 
of  the  Glen,  would  alone  have  been  well  worth  a  thou- 
sand miles  of  travel. 

The  day  following  being  Sunday,  Professor  and  Mrs 
Prestwich  accompanied  the  Rev.  Dr  Story  from  the 
Ballachulish  Hotel  to  Glencoe,  where  the  rev.  gentle- 
man conducted  the  service  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
The  deep  reverence  of  that  small  congregation  was 
very  impressive ;  and  as  all  joined  with  fervour  in  sing- 
ing from  the  Scottish  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms  to 
their  own  plaintive  melodies,  one  could  not  but  remem- 
ber that  this  remnant  of  the  clan  represented  the  few 
descendants  of  the  MacDonalds  who  escaped  the  cruel 
massacre. 

In  a  long  afternoon  walk  on  the  seaward  shore, 
Prestwich  was  charmed  with  the  scenery,  the  evidence 
of  a  raised  beach,  ice- act  ion,  and  geology  in  general. 
One  large  boulder  on  the  Loch  Leven  shore  was 
pointed  out  to  him  next  morning  as  St  Peter's  stone, 
and  he  was  well  satisfied  with  the  display  of  polished 
stones  and  roches  moutonnees.  The  morning  was  spent  in 
the  slate  quarries  of  Glencoe,  and  a  brief  visit  was  made 
to  a  newly  opened  granite  quarry.  Rain  fell  heavily 
as  they  left  Fort  William  and  got  out  in  the  wild  tract 
skirting  Ben  Nevis,  but  by  the  time  Roy  Bridge  was 
reached  it  had  cleared,  so  that  there  was  a  fine  view  in 
the  evening  light  of  the  mountains  patched  with  snow. 


m.  66.]  GLEN   SPEAN.  287 

Mr  Mackintosh  of  the  comfortable  inn  of  Bridge  of 
Roy  suggested  Loch  Laggan  for  the  first  excursion 
in  case  of  rain  :  it  involved  little  walking,  and  the  road 
was  excellent.  Starting  in  a  light  dogcart,  the  trav- 
ellers had  only  gone  a  few  miles  when  the  clouds 
vanished,  the  mists  fled  from  the  mountains,  and  in 
driving  in  bright  sunshine  up  through  the  romantic 
Glen  Spean,  they  felt  as  if  transported  into  fairyland. 
Branching  off  from  the  grand  road  of  the  Spean  valley 
was  one  to  the  right  leading  to  Loch  Treig,  which 
Prestwich  was  eager  to  visit.  He  had  noted  the  mounds 
of  moraine  crossing  the  valley  through  which  the  Treig 
had  cut  a  passage.  An  hour's  halt  at  the  lonely  and 
silent  Loch  Treig,  treeless,  and  enclosed  by  high  hills 
literally  covered  with  heather,  enabled  him  to  climb 
the  heights  of  its  western  shore,  which  he  found  glaci- 
ated to  400  or  500  feet  or  more  above  the  Loch.  Re- 
gaining the  main  road,  he  was  absorbed  in  the  drive 
to  Loch  Laggan  in  observing  all  around  the  exhibition 
of  ice  action.  "  On  north  side  of  Spean  Valley,  thence 
to  Moy,  met  with  enormous  accumulation  of  moraine 
blocks,  which  became  less  and  less  mixed  with  gravel 
in  ascending,  while  the  bare  rocks  everywhere  showed 
striation."  They  put  up  at  a  refreshment  house, 
originally  built  by  Mr  Ansdell,  R.A.,  near  which,  feed- 
ing on  grassy  knolls,  were  to  be  seen  specimens  of  the 
"  ewie  wi'  the  crookit  horn,"  made  familiar  by  his 
paintings  :  a  walk  of  a  mile  and  the  low  bleak  shore  of 
Loch  Laggan  was  reached.  The  drive  back  to  Roy 
Bridge  was  taken  leisurely.  From  time  to  time  Pro- 
fessor Prestwich  alighted  to  measure  the  direction  of 
the  strise  on  the  rocks  by  the  roadside. 

On  August  14th,  in  glorious  weather,  the  object  of 
the  journey  to  Scotland  was  achieved,  and  a  visit  paid 


288  THE   PARALLEL   ROADS   OF   GLEN   ROY.  [1878. 

to  Glen  Roy  and  its  Parallel  Roads.  At  an  early  hour 
Bohuntine  was  passed,  and  when  some  way  up  the 
Glen  the  Professor  and  his  companion  alighted  to  climb 
the  upper  side  of  Bohuntine  Hill,  whence  there  was  a 
good  view  of  the  "  terraces."  The  Roy  or  Red  Glen 
had  been  well  named.  The  air  in  that  blazing  August 
sun  was  scented  by  miles  of  heather  in  bloom  which 
carpeted  the  hills,  and  which  mingled  its  perfume  with 
the  sweet  wild  gale-  in  the  lower  slopes.  Within  a 
mile  or  so  of  the  head  of  the  Glen  they  ascended  to 
the  two  higher  "  Parallel  Roads,"  and  following  them 
round  to  Glen  Turret,  descended  to  the  entrance  to 
Glen  Gluoy.  A  little  volume  might  be  filled  with 
sketches  and  details  of  this  ever-to-be-remembered  visit 
to  Glen  Roy.  The  tourists  found  themselves  again  in 
fairyland,  and  to  Professor  Prestwich  the  day  was  one 
of  keenest  geological  interest. 

A  week's  sojourn  at  Bridge  of  Roy  was  employed  in 
daily  exploration  of  the  hills  nearest  to  those  of  Glen 
Roy  and  of  the  accessory  glens.  Brilliant  weather 
added  to  the  intense  enjoyment,  and  until  the  end  of 
the  week  there  had  not  been  a  shower. 

After  a  morning  spent  in  climbing  the  hills,  whence 
they  descended  over  the  pass  to  Boheenie,  a  romantic 
road  by  the  left  bank  of  the  Roy  brought  them  back  to 
the  Inn.  In  the  afternoon  they  started  for  Glen  Larig, 
driving  as  far  as  Spean  Inn,  and  then  up  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  Spean  nearly  to  Insch.  Finding 
at  a  hovel  called  Achnafraschoille  a  tall  young  High- 
lander to  act  as  a  guide,  they  trod  on  through  the  long 
heather,  Glen  Larig  seeming  always  to  recede.  When 
nearing  its  entrance,  and  about  three  miles  from  where 
the  dogcart  had  been  left,  rain  began  to  fall  heavily. 
Our  Professor,  however,  determined  to  press  on  with 


2ET.  66.]  KERREBA.  289 

Macdonald,  his  wife  agreeing  to  wait  by  a  boulder. 
But  the  rain  was  persistent,  dark  mists  closed  round, 
obscuring  any  view  of  the  glen,  and  when  he  returned 
with  the  guide  it  was  with  disappointment  that  he  had 
not  found  the  "  Parallel  Road,"  which  ends  in  Glen 
Larig,  more  clearly  exhibited.  Still  the  walk  in  the 
heavy  rain  through  the  long  wet  heather  was  more 
than  compensated  for  by  the  geological  features  he  had 
been  able  to  see  of  Glen  Larig  Leacan,  and  of  the  re- 
markable ravine  at  its  entrance. 

Roy  Bridge  was  left  with  regret  and  in  a  steady 
downpour,  but  mine  host  had  found  a  close  carriage  for 
the  travellers,  who  followed  the  road  to  the  Falls  of 
Mucomir,  near  to  which  the  Spean  enters  Loch  Lochy. 
In  spite  of  rain,  geological  observations  were  made. 
It  was  seen  that  all  the  low  islands  thence  from  Loch 
Linnhe  to  Oban,  including  Lismore,  are  strongly  glac- 
iated, from  their  summit  down  to  the  water's  edge. 
Oban  was  reached  in  the  evening,  and  early  next  day 
they  crossed  the  ferry  to  the  island  of  Kerrera,  rain 
unluckily  beginning  to  fall  before  they  stepped  from 
the  boat,  and  increasing  as  they  followed  the  cartway 
by  the  shore,  whence  they  went  steadily  on  in  search  of 
raised  beaches.  After  ascending  high  ground  in  face  of 
wind  and  rain,  they  came  down  to  the  ruins  of  Castle 
Gulin,  a  Danish  fortress  where  Alexander  II.  of  Scot- 
land died  in  1249.  Here  they  were  besieged  by  a  herd 
of  Highland  cattle,  and  might  have  been  detained  about 
ten  minutes  (which  under  the  conditions  seemed  a 
time  interminable),  when  the  herd  suddenly  moved  off 
down  to  better  pasture  near  the  shore,  and  the  excur- 
sionists gladly  made  their  escape  up  the  steep  track 
which  they  had  previously  descended. 

The  next  day's  geologising  was    on    the   mainland,. 

T 


290  OBAN    TO    AYR.  [l878. 

when  a  visit  was  made  to  the  large  quarry  of  coarse 
black  slate  with  the  great  Old  Red  conglomerate  in 
apparent  juxtaposition,  just  outside  the  town.  The 
Professor  had  previously  detected  traces  of  the  10 -feet 
raised  beach  on  the  south  end  of  Kerrera  :  now  in  Oban 
he  noted  that  "  a  fine  example  of  the  40-feet  raised 
beach  is  exposed  at  the  back  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  and  of  Victoria  Place."  The  10 -feet 
raised  beach  on  the  •  north  side  of  the  Great  Western 
Hotel  was  examined.  In  short,  his  notes  of  Dun- 
staffnage  and  of  the  geology  round  Oban  are  volum- 
inous. But  he  had  not  done  with  Kerrera,  and  before 
leaving  the  district  another  day  was  spent  in  going 
over  the  northern  coast  of  the  island,  when  only  slight 
traces  of  the  10-feet  beach  were  met  with. 

The  journey  to  Inverary  by  the  Pass  of  Brander  and 
Dalmally  supplied  abundant  material  for  geological 
notes,  as  did  in  especial  the  entrance  to  Glen  Orchy 
with  its  hummocks  of  moraine.  The  observations  on 
the  route  from  Inverary  to  Lochgoilhead  are  on  the 
distribution  of  boulders  and  glacial  drift,  the  glacial 
gravel  on  the  side  of  Loch  Long,  and  on  the  glaciation 
of  the  rocks  on  the  side  of  Loch  Goil.  Detention  at 
Greenock  station  was  the  occasion  for  exploration  of  a 
railway-cutting  through  moraine  matter.  The  shelving 
shores  of  Largs  afforded  no  clear  section,  but  two  miles 
inland  a  grass-grown  cliff  was  noted,  and  beyond  Fairlie 
a  range  of  inland  cliffs.  The  evidence  at  Ardrossan 
was  negative.  Here  Mr  Herbert  Spencer  happened  to 
enter  their  railway -carriage,  continuing  his  journey 
southwards,  while  Professor  and  Mrs  Prestwich  alighted 
at  Ayr.  With  what  infinite  patience  and  thoroughness 
the  coast  was  explored  on  to  Girvan  and  thence  on  to 
Stranraer  !  The  quest  for  raised  beaches  was  a  sue- 


JET.  66.]  STRAXRAER   TO    CARLISLE.  291 

cessful  one,  as  shown  from  his  numerous  sections  and 
notes.  A  night  spent  at  Stranraer  enabled  him  to 
examine  the  shores  of  Loch  Ryan,  well  known  from  the 
researches  of  the  late  J.  Carrick  Moore.  "  The  best 
sections  are  on  the  east  side  of  the  loch,  which  shows  a 
range  of  inland  cliffs."  Descrying  one  northward,  they 
drove  back  through  the  town,  and  a  mile  or  two  off  the 
Professor  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  a  fine  section 
with  traces  of  two  raised  beaches. 

In  the  same  patient  painstaking  journey  from  Stran- 
raer to  Wigtown  he  was  impressed  by  the  evidence  of 
widespread  glaciation,  and  that  a  great  ice-sheet  must 
have  covered  and  slid  over  this  part  of  Galloway,  leav- 
ing the  rocks  polished  and  striated.  The  route  to 
Dumfries,  from  the  high  bleak  rocky  district  down  by 
a  gradual  descent  into  a  pastoral  country,  and  thence 
among  rich  corn-fields  diversified  by  wood  and  stream, 
was  of  much  interest. 

The  Sunday  at  Carlisle  was  one  of  grateful  rest,  as 
after  morning  service  at  the  Cathedral  rain  interfered 
with  any  walk  until  the  evening,  when  it  cleared,  and 
they  were  able  from  the  bridge  to  have  a  view  of  the 
grand  sweep  of  the  river  and  its  banks. 

During  the  driving  tour  of  the  previous  year  certain 
pits  near  Loughborough  had  been  unvisited,  therefore 
Prestwich  had  planned  the  homeward  journey  so  as  to 
include  the  stay  of  a  night  there.  Travelling  by  the 
then  new  portion  of  the  Midland  line  through  a  beauti- 
ful hill  country,  he  attributed  the  greenness  of  the 
grass  in  the  Yale  of  Eden  to  the  soil  of  the  New  Red 
Sandstone.  Ingleborough  Hill  having  been  passed,  and 
also  the  village  of  Settle,  he  was  able  to  point  out  the 
position  in  the  cliffs  of  the  Victoria  Cave,  and  after  a 
run  of  some  miles  they  glided  through  the  rnanufactur- 


292  LOUGHBOROUGH.  [1878. 

ing  districts  of  Leeds  and  Sheffield  on  to  Nottingham. 
Here  an  hour  was  agreeably  spent  in  driving  from 
point  to  point,  the  most  interesting  of  all  being  the 
mass  of  New  Red  Sandstone  on  which  the  castle  is 
built. 

Next  morning  he  was  off  betimes  to  the  brick-pits, 
which  were  a  mile  or  more  from  Loughborough,  return- 
ing at  mid-day  laden  with  bags  of  gravel  and  packets 
of  specimens,  having  come  upon  Drift.  Through  a 
bricklayer  he  had  heard  of  another  gravel -pit,  and 
started  off  on  a  new  quest,  for  which  there  was  just 
time  before  getting  into  the  train  for  Oxford. 

Already  the  country  of  Lochaber  and  the  "  Parallel 
Roads  "  loomed  like  a  beautiful  vision  in  the  dim  dis- 
tance. But  this  never-to-be-forgotten  excursion  was 
followed  at  once  by  illness — the  manifest  result  of  over- 
fatigue — of  over -work.  Happily  he  had  reached  his 
home,  where  he  had  the  best  medical  care  and  skill. 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  to  his  friend  the 
day  after  arrival  in  Oxford  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  29th  August  1878. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — We  have  just  returned  from  Scotland,  hav- 
ing visited  Stirling,  Glencoe,  Ballachulish,  Glen  Spean,  Glen  Eoy, 
Oban,  Inverary,  Largs,  Ayr,  Stranraer,  and  Wigtown,  and  stopt 
last  Tuesday  on  our  way  back  at  Loughborough,  to  look  again  at 
the  pits  unvisited  last  year,  and  which  interest  me  much  in  con- 
nection with  my  old  heresy — a  diluvial  theory,  and  a  theory 
which  I  think  I  shall  now  venture  to  revive  before  the  Eoyal 
Society,  if  they  will  listen  to  it.  As  soon  as  I  get  rid  of  a  slight 
attack  of  lumbago,  which  is  on  me  to-day,  we  shall,  I  hope,  go  for 
a  few  days  to  Paris.  I  suppose  there  is  no  chance  of  your  being 
there  yet  ? 

Afterwards,  if  time  allow,  we  shall  return  to  S.  Wales  to  look 
again  at  the  glacial  and  diluvial  phenomena  there. 


JET.  66.]  EASTBOURNE.  293 

It  proved  to  be  an  attack  of  sciatica  in  its  acute 
form,  and  Prestwich  was  compelled  to  instruct  his  wife 
to  write  to  Paris  to  explain  his  inability  to  be  present 
at  any  of  the  International  Geological  or  Anthropo- 
logical Congresses,  as  notice  had  been  given  of  his 
intention  to  be  there.  In  the  official  reply  which  she 
received  from  M.  Gaudry,  a  member  of  the  Institute, 
occur  these  words,  "  Nous  aurions  ete  heureux  de  voir 
parmi  nous  Mr  Prestwich,  qui  est  un  de  nos  maitres  les 
plus  illustres." 

His  spirit  was  indomitable.  Only  two  months  had 
elapsed  since  he  had  been  struck  down  by  illness  at  St 
David's,  and  yet  he  had  planned  to  return  there  this 
same  year  to  complete  his  unfinished  work !  Early  in 
October  he  had,  however,  so  far  recovered  that,  con- 
trary to  the  expectation  of  his  two  doctors,  he  was 
able  to  go  to  Eastbourne  for  change.  One  day  was 
spent  in  taking  stock  of  what  interested  him  in  the 
Museum  ;  but  his  delight  with  return  of  health  was 
to  be  out  of  doors,  and,  the  season  being  fine,  his 
time  was  devoted  to  drives  (not  without  geologising) 
along  the  familiar  coast.  As  his  observations  were 
made  under  (for  him)  luxurious  conditions,  this  visit 
to  Mr  and  Mrs  Russell  Scott  was  inspiriting  and  health  - 
giving.  Sections  of  Birling  Gap  cover  several  pages 
of  a  note-book ;  and  as  Mr  Godwin- Austen  chanced  to 
be  at  Eastbourne  at  the  time,  the  two  old  friends  were 
able  to  go  together  to  several  sections. 


J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  23rd  October  1878. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  received  the  enclosed  in  London,  but  my 
doctor  here  will  not  hear  of  my  geologising  at  present.  I  have 
written  accordingly  to  M.  Prarond  asking  how  long  the  section 


294  OLD   ROCKS   UNDER   LONDON.  [1878. 

is  to  remain  open,  to  send  me  a  small  sketch,  and  to  purchase 
a  series  of  specimens. 

If  you,  however,  could  run  over,  it  would  be  still  better. 

I  enclose  you  M.  Prarond's  pamphlet,  which,  please,  return  at 
your  leisure.  There  are  also  some  discoveries  making  near  Cam- 
bridge which  I  should  have  liked  to  have  seen,  but  cannot.  I 
had  just  begun  my  visit  to  Eastbourne  when  I  met  Austen.  How 
are  Arthur 1  and  his  wife  ?  and  have  they  started  for  their  foreign 
home  ?  My  wife  joins  me  in  kind  regards  to  Mrs  Evans,  and  I 
am  sincerely  yours,  JOSEPH  PEESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  E.  A.  C.  Godwin- Austen. 

OXFORD,  27th  October  1878. 

MY  DEAR  AUSTEN, — Your  inquiry,  which  I  had  intended  to 
have  answered  from  London,  quite  escaped  me. 

Your  map  hardly  takes  in  the  Kentish  Town  well.  I  have 
marked  its  near  whereabouts  with  an  X.  It  is  3  miles  N.  of 
Meux's  well.  I  have  several  specimens  of  the  Kentish  Town 
Old  Eed  at  Shoreham,  and  a  few  here.  Shall  you  be  here  and 
see  tljem,  or  shall  I  send  them  to  you? 

I  do  not  attach  much  guidance  to  the  35°  dip.  The  folds  in 
the  strata  may,  as  they  do  near  Dinant  and  through  the 
Ardennes,  bring  in  the  same  strata  over  and  over  again.  It 
is  north  of  the  great  folds  and  disturbance  of  the  Devonian 
that  the  Carboniferous  strata  come  in  in  Belgium  and  Northern 
France,  and  I  am  inclined,  therefore,  to  place  them  anywhere 
N.  of  London.  The  Old  Ked  of  K.  T.  corresponds  with  the  Old 
Eed  of  France  and  with  some  beds  I  have  seen  near  Mons ;  that 
at  Meux's,  with  beds  I  saw  at  Pernes,  near  Lillers. 

On  thinking  over  the  section  we  saw  at  the  gas  -  works,  I 
believe  the  grey  clay  under  the  Flint  Drift  and  over  the  Gault 
must  belong  to  the  base  of  Chalk  or  U.  G-.  S.  [Upper  Green- 
sand],  ...  or  the  U.  G.  S.  may  be  wanting. 

I  am,  however,  not  satisfied,  and  must  return  to  the  first  pit 
we  went  to,  where  they  are  digging  clay.  I  think  the  elephant, 


1  Mr  Arthur  J.  Evans,  keeper  of  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford  ; 
author  of  'Through  Bosnia  and  the  Herzegovina  on  Foot,3  'Illyrian 
Letters,'  &c. 


JET.  66.]  OLD   ROCKS    UNDER   LONDON.  295 

&c.,  remains  occur  in  the  Flint  Drift — as  they  do  at  Eastbourne, 
only  there  it  is  thicker.  Still,  I  understand  Dr  Ward  to  say 
they  were  17  feet  deep  at  the  Victoria  Inn.  I  was  only  sorry 
our  excursions  were  so  short. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  29th  November  1878. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  am  very  sorry  I  shall  not  be  amongst  you 
to-morrow.  I  did  not  bear  in  mind  when  we  formed  an  engage- 
ment (a  dinner-party  at  home)  for  to-morrow,  that  you  and 
Spottiswoode  were  the  elected  Grand  Officers  of  the  [Royal] 
Society,  or  I  should  have  tried  to  be  present,  although  Saturday 
is  an  awkward  day — the  Sunday  trains  being  slow,  few,  and  in- 
convenient. I  shall  be  thinking  of  you  to-morrow.  Please  tell 
Spottiswoode  of  my  regret,  and  believe  me  to  be  ever  sincerely 
yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Rolleston  gave  us  a  paper  on  a  Tenby  Cave  at  the  Ashmolean, 
and  I  understand  that  Max  Miiller  will  give  a  paper  on 
"  Iron "  - 1  suppose  in  relation  to  the  Bronze  Period  —  after 
Christmas. 


A  paper  published  in  the  '  Journal  of  the  Geological 
Society'  in  1878,  touching  on  the  range  of  the  Palae- 
ozoic rocks  under  London,  was  of  general  interest.  Its 
title  is  a  long  one  :  "  On  the  Section  of  Messrs  Meux 
&  Co.'s  Artesian  Well  in  the  Tottenham  Court  Road, 
with  Notices  of  the  Well  at  Crossness  and  of  another  at 
Shoreham,  Kent ;  and  on  the  Probable  Range  of  the 
Lower  Greensand  and  Palaeozoic  Rocks  under  London." 


296 


CHAPTEE    X. 

1878-1888. 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE    REUNION  EXTRAORDINAIRE   OF   THE   FRENCH 

GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY  AT  BOULOGNE TEXT-BOOK  ON  '  GEOLOGY  ' 

PRESIDENT    OF    THE    INTERNATIONAL    GEOLOGICAL   CONGRESS. 

AMONG  public  questions  in  which  Professor  Prestwich 
took  a  keen  interest  was  the  best  locality  for  a  deep 
boring  in  the  south  of  England,  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  trend  of  the  Coal-Measures.  The  following  letter 
refers  to  this  subject  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  R.  A.  G.  Godwin- Austen. 

21  PARK  CRESCENT,  1st  January  1879. 

MY  DEAR  AUSTEN, — The  fossils  I  give  on  the  authority  of 
Etheridge.  I  felt  they  were  not  characteristic  species  of  the 
L.  Greensand;  but  then,  as  the  Upper  Greensand  and  Gault 
were  both  traversed,  there  remained  only  one  other  member  of 
the  Cretaceous  series  to  which  such  fossils  could  be  referred. 

With  regard  to  the  important  question  of  another  boring,  of 
which  you  speak,  I  hope  and  trust  that  not  only  one  but  that 
several  will  be  made.  But  this  is  a  bad  time  for  the  attempt, 
on  account  of  the  general  financial  depression,  and  because  so 
many  coal-pits  have  been  opened  within  the  last  three  or  four 
years,  that  some  hardly  pay  to  work  at  the  present  price  of 
coal.  I  do  not,  however,  know  what  Major  Beaumont  is  doing. 


JST.  67.]  HYDRO-GEOLOGICAL   MAP.  297 

He  was  to  see  what  could  be  done  by  some  of  the  City  people. 
I  hope  to  be  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Society,  and  will  hear 
what  Karnsay  and  others  say. 

I,  however,  do  not  think  with  you  that  the  line  between 
Meux's  and  Kentish  Town  is  the  best  place  for  a  trial.  These 
Devonian  strata  roll  so  much  that  I  should  give  them  a  wide 
berth.  Kentish  Town  may  be  the  central  axis,  and  the  coal 
strata  lie  a  few  miles  north  of  it.  This  new  well  of  the  New 
Eiver  Co.  will  throw  some  light  on  the  subject.  Mrs  Prestwich 
joins  me  in  kind  regards  and  best  wishes  for  the  New  Year  to 
you  and  yours ;  and  I  am,  ever  sincerely  yours, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

A  final  effort  was  made  for  the  publication  of  his 
Water  Maps,  as  shown  in  the  annexed  letter,  but  his 
application  was  unsuccessful. 


J.  Prestwich  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond  and  Gordon. 

OXFORD,  6th  May  1879. 

MY  LORD  DUKE, — May  I  be  allowed  to  recall  to  your  re- 
collection the  circumstance  of  my  having  drawn  up,  at  the  wish 
of  the  other  members  of  the  Water  Commission,  on  which  I  had 
the  honour  to  serve  under  you,  a  hydro-geological  map  of  the 
Thames  Basin  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  extent  of  the  per- 
meable and  impermeable  strata  and  the  position  of  all  the  prin- 
cipal springs.  To  these  were  added  contour  lines  laid  down  by 
the  late  Sir  H.  James  to  mark  the  height  of  the  springs  and  of 
the  rivers  in  the  different  parts  of  their  course.  This  map  was 
accompanied  by  a  plate  of  sections  showing  the  dimensions  of 
the  underground  reservoirs  furnishing  the  springs,  which,  with 
the  direct  flow  of  the  rainfall  from  off  the  impermeable  strata, 
gives  the  total  quantities  of  water  available  for  the  supply  of 
London  and  other  towns  in  the  Thames  Basin. 

The  map  and  sections  were  engraved,  and,  as  I  understood,  the 
necessary  number  of  copies  was  actually  struck  off,  but  owing  to 
some  cause,  of  which  I  believe  the  cost  of  colouring  was  one, 
they  were  never  completed  and  put  into  circulation,  with  the 


298  NATIONAL   WATER-SUPPLY.  [l879. 

exception  of  the  single  copy  furnished  to  each  member  of  the 
Commission,  including,  I  presume,  yourself. 

As  I  am  reminded  by  the  action  taken  by  the  Society  of  Arts 
at  the  instigation  of  H.K.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales  last  year,  and 
again  about  to  be  resumed  this  year,  of  the  renewed  interest  in 
the  question  of  a  national  water-supply,  I  should  feel  it  a  very 
great  favour  if  you  could  obtain  the  sanction,  on  the  part  of  the 
Treasury  or  the  Stationery  Office,  to  the  publication  and  issue  of 
this  map  and  plate  of  sections.  They  were  prepared  with  con- 
siderable care,  and  would,  I  have  reason  to  hope,  be  of  some 
public  service  in  the  inquiry  now  about  to  be  instituted  respect- 
ing the  supply  of  towns  and  villages  generally,  but  more  especi- 
ally having  reference  to  those  in  the  Thames  valley.  Much  of 
the  information  they  contain  is  not  otherwise  accessible,  and  it 
seems  a  pity  that,  if  an  available  stock  of  uncoloured  copies 
exists  in  the  Stationery  Office,  it  should  not  be  utilised.  I 
should  trust  that  the  extra  expense  of  colouring  would  be  more 
than  covered  by  the  sale  to  the  public. 

I  have  to  apologise  for  troubling  you  upon  a  matter  which  would 
have  been  of  the  past,  but  for  the  renewal  of  the  inquiry  above 
alluded  to,  and  the  importance  of  which  was  so  readily  admitted 
by  Lord  Beaconsfield  when  the  subject  was  lately  brought  before 
him.  I  beg  to  enclose  a  few  of  the  papers  issued  by  the  Society 
to  show  their  line  of  inquiry;  and  I  am,  my  Lord  Duke,  with 
much  respect,  yours  faithfully, 

JOSEPH  PptESTWicH, 

Professor  of  Geology  in  the  University  of  Oxford. 

Although  not  published  until  1880,  his  memoir  "On 
the  Origin  of  the  Parallel  Roads  of  Lochaber  and  their 
Bearing  on  other  Phenomena  of  the  Glacial  Period  " 
was  read  before  the  Royal  Society  in  1879.  The  next 
three  letters  refer  to  this  paper. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  2nd  May  1879. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  omitted  to  explain  a  rather  important 
point  in  your  objections  last  night.  You  referred  to  the  prob- 
ability of  winter-ice  and  snow  throwing  down  debris  into  the 


Ml.  67.]    THE  PARALLEL  ROADS  OF  GLEN  ROY.      299 

wafer.  This  I  quite  admit  in  my  paper,  and  refer  the  upper  2 
to  3  feet  of  the  road  to  this  origin ;  but  that  they  were  entirely 
formed  in  this  way  is  scarcely  possible,  because — 

1.  The  talus  was  too  temporary. 

2.  There  is  no  wear. 

3.  No  cliff  talus. 

4.  ISTo  difference  in  the  slopes. 

5.  And  the  waved   line  of    the    roads  is    incompatible  with 

shore-origin  in  the  first  place. 

How  could  a  shore-line  be  10  to  12  feet  above  the  water-level 
in  one  case,  and  8  to  10  feet  below  it  in  another  ?  If  a  sub- 
aerial  talus  caused  the  difference,  the  roads  would  suffer  inter- 
ruption in  their  level,  which  they  don't.  T  must  make  this  clear 
in  my  paper.  ...  I  am  sincerely  yours, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  the  Same.  OXFORD,  12th  May  1879. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — With  regard  to  what  you  say  in  your  last 
note  as  to  why  the  terraces  may  now  be  uneven — 

1.  If  the  rise  in  the  land  had  not  been  uniform.     Yes ;  but  all 

the  terraces  would  then  have  had  the  same  curve,  whereas 
each  terrace  has  its  own  curve. 

2.  If  some  parts  of  the  shore  had  slipped.    There  are  no  traces 

of  this. 

3.  The  difficulty  of  conceiving  a  slip  on  so  large  a  scale.    I  see 

no  limit  except  the  absence  of  similar  favourable  condi- 
tions. So  long  as  they  obtain,  so  far  would  the  terraces 
extend.  The  more  I  think  of  it,  the  more  inevitable  does 
the  slip  appear. 

The  whole  mass  of  detritus  being  saturated,  and  being  at 
an  angle  greater  than  the  angle  of  repose  of  the  detritus  in  a 
saturated  condition,  would  at  once  slip  when  set  in  motion. 
But  the  outflow  of  water  gradually  lessening,  the  fall  would  be 
gradually  checked. 

Then  again  the  detritus  gradually  left  dry  would,  as  it  drained 
by  degrees,  acquire  a  higher  angle  of  repose  owing  to  the  circum- 
stance of  the  water  draining  from  it  in  innumerable  rills.  With 
the  loss  of  water  the  angle  of  repose  would  become  greater.  .  .  . 


300  THE   PARALLEL   ROADS    OF    GLEN    ROY.  [l879. 

This  morning  I  by  chance  opened  the  vol.  of  Min.  Proceed. 
Inst.  C.  E.,  just  received,  vol.  Iv.  for  1878-79.  In  it,  at  p.  339 
you  will  find  a  paper  on  "  Slips  in  Clay  Soils."  ...  A  very  close 
approach  to  my  theoretical  diagram.  I  really  see  no  other  ex- 
planation, and  see  only  an  inevitable  consequence. 

J.  F.  Campbell  to  J.  Prestwich. 

NIDDRY  LODGE,  KENSINGTON,  LONDON,  W.,  7th  May  1879. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH,:— Somebody  once  quoted  St  Paul  to  a 
German,  who  said,  "  Oh  yes,  I  know.  He  was  a  very  clever  man, 
Paulus,  but  I  do  not  agree  with  Paulus."  I  have  the  greatest 
respect  for  your  opinions  as  your  former  Secretary  in  the  Coals 
and  otherwise,  but  I  am  hopelessly  convinced  that  the  Lochaber 
roads  are  ancient  sea  margins. 

Darwin  was  so  convinced  till  somebody  assured  him  that  there 
are  no  such  beaches  on  the  side  of  the  watershed.  There  are, 
as  I  have  assured  you,  but  you  do  not  believe.  I  have  a  paper 
from  a  man  about  British  Columbia  which  goes  in  for  American 
submergence  equal  to  the  European  submergence  for  which  I 
have  gone  in.  But  my  last  paper  will  probably  be  my  last  sent 
to  the  Geological  Society,  and  I  shall  die  disagreeing  with  you, 
an  authority,  and  with  pundits  generally  who  go  in  for  Glacial 
periods.  Thanks  for  the  paper.  Unless  you  ask  for  it  I  will 
keep  it  with  my  own  on  the  same  subject.  I  am,  yours  very 
truly,  J.  F.  CAMPBELL. 

The  following  note  from  Charles  Darwin,  although  of 
later  date,  is  inserted  here,  being  also  on  the  subject  of 
the  Lochaber  Parallel  Roads  :— 

C.  Darwin  to  J.  Prestwich. 

DOWN,  BECKENHAM,  KENT,  3rd  Jany.  1880. 

MY  DEAR  PROF.  PRESTWICH, — You  are  perfectly  right.  As 
soon  as  I  read  Mr  Jamieson's  article  on  the  Parallel  Eoads  I  gave 
up  the  ghost  with  more  sighs  and  groans  than  on  almost  any 
other  occasion  in  my  life.  Believe  me,  yours  very  sincerely, 

CHARLES  DARWIN. 


JET.  67.]  TENBY.  301 

Oxford  term  over,  Prestwich,  avoiding  the  gaieties 
of  Commemoration,  set  out  again  for  St  David's,  his 
wife  (with  great  misgivings  as  to  the  effect  of  over- 
fatigue)  accompanying  him.  The  first  stage  was 
Newnham-on-Severn,  the  expedition  from  there  being 
to  Garden  Cliff — a  classical  spot  where,  although  only 
slight  traces  of  Northern  Drift  could  be  seen  on  its 
summit,  the  section  was  very  fine,  being  New  Red 
Marl  banded  with  sage-green  layers.  The  fields  on 
the  same  level,  or  a  little  higher,  showed  Drift  pebbles. 
A  portion  of  the  drive  to  the  Forest  of  Dean  was 
through  rich  apple  and  damson  orchards. 

Tenby  and  the  choice  geological  specimens  in  its 
Museum  were  of  much  interest.  Wet  and  stormy 
weather  did  not  interfere  with  a  visit  to  the  caves 
of  Great  and  Little  Hoyle,  which  Prestwich  saw  under 
the  guidance  of  Mr  E.  Laws  —  Black  Rock  quarry, 
also  near  Tenby,  and  in  which  a  fissure  had  yielded 
mammalian  remains,  being  explored  at  the  same  time. 
He  had  intended  to  cross  to  Caldy  Island  to  examine 
the  site  where  hippopotamus  and  other  fossil  bones 
had  been  exhumed,  but,  to  the  relief  of  his  companion, 
the  continuance  of  very  rough  weather  and  high  seas 
made  this  expedition  impossible.  It  was  only  on  being 
assured  that  landing  on  Caldy  Island  could  not  be 
effected  that  a  visit  to  it  was  most  unwillingly  given  up. 
Good-bye  was  said  to  Mr  Laws  near  Lamphey  Station, 
the  travellers  proceeding  by  Manorbeer  and  Pembroke 
to  Haverfordwest — thankful  in  a  chilly  evening  to  find 
a  close  carriage  waiting  them  from  St  David's. 

Whitesand  Bay  first  engaged  Prestwich's  attention, 
and  detailed  sketches  of  it  were  made  at  different 
points,  including  a  general  section  which  included  the 
Lingula  Flags.  On  the  way  back  to  St  David's  he 


302  ST  DAVID'S.  [1379. 

had  sight  of  a  conglomerate  of  the  Cambrian  rocks  in 
position  at  Forth  Seli,  and  again  visited  the  Pebidian 
and  Dimetian  quarries.  Caerbuddy  formed  a  separate 
expedition  on  foot,  where  the  grand  massing  of  the 
older  rocks  was  very  striking.  The  cliff -road  back 
was  severe  walking :  walls  had  to  be  climbed  when 
they  stood  in  the  way,  and  the  geologist  on  one 
height  found  he  had  the  best  view  by  stepping  along 
the  top  of  a  stone  dyke,  his  companion  following  at 
his  heels.  A  walk  from  Caerfai,  another  beautiful 
rocky  inlet,  was  accomplished  with  difficulty  across 
fields  and  stiles  to  the  Nuns'  Chapel  and  the  Nuns' 
Well,  situated  in  the  most  picturesquely  wild  and 
secluded  position  near  the  rugged  shore.  The  mag- 
nificent coast  scenery  of  St  David's  more  than  com- 
pensated for  its  bleak  and  treeless  inland  district. 
Near  the  entrance  to  Forth  Clais  harbour  the  Pro- 
fessor, much  to  his  satisfaction,  traced  a  raised  beach 
which  farther  westward  became  thicker.  It  overhung  a 
cliff  where  the  dark  rocks  looked  awfully  grand,  several 
of  them  with  edges  upturned  like  so  many  knives. 

With  every  energy  intent  on  his  science,  he  still 
found  time  at  St  David's  for  inspection  of  the  cathedral. 
Planted  on  low  ground,  or  rather  in  a  hollow,  its  site 
confirmed  the  idea  of  having  been  chosen  as  a  safe- 
guard from  the  raids  of  the  wild  sea-rovers,  as  from 
its  position  it  might  escape  their  notice.  A  cathedral 
service  was  always  a  delight,  and  at  St  David's,  as 
elsewhere,  he  was  not  absent  from  morning  service. 
A  close  inspection  of  the  venerable  building  and  its 
exquisite  Norman  clerestory  was  reserved  for  next 
morning,  when,  with  the  appreciation  of  an  artist,  he 
again  lingered  over  the  beautiful  ruins  of  the  bishop's 
palace. 


JET.  67.]  NARBERTH.  303 

Taking  leave  of  the  kind  hostess  of  the  City  Hotel, 
they  set  out  for  Fishguard,  making  two  or  three  hours' 
stay  at  Abereiddy  Bay  in  order  to  see  its  slate  quarries. 
The  blackness  of  its  beach  was  most  curious,  it  being 
composed  of  fragments  of  black  slate,  this  tint  being 
probably  due,  our  geologist  supposed,  to  the  mass  of 
decomposed  organic  matter  from  the  myriads  of  grap- 
tolites.  The  turned-back  edges  or  "  terminal  curva- 
ture "  of  the  slate  rocks,  and  their  fractures  and  crump- 
ling, interested  him  greatly. 

Good  wick  and  Dinas  Bays  were  diligently  explored, 
and,  after  a  night  at  Newport,  the  Precelly  Hills  were 
crossed,  the  two  tourists  proceeding  to  Narberth,  one 
of  them  thankful  to  have  reached  the  region  of  rail- 
ways without  misadventure. 

The  following  extract  from  a  note-book  describes  his 
visit  to  Gilfach  quarries  :— 

25th  June  1879. — From  Narberth  drove  out  to  Gilfach  and 
called  on  Mr  Shields,  who  showed  me  the  quarries  whence  the 
trilobites  in  the  Tenby  Museum  came.  It  is  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill,  near  the  brook  in  the  N.-E.  corner  of  his  grounds.  It  is 
a  very  remarkable  section.  The  strata  are  vertical,  and  thin 
seams  of  limestone  alternate  with  slate,  the  limestone  being  more 
or  less  decomposed  into  a  brown  earth  with  stony  fragments  and 
fossils.  The  edges  of  the  strata  look  like  upright  rafters  worn 
and  soiled  at  the  edges,  and  the  section  has  all  the  regularity 
of  a  wooden  paling.  The  surfaces  of  the  strata  are  at  right 
angles  to  this,  and  show  on  their  surface  an  extraordinary  pro- 
fusion of  trilobites  (AsapJms  tyrannus  of  large  size  and  others), 
most  of  them  quite  perfect  and  not  at  all  distorted. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  SHOREHAM,  15th  August  1879. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, —  ...  I  have  not  been  up  to  town  since  our 
return,  but  expect  to  be  there  next  week,  lumbago  (of  which  I 
have  a  slight  attack)  permitting.  I  had  a  visit  from  De  Koninck 


304  FLINT   IMPLEMENTS.  [l879. 

a  short  time  since,  but  beyond  that  I  have  seen  none  of  niy  geo- 
logical friends.  We  have,  however,  had  a  house  full  of  the  Scott 
children,  who  have  just  left  us. 

Should  you  see  Daubree,  Hebert,  or  other  of  our  French 
friends  at  Sheffield,  please  tell  them  how  happy  I  should  be  to 
see  them  here.  .  .  .  — Ever  sincerely  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

Soon  after  his  return  home,  it  is  significant  that 
Dr  Owen  Rees  summarily  forbade  all  work,  and  pre- 
scribed novels  to  be-  the  only  reading  until  the  middle 
of  October.  Perhaps  it  was  in  conformity  with  this 
advice  that  a  visit  was  paid  to  Paris  in  September. 
Professor  and  Mrs  Prestwich  had  only  been  there  a 
few  days  when  they  were  recalled  by  the  illness  of 
Mr  Charles  Falconer. 

The  following  letter  has  reference  to  this  and  to  the 
discovery  of  palaeolithic  flint  implements  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ightham,  Kent. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.         SHOREHAM,  near  SEVENOAKS,  10th  Oct.  1879. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  am  happy  to  say  that  Mr  Falconer  is 
somewhat  better.  "We  have  therefore  returned  to  Shoreham  pre- 
paratory to  packing  up  for  Oxford.  My  wife,  however,  will  go 
up  to  town  every  other  day,  and  is  yet  unwilling  to  make  any 
engagement.  If,  however,  you  will  have  me  by  myself,  I  would 
run  down  some  day  between  (including)  Wednesday  the  23rd 
and  Monday  the  27th  inst.  My  lectures  begin  on  the  28th. 

Weather  permitting,  I  should  like  also  to  give  a  couple  of  days 
to  Fisher's  pit  at  Barrington  and  Skertchly's  pits  at  Brandon,  if 
that  time  would  suit  you.  Is  there  any  chance  of  our  seeing 
you  here  ?  A  Mr  Harrison  at  Ightham  has  been  doing  some 
good  work,  and  has  collected  numerous  flint  implements  and  one 
British  gold  coin.  I  am  thinking  of  going  over  to  see  him  next 
week. — Ever  sincerely  yours,  J.  PRESTWICH. 

The  illness  of  Charles  Falconer,  the  best  and  kind- 
est of  relatives,  was  not  a  protracted  one.  He  lingered 


^ET.  67.]  COLLEGES    FOB   WOMEN.  305 

on  for  a  time,  but  passed  away  before  the  close  of  the 
year. 

To  turn  to  the  life  at  Oxford.  Prestwich's  appoint- 
ment had  been  at  a  fortunate  time,  when  science  was 
no  longer  looked  upon  with  disfavour,  when  the  heav- 
ings  and  heartburnings  of  the  Tractarian  movement 
had  died  away  or  quieted  down,  and  when — perhaps  to 
his  own  surprise — the  great-souled  Benjamin  Jowett 
reigned  at  Balliol.  Among  movements  indicative  of 
broader  views  and  a  widened  outlook  was  the  estab- 
lishment in  the  two  old  Universities  of  Halls  of  Resi- 
dence or  Colleges  for  Women.  Cambridge  had  led  the 
way  with  "  Girton  "  and  "  Newnham,"  Oxford  follow- 
ing later  in  1879  (amid  misgivings  at  such  an  innova- 
tion) with  the  foundation  of  "  Lady  Margaret  Hall," 
which  was  almost  immediately  succeeded  by  that  of 
"  Somerville  Hall."  The  result  of  the  admirable 
management  and  irreproachable  conduct  of  the  women- 
students  at  Oxford  has  been,  that  passive  resistance 
has  gradually  been  withdrawn,  and  a  generous  appreci- 
ation is  felt  to  have  taken  its  place.  From  small 
beginnings  these  two  Halls  have  become  a  signal  suc- 
cess, while  one  or  two  others  on  a  smaller  scale  have 
been  found  to  supply  an  acknowledged  want.  It  was 
only  natural  that  Prestwich's  sympathies  should  go  out 
to  "  Somerville  Hall,"  now  "  Somerville  College,"  whose 
doors  from  the  beginning  had  been  thrown  wide  open 
to  bid  welcome  among  others  to  women  students  of 
varied  race  and  creed,  who,  like  their  English  sisters, 
hungered  for  the  bread  of  knowledge. 

Easter  fell  early,  and  a  trip  to  the  south  coast  was 
organised  by  Professor  Prestwich,  on  which  he  was 
accompanied  by  Mr  John  Evans,  Mr  Warington 
Smyth,  and  Professor  T.  M'Kenny  Hughes.  But,  alas  ! 

u 


306  IGUANODON.  [1880. 

no  sooner  had  they  reached  Christchurch  than  he  was 
overtaken  by  illness.  His  friend  Evans  took  him  back 
to  town  in  an  invalid  carriage,  where  at  Park  Crescent 
he  was  nursed  with  devoted  care  by  his  sisters-in-law, 
until  able  at  Oxford  to  rejoin  his  wife,  who  had  been 
detained  there  by  her  own  illness. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  27th  April. 

MY  DEA.R  EVANS, — Dr  Acland  has  put  a  stop  to  my  going  to 
town  this  week,  so,  much  to  my  regret,  I  shall  miss  both  the 
Geological]  meeting  and  the  Eoyal  Society  Soiree.  Please  express 
my  regrets  to  Spottiswoode  at  my  absence  from  the  latter.  .  .  . 
I  am  sorry  also  to  miss  Hulke's  paper  and  the  Council.  ...  I 
am  very  glad  to  see  that  Dr  Eae  is  amongst  the  chosen  15.1  .  .  . 

A  more  detailed  account  of  the  position  of  the  strata 
in  which  a  new  species  of  Iguanodon  had  been  discov- 
ered in  a  brick-pit  in  the  Kimmeridge  Clay  at  Cum- 
nor  Hurst,  near  Oxford,  and  named  by  Mr  Hulke, 
Iguanodon  Prestwchii,  was  read  in  April  to  the 
Geological  Society.  In  May  of  the  previous  year 
Prestwich  had  sent  a  brief  announcement  of  this  dis- 
covery, with  "  Notice  also  of  a  very  Fossiliferous  Band 
of  the  Shotover  Sands,"  to  the  c  Geological  Magazine.' 

Early  in  May  the  death  of  his  brother-in-law,  Mr 
Russell  Scott,  was  a  real  sorrow.  In  a  letter  to  a  fre- 
quent correspondent  he  expresses  a  deep  sense  of  his 
loss,  and  that  Russell  Scott  "  was  one  of  the  best  and 
kindest  of  husbands  and  of  friends."  He  was  the  last 
of  his  three  brothers-in-law,  who  had  all  shown  him 
sincere  affection,  the  close  intimacy  with  Mr  Russell 
Scott  having  endured  almost  half  a  century.  It  has 
often  occurred  to  us  that  much  of  that  happiness  in  the 

1  Fifteen  names  of  candidates  selected  for  election  into  the  Eoyal  Society. 


JET.  68.]  DARENT-HULME.  30*7 

circle  of  near  relatives  was  due  to  our  geologist's 
perfect  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others.  He  always 
testified  respect  for  any  one  who  acted  up  to  his  or  her 
convictions,  inculcating  by  his  example  the  practice  of 
that  perfect  "law  of  liberty."  For  instance,  the  Prest- 
wich  family  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England,  to 
which  he  was  strongly  attached,  yet  the  fact  that  one 
sister  became  a  Unitarian  and  another  a  Roman 
Catholic  never  weakened  the  lifelong  warm  fraternal 
affection. 

No  summer  passed  without  some  members  of  the 
family  staying  at  Darent-Hulme,  and  one  of  his  great- 
est pleasures  was  having  the  little  Russell  Scotts. 
Among  letters  of  this  date  we  come  upon  a  note  to  the 
eldest,  then  a  little  girl : — 

To  Ms  grand-niece,  Isabella  Prestwich  Scott.    OXFORD,  26th  May  1880. 

MY  DEAR  LITTLE  ISABEL, — Had  you  known  your  great-grand- 
mamma Prestwich,  I  am  sure  you  would  have  loved  her  very 
much,  for  she  was  very  good  and  kind  to  everybody,  and  she 
would,  I  am  sure,  have  been  very  fond  of  you,  because  you  are 
a  very  good  little  girl.  When  your  great-grandmamma  was 
young  she  had  a  very  pretty  Geneva  watch,  and  I  do  not  think 
I  can  do  better  than  to  give  you  this  watch  in  remembrance  of 
her,  and  for  the  love  of  your  affecte.  uncle, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

A  visit  at  his  country  home  from  geological  friends 
was  ever  looked  forward  to  with  eagerness.  He  de- 
lighted in  their  society,  and  at  the  end  of  each  Long 
Vacation  it  was  a  frequent  theme  of  regret  that  there 
had  not  been  time  to  invite  and  welcome  many  wished- 
for  guests.  Those  summer  days  seemed  to  pass  like  a 
flash.  He  often  remarked  that  the  glimpses  of  Professor 
and  Mrs  Judd,  of  the  Rev.  Professor  and  Mrs  Wiltshire^ 


308  CHANNEL   ISLANDS.  [l880. 

and  of  numerous  other  friends,  were  all  too  rare.  The 
fact  of  Professor  and  Mrs  H.  G.  Seeley  being  for  several 
years  at  Sevenoaks,  and  thus  within  easy  reach,  was 
a  great  pleasure.  Now  and  then  American  friends 
came,  and  had  a  warm  welcome.  The  lamented  Pro- 
fessor Asa  Gray  and  Mrs  Gray  paid  a  short  visit, 
when  Dr  and  Mrs  Carpenter  were  the  guests  to  meet 
them.  On  another  occasion  Professor  and  Mrs  Joseph 
Le  Conte,  who  were  strangers,  stayed  a  night,  when, 
as  was  remarked  to  our  Professor,  it  was  a  case  of 
entertaining  angels  unawares.  He  kept  up  a  corre- 
spondence with  the  late  Professor  J.  D.  Dana ;  in 
short,  he  had  many  honoured  friends  in  America. 

Short  excursions  were  made  during  the  summer  of 
1880  within  easy  distance  from  Darent-Hulme :  one 
trip  being  with  Mr  Spurrell  to  pits  at  Crayford ;  an- 
other, to  Brasted  and  to  railway  cuttings  close  to 
Combe  Bank,  the  residence  of  his  friend  Mr  William 
Spottiswoode.  But  he  was  intent  on  amassing  further 
evidence  in  support  of  his  theory  of  a  widespread  sub- 
mergence, and  for  that  purpose  set  out  early  in  August 
on  a  tour  in  the  Channel  Islands,  accompanied  by  his 
wife  and  her  youngest  sister.  A  day  or  two  at  Lyme 
Regis  enabled  him  to  acquire  the  fine  collection  of 
Lias  fossils,  presented  by  Mrs  Philpot  to  the  Oxford 
Museum ;  and  as  Mr  Etheridge  chanced  to  be  at  the 
same  hotel,  the  old  friends  had  a  pleasant  time 
together. 

Perhaps  no  geology  was  more  carefully  worked  out 
by  Prestwich  than  that  of  Guernsey  and  Jersey.  Day 
by  day  the  circuit  of  the  coast  of  Guernsey  was  fol- 
lowed, the  search  for  raised  beaches  being  continued 
next  morning  from  the  point  arrived  at  on  the  previous 
evening.  The  northern  half  of  the  island  was  first 


Photo  by  A.  IV.  Co.r,  Nottingham. 

ROBERT    ETHERIDGE,    F.R.S. 


JET.  68.]  ISLE    OF    WIGHT.  309 

taken.  Owing  to  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  an  attempt 
to  drive  across  at  low  tide  to  Lihou  Island  was  un- 
successful. Prestwich,  however,  utilised  the  time  by 
sketching  a  roadside  quarry  inland,  when  the  driver 
did  his  best  to  hold  an  umbrella  over  him.  After  one 
wild  gust  the  umbrella  continued  to  shake  in  a  very 
odd  manner,  when  the  occupants  of  the  carriage  saw 
that  the  driver  was  so  much  overcome  by  suppressed 
laughter  that  he  could  not  hold  it  steadily.  The 
enthusiasm  that  impelled  the  tall  elderly  gentleman 
to  stand  in  a  gale  of  wind  and  rain,  drawing  the  rocks 
as  if  his  life  depended  on  it,  must  have  been  a  puzzle. 
The  visit  to  Lihou  was  eventually  made,  the  raised 
beach  on  its  sea  -  front,  and  not  its  manufactory  of 
iodine,  being  the  attraction. 

The  precipitous  character  of  much  of  the  Jersey  coast 
prevented  the  same  unbroken  line  of  research  round  it. 
Wherever  possible,  a  careful  examination  was  made 
coastwise  and  inland ;  and  evidences  of  raised  beaches 
at  different  levels  were  in  sufficient  number  to  reward 
the  explorer. 

After  a  night  at  Avranches  and  one  at  Coutances, 
the  coast  round  Cherbourg  on  to  near  Cape  la  Hague 
was  the  subject  of  the  same  quest. 

The  next  halting-place  was  the  familiar  ground  of 
Alum  Bay,  which,  it  might  be  supposed,  Prestwich 
knew  pretty  well  by  heart,  yet  along  coasts  made  up 
of  such  soft  strata  changes  are  constantly  in  progress, 
and  eight  pages  of  his  note-book  give  new  sections  of 
Headon  Hill,  and  also  of  Totlands  and  of  Col  well  Bays. 
The  drive  along  the  coast  was  by  the  little-used  mili- 
tary road  from  Freshwater  to  Black  Gang  Chine,  his 
interest  centring  in  that  well-known  spot,  classical  to 
geologists — Brook  Bay.  As  a  matter  of  course,  sections 


310  BRITISH   ASSOCIATION.  [l880. 

were  sketched  of  it  and  of  Brook  Cliff,  likewise  of  Brix- 
ton  Cliff. 

The  annexed  letter  explains  in  his  own  words  the 
object  of  his  journey  to  the  Channel  Islands  : — 


J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  SHOREHAM,  SEVENOAKS,  24eA  August  1880. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, —  .  .  .  We  returned  from  the  Channel 
Islands  and  France  on  'Saturday  night  last,  all  the  better  for 
our  trip,  and  with  evidence  which  satisfies  me  with  respect  to 
the  diluvial  origin  of  a  portion  of  the  Drift  which  I  have  so 
long  suspected,  but  hesitated  to  bring  forward  without  the  fur- 
ther proof  I  went  to  the  Channel  Islands  to  obtain.  I  have  now 
no  longer  any  doubt  about  it ;  and,  as  I  should  much  like  to  have 
a  discussion  of  the  subject  on  the  occasion  of  Eamsay's  being 
President,  British  Association,  I  have  written  to  Sorby  (not 
knowing  who  the  Secretaries  are)  to  ask  whether  I  am  too  late, 
and  offering  to  have  a  paper  and  sections  ready  by  Monday  if 
they  can  give  me  room  on  that  day.  I  think  I  shall  be  able  to 
show  that  a  deluge  spread  over  part  of  England  and  much  (if 
not  all)  Europe  in  late  Quaternary  times,  and  that  it  destroyed 
palaeolithic  man  (in  part).  It  approaches,  in  fact,  singularly 
near  to  the  tradition  of  the  Noachian  deluge.  This  is  between 
ourselves. 

Not  expecting  to  go  to  Swansea,  I  have  kept  none  of  the 
papers  giving  particulars  of  sections,  &c.  Could  you  kindly 
send  me  any  such  lists  to-morrow  ?  I  fear,  from  what  you  say, 
that  you  will  have  left  Swansea  before  we  arrive  on  Saturday. 
I  would  have  gone  to-day,  but  have  my  paper  and  sections  to 
get  ready,  and  we  are  a  little  done  up  by  a  somewhat  rapid 
journey.  .  .  .  You  have  a  delightful  journey  before  you  in 
Spain  and  south  of  France. — Hoping  that  you  and  Mrs  Evans 
will  enjoy  it  much,  and  with  our  united  kind  regards,  I  am, 
sincerely  yours,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

The  main  paper  I  reserve  for  the  Eoyal  Society.  I  shall  now 
merely  give  the  chief  results,  so  as  to  obtain  a  discussion  of  the 
subject. 


JET.  68.]  SWANSEA.  311 

Another  letter  of  the  same  date  with  the  same  in- 
formation gives,  however,  a  glimpse  of  his  home  life  : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  I.  C.  Scott.  SHOREHAM,  24ZA  Aug.  1880. 

DEAREST  ISABELLA, — We  returned  here  on  Saturday  night 
last,  after  a  very  pleasant  and  successful  trip  to  the  Channel 
Islands  and  Normandy.  Here  we  intended  to  remain  till  the 
October  term ;  but  having  obtained  in  the  Channel  Islands  the 
evidence  I  required  respecting  my  diluvial  theory,  we  are  going 
to  Swansea  to  bring  it  before  the  Brit.  Assoc.,  of  which  my  old 
friend  Eamsay  is  Pres.  this  year.  I  think  I  am  now  in  a  posi- 
tion to  show  that  the  south  of  England,  France,  and  probably 
the  greater  part  of  Europe,  have  been  submerged  during  the 
early  human  period,  and  that  palaeolithic  man  was  thereby 
destroyed  (in  great  part).  It  revives  in  a  curious  way  the 
tradition  of  the  Noachian  deluge.  I  have  long  had  cause  to 
suspect  this,  but  hesitated  even  to  mention  so  unexpected  a 
result  until  I  was  sure  of  the  facts  I  obtained  in  the  Channel 
Islands.  After  my  return  from  Swansea  I  may  possibly  go  to 
the  meeting  of  the  Geol.  Soc.  of  France  at  Boulogne.  There  is 
one  thing  I  regret  in  all  this,  which  is,  it  postpones  the  arrival 
of  the  many  visitors  we  looked  forward  to  in  Aug.  and  Septr.  I 
suppose  Eussell  and  Jessie  are  back — where  are  they  now  ?  Are 
they  all  well  and  you  too  ?  I  shall  look  forward  to  see  you  and 
them  about  the  middle  of  Septr.  I  the  more  hope  this  as  I  fear 
we  shall  hardly  be  able  to  visit  Eastbourne.  Grace  sends  her 
best  love  to  all,  and  I  am,  dearest  Isabella,  your  affect,  brother, 

JOSEPH  PKESTWICH. 

Professor  and  Mrs  Prestwich  with  Louisa  Milne 
reached  Swansea  in  the  middle  of  the  meeting 
of  the  British  Association,  and  were  the  guests 
of  Sir  Hussey  l  and  Lady  Vivian.  Our  geologist  read 
two  papers  in  Section  C,  both  very  brief,  both  raising 
new  questions  and  pointing  to  important  conclusions  in 
support  of  his  Submergence  theory.  The  first  was 

1  Afterwards  Lord  Vivian. 


312  ASHMOLEAN    SOCIETY.  [1880-81. 

"  On  a  Raised  Beach  in  Rhos  Sili  Bay,  Gower  "  ;  the 
second  was  entitled,  "  On  the  Geological  Evidence  of 
the  Temporary  Submergence  of  the  South-west  of 
Europe  during  the  early  Human  Period." 

September  was  chiefly  spent  at  Boulogne-sur-Mer, 
where  the  French  Geological  Society  held  a  Reunion 
extraordinaire.  On  Prestwich's  arrival  he  was  paid 
the  honour  of  being  elected  President  for  the  occasion 
by  his  French  brethren,  and  with  pleasure  he  filled  the 
chair  at  their  meetings  and  took  part  in  several  ex- 
cursions. He  himself  at  the  sitting  of  the  13th  Sept. 
communicated  a  paper  "  Sur  la  Plage  Soulevee  de 
Sangatte,"  which  was  published  in  the  '  Bulletin  Soc. 
Geol.  de  France  '  for  that  year. 

Pleasant  visits  were  paid  in  October,  one  being  to 
Mr  and  Mrs  Godwin-Austen  at  Shalford,  and  as  usual 
a  day  or  two  at  Nash  Mills  on  the  way  to  Oxford. 
The  work  of  the  term — lectures  and  Museum  collec- 
tions— proceeded  as  usual,  but  the  illness  at  Easter 
had  left  its  effects,  and  exposure  to  cold  had  to  be 
avoided.  Our  geologist  happened  to  be  President  of 
the  Ashmolean  Society ;  and,  as  it  devolved  on  him  to 
take  the  chair  at  its  evening  meetings,  the  following 
note  was  dictated  by  the  most  thoughtful  kindness. 
It  was  from  Dr  Rolleston  just  before  he  went  abroad 
on  account  of  failing  health,  and  the  presiding  at  the 
'  Ashmolean '  on  behalf  of  his  friend  was  almost  his 
last  appearance  in  public.  He  returned  to  Oxford  in 
the  summer,  just  in  time  to  die  in  his  own  home. 

G.  Rolleston  to  J.  PrestwicJl.  OXFORD,  202A  November  1880. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, —  ...  I  entreat  you  not  to  come  out 
on  Monday  night  unless  Acland  explicitly  encourages  you  to  do 
so.  I  will  bring — 


JET.  68-69.]  GEORGE    ROLLESTON.  313 

1.  A  skeleton  of  Iguana ; 

2.  Marsh's  big  book  on  Tooth-bearing  Birds ; 

and  will  talk  as  much  or  as  little  as  the  occasion  may  demand. 
Yours  very  truly,  GEORGE  BOLLESTON. 

P.S. — It  is  the  boar's  head  dinner  at  Merton  to-day,  but  there 
are  bores  enough  outside  that  college,  so  I  don't  ask  you  to  go 
there. 


A  note  to  Mr  Harrison  urges  a  search  for  fossil  bones 
as  well  as  for  implements. 

J.  Prestwich  to  B.  Harrison.  OXFOED,  9th  Feb.  1881. 

DEAR  SIR, —  ...  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  your  further  finds,  and 
to  learn  that  you  have  been  more  successful  than  I  was  two 
or  three  years  ago  in  finding  flint  implements  in  the  high-level 
Gravel.  The  cutting  we  examined  was  the  one  at  the  station. 
We  had  not,  however,  much  time  to  give  to  the  search.  The 
position  is  very  analogous  to  the  flint-bearing  high-level  Gravel  at 
Salisbury,  and  bears  some  analogy  to  the  Eeculver  Gravels.  In 
neither  of  these  places  have  bones  been  found.  You  will  of 
course,  however,  look  out  for  them  as  well  as  for  implements 
when  the  new  cuttings  are  made.  I  hope  to  be  at  Shoreham  in 
the  summer ;  and  I  am,  yours  truly,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

Prestwich  was  deeply  affected  by  the  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  Dr  Rolleston,  which  followed  him  a  few 
days  after  arrival  at  Darent-Hulme.  In  writing  to  Mr 
Colchester  on  the  21st  June,  he  observed,  "The  death 
of  poor  Rolleston  has  indeed  been  a  blow  and  shock  to 
us  all.  He  was  the  ornament  and  power  of  the 
University  on  its  science  side.  I  have  known  very  few 
men  who  were  his  equal." 

Sir  John  Lubbock  being  President  of  the  British 
Association  at  York  in  1881,  Professor  Prestwich  made 


314  GEOLOGICAL   PAPERS.  [1881. 

a  point  of  being  present  at  the  meeting,  when  he 
contributed  three  Papers — namely  :  "  Some  Observa- 
tions on  the  Causes  of  Volcanic  Action  ; "  "  On  the 
Strata  between  the  Chillesford  Beds  and  the  Lower 
Boulder  Clay  :  The  Mundesley  and  Westleton  Beds ; " 
and,  "On  the  Extension  into  Essex,  Middlesex,  and 
other  Inland  Counties  of  the  Mundesley  and  Westle- 
ton Beds,  in  Relation  to  the  Age  of  certain  Hill 
Gravels  and  of  some  of  the  Valleys  of  the  South  of 
England." 

The  hotel  at  York  in  which  Prestwich  and  his  wife 
stayed  held  several  friends  besides  Mr  and  Mrs  Evans, 
so  that  the  meeting  was  remembered  as  one  of  much 
social  enjoyment. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  SHOEEHAM,  22nd  September  1881. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  went  after  all  to  Suffolk  on  Tuesday, 
calling  at  Harlton  for  Fisher.  Thanks  for  your  maps  which  I 
found  there.  It  is  well  you  did  not  come,  for  we  had  a  very 
wet  day.  We  saw,  however,  Culford  brick  pit  and  Warren  Hill. 
I  returned  last  night  none  the  worse  for  the  trip.  We  found 
nothing  except  a  flake  on  Warren  Hill.  I  am  glad,  however,  to 
see  the  position  of  things  at  Culford,  and  I  think  it  is  a  case  for 
further  inquiry.  The  Spottiswoodes  dine  with  us  to-morrow, 
and  possibly  Lubbock.  .  .  . 

In  the  Chronicle  of  St  Edward's  School,  Summer- 
town,  Oxford,  a  letter  to  the  Warden  from  Professor 
Prestwich,  dated  12th  December,  was  inserted,  giving 
an  account  of  the  section  exposed  in  digging  the 
foundations  for  the  new  buildings  through  the  old 
river  gravel.  The  interest  of  this  section  was  the 
discovery  in  it  of  the  bivalve  shell  Cyrena  (or  Corbi- 
cula)  fluminalis,  now  extinct  in  Europe,  and  which  is 
only  found  in  the  Nile  and  in  some  rivers  of  Central 


JET.  69.]  GEOLOGICAL   PAPERS.  315 

Asia.  It  was  the  most  abundant  shell  in  the  St 
Edward's  section,  of  all  sizes,  and  double,  proving  that 
it  lived  and  flourished  here  at  the  period  in  question. 
A  specimen  of  it  had  previously  been  discovered  by 
Mr  K  H.  Tiddeman,  F.G.S.,  of  the  Geological  Survey, 
who  found  it  "  when  an  undergraduate  in  some  gravel 
close  to  and  not  far  above  the  level  of  the  Cherwell  on 
the  left  bank." 

To  the  February  number  of  the  '  Geological  Maga- 
zine '  for  the  following  year,  a  notice  of  the  occurrence 
of  the  Cyrena  fluminalis  in  the  Upper  Thames  Valley 
was  communicated  by  Prestwich.  In  short,  his  pen 
was  never  idle  :  it  was  busiest  when  he  was  pre- 
cluded from  joining  in,  or  remaining  out,  on  long 
geological  excursions.  He  wrote  a  small  but  very 
complete  Index  Guide  to  the  Geological  Collections 
in  the  Oxford  University  Museum,  which  was  published 
by  the  Clarendon  Press  in  1881. 

After  repeated  visits  to  Upton  and  Chilton  he  read 
a  paper  to  the  Geological  Society  in  May,  "  On  a 
peculiar  Bed  of  Angular  Drift  on  the  Lower  -  chalk 
high  Plain  between  Upton  and  Chilton."  This  deposit 
was  of  special  interest,  and  several  members  of  his 
class  were  introduced  to  it. 

As  years  stole  on  the  love  of  our  geologist  for  little 
children,  and  his  delight  in  their  innocent  prattle,  did 
not  lessen.  His  appearance  among  them  was  the 
signal  for  a  rush,  when,  with  one  consent,  they  all  took 
possession  of  him.  If  a  shy  little  girl  choked  back  her 
sobs  on  being  led  into  the  room  among  strangers, 
smiles  took  the  place  of  tears  when  the  master  of  the 
house  held  out  his  arms  to  her.  About  this  date  one 
of  the  little  Russell  Scotts — not  two  years  old — had 
stayed  on  at  Darent-Hulme  with  her  nurse,  who,  one 


316  BRITISH   ASSOCIATION.  [1882-83. 

day,  just  as  dinner  was  over,  sent  down  a  message  to 
say  that  the  child  was  exceedingly  naughty  and  would 
not  go  to  sleep,  crying  herself  almost  into  fits  for  her 
"  Uncle  Jovis."  The  moment  he  entered  the  room  the 
sobbing  ceased ;  and  sitting  down  beside  her,  he  held 
the  little  hand  in  his,  until  in  a  few  minutes  she  fell 
fast  asleep. 

There  was  another  gathering  of  friends  at  the  South- 
ampton meeting  of  the  British  Association  in  1882, 
when  Mr  (Sir)  W.  Siemens,  for  whom  Prestwich  had  a 
great  regard,  filled  the  post  of  President.  Joint 
rooms  were  shared  with  Mr  and  Mrs  Evans  ;  but,  alas  ! 
this  pleasant  time  has  its  sad  memories.  The  brightest 
of  the  party  was  Mr  Evans's  talented  and  beloved 
daughter  Alice,  and  Mr  William  Minet,  whose  wife 
she  was  soon  to  become,  was  one  of  the  number.  His 
happiness  was  short-lived.  Alice  Minet — Alice  with 
the  beautiful  mind — is  enshrined  in  the  memory  of 
those  who  loved  her.  She  had  been  a  special  favourite 
with  the  Professsor  from  her  childhood — or  rather,  it 
should  be  said,  from  her  infancy. 

Two  papers  were  read  by  Prestwich  at  Southamp- 
ton,— the  first,  "  On  Drift  Phenomena  of  Hampshire : 
1.  Boulders,  Hayling  Island.  2.  Chert  debris  in  the 
Hampshire  Gravel.  3.  Elephant  Bed,  Freshwater 
Gate."  The  second  was  also  an  important  memoir, 
being  "On  the  Equivalents  in  England  of  the  Sables  de 
Bracheux,  and  on  the  Southern  Limits  of  the  Thanet 
Sands." 

J.  Prestwich  to  B.  Harrison.  SHOREHAM,  6th  Oct.  [1882]. 

SIR, — I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  offer  of  the  flint  imple- 
ments from  Hadlow,  which  I  should  value  as  having  foreseen  the 
probability  of  the  discovery.  Should  you  go  there  again  or 


,ET.  70-71.]      HENRY   SMITH   AND   SPOTTISWOODE.  317 

obtain  permission  to  dig  the  Gravel,  you  will  be  most  likely  to 
find  both  flint  implements  and  mammalian  remains  at  or  near 
the  base  of  the  Gravel. 


An  event  occurred  early  in  the  following  year  that 
affected  him  deeply,  and  which  threw  all  Oxford  into 
mourning.  This  was  the  death  of  Professor  Henry 
Smith,  one  of  the  first  mathematicians  of  his  time,  who 
in  debate  swayed  the  destinies  of  the  University,  and 
was  to  so  many  the  beloved  friend.  His  sister,  Eleanor 
E.  Smith,  who  was  considerably  his  senior,  shared  his 
home  and  watched  over  him  in  his  last  illness.  She  was 
quite  as  remarkable  among  women  as  "  Henry  Smith  " 
was  among  his  fellow-men.  With  masculine  powers  of 
mind  she  had  great  tenderness  of  heart,  and  was  the 
guiding  spirit  of  almost  all  the  large  charities  in  the 
place.  Both  brother  and  sister  possessed  a  delightful 
touch  of  Irish  humour,  with  not  a  little  originality.  It 
was  a  privilege  to  count  them  both  as  dear  friends. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  January  1883. 

MY  DEAK  EVANS, — We  are  all  dreadfully  upset  here.  We 
have  lost  our  dear  and  valued  friend  Henry  Smith.  Our  party 
to-morrow  is  consequently  postponed.  .  .  .  The  loss  will  throw  a 
gloom  over  the  place.  I  hope  your  visit  will  be  postponed,  and 
that  we  may  have  the  pleasure  of  receiving  you  and  Mrs  Evans 
as  we  could  wish.  .  .  . 

The  same  year  Professor  Prestwich  sustained  an- 
other great  loss.  Mr  William  Spottiswoode,  who  had 
so  recently  filled  the  office  of  President  of  the  Royal 
Society,  succumbed  after  a  rather  lingering  illness. 
He  and  Mrs  Spottiswoode  were  the  kindest  of  neigh- 
bours, and  the  blank  caused  by  his  death  has  never 


318  HUXLEY.  [1884. 

been  filled.  Among  the  interesting  guests  whom  Mr 
Spottiswoode  delighted  to  gather  round  him  at  Combe 
Bank,  none  seemed  equal  to  the  host  himself.  In  the 
touching  tribute  to  his  memory  by  Professor  Huxley, 
in  a  Notice  to  the  Royal  Society,  no  words  were  ever 
more  appropriate :  "  He  always  seemed  to  me  the 
embodiment  of  that  exquisite  ideal  of  a  true  gentle- 
man which  Geoffrey  Chaucer  drew  five  hundred  years 
ago:— 

"  ' .  .  .  He  lovede  chyvalrye, 

Trouthe  and  honour,  fredom  and  curtesie. 

And  though  that  he  was  worthy  he  was  wys, 

And  of  his  port  as  meke  as  is  a  mayde. 

He  never  yit  no  vilonye  ne  sayde 

In  al  his  lyf  unto  no  maner  wight. 

He  was  a  verray  perfight  gentil  knight.'  " 

In  the  mournful  assemblage  round  his  grave  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  none  were  more  conscious  of  the  loss 
to  the  world  of  science,  and  of  their  own  personal  loss, 
than  the  two  sorrowing  neighbours  from  Darent-Hulme. 

Among  relics  carefully  kept,  we  come  upon  a  little 
pencil  note  which  had  been  passed  on  to  our  geologist 
from  Professor  Huxley  at  his  first  council  meeting  as 
President  of  the  Royal  Society,  with  the  words — "  I 
have  just  nominated  you  a  Vice-President.  Will  you 
be  so  kind  as  to  serve  ? "  An  affirmative  nod  was  the 
reply. 

Prestwich  had  for  many  years  entertained  the  idea 
of  publishing  a  treatise  on  Geology,  and  at  last  his 
dream  was  about  to  be  realised,  as  in  February  1884 
he  signed  an  agreement  with  the  Clarendon  Press,  in 
which  he  engaged  to  write  a  text-book  on  Geology  in 
two  volumes.  This  was  undertaken  at  a  fitting  time  : 
there  had  been  many  warnings  that  the  burden  of 


JET.  72.]  JULES   MARCOU.  319 

years  would  no  longer  allow  him  to  share  with  his 
fellow-geologists  in  active  field-work ;  he  had  the  ex- 
perience of  a  long  life,  and  the  mass  of  unpublished 
material  was  overwhelming.  With  the  prospect  of 
speedy  publication,  he  at  once  wrote  to  his  friend  of 
many  years,  the  late  Professor  Jules  Marcou  of  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,1  for  permission  to  make  use  of  his  map 
of  the  world. 

OXFORD,  15th  February  1884. 

MY  DEAE  M.  MARCOU, — Many  thanks  for  the  several  Science 
papers,  [by]  yourself  and  your  son,  that  you  have  sent  me,  and 
especially  for  your  paper  on  the  geology  of  California,  recently 
read.  This  paper  interests  me  much,  both  with  reference  to 
your  account  of  the  Glacial  and  Quaternary  deposits,  and  with 
reference  to  what  you  say  about  the  age  of  the  granite  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada.  I  was  under  the  impression  that  the  Jurassic 
age  of  that  granite  had  been  well  established,  as  it  has  been 
generally  received,  but  I  see  you  give  good  reasons  for  ques- 
tioning the  conclusions.  In  fact,  in  writing  on  that  subject  a 
short  time  since  for  a  sort  of  text- book  on  Geology  I  have  had 
in  hand  for  a  long  time  past,  I  accepted  the  conclusion,  and  have 
reasoned  accordingly.  This  I  must  modify.  In  this  work  I  also 
am  giving  a  small  geological  map  of  the  world,  reduced  from 
your  large  map,  with  a  few  additions,  and  proper  acknowledg- 
ment to  you.  As  I  shall  be  shortly  putting  it  into  the  hands 
of  the  artist,  I  should  be  very  glad  to  know  if  you  are  bringing 
out  another  edition,  or  if  you  have  made  any  additions  to  that 
capital  piece  of  work  that  I  could,  with  your  permission,  avail 
myself  of.  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  sending  you  a  copy 
of  the  first  vol.  of  my  work  about  the  end  of  this  year.  I 
get  on  but  slowly,  as  I  have  to  contend  carefully  against  the 
extreme  Uniformitarian  views  which  prevail  in  this  country. 
I  trust  you  keep  well.  Mrs  Prestwich  desires  her  kind  regards, 
and  I  am,  my  dear  Marcou,  sincerely  yours, 

JOSEPH  PEESTWICH. 


Jules  Marcou,  born  1824 ;  died  April  18,  1898. 


320  WATER-SUPPLY   OF   OXFORD.  [l884. 

To  the  Same.  OXFORD,  tth  April  1884. 

MY  DEAR  M.  MAKCOU, — I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for 
your  kind  offer  to  assist  in  the  preparation  of  the  reduction  of 
your  map  of  the  world.  I  shall  value  such  assistance  very  highly. 
Owing  to  the  illness  of  Professor  Bartholomew  Price1  of  the 
Clarendon  Press,  I  have  not  been  able  yet  to  put  it  in  hand, 
but  hope  to  do  so  shortly.  I  shall  follow  as  close  as  possible 
your  grouping,  but,  with  respect  to  colours,  I  think  it  will  be 
better  to  conform  as  far  as  possible  with  the  colours  proposed 
by  the  International  Congress.  I  also  have  another  work  in 
hand  for  the  Eoyal  Society — viz.,  a  list  of  all  the  underground 
temperature  observations  from  1740  to  this  date,  with  their 
systematic  arrangement  and  reduction.  I  am  nearly  at  the  end 
of  it,  but  it  has  given  me  a  good  deal  to  do.  This  is  preliminary 
to  a  paper  on  "  Volcanic  Action,"  of  which  I  think  I  sent  you  a 
short  abstract  a  year  or  two  ago.  I  am  very  glad  also  to  hear 
that  you  continue  so  well  occupied,  and  have  on  hand  a  work  on 
the  important  subject  of  the  Primordial  rocks.  But,  above  all,  I 
hope  to  see  another  edition  of  your  large  map. 

I  sincerely  trust  that  the  illness  in  your  family,  mentioned  in 
your  last  note,  may  not  be  prolonged,  and  that  Mme.  Marcou 
and  your  son  may  soon  be  restored  to  health.  And  with  our 
united  kind  regards,  I  am  sincerely  yours, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

His  advice  in  regard  to  water  -  supply  had  al- 
ready been  acted  upon  with  benefit  to  Oxford,  and 
the  only  publication  traceable  from  his  pen  during  this 
year  is  a  '  Letter  on  the  Water- Supply '  to  the  Vice- 
Chancellor,  in  the  form  of  a  pamphlet  of  twelve  pages. 
In  this  is  pointed  out  the  steps  to  be  taken  for  a 
supply  safe  from  contamination, — three  springs  being 
indicated  as  the  best  for  drinking  purposes,  which, 
with  the  growing  needs  of  the  University,  it  might  be 

1  The  Rev.  Bartholomew  Price,  Sedleian  Professor  of  Natural  Philo- 
sophy ;  subsequently  Master  of  Pembroke  College,  Oxford  ;  born  in  1818, 
died  December  29,  1898. 


JST.  72.]  J.   GWYN   JEFFREYS.  321 

desirable  to  utilise  in  the  future.  One  of  these  was 
the  spring  at  the  foot  of  the  chalk  hills  between  East 
Hendred  and  Wantage,  which  was  not  likely  to  pass 
out  of  the  remembrance  of  those  who  had  shared  in  a 
particular  class  excursion. 

The  following  note  to  his  friend  John  Evans  refers 
to  a  tour  in  France  : — 

DARENT-HULME,  2nd  September. 

My  thoughts  were  much  with  you  last  week,  and  greatly  did 
I  regret  I  could  not  be  present  in  person.  A  few  years  since 
I  should  never  have  hesitated  to  draw  10  days  on  time.  But 
since  I  have  turned  70  I  awake  to  its  value  and  importance, 
and  until  I  have  finished  the  work  I  have  had  so  many  years 
in  hand  I  feel  reluctant  to  turn  aside,  however  tempting  the 
occasion  may  be.  ... 

As  years  glided  on,  rarely  one  passed,  alas !  which 
was  unmarked  by  the  loss  of  a  friend.  In  a  letter, 
dated  January  1885,  addressed  to  Mr  Evans,  Prest- 
wich  records  the  death  of  Mr  J.  Gwyn  Jeffreys,  the 
conchologist,  who  had  been  his  companion  in  geological 
excursions,  and  with  whom  he  had  so  many  interests 
in  common.  "  The  death  of  our  dear  old  friend  Jeffreys 
was  a  great  shock  to  us.  How  dreadfully  sudden  it 
was  !  We  called  on  Sunday,  but  too  late  to  see  him." 
Only  on  the  previous  Friday  evening  Mr  Gwyn  Jeffreys 
had  listened  to  a  lecture  at  the  Royal  Institution  by 
his  distinguished  son-in-law,  the  late  Professor  Moseley. 

Hilary  term  in  1885  was  heavily  weighted.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  regular  work,  there  was  the  steady  pre- 
paration of  '  Geology/  and  no  fewer  than  three  papers 
in  hand  for  the  Royal  Society.  One  of  these,  which 
represented  a  vast  amount  of  research,  was  sent  in  on 
the  24th  January.  Its  title  was,  "  On  Underground 


322  THE   INSTITUTE    OF   FRANCE.  [l885. 

Temperatures,  with  Observations  on  the  Conductivity 
of  Hocks,  on  the  Thermal  Effects  of  Saturation  and 
Imbibition,  and  on  a  Special  Source  of  Heat  in  Moun- 
tain Ranges."  Two  days  later  Joseph  Prestwich  re- 
ceived telegrams  from  Paris  from  two  members  of  the 
Institute  (M.  Albert  Gaudry  being  one)  to  inform  him 
of  his  election  into  the  Academy  of  Sciences  as  a  Cor- 
responding Member  in  the  Section  of  Mineralogy.  Not 
one  of  the  many  honours  which  he  received  was  more 
prized,  or  gave  greater  pleasure  than  this.  This  pleas- 
ure was  shared  by  his  friends,  and  among  the  con- 
gratulatory notes,  that  from  the  late  Dr  W.  B.  Car- 
penter, F.R.S.,  may  be  cited  : — 

LONDON,  3rd  February  1885. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — Pray  accept  the  hearty  congratulations 
of  Mrs  Carpenter  and  myself  on  your  election  as  Corresponding 
Member  of  the  Institute  of  France, — an  honour  which  you  have 
nobly  earned  by  your  long  and  distinguished  services  to  geo- 
logical science.  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  see  so  many  of 
my  old  and  valued  friends  receiving — in  one  way  or  another — 
that  recognition  of  life-long  labours  which  carries  the  sense  of 
their  value  to  many  who  were  previously  unaware  of  it.  And 
this  becomes  the  more  gratifying  when  —  as  has  been  pre- 
eminently the  case  with  yourself — the  work  has  been  purely 
for  its  own  sake,  without  the  least  regard  to  personal  interest 
or  public  applause.  May  you  long  continue  to  set  so  good 
an  example  to  the  generation  that  is  now  rising  into  our  places. 

I  was  very  sorry  to  miss  seeing  you  when  you  were  last  in 
town.  I  had  a  great  many  committees  and  other  engagements ; 
and,  hoping  to  meet  you  at  the  Royal  Society,  I  did  not  take  any 
special  step  to  find  you. — With  kindest  regards  to  Mrs  Prest- 
wich, believe  me,  always  yours  faithfully, 

WILLM.  B.  CARPENTER. 

Another  letter  to  the  Vice  -  Chancellor,  "  On  the 
Oxford  Water -Supply,"  was  published  in  February: 


JET.  73.]  ORIGIN    OF    FLINTS.  323 

it  gave  the  chemical  analyses  of  the  various  samples 
of  river  and  other  waters  by  leading  analysts.  His 
investigations  had  been  again  of  use  to  the  University. 
The  next  memoir,  sent  to  the  Hoyal  Society  in  the 
end  of  March,  was  "  On  the  Agency  of  Water  in 
Volcanic  Eruptions,  with  some  Observations  on  the 
Thickness  of  the  Earth's  Crust  from  a  Geological  Point 
of  View,  and  on  the  Primary  Cause  of  Volcanic 
Action."  This  was  published  in  1886.  The  hypothesis 
put  forward  was  an  interesting  one  to  geologists. 

A  stay  at  Weston-super-Mare  early  in  April  was 
refreshing — its  main  purpose  being  the  acquisition  of 
material,  in  the  study  of  raised  beaches,  for  his  pro- 
jected Submergence  paper.  But  the  weather  after  a 
fortnight  became  unseasonably  cold,  and  the  sojourn 
there  was  not  prolonged. 

The  origin  or  segregation  of  flint  was  a  subject  to 
which  he  gave  much  thought ;  but  the  experiments 
which  he  was  carrying  on  in  the  Oxford  Museum,  in 
a  series  of  jars  of  fresh  and  of  sea  water,  were  extended 
over  too  short  a  term  of  years  to  yield  definite  or 
satisfactory  results.  These  experiments  were  begun 
in  1882,  with  pure  precipitated  chalk  dissolved  in 
dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  and  the  results  are  recorded 
at  intervals  in  a  book  in  his  handwriting.  Pieces  of 
sponge,  or  small  cup-sponges,  empty  shells  and  frag- 
ments of  wood,  &c.,  had  been  added  to  the  contents 
of  the  jars,  half  of  which  contained  sea  -  water,  the 
other  half  fresh-water.  An  entry  dated  24th  June 
1884  registers  "Sponge  rendered  brittle- — requires  ex- 
amination for  silica."  In  the  same  MS.  book  of  notes 
we  find  a  series  of  experiments  registered  on  "  Ayles- 
ford  sand  with  Woolwich  flint  pebble  moistened  with 
a  solution  of  soluble  silica." 


324  PLATEAU   IMPLEMENTS.  [1885. 

J.  PrestwicJl  to  J.  Evans.  WESTON-SUPER-MARE,  9«A  April  1885. 

I  have  sent  in  my  Volcano  paper  to  the  Eoyal  Society.  It 
has  been  a  heavy  piece  of  work,  having  been  in  hand  some  time 
before  the  York  meeting;  but  I  did  not  care  to  finish  it  until 
I  had  completed  my  paper  on  Underground  Temperatures,  so  as 
to  have  a  surer  rate  of  increase  of  temperature  with  depth.  .  .  . 
I  could  be  up  at  its  reading  any  day  this  month,  but  the  16th  or 
the  23rd  would  suit  me  best.  .  .  . 

The  third  paper  was  sent  in  early  in  June,  and  was 
entitled  "  Regional  Metamorphism."  The  amount  of 
work  accomplished  during  this  first  half  of  1885  was 
enormous.  Happily,  several  years  before,  Sir  Henry 
Acland  had  peremptorily  limited  his  dining  out  to 
twice  a  -  week,  so  that  five  out  of  the  seven  were 
restful  evenings  at  home,  which  he  preferred  to  all 
others.  But  the  passing  of  these  Memoirs  through 
the  press — more  especially  the  Tables  of  Underground 
Temperatures — was  arduous,  added  to  all  the  duties 
of  his  chair — and  those  were  very  faithfully  fulfilled. 

Allusion  is  made  in  the  following  letter  to  the  dis- 
coveries of  implements  on  the  Chalk  plateau.  The 
"  friends  in  Kent "  working  in  this  direction  were  Mr 
Harrison  at  Ightham,  Mr  De  Barri  Crawshay  in  the 
Sevenoaks  district,  and  Mr  A.  Montgomerie  Bell  at 
Limpsfield. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  JEvans.  OXFORD,  15th  June  1885. 

You  will  see  by  the  enclosed  that  our  friends  in  Kent  are 
working  successfully.  I  hope  we  shall  be  able  to  look  them 
up  this  summer.  We  leave  to-morrow  for  Park  Crescent,  and 
on  Friday  or  Saturday  proceed  to  Shoreham.  I  am  glad  to  say 
that  two  days  ago  I  despatched  the  proofs  of  my  two  Koyal 
Society  papers.  I  have  now  only  the  reset  tables  of  the  Under- 
ground Temperatures  to  see  to,  and  can  then  devote  myself 


JET.  73.]  RIVER   DRIFT.  325 

uninterruptedly  to  Vol.  IT.,  nearly  half  of  which  is  now  in 
type.  I  am  well  and  about  again  now,  but  fear  my  hand- 
writing is  not  improving,  to  judge  from  what  our  friend  M. 
Cornet  tells  me  this  morning :  "  Trois  jours  m'ont  ete  necessaire 
pour  lire  et  bien  comprendre  votre  lettre  du  9me  a  cause  de 
1'imperfection  de  1'^criture."  .  .  . 

The  excursions  during  this  long  vacation  were  very 
numerous ;  yet  they  were  all  confined  to  those  within 
the  day  from  Darent-Hulme  to  the  ground  where  flint 
implements  had  been  found,  Mr  Harrison  frequently 
joining.  He  accompanied  Professor  Prestwich  to  the 
Powder  Mills,  near  Green  Street  Green,  to  which 
reference  is  made  in  the  letter  of  17th  November. 

J.  Prestwich  to  B.  Harrison.  DARENT-HULME,  5th  August  1885. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  suppose  you  refer  to  Vol.  IV.  of  the  Geological 
Mem.  by  Mr  Whitaker.  I  shall  have  pleasure  in  lending  it 
to  you.  I  have  recently  discovered  two  new  terraces  of  river 
drift  at  250  and  350  feet  in  this  valley.  They  may  be  worth 
a  search  on  your  part.  Both  are  close  to  Eynsford.  I  could 
show  you  the  exact  spot  on  a  map.  Have  you  been  again  to 
Green  Street  Green  ?  and  have  you  got  more  of  the  curious 
siliceous  rock  of  which  you  left  me  a  specimen  ?  I  must  go 
there  some  day.  Please  give  rne  the  exact  name  of  house  or 
farm  where  the  well  is. 

To  the  Same.  OXFORD,  17 th  November  1885. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  to  Messrs  Isler  &  Co.  for  a  section  of  the 
well  at  the  Powder  Mills.  This  they  sent  me,  but  as  it  seemed 
to  me  insufficient,  I  wrote  for  further  particulars  and  specimens. 
The  rock  they  sent  was  the  ordinary  green-coated  flint  from  the 
top  of  the  chalk.  I  then  sent  a  specimen  of  the  siliceous  stone, 
and  I  enclose  their  reply  received  this  morning. 

I  fear  there  has  been  some  mistake.  We  saw  none  of  the  rock 
at  the  Mills,  and  we  got  no  confirmation  of  its  having  been  found 
there. 


326  REGIONAL   METAMORPHISM.  [1885-86. 

I  fear  the  rock  may  have  been  carted  to  the  spot  to  mend  the 
road.  Vessels  are  constantly  arriving  in  the  Thames  in  ballast, 
which  often  comes  in  usefully  for  road-mending.  It  is  common 
to  find  rocks  from  China  and  Japan  on  the  London  roads.  When 
you  are  next  at  Green  Street  Green  can  you  make  some  inquiries 
about  it  of  roadmakers  or  others  ?  , 


An  estimate  of  his  paper  on  "  Regional  Metamor- 
phism "  is  given  by  an  eminent  American  geologist  in 
the  following  letter  : — 

Prof.  Joseph  le  Conte  to  J.  Prestwich. 

BERKELEY,  CAL.,  18th  November  1885. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  need  not  tell  you  how  deeply  interested  I 
have  been  in  your  paper  on  metamorphism.  I  had  already  read 
an  abstract  of  it  in  '  Nature '  for  July  3rd,  but  am  very  glad  to 
have  a  fuller  copy.  I  have  long  believed  that  crushing  is  an  im- 
portant source  of  the  heat  of  metamorphism,  and  have  spoken  of 
it  in  that  connection  in  my  '  Elements  of  Geology,'  under  Meta- 
morphic  Rocks  and  under  Volcanos  and  the  source  of  their  heat. 
But  I  have  never,  I  believe,  given  it  sufficient  prominence, 
and  I  am  glad  that  you  have  now  done  [so],  especially  that 
you  have  brought  forward  positive  evidence  in  the  case  of  the 
St  Gothard  Tunnel. 

I  have  also  noted  with  great  interest  your  views  of  the  sources 
of  volcanic  water  and  of  volcanic  force.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
violent  explosions  of  many  volcanos  are  due  to  superficial  water, 
but  even  in  the  quietest  eruptions,  as  in  Hawaiian  volcanos,  there 
seems  to  be  considerable  water  in  the  lavas.  Let  me  draw  your 
attention  without  comment  to  Button's  memoir  on  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  United  States  Geological  Survey 
(the  page  I  cannot  now  refer  to),  where  he  gives  reason  for  think- 
ing that  water  is  intimately  incorporated  with  igneous  magmas, 
not  as  vapour  vesicles  but  as  a  sort  of  hydrate,  and  does  not 
separate  in  vesicles  until  the  lava  is  about  to  solidify.  So  that 
lava  after  running  40  miles,  and  therefore  after  many  days'  ex- 
posure to  atmospheric  pressure  only,  still  solidifies  as  a  light 


JST.  73-74.]  PROFESSOR   J.    W.    JUDD.  327 

sponge :  the  separation  may  be  compared  to  the  spitting  of  silver 
in  the  act  of  solidification. 

I  was  in  camp  last  summer  two  months  with  Captain  Button 
on  the  great  lava  field  of  Northern  California  and  Oregon.  These 
immense  lava  floods  are  a  strong  confirmation  of  your  views. 
These  surely  have  never  been  erupted  by  elastic  force  of  vapour, 
but  have  been  squeezed  out. 

The  rocks  of  this  coast  are  puzzling  to  the  last  degree.  The 
gradations  from  unchanged  sediments  through  various  degrees  of 
metamorphism  to  Plutonics  is  in  many  places  complete  and  over 
wide  areas.  Thanking  you  again  for  your  pamphlet,  and  hoping 
soon  to  reciprocate,  I  remain,  yours  faithfully, 

JOSEPH  LE  CONTE. 

Although  Professor  Prestwich  was  not  present  in 
person  at  the  next  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Geological 
Society,  his  thoughts  were  with  his  brother  geologists. 
A  note  addressed  to  his  friend  Evans  is  dated  22nd 
February  1886. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  the  Anniversary  Meeting  went  off  so 
well.  Your  joke  was  excellent.  It  would  have  taken  me  a  week 
to  elaborate  a  joke  on  so  solemn  a  subject  as  the  foliation  of 

schists.     .     .     . 

It  was  a  trial  to  him  to  have  been  absent.  Mr  Evans 
was  in  the  habit  of  occasionally  announcing  geological 
facts  to  his  friend  Prestwich  in  rhyme,  especially  when 
the  latter  was  a  prisoner  to  the  house  from  indisposition, 
and  the  promotion  at  this  Anniversary  Meeting  of  their 
common  friend  Professor  Judd,  F.R.S.,  from  the  post  of 
Secretary  to  that  of  President,  was  told  in  the  following 
lines  : — 

"  The  plant  will  follow  on  the  seed ; 
The  blossom  follows  on  the  bud : 
The  Secretary — good  at  need — 
Blossoms  as  President  in  Judd." 


328  TEXT-BOOK    OF    GEOLOGY.  [l886. 

A  couple  of  notes  to  his  little  grand  -  niece  show 
how  perfectly  he  understood  what  would  interest  and 
please  children,  and  how  completely  he  could  withdraw 
his  thoughts  from  " underground  temperatures,"  "vol- 
canoes," and  "  regional  metamorphism  "  : — 

OXFORD,  3rd  May  1886. 

MY  DEAR  LITTLE  GrRACiE, — I  am  very  glad  to  see  that  you  can 
write  and  spell  so  well.  It  is  very  nice  for  you  all  to  have 
gardens  of  your  own.  When  I  go  to  Shoreham  I  must  see  that 
some  flowers  are  sown  in  your  garden  there.  When  will  you 
come  and  see  your  gardens  ?  Will  you  come  when  the  straw- 
berries are  ripe  or  when  the  gooseberries  are  ripe — there  will 
be  lots  of  them, — or  will  you  come  later  when  the  pears  and 
apples  are  ripe  or  when  the  peaches  and  grapes  are  ripe  ?  We 
have  no  tame  rabbits  at  Shoreham,  but  we  have  lots  of  wild  ones, 
and  you  may  have  all  you  can  catch.  So  I  hope  you  will  come 
as  soon  as  papa  and  mamma  can  spare  you,  and  bring  brothers 
and  sisters  with  you.  Aunt  Grace  sends  her  love,  and  I  am, 
gentle  little  Gracie,  your  affectionate  uncle, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

A  little  before  this  date,  c  Geology,  Chemical  and 
Physical/  Vol.  L,  had  appeared.  The  following  note 
from  the  great  statesman  over  whom,  to  the  grief  of 
his  country,  the  grave  has  so  recently  closed,  was  the 
beginning,  through  Sir  Henry  Acland,  of  the  inter- 
change of  occasional  letters  : — 

W.  E.  Gladstone  to  J.  Prestwich. 

HAWARDEN  CASTLE,  CHESTER,  6th  June  1886. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  am  exceedingly  obliged  by  the  gift  of  your 
volume,  and  I  earnestly  hope  ere  long  to  profit  much  by  an  ex- 
amination of  it.  Sir  Henry  Acland  has  recently  bestowed  upon  me 
more  than  one  kindness,  and  none  of  them  was  more  useful  or 
more  appreciated  than  the  acquaintance  he  enabled  me,  by  your 
permission,  to  make  with  a  portion  of  your  researches.  I  remain, 
dear  sir,  faithfully  yours,  W.  E.  GLADSTONE. 


MT.  74.]  ISLE    OF   SHEPPEY.  329 

Mr  Evans,  when  on  a  visit  to  Christchurch  (14th 
June  1886),  was  unsuccessful  in  finding  flint  imple- 
ments on  the  coast,  and  was  compelled  to  buy.  A 
rhyme  ended  a  letter  to  his  invalid  friend  :— 

The  annexed  receipt  may  be  of  use  to  you.  I  hope  you  are 
better.  With  kindest  regards,  yours  sincerely,  JOHN  EVANS. 

HOW    TO   OBTAIN   FLINT   IMPLEMENTS   AT   HORDLE. 

"  Geologists  who  go  to  Hordle, 

Hoping  flint  implements  to  find, 
Need  now  no  longer  walk  and  dawdle, 
Searching  the  shore  in  rain  and  wind. 

A  surer  way  that  saves  all  travel, 

And  all  fatigue  to  leg  or  eye, 
And  gets  flint  hatchets,  from  the  gravel, 

Just  like  those  sought  for,  is— to  buy  ! " 

An  excursion  about  this  date  with  his  usual  com- 
panion was  made  to  the  Isle  of  Sheppey,  its  main 
object  being  the  inspection  of  the  London  Clay  cliffs 
at  Warden  Point  and  a  search  at  their  base  for  fossils. 
The  drive  from  Sheerness  by  Minster,  and  keeping  as 
near  as  possible  to  the  range  of  east  coast  cliffs,  was  a 
relief  in  that  sultry  summer  day  after  the  close  atmos- 
phere of  railway  stations.  The  plan  had  been  to  put 
up  at  Warden  and  scramble  over  the  cliff  down  to  the 
beach  at  Warden  Point.  But  before  reaching  it,  our 
Professor  descried  something  amiss  with  the  landscape. 
He  knew  the  ground  so  well  that  there  could  be  no 
mistake  in  his  bearings.  Entering  a  cottage,  an  in- 
quiry was  made  as  to  what  had  become  of  the  custom- 
house "  look-out,"  and  of  the  churchyard,  in  the  corner 
of  which  the  little  building  stood,  and  all  of  which  he 
remembered  as  being  situated  in  the  rear  of  the  cottage. 

"  Gone,  sir,"  was  the  reply.     "  They  are  all  gone." 


330  PROFESSOR    C.    LAPWORTH.  [l886. 

The  woman  then  explained  that  some  years  before, 
during  a  dark  night,  they  had  all  without  any  warning 
slipped  down  into  the  sea.  Previous  to  this  occurrence 
a  field  had  intervened  between  the  churchyard  and  the 
edge  of  the  cliff,  but  owing  to  the  encroachments  of 
the  sea  the  field  disappeared,  also  the  churchyard 
with  its  contents,  and  the  church  was  then  pulled 
down,  being  considered  unsafe.  As  we  looked  down 
a  height  of  nearly  165  feet,  a  talus  stretching  out  at  the 
base  was  to  be  seen  on  the  beach,  the  fallen  fragments 
composed  of  soil,  of  London  Clay,  and  of  what  else 
we  dared  not  conjecture.  Our  geologist,  however,  was 
not  deterred  from  descending  some  20  or  30  feet,  so  as 
to  examine  the  recently  exposed  section.  There  was 
no  danger  of  falling  down  that  awful  clay  cliff,  but  the 
sun  which  beat  upon  it  was  sickening,  and  his  com- 
panion, who  remained  helpless  on  the  summit,  made  an 
inward  resolution — as  had  been  often  made  before — 
never  to  encourage  excursions  on  cliffs  beyond  the  reach 
of  aid, — of  a  strong  arm  to  help  in  case  of  need. 

Professor  Lapworth,  in  an  appreciative  letter  ac- 
knowledging the  first  volume  of  '  Geology/  also 
remarks  : — 

C.  Lapworth  to  J.  Prestwich. 

MASON  COLLEGE,  BIRMINGHAM,  Oct.  21,  1886. 

DEAR  PROFESSOR  PRESTWICH, —  ...  I  have  read,  too,  your 
paper  on"  Underground  Temperatures,"  with  wonder  and  admira- 
tion at  the  great  mass  of  material  you  have  collected  upon  the 
subject,  and  the  clear  and  convincing  way  in  which  it  is  laid 
before  the  reader.  This  is  certain  to  be  one  of  your  future 
classic  papers  of  reference. 

In  the  matter  of  the  "  agency  of  water  in  volcanic  eruptions," 
I  see  at  present  little  chance  of  escape  from  your  conclusions.  I 
read  the  paper  on  the  subject  with  exceeding  pleasure,  as  your 


^T.  74.]  OXFORD    MEMORIES.  331 

conclusions  appear  to  me  so  practically  identical  with  what  I 
have  been,  broadly  speaking,  teaching  my  students  for  years — at 
any  rate  as  regards  causes ;  the  modus  operandi  I  have  never 
seen  so  clearly  suggested  as  in  your  paper.  That  the  earth-skin 
or  super-crust  crushed  up  in  mountain  ranges  is  comparatively 
thin,  has  always  seemed  to  be  demonstrated  by  the  facts  of 
geology,  and  that  the  explosions  and  volcanic  actions  must  be 
due  to  the  downward  passage  (or  lateral)  of  surface  (or  sea) 
waters  almost  equally  clear.  I  am,  sincerely  yours, 

CHARLES  LAP  WORTH. 

Although  Sir  Henry  Acland  had  limited  dining  out 
to  twice  a  week,  the  fatigue  of  Oxford  society,  which 
Prestwich  so  dearly  enjoyed,  became  more  than  he  felt 
able  for.  There  were  besides  so  many  other  social 
functions — breakfasts  sometimes  began  the  day,  and 
there  seemed  to  be  always  luncheon  engagements. 
There  were  the  pleasant  parties  at  Balliol  (and  what 
Oxford  parties  were  not  pleasant  ?),  when  Jowett  made 
the  most  delightful  of  hosts.  Two  little  notes  in  his 
clear  microscopic  writing  are  before  us,  each  giving  an 
invitation  for  either  of  two  evenings — one  to  meet  Mr 
and  Mrs  William  Spottiswoode,  the  other  to  meet 
Browning,  &c.  Alas  !  host  and  guests  have  all  passed 
away. 

It  is  notable  that  Prestwich,  who  was  so  quiet  in 
general  society,  should  have  exercised  to  such  a  degree 
the  magnetic  power  of  attraction.  Was  it  the  instinct 
of  brotherliness  which  was  so  strong  within  him  that 
made  itself  felt,  or  was  it  the  charm  of  his  simple  and 
sincere  manner  acting  as  a  loadstone  ?  If  not  a  talker, 
he  was  always  an  interested  and  intent  listener,  and 
the  flash  of  merriment  that  lit  up  his  features  when  a 
good  story  was  told  testified  to  his  thorough  apprecia- 
tion of  it.  It  seemed  to  one  who  knew  him  intimately 


332  OXFORD    MEMORIES.  [1887. 

that  prolonged  conversation,  even  on  his  own  special 
subjects,  was  a  fatigue  :  an  over-active  brain  taxed  his 
energies,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  ever  arduous  day  he 
was  capable  of  enjoying  evening  society  only  in  a  rest- 
ful fashion.  Yet  his  personality  was  so  marked  that 
in  no  crowd,  in  no  company,  could  Joseph  Prestwich 
pass  unnoticed. 

Residence  in  Oxford  had  been  such  a  happy  time  that 
year  after  year  the-  decision  as  to  his  resignation  of  the 
Professorship  had  been  postponed,  so  reluctant  was  he 
to  sever  his  connection  with  the  University  and  leave 
the  Oxford  friends.  In  taking  the  appointment  he  had 
hoped  to  hold  it  for  a  few  years — perhaps  as  many  as 
five, — but  the  fascination  of  the  Old  University  held 
him,  and  the  five  years  had  run  on  to  thirteen.  On 
the  score  of  years  alone,  for  he  was  now  74,  he  felt 
that  the  time  had  arrived  for  him  to  take  the  step,  and 
as  he  thought  of  his  unpublished  notes,  remarked  with 
sadness,  "  There  is  so  much  to  be  done  and  so  little 
time  to  do  it."  In  sending  in  his  resignation  he  ex- 
pressed a  hope  to  be  allowed  to  retain  the  Professor- 
ship until  the  end  of  the  year,  and  that  he  might  have 
the  work  of  the  last  term  done  by  deputy,  so  that 
Vol.  II.  of  his  '  Geology  '  should  be  published  while  he 
was  still  Professor,  His  wishes  were  met  in  the  kind- 
est way,  and  he  pressed  forward  with  his  book,  resolv- 
ing to  stay  during  the  long  vacation  in  order  to  finish 
it,  and  then  to  retire  to  his  dear  home  among  the  hills 
of  Kent.  (Mr  W.  W.  Watts,  M.A.,  acted  for  a  time 
as  Deputy-Professor  after  Prestwich  had  retired.) 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  31s«  March  1887. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — Many  thanks  for  your  letter.  I  am  glad 
you  agree  with  me  in  the  step  I  have  taken.  I  think  also  it  is 


J5T.  75.]  GLACIAL   PERIOD.  333 

better  for  a  younger  man  with  more  push  and  with  the  newer 
petrological  ideas  to  take  the  chair,  especially  as  geology  is  now 
to  take  its  place  amongst  the  subjects  for  examinations  in 
Science  Honours.  Although  we  shall  miss  you  in  Oxford  I  hope 
we  shall  see  more  of  you  in  London.  ...  I  had  a  note  a  few 
days  since  from  Mr  F.  Latchmore  of  Hitchin,  telling  me  he  had 
found  bones  of  birds  in  the  brick-pit.  This  is  very  interesting. 
He  sent  me  specimens],  which  I  shall  take  to  London.  I  also 
had  a  note  from  Mr  Prigg  of  Bury,  telling  me  he  had  found  im- 
plements at  all  levels  as  in  Kent. 

In  writing  the  last  (Glacial)  chapter  of  Vol.  II.,  I  became  more 
convinced  than  ever  of  the  mistake  of  Croll,  and  of  the  risk  of 
his  lead  to  geologists.  On  the  questions  of  geological  or  rather 
glacial  time  I  am  becoming  more  heretical  than  ever.  I  do  not 
like  to  broach  it  abruptly  in  Vol.  II.,  so  shall  probably  send  a 
short  paper  to  the  Geological  Society  to  ventilate  the  subject 
beforehand.  I  am  satisfied  that  if,  instead  of  Croll's  1000,  we 
were  to  take  100,  we  should  be  nearer  the  mark,  if  not  beyond 
it.  Still  Croll's  is  a  most  attractive  and  valuable  work.  .  .  . 

The  paper  alluded  to  was  a  very  important  memoir 
read  in  May  to  the  Geological  Society,  its  title  being 
"  Considerations  on  the  Date,  Duration,  and  Conditions 
of  the  Glacial  Period,  with  Reference  to  the  Antiquity 
of  Man."  The  author  dwelt  on  the  light  thrown  on  the 

o 

duration  of  the  Glacial  Period  by  recent  observations 
on  the  movements  of  Greenland  ice ;  and  the  reading  of 
this  paper  gave  rise  to  an  animated  discussion.  His 
views  are  expressed  in  the  following  letter  to  the  friend 
who  shared  his  thoughts  :— 

J.  PrestwicJi  to  J.  Evans.  OXFORD,  isth  May  1887. 

I  don't  know  whether  you  remember  when  we  were  working 
at  the  Somme  Valley  that  my  first  impressions  were  that  the  St 
Acheul  beds  were  of  glacial  times,  and  that  the  excavation  of 
the  valley  was  the  work  of  post-glacial  times.  In  working  up 


334  GLACIAL    PERIOD.  [l887. 

the  last  chapter  of  Vol.  II.,  I  had  occasion  to  go  over  the  whole 
question  again,  with  the  advantage  of  some  remarkable  Greenland 
observations  by  the  Danes,  and  all  my  old  heresies  revived  so 
strongly  that  I  then  and  there  converted  a  chapter  into  a  paper, 
which  I  have  just  sent  to  the  Geological  Society.  I  feel  more 
than  ever  that  it  is  impossible  to  work  on  Uniformitarian  lines. 
They  cramp  and  narrow  us,  and  inevitably  lead  to  wrong  con- 
clusions. It  is  true  that  they  are  the  right  and  correct  basis  to 
work  upon,  but  the  conditions  of  past  times  were  so  different 
from  those  of  the  present  day  that  it  is  impossible  to  reason 
correctly  upon  them.  Let  them  be  taken  as  the  known  quantity, 
but  the  unknown  quantities  must  just  as  surely  be  taken  into 
account  if  we  are  to  arrive  at  a  just  conclusion.  Of  course 
we  can  only  do  this  in  most  cases  approximately.  After  another 
careful  overhaul  I  have  made  up  my  mind  on  the  matter,  and 
cannot  find  that  there  are  grounds  for  extending  the  Glacial 
Period  beyond  15,000  to  20,000  years,  and  the  post-glacial  period 
from  8,000  to  10,000  or  12,000,  while  I  would  carry  man  back 
to  pre-glacial  or  rather  mid-glacial  times.  The  evidence  in  the 
Eastern  counties  and  in  the  caves  of  Wales  and  the  North, 
though  not  strong  enough  in  any  single  instance,  furnishes  as  a 
whole  good  corroborative  testimony.  My  paper  is  not  a  long 
one,  but  will  serve  to  put  my  views  on  record,  and  to  ventilate 
the  subject.  It  will  of  course  meet  with  much  opposition,  as 
Croll's  views,  which  are  so  attractive,  have  been  so  generally  ac- 
cepted of  late.  I  shall  be  glad  also  to  see  if  I  should  have 
occasion  to  change  or  modify  my  views,  and  to  do  that  before 
I  publish  Vol.  II. 

We  are  expecting  the  Lubbocks  to-morrow  to  stay  with  us 
over  Sunday.  He  is  to  lecture  on  Savages.  My  wife  joins  me 
in  kindest  regards  to  Mrs  Evans.  .  .  . 

In  another  note  to  Mr  Evans,  the  following  passage 
occurs  :— 

OXFORD,  May  19th  [18S7J. 

The  first  thing,  however,  is,  I  think,  to  get  rid  of  a  rigid  theory 
which  fixes  dates  and  consequences  not  in  accordance  with  geo- 
logical facts,  and  to  find  some  possible  clue  to  the  duration  of  the 
glacial  period.  This  has  been  the  main  object  of  my  paper. 


JBT.  75.]        DEPARTURE  FROM  OXFORD.  335 

To  the  Same.  OXFORD,  27th  May. 

The  main  point  of  my  paper  was,  I  think,  missed  the  other 
night.  It  was  not  the  question  whether  long  or  short  time  was 
required  for  the  Pleistocene  phenomena,  but  whether  the  now 
known  ice  -  conditions  of  Greenland  did  not  warrant  some 
material  change  from  the  Alpine  data  of  Croll  and  others.  With 
our  united  kind  regards,  I  am,  sincerely  yours, 

JOSEPH  PKESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Professor  Jules  Marcou.  OXFORD,  15th  Sept.  1887. 

MY  DEAR  MARCOU, — In  reply  to  your  inquiry,  I  am  glad  to 
say  I  can  report  favourably  of  myself  as  to  health.  It  is  on  the 
score  of  years  that  I  resign  the  Professorship  here  and  retire  to 
my  old  home  at  Shoreham,  where  I  shall  be  more  at  leisure  to 
work  up  the  notes  of  the  past  years  relating  to  the  Quaternary 
and  Glacial  Period. 

I  should  have  taken  this  step  a  year  or  two  ago,  but  that  I 
wished  to  finish  Vol.  II.  of  my  '  Geology '  before  I  left.  This  I 
hope  to  do  by  the  end  of  the  year,  until  which  time  I  hold  the 
chair  and  have  my  work  done  by  deputy.  I  had  no  conception 
the  work  would  have  taken  so  long.  It  is  now  more  than  10 
years  since  I  undertook  it. 

The  Taconic  question  much  perplexed  me,  not  knowing  the 
ground.  I  have  devoted  a  short  space  to  it,  and  I  hope  I  have 
given  a  fair  re'sume'.  You  will  see.  It  was  very  pleasant  to 
have  news  of  you,  though  I  wish  you  could  have  given  a  better 
report  of  yourself.  I  am  glad,  however,  to  find  you  are  busy 
with  good  geological  work,  and  do  hope  you  will  be  present  with 
us  next  year  to  take  part  in  the  Geological  Congress.  I  have 
just  sent  you  a  short  paper  on  the  Glacial  question,  which  will, 
I  expect,  provoke  discussion.  Mrs  Prestwich  desires  her  kind 
regards,  and  I  am,  sincerely  yours,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

The  final  move  from  Oxford  was  made  in  the  end 
of  September,  Professor  I.  Bayley  Balfour,1  F.R.S., 

1  Then  Professor  of  Botany  in  Oxford,  now  Professor  of  Botany  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  eminent  for  his  knowledge  of  the  fossil  flora  of 
successive  epochs. 


336     INTERNATIONAL  GEOLOGICAL  CONGRESS.   [1887-88. 

having  most  kindly  undertaken  to  give  the  Geological 
Class  lectures  for  the  last  term  of  the  year. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Rev.  0.  Fisher.  OXFORD,  2Qth  Novbr.  1887. 

MY  DEAE  FISHER, — Thanks  for  the  paper  announcing  your 
conversion  to  Inter-Glacial  Man.  With  such  a  lead  it  is  quite 
possible  I  may  follow,  and  I  am  the  more  anxious  to  see  the 
ground.  Such  a  discovery  will  throw  quite  a  new  light  on  the 
subject.  I  see  also  by  the  Brit.  Assoc.  report  that  Skertchly 
makes  out  a  good  case,  inasmuch  as  the  overlie  of  the  Boulder 
Clay  in  the  several  sections  he  gives  is  sufficient  and  distinct. 
Still  I  reserve  my  opinion  till  I  see  the  ground,  although  I  am 
quite  prepared  to  accept  the  conclusion.1 

In  a  letter  to  Mr  Evans,  dated  2nd  December,  he 
remarks  : — 

Owing  to  a  delay  with  the  map,  Vol.  II.  will,  I  regret  to  say, 
not  be  out  till  middle  of  January.  ...  I  have  had  some  very 
kind  letters  from  Judd,  Bonney,  Blanford,  and  Topley,  asking 
me  to  accept  the  Presidency  of  the  Geological  Congress.  I  would 
much  rather  work  in  quiet  as  an  ordinary  member,  and  others 
would,  I  know,  make  much  better  Presidents.  I  don't  like  to 
decline,  yet  don't  care  to  accept.  So  I  ask  my  old  friend's  and 
counsellor's  advice.  .  .  . 

The  honourable  post  so  kindly  urged  upon  Prestwich 
was  accepted,  and,  as  it  proved,  the  meeting  of  the 
International  Geological  Congress  in  London  in  the 
following  September  was  a  signal  success. 

The  close  occupation  of  seeing  the  proofs  of  Vol.  II.  of 
'  Geology '  through  the  press  did  not  prevent  the  pro- 
duction of  another  important  paper  to  the  Geological 
Society,  which  was  read  on  21st  December  and  pub- 

1  The  evidence  still  wanted  is  the  finding  of  an  undoubted  palaeolithic 
implement  in  the  brick-earth  or  other  deposit,  beneath  an  undisturbed 
mass  of  the  chalky  Boulder  Clay ;  and  later  observations  render  such  a 
discovery  improbable. 


MI.  75-76.]        TEXT-BOOK  OF  GEOLOGY.  337 

lished  early  in  the  following  year,  entitled,  "  Further 
Observations  on  the  Correlation  of  the  Eocene  Strata 
in  England,  Belgium,  and  the  North  of  France." 

The  publication  in  January  1888  of  Vol.  II.  of 
'  Geology '  was  a  great  satisfaction  and  relief,  as  it  set 
its  author  free  to  turn  to  his  notes  and  collections  of 
rocks,  fossils,  and  worked  flints.  His  interest  in  Mr 
Harrison's  discoveries  of  rude  flint  implements  on  the 
high  plateaus  of  the  surrounding  Kentish  hills  was  not 
less  keen,  but  the  season  rendered  it  impossible  for  him 
to  explore  at  the  time  their  different  localities.  Several 
winter  months  were  spent  at  21  Park  Crescent  with 
his  sisters-in-law,  where  note-books  were  studied  and 
digested,  and  weighty  papers  planned. 

C.  Pritchard l  to  J.  Prestwich. 

UNIVERSITY  OBSERVATORY,  OXFORD,  22nd  Febry.  1888. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — Your  grand  vol.  arrived  here  at  9  A.M., 
and  by  10.10  was  cut  open  to  the  very  Index. 

It  creates  many  thoughts. 

1st.  Thanks  for  the  kind  remembrance,  carrying  me  back 
many  days  amid  old  reminiscences  of  some  half  century  wellnigh. 
How  heartily  I  congratulate  you  on  finishing  the  work  of  your 
life  as  you  have  done. 

I  congratulate  you  also  on  the  fair  fame  and  pleasant  memory 
you  leave  behind  you  here.  You  may  leave  this  earth  thankful 
for  your  career  as  one  who  has  left  the  world  (or  will  have  left) 
wiser  for  your  work  therein.  God  be  thanked,  say  I,  for  you. 

I  am  glad  to  see  that  our  Press  has  done  itself  justice,  and  has 
been  liberal  in  the  getting  up  of  your  great  work. 

How  many  old  faces  I  recognised  in  the  plates  and  woodcuts 
— many  of  them  handled,  too,  by  me,  but  not  studied  as  I  could 
desire. 

I  delight  to  find  you  put  a  reasonable  interpretation  on  the 


1  Kev.  Charles   Pritchard,  F.R.S.,  Savilian   Professor  of  Astronomy  at 
Oxford  ;  born  Feb.  29,  1808  ;  died  May  28,  1893. 

Y 


338  TEXT-BOOK    OF    GEOLOGY.  [l888. 

forces  of  nature — some  of  them  surely  were  once  more  intense 
than  now.     But  that  you  know. 

The  next  generation  of  geologists  may  have  something  to  say 
about  meteoric  formations,  and  the  consequence  of  the  conflict  of 
the  brickbats — if  they  ever  did  collide. 

.  .  .  You  and  Phillips  have  left  the  memories  of  pleasant 
ways  of  act  and  thought,  and  I  hope  your  successor  will  clothe 
his  outward  being  in  your  mantles.  I  am  still  working  on:  it 
may  be  that  I  may  be  permitted  to  leave  a  record  of  work  behind 
me  that  may  endure  among  the  stars. 

I  hope  you  and  your  wife  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  pleasant 
rest:  rest  you  have  earned.  Again  sending  you  my  hearty 
thanks  for  these  two  noble  books — adornment  and  instruction 
and  full  of  old  memories — I  am,  yours  gratefully, 

C.  PRITCHARD. 

Pray  assure  your  wife  that  we  often  think  and  speak  of  her — 
how  kindly  I  need  not  say.  C.  P. 

The  following  acknowledgment  of  the  second  volume 
of  '  Geology,'  from  Professor  H.  Alleyne  Nicholson,1  is 
expressed  in  the  warmest  terms  :— 

H.  Alleyne  Nicholson  to  J.  Prestwich. 

UNIVERSITY,  ABERDEEN,  Feb.  23,  1888. 

DEAR  PROFESSOR  PRESTWICH,— Pray  accept  my  warmest  thanks 
for  the  present  of  Vol.  II.  of  your  admirable  treatise  on.  Geology. 
I  shall  value  it  on  the  one  hand  as  a  personal  gift,  and  on  the 
other  hand  for  its  great  intrinsic  value.  I  have  studied  the  first 
volume  of  your  great  work  with  the  utmost  interest  and  profit. 
I  do  not  know  of  any  treatise,  in  any  language,  in  which  there 
is  to  be  found  such  a  masterly  exposition  of  such  vital  geological 
questions  as  internal  temperature,  vulcanicity,  mountain-making, 
and  the  like.  I  do  not  doubt  that  I  shall  derive  at  least  equal 
profit  from  the  second  volume.  With  renewed  thanks  and  kind 
regards,  I  am,  yours  very  sincerely, 

H.  ALLEYNE  NICHOLSON. 


1  H.  A.  Nicholson,  born  Sept.  11,  1844  ;  died  Jan.  19,  1899. 


MI.  76.]  WILLIAM   COLCHESTER.  339 

W.  Colchester  to  J.  Prestwich. 

BURWELL,  CAMBRIDGE,  25th  Feb.  1888. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — On  my  return  home  last  evening  I 
found  your  very  acceptable  and  most  generous  present  of  the 
second  volume  of  your  '  Geology.'  I  value  it  as  the  lifelong 
labour  of  a  lifelong  friend.  As  I  turned  over  its  pages  last 
evening,  how  many  pleasing  recollections  flashed  on  the  memory  ! 
Thank  you  most  heartily.  The  whole  get-up  of  the  work  is 
most  elaborate,  map  and  all.  How  delighted  Mrs  Prestwich 
must  be  that  you  have  been  able  to  embody  your  knowledge 
in  this  publication  without  injury  to  your  health !  I  was  afraid 
at  one  time  the  work  would  prove  beyond  your  strength.  I 
begin  to  find  the  strain  of  threescore  and  fifteen  years  tells ; 
but  I  am  wonderfully  well,  and  set  this  east  wind  at  defiance — 
and  we  get  it  here  in  its  bleakest  form.  .  .  . 

When  the  crows  have  picked  up  the  dirt,  I  have  planned 
many  a  raid  into  the  flint-knife  pits.  How  I  should  like  to 
have  the  company  of  you  and  Mrs  Prestwich  and  Evans  to  do 
the  district !  I  am  settled  here  now  for  the  rest  of  my  life,  and 
there  is  a  most  serene-looking  churchyard  at  the  other  end  of 
the  vicarage.  Before  that  time  comes  I  should  like  to  see  you 
and  Mrs  Prestwich  here.  Alas !  there  is  no  Crag,  but  we  have 
other  interesting  deposits.  With  kindest  regards  to  you  all  and 
Mrs  Prestwich,  I  remain,  dear  Prestwich,  your  obliged  and  faithful 
friend,  W.  COLCHESTER. 

Our  village  consists  of  a  great  number  of  peasant  proprietors, 
many  of  whom  inherit  their  land  with  heavy  charges  upon  it, 
and,  now  that  all  agricultural  produce  is  so  reduced  in  value, 
their  lot  does  not  favourably  impress  me  with  the  three  acres 
and  a  cow  system. 

I  stumbled  the  other  day  on  the  grave  at  Wicken  of  the 
Protector's  widow  —  buried  there  on  her  return  from  banish- 
ment !  My  wife  is  a  Cromwell,  and  we  had  plenty  of  food 
for  meditation  on  the  mutability  of  human  affairs  by  that 
grave. 

Prestwich's  name  was  announced  in  the  list  of  re- 


340  DEAN    LIDDELL.  [1888. 

cipients  of  the  Hon.  D.C.L.  degree  to  be  conferred 
at  Oxford  during  the  Encaenia.  The  following  letter, 
which  explains  the  cause  of  his  absence  then,  was 
addressed  to  Mrs  Prestwich  by  their  dear  and  honoured 
friend,  the  late  Dr  Liddell,  then  Dean  of  Christ 
Church  College. 

OXFOED,  24th  June  1888. 

DEAR  MRS  PRESTWICH, — Sir  H.  Acland  sent  me  the  enclosed 
to  be  delivered  to  your  good  husband  on  the  occasion  of  his 
honorary  degree.  I  tore  it  open  without  thinking,  and  have 
neglected  to  send  it  on.  But  you,  at  all  events,  will  be  glad 
to  read  what  our  friend  says  of  one  whom  he  truly  loves  and 
honours,  and  whom  to  have  brought  into  connection  with  the 
University  I  reckon  not  the  least  honour  of  my  Vice-Chancellor- 
ship. I  deeply  regret  that  his  state  of  health  prevents  his  accept- 
ing in  person  the  last  acknowledgment  of  his  services  which  it 
was  in  our  power  to  give. 

Eemember  me  to  him  most  kindly,  and  believe  me  to  be,  ever 
yours  most  sincerely,  H.  G.  LIDDELL. 

Mrs  Liddell  joins  in  all  affectionate  remembrances  to  him  and 
yourself. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Professor  Jules  Marcou. 

DARENT-HULME,  28th  July  1888. 

MY  DEAR  PROF.  MARCOU, — Many  thanks  for  your  kind  letter 
and  suggestion  respecting  the  map,  &c.,  of  which  I  shall  most 
gladly  avail  myself  in  case  of  a  second  edition.  I  did  not  go 
into  the  historical  part  of  the  glacial  theory,  as  the  subject  was 
too  large  for  the  space  at  my  command.  The  small  scale  of  the 
Glacial  map  renders  the  colours  somewhat  indistinct,  but  I  will 
see  to  the  points  you  name. 

I  am  also  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  two  papers.  The  one 
on  American  Geological  Classification  is  of  particular  interest 
and  use  to  me.  The  Classification  of  the  Cambrian  and  Silurian 
rocks  will  be  one  of  the  main  subjects  for  discussion  at  the 
Congress,  and  will  no  doubt  involve  a  full  discussion  of  the 
Taconic  rocks.  I  do  not  think  that  the  English  geologists  have 


J5T.  76.]  PLATEAU   IMPLEMENTS.  341 

formed  any  foregone  conclusion  about  them.  They  seem  to  me 
to  require  a  special  local  knowledge.  It  will  be  a  very  large 
meeting:  above  400  names  are  now  down.  I  am  only  very 
sorry  that  you  cannot  be  present.  I  was  prevented  by  a  sharp 
attack  of  illness  from  going  to  Oxford  to  receive  my  D.C.L. 
degree ;  but  I  am  getting  about  again  now,  though  not  yet  up 
to  much.  Mrs  Prestwich  desires  her  kind  regards ;  and  trusting 
you  are  fairly  well,  I  am,  dear  Professor,  sincerely  yours, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

Minute  instructions  had  been  sent  to  Mr  Harrison 
to  examine,  among  other  localities,  the  Tertiary  pebble- 
beds  at  Crowslands,  and  the  Drift  clays  at  Terry's 
Lodge,  on  the  road  between  St  Clere  and  the  Maidstone 
high  road.  Late  in  August  Mr  Harrison  was  requested 
to  meet  him  at  Wrotham  station,  whence  they  were 
to  drive  to  Mailing,  and  to  the  pits  at  Leybourne 
mentioned  by  Mr  Topley,  and  "  possibly  to  Trotters- 
cliff."  The  ground  in  the  neighbourhood,  although 
already  familiar,  was  again  patiently  explored  with 
at  least  a  twofold  object — namely,  for  the  occurrence 
of  Drift  and  of  palaeolithic  plateau  implements.  Here 
it  may  be  observed  that  in  the  many  journeys  to 
London,  as  often  as  practicable,  our  Professor  drove 
to  a  different  station  from  which  to  travel,  and  not 
to  that  nearest  home,  so  as  to  have  a  view  of  the 
ground  that  led  to  it.  During  one  summer  Westerham 
and  its  heights  (some  twelve  miles  distant)  were  visited 
five  times — not  to  speak  of  repeated  journeys  there  in 
other  years. 

Now,  however,  a  sudden  stop  was  put  to  both  in- 
door and  outdoor  geology  by  the  arrival  of  a  telegram 
with  the  tidings  of  the  death  of  his  sister  Kate 
(Mrs  Thurburn).  During  their  long  life  there  never 
had  been  a  cloud  between  them.  His  affectionate 


342     INTERNATIONAL  GEOLOGICAL  CONGRESS. 

heart  was  wrung  by  this  sorrow,  and  at  once  he  set 
off  with  his  wife  to  Brighton,  there  to  look  on  the 
face  of  his  dear  sister  for  the  last  time.  For  several 
days  he  had  no  heart  for  work,  and  it  was  well  that 
the  nearness  of  the  date  of  the  International  Geologi- 
cal Congress  compelled  him  to  make  the  necessary 
preparations. 

The  idea  of  an  International  Geological  Congress  had 
originated  in  America.  The  first  had  been  held  in 
Paris  in  1878,  the  second  at  Bologna  in  1881,  and  the 
third  in  Berlin  in  1885  ;  the  fourth  congress  met  in 
London  in  the  rooms  of  the  London  University  at  Bur- 
lington House,  on  the  evening  of  the  17th  September 
1888,  when  Professor  Prestwich  delivered  the  Presi- 
dential Address  in  French.  An  old  geologist  in  con- 
gratulating him  remarked  that  he  spoke  much  better 
in  French  than  in  English  !  The  Address  treated  of 
the  unification  of  geological  terms  over  the  world,  and 
of  an  agreement  as  to  colours  used  in  maps.  It  indi- 
cated the  questions  to  be  considered — "the  classifi- 
cation of  the  Cambrian  and  Silurian  formations,  the 
relations  between  the  Carboniferous  and  the  Permian, 
between  the  Rhsetic  and  the  Jurassic,  and  between  the 
Tertiary  and  the  Quaternary.  Among  the  new  questions 
which  would  be  brought  before  the  London  Congress 
was,  above  all,  the  fundamental  question  of  crystalline 
schists,  &c.,  .  .  ."  The  assemblage  was  larger  than 
that  of  any  of  the  three  preceding  congresses  :  up- 
wards of  300  members  attended  in  London,  represent- 
ing twenty-one  different  countries — from  Norway,  from 
Peru  and  Mexico,  and  even  from  the  Argentine  Re- 
public— in  short,  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  The 
personal  intercourse  with  many  of  the  distinguished 
American  geologists  present,  was  to  the  President  ever 


XT.  76.]      INTERNATIONAL    GEOLOGICAL   CONGRESS.  343 

a  most  happy  reminiscence.  Amongst  them  were  Pro- 
fessors Marsh  from  Yale  College  and  Claypole  from 
Akron,  Professors  G.  K.  Gilbert  and  G.  D.  Walcott 
from  Washington,  G.  H.  Williams  from  Baltimore, 
H.  S.  Williams  from  Ithaca,  N.Y., — but  it  seems  in- 
vidious to  instance  names. 

Among  French  members  were  M.  Gaudry,  the  old  and 
valued  friend ;  Professors  de  Lapparent,  C.  Barrois, 
Gosselet,  all  men  of  world  -  wide  fame ;  and,  among 
others,  Prince  Roland  Bonaparte  and  the  Marquis 
de  Saporta.  Italy's  list  was  headed  by  Professor 
Capellini,  Rector  of  Bologna  University,  and  the  in- 
timate friend  of  thirty  years'  standing.  Germany  sent 
a  number  of  notable  members,  including  such  names 
as  Von  Richthofen,  Beyrich,  Zirkel,  and  Yon  Zittel. 
Among  geologists  from  Austria  -  Hungary  were  such 
well  -  known  names  as  Stur,  Neumayr,  and  Szabo ; 
Belgium  contributed  a  group  of  attached  fellow- 
workers  —  Mourlon,  Dewalque,  Renard,  Rutot,  Van 
den  Broeck,  &c. ;  whilst  Holland  also  sent  members. 
Among  thirteen  from  Russia  were  the  distinguished 
names  of  Pavlow  and  Nikitin.  The  two  Professors 
Stefanescu  represented  Roumania  ;  members  from  Spain 
were  present,  and  Colonel  Delgado  and  Senor  Choffat 
from  Portugal.  Dr  Otto  Torell  travelled  from  Sweden, 
and  there  was  a  muster  of  brother -geologists  from 
Switzerland,  among  them  Professors  Renevier,  Heim, 
and  Mayer  -  Eymer.  Steenstrup  represented  Den- 
mark ;  Bulgaria  also  sent  its  member.  Geologists 
from  India,  Canada,  Australia,  and  New  Zealand 
swelled  the  assemblage,  all  of  them  men  who  had 
made  their  mark,  such  as  Oldham,  Sterry  Hunt,  &c. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  all  parts  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  contributed  representatives.  The 


344  INTERNATIONAL    GEOLOGICAL   CONGRESS.  [l888. 

two  General  Secretaries  were  the  lamented  friend 
Mr  J.  W.  Hulke,  F.K.S.,  and  Mr  W.  Topley,  F.RS., 
another  friend  who  has  likewise  joined  the  majority, 
while  the  energetic  Treasurer  was  Mr  F.  W.  Rudler, 
F.G.S.  Objects  of  great  interest  received  from  geo- 
logists all  over  Europe,  mainly  illustrative  of  questions 
to  be  discussed  before  the  Congress,  were  exhibited, 
the  President  sending  his  collection  of  Coalbrook- 
dale  fossils ;  and  also  a  series  of  types  of  flint  im- 
plements from  the  River  Drifts  of  France  and  Eng- 
land. The  Organising  Committee  had  done  its  work 
very  efficiently  :  there  were  many  voluntary  assistants, 
so  that  with  such  an  assemblage  and  the  indefatigable 
exertions  of  the  secretaries,  the  Congress  could  scarcely 
have  failed  to  be  a  brilliant  success.  The  sun,  which 
does  not  always  show  in  London,  shone  out  during  the 
daily  sittings ;  and  it  was  only  when  bands  of  the 
members  headed  by  active  British  geologists  were 
scattered  in  different  parts  of  the  country  —  in  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  North  Wales,  Yorkshire,  &c. — that  the 
weather  broke,  and  gave  proof  to  foreigners  of  the 
vicissitudes  of  an  English  climate. 

The  pleasure  of  meeting  so  many  fellow  -  workers 
at  the  Congress  in  London  had  been  very  great, 
and  instead  of  returning  to  Darent  -  Hulme  fagged 
and  tired,  Professor  Prestwich  found  himself  actually 
refreshed  and  invigorated.  He  came  home  with  re- 
newed zest  for  field  work,  forgetful  that  he  bore  the 
burden  of  years.  Owing,  however,  to  the  lateness  of 
the  season,  further  explorations  were  peremptorily  for- 
bidden, and  we  find  numerous  notes  to  Mr  Harrison, 
his  enthusiastic  aide,  with  detailed  instructions  for 
him  to  examine  certain  localities,  and  to  observe 
special  points  in  his  walks. 


JET.  76.]  HONORARY   DEGREE.  345 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  Prestwich  received  the 
degree  of  Hon.  D.C.L.  in  Convocation  at  Oxford,  when 
he  and  his  wife  were  the  guests  of  their  valued  friends 
Professor  and  Mrs  Bartholomew  Price.  As  was  so  often 
the  case,  Nash  Mills  was  their  hospitable  half-  way 
house,  where  a  couple  of  days  were  spent  prior  to  that 
very  gratifying  visit  to  Oxford. 


346 


CHAPTEE    XL 

1888-1895. 

PLATEAU     IMPLEMENTS     OF     KENT LETTERS     ON     POST  -  GLACIAL 

SUBMERGENCE CORRESPONDING     MEMBER     OF     THE     ROYAL 

ACADEMY      OF      THE      LINCEI  VICE  -  PRESIDENT      OF      THE 

GEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY    OF    FRANCE. 

DURING  the  summer  of  1888  the  tusk  of  a  mammoth, 
6  feet  long,  had  been  found  in  a  trench  dug  for  drainage 
works  in  the  village  of  Shoreham,  30  feet  above  the 
Darent,  and  a  piece  of  this  tusk  about  one  foot  long 
reached  Prestwich.  A  brief  announcement  of  this 
discovery  appeared  from  his  pen  in  the  '  Geological 
Magazine'  for  March  1889.  Two  months  later,  his 
paper  "  On  the  Occurrence  of  Palaeolithic  Flint  Im- 
plements in  the  Neighbourhood  of  Ightham,  Kent ; 
their  Distribution  and  Probable  Age,"  expressed  his 
views  to  the  Geological  Society.  In  this  memoir, 
which  is  one  of  extreme  interest,  he  gave  an  ac- 
count of  Mr  Harrison's  discoveries  of  high-level  Drift 
in  the  Ightham  district,  and  of  palaeolithic  flint  imple- 
ments at  all  levels  up  to  600  feet.  He  noticed  also 
the  collection  of  palaeolithic  implements  made  by  Mr 
De  Barri  Orawshay  from  the  adjoining  Sevenoaks 
district,  and  that  by  Mr  A.  Montgomerie  Bell  of 
Limpsfield  from  the  head  of  the  Darent  Valley.  The 


JET.  77.]  GEOLOGISTS'  ASSOCIATION.  347 

author  assigned  these  rude  works  of  early  man  to  a 
period  long  anterior  to  the  valley  -  gravels  formed 
under  the  present  river  regime,  and  considered  that 
they  might  prove  even  to  belong  to  an  early  stage 
of  the  Glacial  or  Pre  -  Glacial  period.  The  paper, 
which  was  illustrated  by  a  map  of  the  Drift  Beds 
around  Ightham,  and  also  by  a  series  of  flint  imple- 
ments from  the  hill  -  drift  of  unmistakable  human 
workmanship,  was  well  received. 

The  increasing  load  of  years  had  not  diminished  his 
enthusiasm,  and  Prestwich  never  ceased  to  take  a  keen 
interest  in  the  geological  features  around  his  Kentish 
home.  Writing  to  Mr  William  Topley  (20th  May  1889), 
he  invites  him  to  spend  a  day  at  Otford  and  Westerham, 
in  order  to  examine  two  considerable  patches  of  gravel 
which,  until  the  railway  was  made,  escaped  notice. 
With  Mr  Topley  he  directed  an  excursion  of  the 
Geologists'  Association,  on  the  1st  June  1889,  to 
Ightham,1  for  its  members  to  examine  its  Gravel 
Beds  and  those  in  the  surrounding  district,  and  from 
which  Mr  Harrison  had  made  his  large  collection  of 
flint  implements.  Again,  on  13th  July,  he  and  Mr 
Topley  conducted  another  excursion  of  the  Geologists' 
Association  to  Limpsfield  (Surrey).2  To  quote  Mr 
Topley's  report,  "  This  excursion  was  intended  to 
supplement  that  to  Ightham  on  June  1st,  and  to 
give  an  opportunity  of  examining  Gravels  at  the 
western  end  of  the  Darent  Valley,  partly  within 
that  valley,  partly  on  the  watershed  between  the 
Darent  and  the  Medway."  The  inspection  of  the 
very  interesting  collection  of  flint  implements  made 
by  Mr  A.  Montgomerie  Bell  from  the  Limpsfield 
gravels  was  also  one  of  the  objects  of  the  excursion. 

1  Proc.  Geol.  Assoc.,  vol.  xi.  p.  Ixvi.  2  Ibid.,  p.  Ixxxii. 


348  CHALK   ESCARPMENT.  [l889. 

Prestwich  was  on  very  affectionate  terms  with  Dr 
Gustave  Plarr,  the  eminent  mathematician,  who  left 
Strasburg  during  the  siege,  and  thenceforward  made 
England  his  home.  Madame  Plarr  had  been  an  old 
and  valued  friend  of  the  Prestwich  family,  and  was 
nearly  connected  by  marriage. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Gr.  Plarr. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  SEVENOAKS,  21th  June  1889. 

MY  DEAR  GUSTAVE, — I  am  glad  we  shall  have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  you  on  the  6th  July.  I  will  then  endeavour  (if  time  per- 
mit) to  answer  your  query  respecting  the  Chalk  escarpment.  I 
would  not  attempt  it  in  a  letter,  for  a  volume  would  hardly 
suffice  for  the  conflicting  opinions  and  evidence.  I  may,  how- 
ever, say  that  Lyell's  theory  of  sea  action  and  sea  cliffs  is  now 
generally  abandoned.1  You  will  find  a  chapter  on  the  subject 
in  Eamsay's  '  Physical  Geology  and  Geography/  if  you  have  the 
book.  With  our  united  kind  regards  to  all  your  party,  I  am, 
sincerely  yours,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

The  short  geological  expeditions  during  the  summer 
gave  the  greatest  pleasure  to  Professor  Prestwich, 
whose  health  with  vigilant  care  had  improved,  and 
who  seemed  to  have  drifted  out  of  the  condition  which 
had  led  to  frequent  and  serious  illnesses  during  a 
series  of  years.  The  following  note  from  the  skilful 
physician  whom  he  had  once  or  twice  consulted  may 
not  be  out  of  place  :— 

Sir  Andrew  Clark  to  J.  Prestwich. 

16  CAVENDISH  SQUARE,  26«A  Oct.  1889. 

DEAR  PROFESSOR  PRESTWICH, — I  have  received  the  copy  which 
you  have  been  pleased  to  send  me  of  your  work  on  '  Geology,'  and 
I  return  you  my  grateful  thanks  for  this  valuable  and  welcome 
expression  of  your  consideration. 


1  Lyell  himself  abandoned  this  theory  in  his  'Student's  Elements  of 
Geology,'  1871,  p.  81. 


MT.  77.]  WESTLETON    BEDS.  349 

I  regard  it  as  one  of  the  great  privileges  to  which  my  profes- 
sion has  admitted  me,  that  I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  minis- 
tering, even  in  small  degree,  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  one 
whose  life  and  work  have  secured  for  him  universal  and  deep 
respect.  With  renewed  thanks,  yours  faithfully, 

AND.  CLARK. 

The  age  of  the  plateau  implements  constantly  occu- 
pied the  attention  of  Prestwich. 

J.  Prestwich  to  B.  Harrison.          DARENT-HULME,  21st  Sept.  [1889  or  '90]. 

DEAR  SIR, — There  is  still  some  doubt  about  the  relative  posi- 
tion of  the  Drift,  of  chert  fragments,  flints,  and  implements,  to 
the  "  Eed  Clay  with  Flints."  There  is  some  reason  to  suppose 
the  former  is  the  older.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  never  seen 
such  a  Drift  under  the  Eed  Clay.  It  may  be  that  the  clay  wraps 
round,  but  generally  it  seems  to  pass  under ;  or  do  the  imple- 
ments, &c.,  belong  to  the  Eed  Clay  ?  To  assist  this  point  I  want 
an  excavation  at  Bower  Lane.  The  Lenham  Beds  are  certainly 
under  the  Eed  Clay.  .  .  . 

Although  not  published  until  the  following  year, 
Parts  I.  and  II.  of  the  memoir  on  the  "  Westleton 
Beds"  were  read  to  the  Geological  Society  in  1889. 
Their  title  was,  "  On  the  Relation  of  the  Westleton 
Beds,  or  Pebbly  Sands  of  Suffolk,  to  those  of  Norfolk, 
and  on  their  Extension  inland ;  with  some  Observa- 
tions on  the  Period  of  the  Final  Elevation  and  Denuda- 
tion of  the  Weald  and  of  the  Thames  Valley,  &c."  It 
was  acknowledged  that  no  one  was  so  well  fitted  as 
Prestwich  to  deal  with  the  question  of  the  correlation 
of  the  Drifts  of  the  eastern  counties  with  those  of 
the  Thames  Basin  and  southern  counties ;  and  it  was 
admitted  that  no  strata  furnish  problems  more  diffi- 
cult of  solution.  Part  III.  of  the  memoir,  which  em- 
braced a  very  wide  range,  was  read  in  February  1890, 


350  WESTLETON   BEDS.  [1889-90. 

and  was  entitled,  "  On  the  Relation  of  the  Westleton 
Shingle  to  other  Pre  -  Glacial  Drifts  in  the  Thames 
Basin,  and  on  a  Southern  Drift,  with  Observations 
on  the  Final  Elevation  and  Initial  Subaerial  Den- 
udation of  the  Weald,  and  on  the  Genesis  of  the 
Thames."  These  three  great  papers  were  well  illus- 
trated, and  they  summed  up  the  observations  of  many 
years.  It  was  an  untold  satisfaction  to  their  author 
to  see  them  put  on  .record  in  the  pages  of  the  Journal 
of  the  Geological  Society. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  16th  December  [1889]. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  was  looking  forward  to  meet  you  on 
Wednesday  next,  when  I  have  a  paper  coming  on ;  but  I 
shall  be  unable  to  be  present,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  This  change- 
able weather  does  not  suit  me,  though  I  have  not  much  to 
complain  of.  This  paper  embraces  some  of  my  earliest  notes 
(1842-7),  when  the  Gt.  Eastern  Eailway  was  made.  I  wish  I 
could  have  published  them  long  ago ;  but  many  things  inter- 
vened, and  the  subject  was  an  intricate  and  extended  one.  It 
has  taken  me  some  months  to  go  over  my  old  notes  and  put 
the  paper  in  ship-shape.  It  has  not  lost  by  waiting,  though  I 
have  lost  some  things  in  matters  of  priority. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  A.  Gfeikie. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  18th  Decbr.  [1889]. 

MY  DEAR  GEIKIE, — I  am  very  sorry  not  to  be  at  Burlington 
House  this  evening,  when  my  paper  is  to  be  read.  This 
paper  is  in  great  part  the  result  of  observations  made  many 
years  ago,  and  which  I  should  have  made  public  long  ago  but 
for  the  pressure  of  business  when  in  the  City,  which  only  left 
me  time  for  nightwork,  and  [of]  University  work  and  '  Geology ' 
when  at  Oxford.  I  have  now  commenced  looking  up  my  old 
notes  and  papers,  and  hope  yet  to  give  many  of  the  interesting 
sections  exposed  when  the  Gt.  Eastern  and  other  railways  were 


^ET.  77-78.]  NOTE-BOOKS    AND    MAPS.  351 

made.  All  I  cannot  hope  to  give,  but  I  have  told  Whitaker,  if 
they  can  be  of  any  use  to  him  in  future  editions  of  maps  or 
memoirs,  they  are  quite  at  his  service  as  soon  as  I  have  put 
them  in  a  little  order.1  Many  of  those  are  at  present  merely 
in  the  form  of  rough  notes,  intelligible  only  to  myself.  The 
delay  in  bringing  them  out  has  been  a  loss  and  vexation  to  me. 
With  my  wife's  and  my  best  Xmas  and  New  Year's  wishes  to 
you  and  yours,  I  am,  sincerely  yours,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  DARENT-HULME,  IQtk  April  1890. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  regret  deeply  the  loss  of  my  old  friend 
Hubert.  .  .  .  Paris  will  not  seem  to  me  the  same  without  him. 
It  must  have  been  about  the  year  1836  that  we  first  became 
known  to  one  another,  and  I  never  passed  through  Paris  without 
seeing  him.  At  first  we  had  many  differences,  and  his  vigorous, 
hearty,  and  good-tempered  discussions  were  a  great  pleasure  to 
me.  His  robust  frame  led  me  to  hope  that  his  would  have  been 
a  longer  life. 

J.  Prestwich  to  G.  Plarr. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  SEVENOAKS,  6th  June  1890. 

MY  DEAR  GUSTAVE, — Many  thanks  for  the  copy  of  your 
papers,  though  I  regret  to  say  they  are  sealed  books  to  me. 
Pebbles  of  white  quartz  are  originally  derived  from  veins  in 
the  nietamorphic  rocks  by  marine  action.  They  may  occur  in 
any  formation,  and  are  common  in  many.  A  few  are  found  in 
the  Lower  Greensand ;  many  in  the  Millstone  Grit.  Those  in 
the  Westleton  Beds  may  come  from  the  rocks  of  Ardennes,  or 
from  some  of  the  sedimentary  rocks  of  Belgium.  The  Westleton 
pebbles  are  rarely  larger  than  a  marble. 

Mrs  Prestwich  joins  me  in  kind  regards  to  Mme.  Plarr;  and 
I  am,  yours  sincerely,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

With  the  advent  of  summer  several  short  visits  were 

1  The  notes  and  papers  here  referred  to,  as  well  as  many  field-maps,  have 
now  been  presented  to  the  Geological  Survey  Office  in  Jermyn  Street, 
London. 


352  PLATEAU   IMPLEMENTS.  [1890-91. 

made,  when  the  Professor  displayed  as  much  energy 
and  activity  as  if  he  had  received  a  new  lease  of  life. 
A  stay  at  Brighton,  as  guests  of  Mr  and  Mrs  Willett, 
was  an  enjoyable  time,  as  much  geology  as  possible 
being  fitted  into  two  or  three  days.  When  out  near 
Newhaven  it  was  a  pleasure  to  others  to  witness  the 
keen  interest  and  precision  with  which  his  quick  eye 
detected  traces  of  low  inland  cliffs,  showing  the  limit 
of  the  former  wider  range  of  the  river.  A  few  days 
were  spent  also  at  Broomfield,  near  Stockport,  with 
his  sister,  Mrs  Russell  Scott,  when  the  sight  of  a  new 
district  lured  him  to  keep  on  the  move  —  early  and 
late. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  1st  November  1890. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — Time  is  slipping  on,  and  still  finds  us  here. 
I  have,  in  fact,  not  been  to  London,  it  seems  to  me,  for  months. 
The  Geological  Session  will,  however,  soon  be  beginning,  and  I 
hope  to  meet  at  some  of  the  meetings.  When  do  you  leave  for 
the  South  ?  I  have  done  little  field-work  this  summer,  owing  to 
the  long-continued  wet  weather.  My  allies  have,  however,  been 
busy.  Mr  Harrison  has  not  left  a  ridge  unexplored,  and  has 
now  discovered  some  fifteen  localities,  ranging  from  450'  to  750' 
above  0.  D.,  for  implements  of  the  Ash  type ;  and  Mr  Crawshay 
has  found  some  eight  or  nine  others  ranging  from  470'  to  860', 
also  one  of  the  Hill  type  near  Green  Street  Green.  I  need  not 
say,  if  you  have  leisure,  how  much  pleasure  it  would  give  us  to  see 
you  down  here  on  a  little  visit.  We  shall  be  glad  to  hear  how 
you  all  are ;  and  with  our  united  kind  and  affectionate  regards,  I 
am,  ever  sincerely  yours,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

We  were  grieved  to  hear  of  Mrs  Busk's  death.  We  valued 
her  greatly. 

The  following  letter  to  the  Rev.  R.  Ashington  Bullen 


MT.  78-79.]  PARISH   WORK.  353 

has  reference  to  Mr  and  Mrs  H.  Bingham  Mildmay's 
absence  from  Shoreham  Place  for  a  term  of  years : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  R.  A.  Bulkn.  DARENT-HULME,  2Sth  Novr.  1890. 

MY  DEAR  MR  BULLEN, — In  case  I  should  not  be  present  at 
the  meeting  to-morrow,  I  write  to  mention  that  I  would  have 
proposed  a  short  address  somewhat  in  the  enclosed  terms,  or 
modified,  as  it  may  be  thought  suitable,  to  Mr  Mildmay.  But 
the  best  proof  of  the  esteem  and  regard  in  which  we  hold  Mr 
and  Mrs  Mildmay  will  be  by  carrying  on,  as  far  as  lies  in  our 
power,  the  many  acts  of  kindness  and  charity  to  our  poorer 
neighbours  of  which  they  have  hitherto  taken  charge.  Their 
benevolence  we  can  probably  hardly  expect  to  equal,  but  we 
may  do  something  to  mitigate  the  loss.  I  shall  be  most  happy 
to  join  in  any  suitable  scheme  that  may  be  proposed.  "With 
respect  to  the  schools  which  have  been  so  well  conducted,  I 
should  regret  to  see  any  essential  change  made ;  but  if  we  are 
not  prepared  to  carry  them  on  on  the  voluntary  system,  I  pre- 
sume the  same  work  could  be  carried  on  under  the  School  Board 
system.  These  are  the  chief  points  which  occur  to  me.  There 
are  others,  but  they  will  all  require  further  consideration.  You 
may  reckon  on  my  assistance ;  and  believe  me  to  be,  dear  Mr 
Bullen,  yours  very  sincerely,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

The  next  letter  refers  to  a  paper  which,  in  January 
1891,  he  read  to  the  Geological  Society. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  A.  Geikie.         21  PARK  CRESCENT,  20«A  Jany.  [1891]. 

MY  DEAR  GEIKIE, — Very  many  thanks  for  your  kind  letter. 
We  came  up  to  town  during  a  break  in  the  weather  just  before 
Christmas,  but  I  have  not  been  out  since.  I  am,  however,  better 
now,  and  with  this  pleasant  change  I  will,  providing  it  continues, 
be  with  you  to-morrow.  I  am  glad  you  can  put  my  paper  first, 
as  some  friends  coming  from  the  country  may  have  to  leave 
early,  and  I  may  possibly  have  to  do  the  same.  My  paper,  as 
you  will  see,  opens  some  wide  questions,  and  I  should  be  glad  to 
benefit  by  any  criticisms  that  the  discussion  may  give  rise  to.  I 
am  coming  round,  as  you  will  see,  to  breaks  in  the  Glacial  period. 

z 


354  THE    SOLENT   RIVER.  [1891. 

The  title  of  the  paper  was,  "  On  the  Age,  Formation, 
and  Successive  Drift  -  stages  of  the  Valley  of  the 
Darent ;  with  Hemarks  on  the  Palaeolithic  Implements 
of  the  District,  and  on  the  Origin  of  its  Chalk  Escarp- 
ment." The  sections  and  map  of  the  Darent  basin 
illustrating  this  paper  were,  as  usual,  of  the  clearest, 
telling  their  story  at  a  glance. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans. 

21  PARK  CRESCENT,  14£A  February  1891. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — You  have  been  much  in  our  minds,  and  we 
thought  of  what  a  pleasant  time  you  [were  having]  in  Sicily  and 
Greece ;  but  I  understand  you  did  not  escape  the  bad  weather  we 
had  here,  although  with  you  it  was  rain,  while  with  us  it  was 
snow.  My  paper  was  read  at  the  meeting  before  the  last,  and  I 
gave  my  final  views  about  the  age  of  the  plateau  specimens. 
Having  given  the  geological  evidence,  I  think  it  will  be  well 
now  to  give  the  anthropological  side  of  the  question,  with  a  good 
series  of  illustrations  in  the  style  of  PI.  II.  in  your  '  Stone  Imple- 
ments.' I  have  spoken  to  [E.  B.]  Tylor  about  it,  and  will  see  about 
arranging  specimens  for  the  Anthropological  Institute. 

I  hope  you  will  have  something  to  tell  me  about  the  Sicilian 
caves.  I  fear,  though,  that  you  had  little  time  for  geology.  Much 
hoping  to  see  you  soon.  .  .  . 

To  the  Same.  LONDON,  27<A  March  [1891]. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, —  ...  I  fear  you  are  having  very  unpleasant 
weather  for  your  visit  to  the  South  Coast.  If  you  have  time  and 
opportunity,  I  wish  you  would  look  again  to  see  whether  you  can 
find  any  better  arguments  than  have  yet  been  adduced  in  support 
of  an  old  Solent  river.1  I  wish  I  could  go  over  the  ground  again 
myself  with  you.  I  am  glad  to  say  I  am  now  down -stairs 
again,  and  have  just  finished  the  proofs  of  my  Darent  Valley 
paper.  .  .  .  

1  Prestwich's  observations  on  "  The  Solent  Eiver "  were  printed  in  the 
Geological  Magazine  for  1898,  p.  349. 


Mf.  79.]  PLATEAU   IMPLEMENTS.  355 

To  the  Same.  DARENT-HULME,  22nd  April  1891. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — Having  done  with  the  geological  question 
of  the  Chalk  plateau  implements,  I  am  taking  up  the  anthro- 
pological side,  and  getting  up  a  paper  for  the  Institute,  for  which 
Mr  Peek l  tells  me  they  can  give  me  the  23rd  June.  I  am  now 
going  over  the  700  (?)  specimens  of  Harrison's  to  sort  the  types 
and  select  for  exhibition.  I  wish  you  could  see  them.  I  feel 
satisfied  that  their  rude  and  elementary  characters  corroborate 
the  geological  age  to  which  I  have  assigned  them.  I  fear  you 
are  spoilt  by  the  beauty  of  your  own  collections,  and  are  un- 
willing to  admit  the  relationship  of  these  poor  cousins.  To  me 
it  cannot  be  denied,  though  I  admit  it  is  often  difficult  to  recog- 
nise their  work.  I  am  getting  about  again,  though  I  keep  much 
at  home  and  indoors.  .  .  . 

The  paper  in  which  he  laid  his  views  before  the 
Anthropological  Institute  was  published  some  seven 
months  later  in  its  Journal,  in  February  1892,  being 
entitled,  "  On  the  Primitive  Characters  of  the  Flint 
Implements  of  the  Chalk  Plateau  of  Kent,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  Question  of  their  Glacial  or  Pre-Glacial 
Age.  With  Notes  by  Messrs  B.  Harrison  and  De  Barri 
Crawshay."  The  reading  of  this  paper  gave  rise  to  a 
certain  amount  of  discussion  and  much  adverse  criticism 
— a  novel  experience  for  the  author.  Several  of  the 
audience  questioned  the  fact  of  the  rude  flint  implements 
exhibited  being  worked,  and  asserted  their  belief  in 
these  chipped  flints  being  only  natural  forms.  This 
opposition  did  not  in  the  least  shake  Prestwich  in  his 
opinion.  It  seemed  to  revive  the  incredulity  which  he 
had  to  face  when,  more  than  thirty  years  before,  he 
made  public  his  convictions  as  to  the  genuine  character 
of  the  implements  discovered  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme 
by  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  and  which  up  to  that  time 

1  Now  Sir  Cuthbert  E.  Peek,  Bart. 


356  PLATEAU    IMPLEMENTS.  [l891. 

the  world  of  science  had  scouted.  In  his  previous  paper 
on  palaeolithic  flint  implements,  read  before  the  Geolog- 
ical Society  in  1889,  he  had  recorded  their  occurrence 
in  about  forty  places  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ightham, 
Kent.  Sir  John  Evans,  our  leading  authority  on  the 
flint  and  stone  weapons  of  primitive  man,  refers  to  this 
paper  in  the  second  edition,  recently  issued,  of  his 
magnificent  work.1  He  remarks  :— 

Since  that  paper  was  published,  Mr  Harrison,  aided  by  Mr 
de  B.  Crawshay,  has  extended  his  researches,  with  the  result 
that  many  more  implements  have  been  found  at  high  elevations 
to  the  north  of  the  escarpment  of  the  Chalk.  These  discoveries 
enabled  Sir  Joseph  Prestwich  in  another  paper,  "  On  the  Age, 
Formation,  and  Successive  Drift -stages  of  the  Valley  of  the 
Darent,  and  on  the  Origin  of  its  Chalk  Escarpment,"  still  further 
to  extend  his  interesting  speculations.  It  is  true  that  he  accepts 
as  being  of  human  manufacture  flints  with  bruised  and  battered 
edges  which  I  and  some  others  venture  to  regard  as  owing  their 
shape  to  purely  natural  causes.  But,  fortunately,  this  does  not 
invalidate  his  arguments,  as  in  most  cases  where  the  so-called 
"  Plateau  types "  have  been  found,  more  or  less  well -finished 
palaeolithic  implements  of  recognised  form,  though  much  abraded 
and  deeply  stained,  have  also  been  discovered.  The  evidence  of 
such  witnesses  is  not  impaired  by  calling  in  that  of  others  of 
more  doubtful  character. 

To  the  last  Prestwich  persistently  maintained  his 
belief  in  the  rude  plateau  implements  as  being  the 
handiwork  of  man,  and  not  mere  natural  flints.  He 
insisted  that  they  admitted  of  classification  into  three 
distinct  groups,  illustrating  the  different  uses  for 
which  they  were  designed.  To  speak  generally,  the 
first  group  included  flat  flint  flakes,  with  their  edges 

1  On  the  Ancient  Stone  Implements  of  Great  Britain  :  Longmans  &  Co., 
1897. 


GROUP  I. 


m 


GROUP  II.  GROUP  III. 

PLATEAU    IMPLEMENTS. 


JET.  79.]  DE,   H.    P.    BLACKMORE.  357 

notched  or  chipped,  the  larger  fitted  to  break  bones 
or  other  hard  substances.  The  second  consisted  chiefly 
of  scrapers  of  varied  types — square,  crescent  or  beak- 
shaped,  or  double.  The  plateau  implements  of  the 
third  group  were  more  rare,  and  closely  resembled 
forms  common  in  the  valley  —  such  as  those  of 
Abbeville  and  St  Acheul.  Although  Sir  John  Evans 
could  not  agree  in  this  classification,  and  considered 
many  of  the  rude  types  only  natural  forms,  the  differ- 
ence of  opinion  between  the  two  friends  never  made 
any  difference  in  the  brotherly  footing  on  which, 
during  so  many  years,  they  stood  to  each  other,  and 
to  which  they  both  held  fast  to  the  end. 

It  may  here  be  mentioned  that  Dr  H.  P.  Blackmore, 
F.G.S.,  has  obtained  a  number  of  rude  "Eolithic"  im- 
plements, from  the  plateau  gravel  of  Alderbury  Hill, 
near  Salisbury,  and  his  testimony  (given  in  the  sequel) 
in  favour  of  their  use  by  man  is  of  great  value.1 
Many  examples  may  be  seen  in  the  famous  Blackmore 
Museum  at  Salisbury. 

From  the  series  of  plateau  flints  described  in 
Prestwich's  paper,  read  before  the  Anthropological 
Institute,  we  give  a  plate  illustrating  specimens  from 
each  of  the  three  above-mentioned  groups.  Although 
isolated  types  of  these  rude  flint  implements  often  fail 
to  carry  conviction,  it  is  otherwise  when  a  series  with 
identical  chippings  and  markings  are  grouped  together : 
then  the  design  and  guiding  hand  of  man  to  shape  them 
are  evident.  In  no  case  has  this  been  so  clearly  shown 
as  in  the  interesting  paper  recently  published  by  M.  A. 
Thieullen,2  in  which  numerous  specimens  of  each  type 

1  See  also  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  liv.  p.  297. 

2  Les  veritables   Instruments   usuels   de   1'Age   de  la  Pierre.      Par   A. 
Thieullen  :  Societe"  d'Anthropologie  de  Paris,  1897. 


358  HOME    LIFE.  [1891. 

are  ranged  side  by  side,  showing  the  close  resemblance 
of  many  to  the  plateau  implements,  and  thus  telling 
their  own  tale. 

It  is  usual  to  regard  old  age  as  the  season  of  rest 
from  labour.  Yet,  although  in  his  eightieth  year, 
Joseph  Prestwich  was  now,  with  undiminished  mental 
vigour,  preparing  to  continue  his  series  of  papers, 
Glacial  and  Post-Glacial.  Never  were  the  declining 
years  of  life  more .  thoroughly  enjoyed.  In  a  note 
written  in  May  of  this  year,  he  remarks,  "  I  am 
revelling  in  the  unwonted  leisure  for  my  own  work." 
At  intervals  during  the  day  he  was  to  be  seen  among 
the  little  larch  plantations,  or  in  the  grove  of  labur- 
nums on  the  hill  —  sometimes  with  lengths  of  white 
tape  in  his  hand  marking  trees  to  be  transplanted 
(there  was  no  end  to  that  process),  or  using  his  pruning- 
knife  to  some  protrusive  branch.  But  his  favourite 
garden-implement  was  a  short  French  saw,  which  was 
often  in  his  hand  for  trimming  the  young  trees  and 
for  keeping  clear  the  vistas  down  into  the  valley. 
How  he  dwelt  upon  the  varying  aspects  of  Nature ! 
No  two  days  alike  —  loveliest  in  the  sunshine  of  a 
summer  morning,  when  hills  and  valley  were  veiled 
in  luminous  haze.  "  Oh,  I  am  so  happy  !  "  was  his 
exclamation,  made  with  glistening  eyes.  "  Sometimes 
I  feel  as  if  I  were  too  happy ! "  He  was  not  a  man 
of  many  words,  and  we  believe  that  in  his  heart  he 
gave  thanks  to  God.  In  addition  to  visits  from  the 
Russell  Scott  children,  he  had  the  added  delight  of 
seeing  other  little  relatives — the  grandchildren  of  his 
sister  Mrs  Thurburn,  who  with  their  parents,  Mr  and 
Mrs  Seymour  Rouquette,  had  gone  to  live  at  Sevenoaks, 
and  who  occasionally  came  over  for  a  day  in  the  garden. 
And  the  little  Bullens  from  the  Vicarage  were  especially 


JET.  79.]  HOME   LIFE.  359 

welcome.  A  favourite  amusement  was  to  climb  the 
small  book-steps  in  the  library,  when  the  youngest, 
who  was  old  enough  to  lisp  a  few  words,  held  out  her 
arms  and  insisted  on  our  geologist  placing  her  on  the 
very  top,  while  her  small  brother  and  sisters  sat  perched 
upon  the  lower  steps.  This  was  usually  followed  by 
a  walk  in  the  garden,  when  there  was  rivalry  among 
the  four  children  as  to  which  two  were  to  walk  by 
his  side  and  have  hold  of  his  hands. 

To  his  Grand-nephew,  Geoffrey  Scott.  DARENT-HULME,  3rd  Oct. 

MY  DEAR  LITTLE  GEOFFREY, — We  have  had  to  gather  your 
filberts,  and  have  sent  them  up  by  Aunt  Isabella.  You  can 
give  the  grapes  on  the  top  of  the  basket  to  mother,  and  have 
a  talk  with  her  about  coming  down.  There  are  the  walnuts 
yet  to  gather,  and  lots  of  pears  and  apples.  Come  soon.  How 
would  next  Friday  or  Saturday  do  ?  Talk  it  over  with  Gracie, 
father,  and  mother,  and  write  soon  to  your  affectionate  Uncle 
Jovis. 

You  must  have  had  a  very  jolly  time  of  it  at  the  Lakes.  I 
like  your  drawings  very  much ;  but  they  would  be  better  if  you 
did  not  draw  in  such  a  hurry,  and  took  more  pains  about  them. 
Try  next  time. 

The  following  letter  refers  to  excavations  carried 
on,  under  Mr  Harrison's  directions,  at  Oldbury,  close 
to  Ightham  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  DARENT-HULME,  10th  Novr.  1891. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  fear  there  is  little  chance  of  seeing  you 
here,  now  that  the  season  is  so  far  advanced ;  so  Oldbury  must 
wait.  Mr  A.  K.  Wallace  has  paid  Harrison  a  visit,  and  was 
much  interested  in  his  collection.  I  have  a  long  paper  in  hand 
on  the  Kaised  Beaches  and  "  Head "  of  the  South  of  England, 
in  which,  amongst  other  questions,  I  discuss  the  origin  of  the 
foreign  boulders  of  the  Sussex  coast,  of  the  ossiferous  fissures 


360  RAISED    BEACHES    AND    "HEAD."  [1891-92. 

of  Oreston,  and  of  the  Drift  in  the  coast  plain  and  at  Eastbourne, 
&c.  It  is  carrying  out  very  much  the  views  I  expressed  at 
Swansea.  I  fear  I  shall  be  considered  very  heterodox;  but  I 
hope  it  will  not  be  considered  of  me  as  Irving,  quoting  Darwin, 
says,  "  that  a  geologist  ought  not  to  live  after  a  certain  age."  I 
am  thankful,  at  all  events,  that  I  am  free  from  the  shackles  of 
Uniformitarianism,  and  live  in  hope  of  loosening  their  hold  on 
my  friends.  .  .  . 

His  keen  attention  was  given  to  questions  of  public 
interest. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans.  DARENT-HULME,  18th  Novr.  1891. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  read  with  interest  the  letters  in  the 
'  Times '  about  the  Water  question.  The  mode  of  proceeding 
with  underground  waters  is  scandalous.  The  law  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  ignorance  of  the  12th  century,  and  it  is  wonderful 
that  it  should  exist  in  the  19th.  Geology  should  be  made  im- 
perative in  our  engineers'  education. 

A.  E.  Wallace  has  been  to  see  Harrison's  collection  at  Ightham, 
and  he  writes  to  me  respecting  the  plateau  specimens,  that  he 
has  "  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  their  being  the  works  of  man,"  and 
he  found  them  different  from  anything  he  had  seen. 

To  the  Same.  LONDON,  4th  Jany.  1892. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  have  to-day  sent  in  a  long  paper  of  some 
140  foolscap  pages,  which  embraces  my  observations  for  many 
years  of  the  raised  beaches  and  "  Head,"  and  more  especially  of 
many  curious  phases  the  "  Head "  takes  inland.  I  feel  pretty 
sure  of  my  facts,  but  expect  there  will  be  very  considerable 
differences  of  opinion  as  to  my  theory.  It  will  take  time  to  in- 
vestigate and  make  its  way.  I  hope  it  may  be  read  whilst 
Geikie  is  President  [of  the  Geological  Society].  .  .  . 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  A.  Geikie. 

21  PARK  CRESCENT.  4th  Janry.  1892. 

MY  DEAR  GEIKIE, — Thanks  for  your  note  and  family  news, 
which  it  was  very  pleasant  to  receive.  We  caine  unfortunately 


JET.  79-80.]       PLEISTOCENE  SUBMERGENCE.          361 

to  London  the  very  day  of  the  fog,  leaving  Shoreham  in  bright 
sunshine  and  coming  in  for  four  days'  night  here.  I  had  hoped  to 
have  been  at  the  meeting  on  the  23rd,  but  was  afraid  to  face  the 
fog  and  cold.  Paris  with  its  clear  atmosphere  is  very  enjoyable 
at  the  time  of  the  New  Year. 

I  have  just  sent  in  a  paper  to  the  Society,  which  I  have  had 
long  in  hand.  Of  the  facts  I  am  pretty  sure,  but  I  hesitated 
long  about  the  conclusions,  which  are  not  free  from  difficulty. 
I  hope  it  may  come  on  while  you  are  still  in  office.  It  is  a  long 
tale,  but  it  has  been  one  of  much  interest  to  me,  and  will  not,  I 
hope,  shock  my  younger  colleagues  too  much.  Hoping  you  and 
Lady  Geikie  are  well,  and  with  our  united  kind  regards  and  best 
wishes  for  the  New  Year,  I  am,  sincerely  yours, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  I4«7t  Jany.  1892. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — You  will  remember  that  in  our  long  walks 
years  ago  I  always  expressed  an  opinion  that  the  surface  of  the 
land  seemed  to  me  to  show  the  effects  of  water-action  inde- 
pendently of  snow  or  ice  action,  but  I  was  not  able  to  give  proofs 
in  support  of  my  opinion.  Last  summer  I  was  so  much  of  a 
prisoner  that  I  had  leisure  to  work  up  all  my  old  notes  of  years 
past,  which  have  given  me  an  amount  of  evidence  sufficient  to 
satisfy  me  that  the  South  of  England  was  submerged  at  a  very 
late  geological  period.  This  I  have  embodied  in  a  paper,  neces- 
sarily long,  in  consequence  of  the  number  of  the  facts,  and  have 
sent  it  in  to  the  Geological  Society.  It  is  to  be  read  on  the  10th 
Feb.  I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  be  present  either  to  criticise 
or  to  support.  I  know  I  shall  be  considered  very  heterodox,  but 
it  is  not  a  hasty  opinion ;  I  see  no  other  solution  of  the  problem, 
and  fortunately  I  am  not  fettered  about  things  possible  and 
impossible.  .  . 

To  the  Same.  LONDON,  23rd  February  [1892], 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — I  much  doubt  whether  I  shall  be  able  to  be 
present  to-morrow.  I  have  been  out  to-day  for  the  first  time,  but 
do  not  feel  up  to  much.  I  do  not  expect  my  views  to  be  ac- 


362  ALDERBURY.  [l892. 

cepted  at  once,  but  I  give  reasons  and  facts  for  all  that  I  advance, 
and  I  believe  that  when  dispassionately  considered  and  without 
the  narrowing  influence  of  uniformitarianism,  but  by  investigation 
of  the  phenomena  on  the  spot,  the  solution  I  propose  will  be 
found  the  one  which  best  answers  to  all  the  conditions  of  the 
case.  I  am  glad  that  C.  Eeid  has  found  glacial  striae  on  the 
Pagham  blocks.  Mr  Abbott  told  me  he  had  also  found  them  on 
some  of  the  smaller  specimens  at  Brighton.  I  have  shown  in  my 
paper  that  they  could  not  have  come  from  the  shores  of  France 
or  the  Channel  Islands,  but  probably  from  Norway  or  North 
Germany.  This  would  agree  with  and  be  confirmed  by  C.  R's 
observations.  I  suppose  Geikie  is  off  to  the  South.  I  wish  I 
could  do  the  same,  and  trusting  you  are  keeping  well.  .  .  . 

Dr  H.  P.  Blackmore  to  J.  Prestwich.  SALISBURY,  20th  April  1892. 

DEAR  PROFESSOR  PRESTWICH, — I  do  not  know  if  my  thanks 
are  due  to  you  or  Mr  de  Barri  Crawshay  for  a  copy  of  your  paper 
on  the  character  of  the  plateau  implements  of  Kent.  The  paper, 
as  well  as  your  previous  ones  in  the  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc., 
interested  me  much,  and  set  me  thinking  over  the  Gravels  of 
this  district:  from,  thinking  I  set  to  work  hunting,  and  the 
result  has  been  far  better  than  I  expected.  Besides  the  higher- 
and  lower-level  valley  Gravels,  which  have  proved  fairly  prolific 
in  the  ordinary  types  of  palaeolithic  implements,  there  are  two 
other  sets  of  Gravel,  the  lower  ranging  about  300  feet  above  the 
sea-level,  and  the  other  at  from  400  to  500  feet. 

The  first  set,  viz.,  the  300  feet,  includes  the  Gravels  at  Alder- 
bury,  three  miles  to  the  south  of  Salisbury :  these  I  had  always 
thought  of  Pliocene  age  ;  but  two  years  since,  when  visiting  the 
pits  with  Mr  Jukes-Browne,  I  found  a  rough  waste-flake  in  situ 
which  sadly  puzzled  me,  as  although  only  a  flake,  it  to  my  mind 
bore  clear  evidence  of  human  workmanship ;  but  since  reading 
your  papers  and  seeing  the  plateau  types,  the  pits  have  again 
been  visited  and  hunted  over — with  the  result  that  plenty  of 
evidence  of  implements  is  there.  When  I  say  implements,  the 
word  would  perhaps  give  a  wrong  impression,  as  the  specimens 
found  are  rather  natural  or  accidental  forms  of  flint  that  have 
been  taken  up,  used  a  few  times,  and  then  thrown  away — but 


JET.  80.]  PLATEAU    IMPLEMENTS.  363 

the  evidence  of  use  to  any  one  accustomed  to  the  usual  forms  of 
flints  is  unmistakable.  As  far  as  I  can  yet  judge,  the  early 
savage  only  had  two  ideas  in  the  selection  and  use  of  these  con- 
veniently shaped  stones,  viz.,  hammering  and  scraping — and  this 
is  just  what  one  would  have  expected.  Some  years  since,  the 
late  Professor  Leidy  gave  me  a  stone  scraper  which  was  used 
by  a  tribe  of  North  American  Indians  for  dressing  buffalo-skins : 
it  was  an  ordinary  smooth  quartzite  pebble,  split  in  half  with 
the  thin  sharp  edge  carefully  removed,  exactly  like  the  plateau 
Eocene  pebbles  described  in  your  paper. 

The  highest  point  from  which  these  plateau  forms  have  as 
yet  been  found  is  486  feet,  on  the  summit  of  the  hill  beyond  the 
rifle  range:  there  is,  however,  another  patch  of  gravel,  510  feet, 
which  I  have  not  yet  had  an  opportunity  of  searching.  With 
kind  regards,  yours  very  truly,  H.  P.  BLACKMORE. 


J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  J.  Evans.  DARENT-HULME,  17 'th  AprU  1892. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — It  was  very  pleasant  to  me  to  go  over 
your  route  and  recall  to  mind  all  the  places  we  had  visited  to- 
gether. St  Acheul  must  exhibit  a  melancholy  change  from  what 
it  was  when  we  first  knew  it.  I  have  done  no  field  work  yet, 
but  am  waiting  for  fine  weather  to  visit  two  new  localities  dis- 
covered by  Mr  Bullen.1  Mr  Hale,  jun.,  has  come  over  from  the 
Malay  Peninsula  with  a  store  of  curios  of  all  sorts. 


Dr  H.  P.  Blackmore  to  J.  Prestwich.  SALISBURY,  3rd  May  1892. 

DEAR  PROFESSOR  PRESTWICH, — Enclosed  you  will  receive  a 
sketch  of  the  implement  from  Burroughs  Hill :  the  shaded  part 
represents  the  natural  crust  of  the  flint. 

Mr  Bullen  has  very  kindly  sent  me  his  Preston  Hill  specimen 
for  inspection,  and  I  am  very  glad  to  have  seen  it.  It  is  much 
more  finely  worked  and  aged  than  the  one  from  Burroughs 
Hill,  but  I  have  learnt  to  pay  but  little  notice  to  mere  surface 
appearance  as  far  as  age  is  concerned,  for  many  of  the  later  Drift 


1  Rev.  E.  Ashington  Bullen,  then  Vicar  of  Shoreham,  Kent. 


364  GEOLOGICAL   WORK.  [l892. 

specimens — whose  history  absolves  them  from  the  slightest  con- 
nection with  the  family  of  "  Flint  Jack  " — show  marvellously  little 
change,  whereas  others  from  the  same  beds  are  nearly  converted 
into  pebbles  by  water  and  wear.  We  evidently  as  yet  know 
but  little  as  to  the  precise  action  of  water  percolating  through 
beds  of  Gravel,  either  as  to  staining  or  whitening.  .  .  . 

I  hope  next  week  to  do  some  work  at  a  patch  of  Gravel  on 
one  of  your  highest  points,  five  miles  to  the  N.  of  this.  With 
very  kind  regards,  yours  very  truly,  H.  P.  BLACKMORE. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  A.  Gfeikie.  DARENT-HULME,  15th  May  1892. 

MY  DEAR  GEIKIE, — Many  thanks  for  your  letter,  and  I  trust 
you  will  not  find  too  much  to  quarrel  with  in  my  paper.  I  am 
now  continuing  the  same  line  of  research  over  France  and  the 
south  of  Europe.  I  shall  there,  however,  be  dependent  on  the 
works  of  others  (with  the  exception  of  France),  whereas  in  Eng- 
land I  am  acquainted  with  the  whole  of  the  ground.  This  is 
of  course  a  great  disadvantage,  which  it  is  now  too  late  to 
remedy. 

You  must  have  had  a  pleasant  time  in  Paris,  where  formerly 
I  was  well-known,  but  am  glad  to  know  that  my  old  friends 
Daubre'e  and  Gaudry  are  still  to  the  fore.  You  do  not  tell  me, 
however,  how  you  are.  We  should  much  like  to  know,  if  you 
can  find  time  to  send  me  a  few  lines.  I  am  thankful  to  say  we 
are  both  well.  This  quiet  country  life  suits  me  physically  and 
mentally.  .  .  . 

In  reply  to  an  inquiry  from  Mr  Harrison  we  find  him 
writing  at  this  time,  "  Decomposed  flint  pebbles  are  of 
not  unfrequent  occurrence  in  various  Tertiaries.  They 
lose  their  water  of  crystallisation,  and  some  molecular 
changes  take  place  which  render  them  white,  soft,  and 
friable.  These  you  have  sent  are  from  Lower  Ter- 
tiary (Woolwich  and  Reading  ?)  Beds.  You  speak  also 
of  decomposed  flints  as  well  as  pebbles.  These  are 
unusual,  but  you  send  no  specimen.  .  .  ." 


J5T.  80.]  J.   W.   HULKE.  365 

J.  W.  Hulke l  to  J.  Prestwich. 

10  OLD  BURLINGTON  STREET,  LONDON,  W.,  17th  May  1892. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — Warm  thanks  for  your  papers  on 
Eaised  Beaches  and  on  Late  Post-Glacl.  Submergence,  which 
I  have  read  and  read  again  with  very  great  interest.  The  vari- 
ability and  fragmentary  preservation  of  these  relatively  recent 
beds  have  for  me  been  great  difficulties  in  getting  a  good  grasp 
of  their  time  sequence. 

I  wish  our  old  friend  Mansel-Pleydell  had  been  able  to  give 
a  more  detailed  account  of  his  discovery  some  two  years  ago  of 
elephant  remains  in  a  sand-bed  which  he  sketched  to  me.2 

I  saw  many  years  ago  a  molar  of  Elephas  (from  the  narrowness 
of  its  plates  I  thought  perhaps  E.  antiquus)  taken  from  the  Gravel 
capping  the  chalk-cliff  at  Freshwater,  I.  Wight,  close  to  the 
"  Battery."  When  I  was  last  at  Brook,  I.  Wight,  a  few  years 
since,  nearly  all  of  the  bed  under  Gravel  on  cliff-top  by  the  chine, 
where  I  had  formerly  got  hazel-nuts,  &c.,  had  disappeared  by 
foundering  of  cliff.  The  waste  of  cliffs  on  the  S.  coast  of  I. 
Wight  within  my  memory  has  been  remarkable.  A  good  in- 
stance of  this  is  Shepherd's  Chine.  When  I  first  knew  it,  some 
25  years  ago,  it  was  a  narrow  gulley  crossed  by  a  plank.  At 
its  opening  on  the  beach  the  E.  side  was  a  nearly  vertical 
cliff  of  blue  shales  with  Septaria,  that  I  used  to  dig  and  break  up 
— they  occasionally  yielded  pterodactylian  bones.  Now  the  for- 
merly narrow  gulley  is  a  wide  open  dell  with  sloping  banks ! 

You  refer  to  a  former  harbour-master  at  Kamsgate.  There 
was  one  who  made  quite  a  collection  of  elephants'  tusks  and 
molars  dredged  up  off  the  harbour,  and  I  have  myself  seen  E. 
remains — notably  an  os  innominatum,  dug  up  at  low  tide  after 
heavy  ground-swell,  between  Sandown  Castle  and  No.  1  Battery. 
As  the  chalk  rock  is  there  at  no  great  depth,  these  remains  may 
have  come  out  of  rubble  on  its  top  under  the  present  sand. 


1  John   Whitaker  Hulke,   F.K.S.,   President  of  the  Eoyal  College  of 
Surgeons  ;  born  November  6,  1830  ;  died  February  19,  1896. 

2  Notes  on  the  JSlephas  meridionalis  at  Dewlish,  Dorset,  have  been  pub- 
lished by  Mr  Mansel-Pleydell,  'Proc.  Dorset  Nat.  Hist.  Club,'  vol.  x.,  1889 
p.  1  ;  and  vol.  xiv.,  1893,  p.  139. 


366  S.   R.   PATTISON.  [1892. 

I  hope  this  fine  spring  weather  is  dispelling  the  depressing 
influenza  of  the  past  winter.  My  wife  joins  in  kind  regards 
to  Mrs  Prestwich  and  yourself. — Yours  very  truly, 

J.  W.  HULKS. 

S.  R.  Pattison 1  to  J.  Prestwich.  KENSINGTON,  26th  June  [1892]. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  had  begun,  some  time  ago,  to  write  to  you 
with  reference  to  your  very  important  paper  on  "  Kaised  Beaches  " 
in  the  '  Q.  J.,'  which  settled  many  controversies  and  raised  some 
others.  Your  recent  Koyal  Society  paper,  which  you  were  so 
kind  as  to  send  to  me,  has  given  to  every  one  the  advantage  of 
your  own  fuller  interpretation,  and  it  is  of  such  paramount  im- 
portance as  to  set  aside  for  the  moment  my  personal  troubles. 
I  am  reminded  of  one  of  the  late  Professor  Phillips'  last  sayings 
to  me — "I  believe,  Pattison,  after  all,  we  shall  be  obliged  to 
bring  back  the  Deluge." — I  am,  sincerely  yours, 

S.  E.  PATTISON. 

When  Professor  Huxley  was  made  a  Privy  Coun- 
cillor the  following  humorous  note  from  him  was  in 
reply  to  our  geologist's  congratulations  :— 

BARMOUTH,  Augst.  31,  1892. 

MY  DEAR  PRESTWICH, — Best  thanks  for  your  congratulations. 
As  I  have  certainly  got  more  than  my  temporal  deserts,  the 
other  "  half "  you  speak  of  can  be  nothing  less  than  a  bishopric ! 
May  you  live  to  see  that  dignity  conferred,  and  go  on  writing 
such  capital  papers  as  the  last  you  sent  me  until  I  write  myself 
your  Eight  Eevd.  as  well  as  Eight  Honble.  old  friend, 

T.  H.  HUXLEY. 

J.  Prestwich  to  B.  Harrison. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  SEVENOAKS,  15th  Novr.  [1892]. 

DEAR  SIR, — No  explanation  was  necessary.  Your  collection 
stands  upon  its  merits.  Differences  of  opinion  there  will  always 


1  S.  B.  Pattison,  formerly  of  Launceston,  and  an  early  worker  on  the 
geology  of  Cornwall  and  Devon  ;  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Council 
of  the  Geological  Society,  and  their  honorary  legal  adviser. 


MT.  80.]  UNIFORMITARIANISM.  367 

be.  All  you  have  to  say  is  that  Sir  J.  E.  accepts  some  spec,  but 
rejects  others.  Let  every  one  judge  for  himself.  I  am  glad  you 
have  ceased  field-work  for  the  winter. 


J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  J.  Evans.  SHORBHAM,  2nd  December  1892. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — In  the  short  glance  at  my  paper  the  other 
day  you  could  hardly  have  formed  an  idea  of  its  scope  and  object. 
It  is  not,  as  you  supposed,  a  paper  of  minute  geological  detail, 
like  my  paper  on  the  raised  beaches,  &c.,  in  the  '  Journal  Geolog- 
ical Society,'  but  it  is  a  paper  in  which,  following  up  that  line  of 
research,  I  pass  in  review  all  that  bears  on  the  subject  in  South- 
western Europe  and  on  the  Mediterranean  coasts,  and  generalise 
upon  these  observations,  employing  only  so  much  detail  as  is 
necessary  to  illustrate  my  hypothesis.  The  detailed  papers  to 
which  I  refer  would  occupy  volumes,  and  are  within  reach  of  the 
reader.  It  is  also  a  new  departure,  and,  as  such,  comes,  I  think, 
within  the  scope  of  the  Eoyal  Society  rather  than  of  the  Geo- 
logical Society,  from  the  fact  that  it  involves  questions  which 
concern  naturalists,  physicists,  and  anthropologists.  I  am  aware 
that  I  must  expect  opposition,  as  it  touches  upon  questions  on 
which  geologists  and  physicists  must  differ.  All  I  can  wish  for 
is  to  have  the  facts  fairly  considered,  and  judgment  formed  on 
them,  and  not  on  assumed  postulates  founded  on  very  doubtful 
bases.  The  votaries  of  uniformitarianism  are,  I  fear,  apt  to 
consider  their  doctrines  as  infallible,  and  to  act  accordingly.  For 
my  own  part,  I  believe  that  in  another  half  century  geologists 
will  wonder  that  a  doctrine  so  unphilosophical  was  ever  held. 
Physicists,  who  pin  their  faith  to  a  certain  rigidity  and  thickness 
of  the  earth's  crust,  should  look  to  the  geological  facts  before 
putting  geological  opinion  on  one  side.  I  am  aware  that  my 
hypothesis  will  appear  startling,  but  if  it  explains  all  the  facts 
and  apparently  discordant  phenomena,  it  surely  deserves  con- 
sideration. As  to  the  facts  themselves,  I  presume  I  am  not 
saying  too  much  when  I  claim  for  myself  a  better  knowledge  of 
them  than  most  geologists.  I  have  decided,  therefore,  to  send 
my  paper  to  the  Eoyal  Society.  I  have  written  a  short  abstract 
for  reading,  and  that  you  may  see  the  scope  of  the  paper  I  send  it 
for  your  perusal,  if  you  will  kindly  devote  a  spare  half  hour  to  it. 


368  PLEISTOCENE  SUBMERGENCE.        [1892-93. 

But  before  reading  I  should  like  you  to  read  the  explanations 
that  have  been  suggested  by  others,  and  to  which  I  have  given, 
I  trust,  impartial  considerations  in  the  paper  referred  to — 
'Quarterly]  J[ournal]  Geological]  Society,'  vol.  clviii.  pp.  323-328. 
You  will,  I  think,  see  that  none  of  them  meet  all  the  conditions 
of  the  case,  and  most  of  them  ignore  the  consequences  which  the 
adoption  of  their  views  would  involve.  .  .  .  — Ever  yours 
sincerely,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  J.  Evans.  igth  Dec.  1892. 

I  have  adopted  your  suggestion  to  omit  reference  to  the 
Deluge,  and  think  you  are  right.1  It  might  have  been  supposed 
that  I  was  working  up  to  that  end,  whereas  I  was  brought  to  it 
solely  by  the  evidence,  and  you,  no  doubt,  will  remember  that  it 
always  struck  me  that  there  was  something  besides  river,  marine, 
and  ice  action  in  the  superficial  phenomena.  The  [Philosophical] 
'Transactions'  have  not  been  surcharged  with  Natural  History 
papers  of  late  years. 

The  preceding  letters  allude  to  the  great  Submerg- 
ence paper  by  Joseph  Prestwich,  "  On  the  Evidences 
of  a  Submergence  of  Western  Europe,  and  of  the  Medi- 
terranean Coasts,  at  the  Close  of  the  Glacial  or  so-called 
Post  -  Glacial  Period,  and  immediately  preceding  the 
Neolithic  or  Recent  Period."  It  was  sent  in  to  the 
Royal  Society  on  15th  December  1892,  and  was  read 
and  published  in  the  '  Philosophical  Transactions '  in 
1893.  The  substance  of  the  following  unfinished  pre- 
face was  given  in  this  paper  ('Phil.  Trans.,'  pp.  980- 
984)  :- 

I  am  aware  that  in  proposing  the  hypothesis  advanced  in  the 
following  paper  it  may  be  considered  that  I  am  taking  a  retro- 


1  The  subject  was  subsequently  dealt  with  in  a  little  work  by  Prestwich, 
entitled  '  On  Certain  Phenomena  belonging  to  the  close  of  the  last  Geologi- 
cal Period,  and  on  their  bearing  upon  the  Tradition  of  the  Flood,'  1895 
(Macmillan). 


Mr.  80-81.]  UNIFOKMITARIANISM.  369 

grade  step,  that  I  am  reviving  an  exploded  doctrine,  and  that  I 
am  ignoring  the  doctrine  of  uniformity,  which  now,  it  may  be 
urged,  regulates  geological  progress.  But  I  refuse  to  be  judged 
on  such  a  basis.  While  admitting  as  a  fundamental  truth  the 
proposition  of  the  identity  of  forces  in  present  and  past  times,  I 
contend  that  the  exhibition  of  these  forces  has  been  unequal  in 
degree.  The  contention  for  this  uniformity  is  based  solely  upon 
the  value  of  man's  personal  evidence,  and  when  the  term  of  this 
is  compared  with  that  term  beyond  which  it  does  not  extend, 
the  propositions  are  such  as  to  render  it  comparatively  valueless. 
It  is  a  limited  terrestrial  measure  of  distance  compared  to  the 
measure  of  our  solar  distance,  and  we  can  no  more  tell  what  may 
have  occurred  beyond  that  term  than  we  can  tell  what  cosmical 
phenomena  may  have  occurred  in  the  vast  interval  which 
separates  us  from  our  luminary,  except  on  the  evidence  of  the 
residual  phenomena. 

Half  a  century  ago  Dr  Buckland,  after  considerable  investiga- 
tion, came  to  the  conclusion  that  a  deluge  had  passed  over  the 
land,  and  that  we  had  in  our  superficial  deposits  and  the  remains 
of  the  entombed  animals  evidence  of  the  fact.  Sedgwick  and 
other  distinguished  men  adopted  the  same  view  for  a  time,  but  it 
was  abandoned  in  consequence  of  other  evidence  of  a  conflicting 
character  subsequently  brought  forward.  But,  while  abandoned 
in  this  country,  that  opinion  has  held  its  ground  on  the  Con- 
tinent, and  a  nomenclature  in  accordance  with  that  view  has 
been  adopted  for  certain  geological  deposits,  such  as  Diluvium 
rouge,  Diluvium  gris,  and  Alluvium  ancienne. 

As  may  be  seen  from  his  letters,  Joseph  Prestwich 
held  strong  anti-uniformitarian  views,  and  yet  he  could 
not  be  classed  as  a  catastrophist  in  the  old  sense  of  the 
word.  Always  at  work,  the  autumn  of  1893  found 
him  occupied  in  writing  a  magazine  article,  "  On  the 
Position  of  Geology  (a  Chapter  on  Uniformitarianism)." 
This  appeared  in  the  '  Nineteenth  Century  '  for  October, 
and  the  two  following  notes  to  his  friend  the  Rev.  O. 
Fisher  have  reference  to  it.  It  was  a  declaration  of 

2  A 


370  GLACIAL    DRIFTS.  [1893. 

his  non-uniformitarian  belief,  a  profession  of  his  geo- 
logical creed. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  while  Prestwich  had  pub- 
lished very  fully  his  observations  on  the  Tertiary  forma- 
tions and  on  the  Quaternary  strata,  which  immediately 
preceded  and  succeeded  the  Glacial  deposits,  yet  he 
had  not  dealt  in  a  similarly  comprehensive  manner  with 
his  observations  on  the  Glacial  Drifts.  It  is  true  that 
in  many  of  his  papers  he  had  published  sections  of 
Boulder  Clay  and  Glacial  Gravel,  and  he  contributed 
much  information  with  respect  to  them.  Nevertheless 
his  views  generally  on  the  formation  of  the  Boulder  Clays 
and  associated  deposits  were  not  given  to  the  public 
in  the  same  exhaustive  manner  as  were  those  dealing 
with  the  Eocene  and  Oligocene  strata,  the  Crag  series, 
the  Westleton  Beds,  and  the  later  Pleistocene  accumula- 
tions. His  note-books  show  how  he  had  followed  the 
Glacial  Drifts  far  and  wide,  not  only  in  the  Southern 
and  Midland  counties,  but  in  Wales,  in  the  north  of 
England,  in  Scotland  and  Ireland.  Indications  of  his 
views  are  given  in  the  second  volume  of  his  great 
treatise  on  *  Geology/  wherein  he  remarks  (p.  453) : 
"  Equally  marvellous  is  the  glaciation  of  the  northern 
counties  of  England.  There  also  only  a  few  of  the 
higher  hills  escaped  the  grasp  of  the  great  ice-sheet, 
the  marks  of  which  are  perceptible  up  to  heights  of 
about  2500  feet  in  the  Lake  district.  As  the  land- 
ice  travelled  southward  it  became  thinner,  and  its 
traces  are  gradually  lost.  The  Glacial  Drift-beds  die 
out  on  the  hills  immediately  north  of  London,  whence 
their  boundary  passes  by  Oxford  to  South  Wales." 
These  views  show  how  inclined  he  was  to  maintain 
that  the  main  mass  of  Boulder  Clay  was  the  product 


JET.  81.]  GLACIATION.  371 

of  land-ice,  although  he  argued  that  "the  phenomena, 
as  a  whole,  go  to  show  that  the  glaciation  of  Great 
Britain  was  not  due  to  a  great  Polar  ice-cap,  but  was 
of  local  and  independent  origin." 

That  Prestwich  cherished  the  idea  of  publishing  in 
detail  his  views  on  the  Great  Ice  Age  is  evident  from 
a  tabular  statement  drawn  up  in  1892,  which  gives  a 
scheme  for  a  paper  "  On  the  Glacial  Series  of  the  South 
of  England."  1  This  task,  however,  he  did  not  live  to 
accomplish,  and  the  notes  remain  without  the  master- 
hand  to  mould  them  into  shape,  and  to  decipher  the 
story  which  they  might  reveal. 

With  the  return  of  Easter  his  thoughts  as  usual 
were  with  his  brother  geologists,  and  he  followed  all 
their  movements.  In  a  note  dated  6th  April  he  ob- 
serves :  "I  am  glad  to  hear  of  the  Easter  excursions 
continued  under  such  pleasant  conditions,  but  do  not 
approve  of  the  introduction  of  that  relaxing  element, 
fishing.  Why,  we  sometimes  had  not  time  to  eat  fish, 
much  less  catch  them.  Our  vicar's  little  girl  picked  up 
a  fine  flint  implement  on  the  beach  near  Boscombe." 

Although  Prestwich  had  at  an  early  date  made 
several  journeys  with  his  usual  companion  to  Ightham 
and  to  other  of  Mr  Harrison's  recently  found  flint- 
bearing  sites,  a  long  list  lies  before  us  of  joint  visits 
made  with  their  discoverer  and  other  enthusiastic 
explorers  to  the  ground  where  rude  implements  had 
been  found,  beginning  with  a  first  joint  visit  to  Igh- 
tham and  Oldbury,  in  September  1881,  with  his  friend 
Fisher.  On  to  1893  no  year  passed  without  frequent 
and  repeated  expeditions,  when  Prestwich  was  accom- 

1  The  scheme  has  been  printed  in  the  '  Geological  Magazine,'  Dec.  IV., 
vol.  v.  p.  404. 


372  IGHTHAM.  [1893. 

panied  by  fellow-geologists  to  these  sites,  occasionally 
Mr  Topley  being  his  companion,  and  occasionally  Sir 
John  Evans.  Latterly  Professor  Rupert  Jones  and 
the  Rev.  R.  Ashington  Bullen  went  with  him  to  review 
new  ground,  Mr  Harrison  being  seldom  absent  from 
any  working  party. 

The  discovery  by  Mr  W.  J.  Lewis  Abbott,  F.G.S.,1 
of  ossiferous  fissures  in  the  valley  of  the  Shode,  near 
Ightham,  was  naturally  of  great  interest  to  Prestwich  ; 
and  his  friend  Mr  Abbott  did  not  fail  to  carry  to  Darent- 
Hulme  the  spoils  from  the  fissures  for  our  geologist's 
examination.  They  included  many  mammalian  remains, 
as  well  as  those  of  birds,  reptiles,  &c.,  the  small  bones 
of  rodents  being  innumerable.  The  last  visit  made  by 
Prestwich  to  these  fissures  was  in  1893,  when  he  was 
accompanied  by  Mr  Abbott  and  Mr  Harrison. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Rev.  0.  Fisher. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  12th  August  1893. 

MY  DEAE  FISHER, — I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  the 
corrections  you  have  made  in  my  MS.  With  two  or  three 
exceptions,  I  have  gladly  availed  myself  of  them  all.  "What, 
however,  I  particularly  wanted  your  opinion  about  is  whether 
I  have  put  correctly  the  opinions  of  such  physicists  as  Lord 
Kelvin,  Tait,  and  [G.  H.]  Darwin.  Am  I  right  in  saying  their 
estimate  of  the  earth's  age  is  now  from  fifteen  to  twenty  million 
years  (I  know  it  has  varied  greatly),  and  the  thickness  of  the 
crust  from  1000  to  2500  miles? 

I  wish  I  could  have  gone  more  fully  into  the  subject,  but  I 
suppose  a  magazine  would  not  care  for  too  long  an  article.  .  .  . 


1  The  Ossiferous  Fissures  in  the  Valley  of  the  Shode,  near  Ightham, 
Kent.  By  W.  J.  Lewis  Abbott,  F.G.S.  ;  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  1894, 
vol.  1.  p.  171.  The  Vertebrate  Fauna  collected  by  Mr  Lewis  Abbott  from 
the  Fissure  near  Ightham,  Kent.  By  E.  T.  Newton,  F.K.S.,  F.G.S. ;  ibid., 
p.  188. 


Ml.  81.]  UNIFORMITARIANISM.  373 

To  the  Same.  DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  24th  August  1893. 

MY  DEAR  FISHER, — Thanks  for  your  note  and  references.  Lord 
Kelvin's  correction  in  his  address  at  Glasgow,  1876,  refers  only  to 
Hopkins's  argument  about  precession  and  nutation,  and  does  not, 
it  seems  to  me,  affect  his  previous  opinions  about  the  rigidity  and 
great  thickness  of  the  crust.  Sir  A.  Geikie  gives  the  thickness 
as  stated  by  him  in  1862.  You  see  I  am  not  touching  on  the 
general  question,  but  merely  giving  what  seems  to  be  the  opinion 
held  by  Kelvin  and  Tait  as  to  the  approximate  thickness  of  the 
crust — 1000  would  do  for  me  just  as  well  as  2000. 

J.  Prestwich  to  J.  Evans. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  13th  September  [1893]. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — A  few  days  since  we  went  to  West  Yoke 
(460'),  near  Ash.  There  is  a  very  remarkable  spread  of  much 
worn  gravel  there,  with  a  considerable  number  of  the  rudest 
possible  worked  flints  and  one  good  pointed  form.  I  am  more 
satisfied  than  ever  of  the  great  antiquity  of  the  Chalk  plateau 
specimens.  Next  week  I  hope  to  visit  the  several  new  localities 
discovered  by  Mr  Crawshay.  In  one  of  these  of  doubtful  posi- 
tion he  has  found  46  specimens.  With  very  much  sympathy, 

J.  PRESTWICH. 

The  following  letter  has  reference  to  the  '  Nineteenth 
Century '  article  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  the  Same.  DARENT-HULME,  22nd  October  1893. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — The  very  foundation  of  uniformitarian  be- 
liefs is  that  these  terrestrial  forces  have  been  alike  as  now,  both 
in  kind  and  degree,  in  all  past  times,  and  all  their  calculations  of 
time  and  denudation  have  been  made  on  that  basis.  If  you  can 
show  any  calculations  made  on  a  different  basis,  either  in  text- 
books or  papers,  I  shall  be  glad:  I  know  of  none. 

The  only  exception  made  has  been  in  favour  of  volcanic  action. 
But  any  child  could  see  that  volcanic  action  is  spasmodic,  and  has 
always  been  so.  But  even  here  the  argument  is  inapplicable. 


3*74  THE    FLOOD.  [1894. 

The  energy,  so  far  from  being  on  a  par  with  the  present,  is,  I  be- 
lieve, in  the  cases  of  such  eruptions  as  Krakatoa,  greater  now 
than  formerly,  as  I  have  shown  in  '  Geology.' 

My  chronology  may  possibly  err  a  little  on  one  side  (for  the 
dates  are  not  sufficiently  definite),  but  that  of  the  uniformitarian 
errs,  I  am  satisfied,  much  more  than  the  other.  But  this  does 
not  touch  the  essential  points  of  argument.  I  wish  I  could 
write  longer  and  more  clearly,  but  this  is  one  of  my  bad 
days.  .  .  . 

Sir  H.  D.  Acland  to  J.  Prestwich.  OXFORD,  Jan.  15, 1894. 

Alas !  most  forgiving  of  friends,  I  cannot  lay  my  hand  on  the 
beautiful  envelope  directed  to  you  at  midsummer,  and  carried  to 
and  fro  per  mare  per  terram,  and  not  fit  to  send.  .  .  .  Everything 
here  is  in  restless  movement  with  new-comers,  and  old  ones  who 
take  up  questions  new  to  them ;  and  I  get  disheartened  at  seeing 
things  knocked  down  from  sheer  want  of  knowing — would  you 
were  still  with  us ! 

The  Home  1  for  which  you  did  so  much  is  become  a  model  in- 
stitution for  good  and  useful  work,  wisely  devised  and  conducted, 
but  it  needs  endowment.  .  .  .  God  bless  you  both !  Your  affec- 
tionate and  grateful  friend,  H.  D.  ACLAND. 

It  will  have  been  apparent  to  the  reader  that  in 
amassing  the  evidence  for  his  Submergence  paper, 
Joseph  Prestwich,  without  having  it  in  view,  was 
struck  by  the  fact  that  his  theory  of  a  wide-spread 
submergence  upheld  the  Biblical  record  of  the  Flood. 
Once  that  the  idea  dawned  upon  him  he  was  fascinated, 
and  sought  out  all  the  physical  evidence  that  could  be 
adduced  in  support  of  it.  Early  in  1894  he  sent  in  a 
paper  on  the  subject  to  the  Victoria  Institute,  entitled, 
"  A  Possible  Cause  for  the  Origin  of  the  Tradition  of  the 
Flood,"  which,  as  he  was  unable  to  be  present,  was  read 
by  his  old  friend  Professor  Rupert  Jones,  F.R.S.  It 

1  The  Acland  Memorial  Home  for  Nurses,  Oxford. 


VET.  82.]  PLATEAU   IMPLEMENTS.  375 

was  well  received,  giving  rise  to  an  interesting  discus- 
sion, and  was  published  in  the  '  Journal  of  Transactions 
of  the  Victoria  Institute '  for  that  year.  Its  hearty 
reception  tempted  him  to  write  a  resume  of  all  the 
geological  evidence  bearing  on  "  The  Tradition  of  the 
Flood,"  and  the  preparation  of  this  booklet,  which  did 
not  appear  until  early  in  the  next  year,  was  meanwhile 
a  pleasant  and  interesting  occupation. 

J.  Prestwick  to  B.  Harrison. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  SEVENOAKS,  15th  August  1894. 

DEAR  SIR, — Thanks  for  the  copy  of  your  Address,  which  has 
interested  us  both.  It  might,  however,  be  supposed  from  it  that 
the  geologists  were  deterred  by  the  height  and  position.  That 
was  hardly  the  case.  It  was  whether  they  were  worked.  I  fear 
you  were  ill  -  advised  in  your  selection  for  the  Koy.  Soc.  It 
was  only  the  other  day  that  a  leading  geologist  wrote  to  me  say- 
ing, "The  [your]  plateau  types  selected  were  very  large  and 
rough,  and  not  the  most  typical  ones,  like  those  figured "  (in 
Collected  Papers).  .  .  . 

You  could  not  have  done  better  than  to  refer  to  Well  Hill.  It 
is  a  remarkable  spot,  which  I  first  visited  and  [where  I]  found  the 
chert  fragments  some  40  years  ago,  and  took  Sir  J.  Lubbock 
there,  who  afterwards  described  it.  You  should  have  told  your 
inquirer  who  asked  you  why  you  did  not  at  first  write  about 
the  plateau  implements,  that  long  ago  I  asked  you  whether  you 
would  not  do  so.  ... 

H.  P.  Blackmore  to  J.  Prestwich.  SALISBURY,  27th  August  1894. 

DEAR  MR  PRESTWICH, — Ever  since  I  heard  of  the  discovery  of 
the  plateau  type  of  implement  I  have  been  hunting  this  district 
for  evidence,  and  have  been  fortunate  in  finding  plenty  to  satisfy 
myself.  The  main  object  now  is  to  convince  others,  and  I  hope 
to  string  the  facts  of  this  neighbourhood  together  shortly,  to 
help  the  evidence  in  other  parts  of  England. 

As  this  district  was  of  great  use  30  years  ago  in  establishing 


376  ALDERBURY.  [l894. 

the  presence  of  man  in  the  river  Drift  period,  so  now  in  what  an 
Irishman  would  call  the  advance  backwards,  Salisbury  will  prove 
equally  strong,  and  I  trust  furnish  good  evidence  to  convince 
some  of  the  sceptics,  who  don't  know  what  a  worked  flint  is,  even 
when  they  see  it  before  them. 

As  far  as  the  fact  of  the  discovery  of  worked  flints  in  the 
southern  Drift  of  Alderbury  is  concerned,  make  any  use  you  like 
of  the  information. 

What  do  you  think  of  the  evidence  of  fire  ?  For  the  last  20 
years  I  have  been  hunting  in  our  Drift  Gravels  for  it,  but  the 
specimen  from  Alderbury  is  the  first  that  has  yet  turned  up. 
Have  you  been  more  fortunate  and  met  with  burnt  flints  in  any 
Drift  Gravels  under  such  circumstances  that  precluded  the  pos- 
sibility of  their  having  come  from  the  surface  ? 

Amongst  the  gravel  at  Alderbury  I  have  met  with  a  few 
small  pebbles — sea-rolled  pebbles,  of  sarsen  stone — quite  distinct 
as  regards  rolling  from  the  ordinary  large  sarsen  boulders. 
What  old  sea-shore  do  you  think  they  probably  came  from  ? 
The  much  smaller  quartz  pebbles  are  very,  very  scarce  at  Aider- 
bury.  With  kind  regards,  yours  very  truly, 

H.  P.  BLACKMORE. 


But,  alas !  Prestwich  had  soon  again  to  pay  the 
penalty  of  age,  in  seeing  one  after  another  of  those  he 
loved  called  away  before  him.  The  death  of  his  sister, 
Mrs  Russell  Scott,  to  whom  throughout  life  he  had  been 
tenderly  attached,  occurred  in  August.  She  was  the 
little  sister  whom  her  brother  (not  two  years  her  senior) 
used  to  escort  out  on  Saturdays  when  the  two  children 
were  at  their  respective  schools  in  Paris.  In  many 
respects  she  resembled  him,  in  that  quick  intelligence 
and  wide  grasp  of  mind  so  unusual  in  a  woman  :  it  was 
rare  to  meet  any  one  so  gifted,  who  at  the  same  time 
possessed  extraordinary  sweetness  of  temper.  Her 
illness  had  been  hopeless  and  protracted,  yet  when  the 
end  came  his  distress  was  not  less  poignant.  "  No 


Photo  by  Adams  £->  Milliard,  Southampton. 

PROFESSOR   T.    RUPERT    JONES,    F.R.S. 


MS.  82.]  PROFESSOR   T.    RUPERT   JONES.  377 

one  knows  how  much  she  was  to  me  in  early  life,"  was 
his  remark  in  a  note  to  a  friend.  Thus  for  a  time 
the  serene  happiness  of  his  home  was  overclouded. 

In  the  autumn  of  1894,  under  Prestwich's  personal 
supervision,  Professor  Rupert  Jones  prepared  a  paper, 
with  diagrams,  treating  of  the  plateau  implements, 
their  position  below  the  surface,  and  the  derivation  of 
the  gravelly  deposits  in  which  they  occur,  from  the 
Chalk  capping  the  Wealden  area  when  it  existed  as 
part  of  a  range  at  least  2000  feet  high.  This  paper 
was  read  before  a  combined  meeting  of  the  Anthropo- 
logical and  Geological  sections  of  the  British  Association 
on  August  10,  1894,  and  published  in  '  Natural  Science/ 
vol.  v.  pp.  269-275.  In  it  occurs  the  appropriate 
remark  that  "  it  must  have  been  a  great  pleasure  to 
the  veteran  geologist,  Professor  Dr  Prestwich,  to  find 
that  his  conclusions  (in  1890)  as  to  the  Pliocene 
Tertiaries  and  Gravels  on  the  flanks  of  the  diminishing 
island  of  the  Weald  fitted  so  truly,  as  consecutive 
history,  with  his  early  views  (1847)  of  the  probable 
conditions  of  the  Wealden  dome  in  Eocene  times." 

The  letter  from  Canon  Greenwell,  a  leading  author- 
ity on  the  subject  of  flint  implements,  gives  his  opinion 
of  the  plateau  implements  :— 

Canon  Greenwell  to  J.  Prestwich.  DURHAM,  29th  Sept.  1894. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  am  obliged  for  your  paper  on  the  "  Flints  of 
the  Chalk  Plateau,"  which  1  read  when  it  appeared  in  the  Jour- 
nal. I  have  no  objection  to  your  using  my  name  in  the  reissue 
as  a  believer  in  the  manufacture,  by  some  reasoning  creature,  of 
the  flints  in  question. 

With  regard  to  when  they  were  made,  though,  so  far  as  I  can 
judge,  from  the  observation  of  others,  they  appear  to  belong  to 
a  time  anterior  to  that  which  produced  the  ordinary  Drift  im- 


378  CANON    GREEN  WELL.  [1894. 

plements,  I  am  unable  to  express  an  opinion  from  personal 
knowledge  of  the  sites,  &c. 

But  that  they  have  been  made  with  intention  I  cannot  have 
the  least  doubt,  for  I  know  of  no  natural  agency  which  has,  or 
indeed  could,  produce  the  signs  of  work  so  abundantly  shown 
upon  them. 

I  hope  some  time  next  year  to  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  places  near  Sevenoaks  where  they  have  been  found.  Yours 
very  faithfully,  W.  GREEN  WELL. 

The  following  letter  from  Mr  Gladstone  is  too  inter- 
esting to  be  omitted  : — 

W.  E.  Gladstone  to  J.  Prestivich. 

HAWARDEN  CASTLE,  CHESTER,  2nd  Oct.  1894. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  thank  you  very  much  for  the  interesting 
and  able  Address  you  have  done  me  the  honour  to  send  me,  and 
I  desire  respectfully  as  well  as  sympathetically  to  mention  a 
circumstance  which  has  long  appeared  to  me  worthy  of  some 
notice,  and  which  may  have  a  relation  to  your  doctrine  of  a 
larger  and  late  submergence. 

I  am  in  no  way  competent  to  touch  the  relation  of  that  doc- 
trine to  the  tradition  of  the  Noachian  deluge. 

And  it  may  seem  daring  for  one  who  speaks  from  a  standing 
ground  supplied  by  literature,  to  attempt  joining  hands  with  the 
geologist  across  the  gap  which  severs  him  from  history  and  pre- 
history as  commonly  understood. 

My  fact  is  this :  Homer  was  (in  my  confident  opinion,  dictated 
to  me  by  study  of  the  text)  possessed  of,  and  thoroughly  pos- 
sessed by,  a  tradition,  evidently  the  tradition  of  his  day  and 
people,  according  to  which  there  lay  to  the  north  of  the  Thracian 
and  Thessalian  mountains  an  open  sea ;  and  by  this  open  sea 
lay,  for  him,  the  communication  from  Western  Greece  nomin- 
atim  from  Ithaca,  with  an  Underworld  to  which  the  approach 
was  situated  in  the  East,  and  was  by  his  great  river  Okeanos 
(in  his  ideas  of  which  river  were  probably  mixed  together  vague 
notices  of  the  Black  Sea  and  Sea  of  Azof,  the  Caspian,  and  the 


JET.  82.]  W.    E.    GLADSTONE.  379 

Persian  Gulf).  Of  the  Danube  he  knew  nothing;  but  he  be- 
lieved in  certain  inhabited  tracts,  which  he  enumerates,  to  the 
northward  of  the  Thracian  mountains. 

This  purely  literary  fact  has  led  me  often,  and  from  perhaps 
twenty  or  thirty  years  back,  to  inquire  from  geological  friends, 
who  have  assured  rne,  as  you  do,  that  Central  Europe  was  at  a 
very  late  geologic  period  under  water. 

It  was  not  for  me  to  consider  how  this  tradition  stood  related 
to  the  mountains  (of  no  very  great  elevation,  I  think)  which 
sever  Central  Europe  from  the  Adriatic. 

I  do  not  attempt  to  enter  here  upon  the  proof  of  my  Homeric 
fact,  which  I  think  conclusive.  But  I  may  mention — is  it  relevant 
or  not  ? — that  the  Duke  of  Argyll  told  me  he  saw  exposed  in  the 
fish-markets  of  Venice  sea-fauna  (if  the  phrase  may  be  used) 
not  appearing  in  the  Mediterranean  generally,  but  familiar  to 
him  in  Argyllshire  on  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic. 

Your  submergence  helps  me,  because  it  is  south  as  well  as 
north  of  the  mountains  which  I  named. 

Your  supposition  of  the  escape  of  a  part  of  the  local  popula- 
tion leaves  room  for  the  transmission  of  a  geological  or  Quater- 
nary phenomenon  down  to  (what  we  call)  prehistoric  times. 

There  is  a  kind  of  sister  tradition,  that  of  the  Atlantis ;  but 
here  it  is  the  ghost  of  a  tradition,  for  I  know  of  no  period  in 
which  the  Atlantis  was  the  subject  of  a  living  popular  belief. 

I  apologise  for  this  intrusion,  which  you  will  see  is  intended 
in  a  sympathetic  sense.  I  remain,  my  dear  sir,  with  much  re- 
spect, faithfully  yours,  W.  E.  GLADSTONE. 

From  the  Same.  HAWARDEN  CASTLE,  CHESTER. 

MY  DEAE  SIR, — One  word  by  way  of  supplement.  What  you 
say  of  your  submergence  in  no  way  I  think  conflicts  with  the 
idea  that  it  may  have  had  to  do  with  Homer's  European  sea. 
That  idea  may  be  compounded  of  the  traditions  of  several  sub- 
mergences, which  (traditions)  had  coalesced  into  one,  just  as 
I  think  it  almost  certain  that  the  Homeric  notion  of  a  great  cir- 
cumfluent river  Okeanos  was  made  up  from  partial  notices  of 
Eastern  (as  well  as  Western)  water  at  the  Straits  of  Yenikale,  in 
the  Caspian,  and  in  the  Persian  Gulf  and  Red  Sea.  These 


380  KOYAL   ACADEMY   OF   THE   LINCEI.  [1894-95. 

things  may  appear  strange ;  but  we  have  to  familiarise  ourselves 
with  the  position  of  a  race  and  a  poet  having  extremely  narrow 
maritime  experience,  and  no  view  or  idea  of  extraneous  waters 
except  from  very  miscellaneous  report.  Yours  very  faithfully, 

W.  E.  GLADSTONE. 

A  very  affectionate  letter  from  Professor  Capellini, 
the  distinguished  geologist,  Rector  of  the  University 
of  Bologna,  dated  15th  October  1894,  informed  Joseph 
Prestwich  of  his  having  been  elected  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  the  Lincei  of  Rome. 
The  distinction  of  belonging  to  this  great  society  was 
especially  prized.  Professor  Capellini  informed  the  new 
member  that  his  election  had  been  carried  by  a  "  splen- 
dide  votation"  and  reminded  him  that  it  was  the  greatest 
honour  in  the  power  of  the  savants  of  Italy  to  bestow. 

Again  at  this  date  are  frequent  notes  addressed  to 
the  discoverer  of  the  plateau  implements.  Mr  Harri- 
son was  encouraged  to  persevere,  and  it  was  impressed 
upon  him  not  to  be  disappointed  should  these  flint  im- 
plements not  be  universally  recognised  at  once.  Joseph 
Prestwich  had  more  than  once  fought  a  battle  single- 
handed,  and  in  the  end  had  always  come  off  victorious. 
In  a  note  to  Mr  Harrison  of  30th  October,  he  repeats  : 
"  I  have  never  had,  nor  have  I  now,  the  slightest  doubt 
about  the  age  and  character  of  the  plateau  implements. 
As  I  have  told  you  all  along,  it  is  only  a  question  of 
time." 

J.  Prestwich  to  Professor  Jules  Marcou. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  IQth  December  1894. 

MY  DEAR  M.  MARCOU,  —  Your  kind  letter  of  October  last 
found  me  in  bed,  where  I  had  to  remain  a  month,  owing  to  one 
of  my  attacks.  I  am  down  again  now,  but  not  yet  allowed  to  go 
out.  I,  however,  go  on  with  my  work.  Your  account  of  the 
Indian  traditions  of  a  flood  is  very  interesting,  but  seems,  from 


yET.  82-83.]        GEOLOGICAL   SOCIETY   OF   FRANCE.  381 

what  you  say,  to  refer  to  a  more  recent  date  than  that  of  Western 
Europe.  I  am  glad  to  know  about  the  ossiferous  fissures  of 
Salins.  That  falls  in  with  my  paper. 

It  is,  I  admit,  a  difficult  point  to  account  for  the  absence  of 
marine  remains ;  but,  besides  the  short  duration  of  the  flood,  it 
is  to  be  remembered  that  the  breaking  up  of  the  vegetable  soil 
by  the  advancing  waters  would  render  them  so  turbid  that,  like 
with  the  estuaries  of  the  West  African  rivers  in  flood,  the  waters 
would  be  deoxidised  and  destructive  to  animal  life.  Further, 
any  marine  life  carried  inland  by  the  waters  would  be  dropped 
on  the  surface  and  subsequently  destroyed  by  atmospheric  in- 
fluences. Mrs  Prestwich  joins  me  in  very  kind  regards,  and  I 
am,  dear  M.  Marcou,  ever  sincerely  yours, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

In  January  1895  Joseph  Prestwich  had  the  gratifica- 
tion of  receiving  another  testimony  of  the  estimation  in 
which  his  geological  work  was  held  abroad — perhaps  in 
greater  estimation  abroad  than  at  home.  This  was  his 
election  as  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Geological 
Society  of  France,  he  being  the  first  Englishman  selected 
for  this  honour.  It  cheered  the  veteran,  then  about  to 
complete  his  eighty- third  year,  to  receive  this  proof  of 
the  constant  affection  and  esteem  of  his  confreres  in 
France. 

J.  Prestwich  to  M.  Albert  Gaudry.  LONDON,  14<A  January  1895. 

Mr  DEAR  M.  GAUDRY, — Many  thanks  for  your  letter  of  con- 
gratulation. I  can  assure  you  that  I  feel  very  much  flattered  by 
the  honour  done  me  by  the  Geological  Society  of  France  in  electing 
me  one  of  their  Vice-Presidents.  My  connection  with  my  French 
colleagues  has  ever  been  to  me  a  source  of  very  great  pleasure, 
and  I  have  profited  much  by  my  studies  on  French  ground.  My 
views  on  many  geological  questions  are  also  more  in  harmony 
with  those  prevailing  on  your  side  of  the  water.  We  are  too 
much  tied  down  here  by  extreme  uniformitarianisin.  Let  me 
thank  you  also  for  the  copy  of  your  paper,  on  the  curious  new 


382  PLATEAU    IMPLEMENTS.  [l895. 

reptile,  you  lately  sent  me.  When  you  next  see  M.  Daubre'e, 
kindly  remember  me  to  him.  We  are  staying  here  for  the 
winter,  as  we  find  Shoreham  too  cold.  We  are  both  confined 
to  the  house,  but  I  am  much  better  than  I  was  last  year.  Mrs 
Prestwich  sends  her  kind  regards,  and  believe  me  to  be,  my  dear 
M.  Gaudry,  yours  very  sincerely  and  attached, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  J.  Evans.  LONDON,  2nd  February  1895. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, —  ...  I  am  writing  a  magazine  article  on 
the  Plateau  Implements,  in  which  I  wage  war  against  all  the 
Oxford  critics,  including  yourself.  I  have  finished  my  "  Collected 
Papers,"  and  have  another  Flood  Tradition  paper  in  hand,  so  we 
have  plenty  of  occupation  during  our  confinement  by  cold  and 
snow.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  think  Skertchly's  hypothesis  will  supersede  Richt- 
hofen's.1  Why  should  the  Loess  shells  be  destroyed  in  China 
when  so  many  are  preserved  in  Europe  ?  .  .  . 

J.  Prestwich  to  B.  Harrison.  LONDON,  15th  March  [1895]. 

DEAR  SIR, — Thanks  for  the  sight  of  the  specimen.  It  is  quite 
immaterial  whether  it  came  from  the  South  or  the  East  Coast. 
The  essential  is  that  it  is  a  shore  specimen.  It  certainly 
simulates  closely  some  of  the  plateau  specimens,  but  it  is  in  fact 
merely  a  naturally  split  pebble  of  which  the  outer  edges  are  worn 
by  sea-action.  As  I  have  pointed  out,  some  of  the  plateau  speci- 
mens are  so  made  that  it  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  between 
Nature  and  Art.  But  it  is  of  no  use  taking  such  specimens 
as  evidence  on  either  side.  What  is  wanted  are  well-defined 
types,  of  which  the  characters  are  positive  and  not  negative.  Let 
the  sea -action  advocates  show  specimens  of  the  [three]  types, 
and  then  we  [shall]  attend  to  their  argument.  There  are  many 
natural  flints  which  simulate  the  palaeolithic  implements,  but 
they  prove  nothing.  To  discuss  them  is  only  waste  of  time. 
My  doctor  forbids  again  my  return  home  for  the  present,  and  I 
am,  yours  very  truly,  JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

1  Paper  by  Skertchly  and  Kingsmill,  in  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  li. 
p.  238. 


JET.  83.]  GEOLOGICAL    PUBLICATIONS.  383 

J.  Prestwich  to  Rev.  0.  Fisher. 

21  HARBWOOD  SQUARE,  19th  March  1895. 

MY  DEAE  FISHER, — How  have  you  been  all  this  severe  winter, 
and  how  are  all  your  sons  ? 

We  have  been  spending  the  winter  with  my  niece  Miss  Scott, 
but  intend  returning  home  on  Friday  next.  Both  of  us  have 
weathered  the  winter  well,  though  it  has  kept  me  a  prisoner  in- 
doors for  the  greater  part  of  the  time.  My  sisters-in-law  are 
away  at  Cannes,  and  will  be  away  till  the  end  of  July.  You 
have  of  course  heard  of  the  death  of  poor  Hulke.  It  was  a  great 
shock  to  us  all,  and  he  will  be  greatly  missed.  Evans  takes  his 
place  as  foreign  secretary.  What  are  you  at  work  on  now  ?  I 
have  been  busy  in  putting  some  of  my  old  papers  together  as 
"  Collected  Papers."  There  will  be  nothing  new  to  you  in  them, 
as  you  had  the  separate  copies  as  they  came  out.  I  have  also  a 
paper  for  the  unbelievers  coming  out  in  the  '  Nineteenth  Century  ' 
magazine.  I  fear  that  we  shall  find  damage  done  to  our  shrubs 
and  trees.  I  hope  your  roses  have  not  suffered  too  much.  Mrs 
Prestwich  desires  her  very  kind  regards ;  and  believe  me  to  be 
very  sincerely  yours,  JOSEPH  PEESTWICH. 

While  yet  early  in  the  year,  four  publications  ap- 
peared from  the  pen  which  had  been  in  such  constant 
use,  and  which  was  soon  to  be  laid  aside  for  ever. 
One  was  'The  Tradition  of  the  Flood/  to  which 
attention  has  already  been  directed.  The  next  was 
the  volume  of '  Collected  Papers  on  some  Controverted 
Questions  of  Geology/  which  made  subjects  under  dis- 
cussion readily  accessible  to  the  reading  public.  A 
reissue,  with  additions  by  the  author,  of  the  '  Water- 
bearing Strata  of  the  Country  around  London,  &c./ 
was  also  published,  it  having  regard  chiefly  to  the 
water-supply  of  the  great  city.  The  fourth  publication 
was  an  article  in  the  April  number  of  the  '  Nineteenth 
Century '  magazine,  "  On  the  Greater  Antiquity  of 
Man.7'  In  this  the  author  traced  the  changes  of 


384  DUKE    OF   ARGYLL.  [l895. 

• 

opinion  that  had  taken  place  within  the  last  half- 
century  respecting  the  age  of  man  on  the  earth  :  it  was 
a  piece  of  close  reasoning,  difficult  to  gainsay,  on  the 
geological  age  of  the  plateau  implements.  The  words 
in  which  he  summed  up  were  :  "  No  traces  of  older  man 
have  been  met  with  on  our  land,  and  though  elsewhere 
instances  have  been  recorded,  they  have  either  proved 
mistaken  or  else  require  confirmation.  Of  one  thing  I 
feel  satisfied,  which  is  that  in  no  other  instance  do  the 
phenomena  exhibit  so  well  as  in  this  part  of  Kent — the 
successive  geological  stages  bearing  upon  human  occu- 
pation of  the  land,  and  so  clearly  help  to  establish  the 
Greater  Antiquity  of  Early  Man." 

The  next  letter  is  one  from  the  Duke  of  Argyll, 
followed  by  its  answer  :— 

The  Duke  of  Argyll  to  J.  Prestwich. 

INVERARY,  April  1,  1895. 

MY  DEAR  MR  PRESTWICH, — I  have  been  reading  with  great 
interest  your  article  on  the  Antiquity  of  Man.  I  have  no  diffi- 
culty about  your  conclusions  as  to  the  human  origin  of  the 
flints,  nor,  of  course,  about  the  great  submergence  which  is  in- 
volved in  the  whole  of  your  explanation,  for  this  agrees  with 
my  own  conclusions  from  glacial  phenomena  in  this  country. 

But  there  are  points  connected  with  time  which  are  not  clear 
to  me.  You  assume  that  all  the  existing  valleys  have  been 
excavated  since  the  high-level  Gravels  were  deposited. 

Is  this  quite  certain  ?  I  don't  know  how  it  is  to  be  proved. 
Certainly  here  the  existing  contours  must  have  been  in  the  main 
the  same  as  now  before  the  submergence.  All  the  phenomena 
point  to  the  ridges  of  existing  hills  having  been  shoals  and  reefs 
in  the  Glaciation  sea,  and  to  the  existence  of  valleys  as  having 
guided  the  rock-bearing  floe-ice. 

Of  course  in  the  re-emergence  of  the  land  there  must  have  been 
a  tremendous  "  scour  "  from  rushing  waters,  and  this  may  have 


MT.  83.]  PLATEAU    IMPLEMENTS.  385 

effected  a  considerable  amount  of  excavation.  But  in  our  hard 
and  crystalline  rocks  whole  valleys  cannot  have  been  thus 
formed,  and  all  evidence  is  against  it. 

The  Chalk  and  Wealden  and  Greensand  beds  of  the  south  of 
England  would  no  doubt  yield  much  more  rapidly  to  the  scour 
of  surging  waters.  But  if  the  high  levels  were  so  scoured,  how 
comes  it  that  the  very  old  weapons  were  not  all  washed  down 
into  the  new  valleys? 

Excuse  my  scepticism.  But  I  want  to  know  exactly  the 
data  on  which  time  is  calculated  as  necessary  to  account  for 
the  facts. 

To  me  the  main  interest  lies  in  the  conclusion  that  a  great 
marine  submergence,  comparatively  rapid  and  transient,  has 
taken  place  since  man  appeared.  I  don't  care  about  the 
number  of  years  ago.  But  any  immense  antiquity  does  not 
seem  to  me  to  be  at  all  proved. — Yours  very  truly, 

AEGYLL. 

J.  Prestwich  to  the  Duke  of  Argyll. 

DARBNT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  14th  April  1895. 

DEAR  DUKE  OF  ARGYLL, — Pray  excuse  the  delay  in  my  answer 
to  your  letter  of  the  1st  instant.  On  referring  to  my  article  in 
the  'Nineteenth  Century,'  I  fear  that  I  was  not  sufficiently 
explicit  in  limiting  my  observations  to  the  Kentish  area. 

I  entirely  accept  your  interpretation  of  the  valleys  in  Scot- 
land. They  must  be  of  far  higher  antiquity.  My  observations 
were  intended  to  apply  to  such  valleys  as  those  of  the  Medway, 
Holmesdale,  and  in  part  to  that  of  the  Thames. 

The  reason  why  the  old  implements  on  the  plateau  were  not 
all  washed  down  during  the  re -elevation  of  the  land  arose,  I 
think,  from  the  fact  that  the  re  -  elevation  was  slow,  so  that 
the  scour  on  the  high  flat  table  -  land  was  slight ;  but  when 
the  effluent  currents  became  centred  in  the  narrow  intersecting 
valleys,  the  rapidity  of  the  current  and  its  scouring  became 
largely  increased. 

Nevertheless,  portions  of  the  Drift  a — which  contains  the 
plateau  implements  —  were  denuded  and  worn;  and  derived 
plateau  implements  are  found  in  the  reconstructed  Drift  I.  In 
this  district  we  have  no  beds  older  than  a,  and  no  valleys 

2  B 


386  THE   REV.    R.    A.    BULLEN.  [i895. 

older  than  A,  which  are  newer  than  a,  and  cannot  therefore 
be  older  than  early  Glacial,  or  may  be  Pre-Glacial.  There  is 
a  limit  also  to  the  age  of  a,  inasmuch  as  it  overlies  in  place 
a  crag  of  Diestian  age. 


I  have  gone  more  fully  into  the  Submergence  question  and 
some  of  its  effects  in  a  paper  which  is  just  passing  through  my 
hands,  and  will  be  published  by  Macmillan. 

In  the  meantime,  it  will  be  a  pleasure  to  me  to  answer  any 
other  questions  that  may  arise ;  and  I  am  very  truly  yours, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

It  had  become  an  established  practice  with  the  Rev. 
Ashington  Bullen,  the  Vicar  of  Shoreham,  when  absent 
at  the  sea-side  for  a  brief  holiday,  to  prosecute  inquiries 
for  the  veteran.  The  following  letter  refers  to  a  visit 
paid  by  Mr  JBullen  to  Bournemouth  :— 

J.  Prestwich  to  the  Rev.  R.  A.  JBullen. 

DARENT-HULME,  24th  May  1895. 

DEAR  MR  BULLEN, — Thanks  for  notes  and  particulars.  Do 
not,  however,  trouble  about  mineral  and  structural  particulars  of 
the  Gravels.  I  have  them  all  in  my  note-books.  All  that  is 
wanted  is  to  supplement  them  by  two  inquiries : — 

1.  Do  any  implements  of  the  plateau  type  occur  in  the  high- 
level  Gravels,  such  as  St  Catherine's  Hill  ? 

2.  Do  any  fluviatile  shells  occur  in  the  Gravel  referred  to  the 
Old  Solent  river  ? 

These  questions  were  not  mooted  when  I  last  worked  in  the 
district.  Besides  St  Catherine's  Hill  you  will  find  the  high-level 
Gravels  on  Canon  Hill  and  Hampreston  Heath,  on  the  N.E. 


2BT.  83.]  TRADITION    OF   THE   FLOOD.  38*7 

of  Wimborne,  and  on  the  high  ground  E.  and  N.E.  of  Ford- 
ingbridge.  Probably  they  are  best  developed  on  the  hills 
between  Lyndhurst  and  Salisbury.  The  Gravel  on  St  Catherine's 
Hill  does  not  belong  to  the  Old  Solent.  The  latter  forms  the 
extensive  beds  of  Gravel  on  the  cliffs  between  Poole  Harbour  and 
Lymington.  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  the  specimens  of  flint  imple- 
ments you  have  found  at  St  Catherine's  Hill,  or  hear  further 
about  the  Solent  Gravels;  and  I  am  most  truly  yours, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

Another  letter  of  interest  from  Mr  Gladstone,  dis- 
cussing the  '  Tradition  of  the  Flood,'  is  given  here.  He 
had  written  on  June  9,  1895,  to  Sir  Henry  Acland  :  "It 
was  a  great  honour,  as  I  thought,  to  receive  Mr  Prest- 
wich's  book,  and  I  have  put  it  up  for  careful  perusal 
on  the  voyage.  One  curious  thing  is  the  way  in  which 
the  Deluge  connects  itself  with  the  unity  of  the  entire 
present  family  of  man." 

W.  E.  Gladstone  to  J.  Prestwich. 

TANTALLON  CASTLE,  OFF  KIEL,  20th  June  1895. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  read  with  great  interest  the  work  which 
you  did  me  the  honour  and  kindness  of  sending  me. 

The  perusal  of  it  leaves  behind  a  lively  hope  that  Geology  may 
ere  long  invade  the  regions  of  the  Noachian  tradition,  and  enable 
you  and  others  similarly  endowed  to  learn  whether  Nature  in 
those  regions  tells  a  tale  in  any  way  analogous  to  that  which  you 
have  unfolded.  I  am  not  sure  whether  I  have  apprehended  ac- 
curately your  remarks  on  the  Accadian  tradition  of  the  Flood.  It 
is  indeed  of  the  utmost  value  and  importance.  But  I  cannot 
agree  with  those  who  treat  it  as  the  original  record,  and  the 
Hebrew  account  as  one  altered  and  adopted  from  it.  To  me  both 
of  them  are  secondary  forms,  based  upon  an  older  and  original 
record.  I  am  able  to  follow  a  number  of  particulars  in  which 
the  record  on  the  tablets  appears  to  present  marks  of  a  nearer 
approach  (as  I  understand)  to  historic  truth.  But  there  are  two 
points  in  which  the  Biblical  account  appears  not  only  to  be 


388  NATURE   AND   ART.  [l895. 

superior,  but  superior  in  a  mode  indicating  nearer  resemblance  to 
the  primitive  record,  which  may  be  unknown  to  us.  One  is  that 
it  is  absolutely  monotheistic,  and  the  other  is  its  representation 
of  the  Deluge  as  a  judgment  for  sin.  If,  as  some  critics  tell  us, 
the  Biblical  text  is  not  simple,  but  compounded  of  two  separate 
narratives,  this  is  all  the  more  remarkable.  Viewed  severally 
and  with  regard  to  the  education  or  evolution  of  man,  the  Chal- 
dean record  naturally  exhibits  the  inferiority  belonging  to  a  state 
of  opinion  debased  by  the  innovations  of  polytheism. — Believe 
me,  my  dear  sir,  very  faithfully  yours,  W.  E.  GLADSTONE. 

J.  Prestwidi  to  Sir  J.  Evans. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  6th  July  1895. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — Your  suggestion  that  some  of  the  plateau 
implements  might  have  been  formed  by  sea  l  action  had  become 
so  widely  accepted  by  many  geologists  and  by  most  anthropol- 
ogists— the  latter  of  whom  have  probably  never  been  in  a  gravel  - 
pit  in  their  lives — that  I  have  been  moved  to  write  a  letter  to  the 
'  Geological  Magazine  '  expressing  my  dissent.  It  is  in  general 
terms,  and  your  name  in  the  matter  is  not  mentioned.  I  can 
send  you  a  proof  before  its  publication  in  August  if  you  should 
wish,  for  any  suggestions.  We  both  continue  fairly  well,  although 
I  had  a  bad  turn  ten  days  ago,  which  has  obliged  me  to  keep 
much  to  the  sofa.  What  a  loss  the  world  of  science  has  experi- 
enced in  the  death  of  Huxley !  I  had  known  him  ever  since  his 
return  from  his  voyage.  It  is  a  strange  memorial  that  has  been 
suggested.  I  hope  there  will  be  a  better  one.  .  .  .  — I  am, 
ever  sincerely  yours,  JOSEPH  PEESTWICH. 

The  letter  to  which  reference  is  made  was  addressed 
to  the  Editor  of  the  '  Geological  Magazine,'  being  headed 
"  Nature  and  Art,"  and  was  published  in  the  August 
number.  A  pathetic  interest  attaches  to  it,  since  it 

1  Sir  John  Evans  says  that  the  use  of  the  word  "  sea  "  in  this  letter  was  a 
mistake.  Though  he  attributes  the  chipping  and  bruising  of  the  edges  of 
the  flints  in  question  to  the  turbulent  action  of  water,  he  never  invoked 
marine  action. 


JET.  83.]  A   CHALLENGE.  389 

was  the  last  appearance  in  public  of  any  communication 
from  Joseph  Prestwich.  His  first  memoir,  when  a 
young,  hard  -  working  City  man,  had  been  read  to 
the  Geological  Society  in  1834  :  now,  after  a  splendid 
record  of  sixty-one  years'  continuous  original  work,  his 
pen  for  the  public  was  laid  aside. 

In  the  letter  to  the  '  Geological  Magazine '  he  re- 
futes the  theory  of  the  flint  implements  from  the 
Chalk  plateau  of  Kent  having  been  formed  by  natural 
agencies,  and  observes  :  "  Had  it  been  possible  for  sea- 
or  river-action  to  have  produced  such  forms  as  those 
I  have  figured  in  Plates  V.  to  IX.  of  '  Collected  Papers,' 
they  should  be  found  in  all  such  shingle  of  whatsoever 
age.  None  are  forthcoming."  He  repeats  a  former 
challenge  :  "  [I]  am  ready  to  exchange  the  two  volumes 
of  '  Geology '  with  any  young  (or  old)  dissentient,  for 
half-a-dozen  shore  flints  (not  derived)  of  any  of  the 
plateau  types  figured  in  the  five  plates  above  named." 
No  one  has  come  forward  or  has  accepted  the  chal- 
lenge. Time  will  adjudge  the  verdict,  and  of  it  we 
are  not  doubtful. 

This  imperfect  sketch  of  the  life  of  Joseph  Prestwich 
would  be  still  more  incomplete  without  special  reference 
to  the  affectionate  relations  which  were  maintained 
between  him  and  geologists  abroad,  more  particularly 
with  those  in  France  and  Belgium.  These  friendships 
were  not  those  of  a  year  or  so,  or  a  score  of  years,  but 
were  life-enduring.  His  position  as  an  Englishman  of 
science  among  French  savants  was  through  a  long  series 
of  years  probably  unique.  In  the  files  of  letters  from 
Gaudry,  Daubree,  Hebert,  and  other  distinguished 
members  of  the  Institute,  we  find  Joseph  Prestwich 
repeatedly  addressed  by  the  first-named  as  "  Mon  cher 
maitre"  "Cher  et  illustre  confrere";  Deshayes  wrote 


390  DAUBRiE.  [1895. 

to  him  usually  as  "  Mon  cher  et  bon  Mr  Prestwich" 
and  Desnoyers  as  "Monsieur  et  tres  honore  confrere." 
Letters  from  Capellini,  the  eminent  Italian  geologist, 
were  couched  in  still  warmer  terms,  and  many  simi- 
larly inscribed  might  be  quoted  from  MM.  de  Rouville, 
de  Vibraye,  Boule,  Dewalque,  &c.  Prestwich  and 
Edouard  Lartet  were  on  terms  of  the  highest  mutual 
regard.  One  note  from  a  French  academician  is  given 
as  an  example  of  those  delightful  letters  from  France. 
It  is  dated  less  than  a  year  before  the  end. 

M.  A.  Daulrte  to  J.  Prestwich.  PARIS,  le  13  Juillet  1895. 

CHEK  PRESTWICH, — C'est  toujours  un  bonheur  pour  moi  de 
recevoir  une  marque  de  votre  affectueux  souvenir  et  en  meme 
temps  de  constater  que  vous  continuez  une  activite"  juvenile. 

Aussi,  avant  d'avoir  completement  acheve*  de  lire  vos  argu- 
ments inge'nieux  et  inattendus  relatifs  a  I'interessante  question 
du  cttluge,  je  desire  vous  adresser  mes  vifs  remer elements,  aussi 
que  mes  sinceres  felicitations.  Comme  votre  carriere  a  e*te*  bien 
remplie,  et  malgre*  le  prix  de  votre  temps,  vous  vous  6tes  tou- 
jours montre*  d'une  incomparable  obligeance;  ce  sont  des  sou- 
venirs que  je  apprecie  d'autant  plus  que  j'avance  en  age. 

J'espere  que  votre  activite  est  la  preuve  d'une  sante  vigoureuse. 

De  mon  cote",  je  n'ai  pas  a  me  plaindre  de  ma  sant^,  malgre  le 
malheur  qui  m'a  frappe"  il  y  a  cinq  mois,  par  la  perte  de  ma  chere 
femme. 

Croyez  toujours,  cher  Prestwich,  a  mes  sentiments  bien  affec- 
tueux et  devours,  A.  DAUBREE. 

Letters  from  old  Oxford  students  were  received  from 
time  to  time,  and  gave  him  keen  pleasure.  One,  to 
whom  he  was  much  attached,  was  Professor  T.  W. 
Edgeworth  David,  known  for  his  researches  in  the 
coal-fields  of  New  South  Wales,  and  for  his  recent 
investigations  of  coral  islands,  and  who  now  fills  the 
Chair  of  Geology  in  the  University  of  Sydney.  In 


JET.  83.]  GEOLOGICAL   PUPILS.  391 

September  1892  Professor  E.  David  wrote  to  his  "dear 
master  "  :  "  Allow  me  to  take  this  opportunity  of  thank- 
ing you  again  most  sincerely,  not  only  for  the  very 
cordial  assistance  which  you  rendered  me  in  securing 
my  present  appointment,  but  also  for  your  great  kind- 
ness to  me  at  Oxford,  and  the  interest  in  geology  and 
first  grasp  of  its  true  principles  which  your  lectures 
and  field  excursions  at  Oxford  afforded  me.  I  hope 
that  my  subsequent  work  will  not  discredit  your  early 
teaching." 

Another  student  with  whom  he  kept  in  touch  was  a 
Balliol  man,  now  Professor  A.  P.  W.  Thomas  of  Auck- 
land University,  New  Zealand.  Mr  C.  L.  Barnes, 
author  of  the  *  Rock  History '  of  the  earth,  was  an 
attached  pupil,  who  wrote  to  him — and  not  in  vain — 
for  advice  and  criticism.  Another  was  the  Rev.  John 
Hawwell  of  Ingleby  Vicarage,  Northallerton,  whom  he 
encouraged  to  persevere  in  his  work  among  the  boulders 
of  Yorkshire.  About  a  year  ago  the  writer  of  this 
memoir  received  a  letter  from  Mr  Hawwell,  saying, 
"  The  one  [letter]  written  to  me  when  T  was  in  the 
Radcliffe  Infirmary,  suffering  from  an  attack  of  diph- 
theria, to  which  I  fell  a  victim  while  undergoing  ex- 
amination for  the  Burdett-Coutts  Scholarship,  particu- 
larly illustrates  the  kindness  of  his  disposition,  of  which 
I  have  so  vivid  and  reverent  a  recollection."  Among 
other  old  pupils  may  be  mentioned  Mr  F.  A.  Bather, 
of  the  Geological  Department,  British  Museum,  who  is 
distinguished  for  his  researches  on  the  fossil  Crinoidea. 


392 


CHAPTER   XII. 

1895-1896. 
LAST    DAYS. 

THE  quiet  semi-invalid  life  which  had  crept  on  Joseph 
Prestwich  almost  unawares  was  nevertheless  a  very 
happy  time.  It  continued  to  be  his  practice  to  walk 
out  a  little  in  the  garden  before  breakfast  so  as  to 
breathe  the  morning  air  and  have  a  look  at  the  vane, 
always  bringing  in  a  rose  or  pink,  or  a  handful  of  sweet- 
scented  flowers.  Any  lady  guest  found  a  rose  by  her 
breakfast  plate,  or,  when  flowers  were  not  within  reach, 
sprays  of  his  favourite  lavender  took  their  place,  several 
plants  of  it  being  grown  near  the  house  so  as  to  be 
accessible  for  cutting.  The  old  routine  was  maintained  : 
after  reading  the  morning  papers  he  adjourned  to  the 
library,  when  longingly  he  looked  at  his  books  and 
portfolios  of  MS.,  which  he  had  been  forbidden  to  touch. 
Replies  to  letters  and  notes  were  the  first  occupation, 
being  dashed  off  in  the  old  rapid  style.  Sometimes 
plants  had  to  be  ordered  for  the  garden,  or  some  other 
easy  correspondence  which  could  not  be  termed  work. 
Before  lunch,  at  least  an  hour  (which  was  always  an  en- 
grossing time)  was  spent  in  the  grounds ;  he  then  often 


JET.  83.]  QUIET    DAYS.  393 

rested  on  a  bench  and  made  notes  of  the  shrubs  marked 
for  change  of  position ;  and  at  different  corners  of  the 
garden  considered  improvements  and  alterations  which 
he  had  in  view.  The  route  chosen  for  the  afternoon 
drive  was  most  often  towards  some  plateau  implement 
ground,  when  he  was  able  to  contemplate  several  of 
the  sites  that  had  yielded  the  weapons  or  tools  of 
primitive  man.  These  easy  open  drives  in  the  pictur- 
esque country  always  refreshed  him,  and  in  getting 
into  the  carriage  a  frequent  remark  with  a  smile  was, 
"I  have  become  quite  resigned  to  these  lazy  ways." 
The  evening,  however,  was  the  time  to  which  he  looked 
forward,  when  he  liked  his  wife  to  read  aloud,  never 
tired  of  Scotch  stories,  and  appreciating  their  dry 
humour  and  caustic  sayings  :  it  was  difficult  to  main- 
tain a  supply  sufficient  for  the  demand.  Seeing  a 
facsimile  of  the  first  1678  edition  of  the  'Pilgrim's 
Progress'  advertised,  he  expressed  a  wish  for  a  copy, 
which  was  placed  on  the  drawing-room  table  by  his 
chair,  and  at  odd  moments  the  marvellous  allegory  was 
usually  in  his  hands.  He  had  been  ever  a  steady  reader 
of  '  Nature,'  and  in  one  of  his  last  evenings  downstairs, 
while  its  pages  were  open  before  him,  his  eyes  lighting 
up,  he  observed,  "  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  enjoy 
'  Nature,'  it  is  such  a  pleasure  to  me  to  see  what  other 
workers  are  doing  in  other  subjects."  While  debarred 
from  his  own  special  books,  one  which  interested  him 
was  '  In  a  Gloucestershire  Garden/1  and  a  list  lies  before 
us  of  the  plants  and  flowers  which  were  new  to  him, 
and  had  therefore  not  found  a  place  in  his  own  garden. 
This  list  had  been  jotted  down  in  pencil,  and  was  after- 
wards traced  over  in  ink  in  a  tremulous  hand. 

In  answer  to  an  inquiry  made  by  Mr  A.  H.  Tabrum, 

1  By  Canon  Ellacombe. 


394  FINAL   WRITINGS.  [l895. 

he  writes,  12th  August  1895,  only  three  months  before 
his  last  illness  : — 

Eeligion  and  science  constitute  two  distinct  branches  of  human 
knowledge  and  inquiry.  They  move  in  parallel  lines,  and  cannot, 
in  my  opinion,  clash.  They  certainly  should  not.  The  one  has 
to  deal  with  moral  questions,  the  other  with  physical  questions. 
You  may  have  seen  that  I  deal  with  one  of  the  latter  in  my 
'  Tradition  of  the  Flood/  recently  published  by  Messrs  Mac- 
millan  &  Co. 

Among  the  last  notes  in  his  handwriting  is  one  in 
which  reference  is  made  to  his  letter  of  challenge  in 
the  '  Geological  Magazine ' : — 

J.  Prestwich  to  Sir  J.  Evans. 

DARENT-HULME,  SHOREHAM,  2nd  Sept.  1895. 

MY  DEAR  EVANS, — It  was  a  pleasure  to  us  to  hear  of  your  safe 
return,  and  of  the  delightful  round  you  had  had — all  ground 
unvisited  by  me,  but  of  which  I  have  heard  much.  I  suppose 
you  secured  a  bag  of  the  Saxon  coins.  I  suppose  you  will  be  at 
Ipswich.  I  have  written  to  Galton  to  express  my  regret. 

I  hope  you  approve  of  my  letter.  It  will  put  the  matter  to 
your  followers  to  the  test.  You  will,  I  think  and  hope,  have  to 
give  up  that  leadership,  unless  you  do  not  wish  to  be  left  without 
any  disciples — at  least  so  I  judge  from  Harrison's  gains.  This  fine 
weather  suits  me,  but  I  have  had  rather  a  bad  time  of  it  of  late, 
and  have  not  been  allowed  to  work.  I  hope  that  will  not  last 
long.  I  trust  you  and  Lady  Evans  are  well ;  and  with  love  from 
self  and  wife,  I  am,  ever  sincerely  yours, 

JOSEPH  PRESTWICH. 

While  conscientious  in  adhering  to  the  rules  enjoined 
by  his  devoted  friend  and  medical  adviser,  Dr  F.  C. 
Bury,  his  sanguine  and  buoyant  nature  led  him  con- 
fidently to  look  forward  to  restored  health  and  capac- 
ity for  work.  But  to  one  who  looked  on  there  was 


MT.  83.]  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  395 

no  apparent  gain  in  strength.  A  visit  late  in  Sep- 
tember from  Sir  John  and  Lady  Evans  gave  untold 
pleasure,  although  he  found  himself  unable  to  carry 
out  his  programme  of  accompanying  them  to  various 
sites  of  the  plateau  implements.  It  was  after  this 
visit  that  he  felt  stronger  and  better,  and,  as  an  inter- 
mediate step  to  geological  work,  began  writing  his 
autobiography,  which  his  wife  had  often  urged  him 
to  place  on  record,  and  the  few  pages  of  which  are 
given  in  the  early  part  of  this  volume.  With  his  pen 
in  hand  and  a  sheaf  of  foolscap  before  him  he  lighted 
up  and  felt  the  old  power  for  work.  As  this  was  the 
case,  he  could  not  resist  breaking  ground  with  a  paper 
"  On  some  Local  Freshwater  Deposits  underlying  the 
Glacial  Series  in  the  South  of  England,"  which  he  in- 
tended to  be  the  forerunner  of  a  series  of  glacial 
memoirs.1  This  last  work,  unfortunately,  is  too  in- 
complete for  publication.  His  ruling  passion  —  the 
love  of  geology — was,  however,  unquenchable. 

But  about  9.30  on  the  evening  of  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber, and  after  a  day  when,  in  spite  of  repeated  re- 
minders, his  pen  had  been  longer  than  usual  at  work, 
Joseph  Prestwich  rose  from  his  chair,  while  his  wife  as 
usual  was  reading  aloud,  and  going  across  the  room, 
lay  down  on  the  sofa,  saying  in  rather  a  low  voice,  "  I 
am  not  feeling  very  well."  He  never  complained,  not 
even  when  in  pain  and  suffering,  so  it  was  evident  that 
he  was  ill.  He  would  not  hear  of  Dr  Bury  being  sent 
for,  saying,  "  Wait,  I  am  feeling  better,"  and  went  back 
to  his  easy-chair.  But  the  improvement  was  only  tem- 
porary, as  shortly  after  he  became  unconscious  for  two 
or  three  minutes.  While  a  messenger  rode  off  to 

1  A  brief  account  of  this  MS.  is  given  in  the  Geological  Magazine,  Dec. 
IV.,  vol.  v.  p.  405,  1898. 


396  ILLNESS.  [1895. 

Biverhead  for  Dr  Bury,  he  had  rallied  so  far  as  with 
help  to  be  able  to  walk  upstairs,  declining  any  extra 
assistance.  It  proved  the  beginning  of  a  last  illness, 
when  during  eight  long  months  he  suffered  no  pain, 
but  lay  in  a  state  of  extreme  bodily  weakness.  So 
long  as  he  had  strength  to  listen  he  liked  to  have  the 
current  news  read  regularly  every  morning,  and  later 
in  the  day  he  again  listened  to  reading. 

As  Dr  Bury  expressed  a  wish  for  a  second  opinion, 
Sir  W.  Broadbent  joined  him  in  consultation  and 
approved  of  all  the  treatment :  he  held  out  hope, 
which  was  clung  to  at  the  time,  but  on  looking  back 
it  is  evident  that  the  physician's  opinion  was  a  quali- 
fied one. 

Soon  after  this  there  were  anxious  fluctuations  in 
the  condition  of  the  invalid,  which  he  clearly  realised. 
He  expressed  a  wish  to  receive  the  Holy  Communion, 
which  was  administered  to  him  by  Mr  Bullen,  whose 
attachment  to  him  was  as  that  of  a  son.  Owing  to 
feebleness  of  the  heart  he  had  been  forbidden  to  sit 
up ;  therefore,  when  seeing  the  frail  form  struggle  into 
a  strange  crouching  posture,  his  wife  whispered,  "  You 
are  in  a  painful  position?"  "It  is  more  penitent," 
was  the  answer.  The  solemnity  of  the  scene  cannot 
be  told  in  words. 

Rev.  E.  Ashington  Bullen  to  G.  A.  Prestwich. 

SHOREHAM  VICARAGE,  2,9th  Dec.  1895. 

DEAR  MRS  PRESTWICH, — I  sincerely  trust  that  my  dear 
master  did  not  suffer  from  the  intense  strain  of  yesterday 
afternoon.  It  was  a  great  privilege  to  be  with  you  both,  and  it 
will  abide  with  me  as  long  as  I  live.  I  have  always  felt  very 
near  the  dear  professor, — now  I  feel  nearer  than  ever.  I  would 
that  some  of  those  proud  of  their  spiritual  and  intellectual  at- 


^T.  83.]  KNIGHTHOOD.  397 

tainments  could  see  his  deep  humility,  which,  as  Montgomery 
so  finely  sings  in  the  hymn  that  was  my  dear  mother's  greatest 
favourite,  is  "  nearest  the  Throne." 

A  few  days  before  this  date  it  had  been  rumoured 
that  Joseph  Prestwich's  name  was  one  of  those  in  the 
list  designated  for  New  Year's  honours,  and  two  of  his 
old  kind  friends,  of  whom  Dr  H.  Woodward  was  one  and 
Sir  Henry  Howorth  the  other,  thinking  to  give  him 
pleasure,  wrote  to  inform  him  of  the  report.  The  news 
gave  him  unfeigned  pleasure — though  not  on  his  own 
account.  From  weakness  which  had  been  alarming  he 
again  rallied,  and  there  were  even  glad  symptoms  of 
a  little  step  upward.  New  Year's  morning  brought  a 
confirmation  of  the  rumour  that  he  was  one  of  those 
upon  whom  her  Majesty  bestowed  the  honour  of 
knighthood.  One  of  the  earliest  telegrams  received 
was  from  Sir  John  Evans  with  hearty  congratulations, 
and  "  this  will  help  Sir  Joseph's  convalescence,"  the 
words  bringing  a  bright  smile  to  the  invalid's  face. 
Throughout  the  day  messages  kept  arriving  from 
attached  friends,  each  one  giving  heartfelt  pleasure. 

But  after  a  few  months  it  was  plain  that  the  im- 
provement was  not  maintained,  that  on  the  contrary 
there  was  the  almost  imperceptible  decline,  and  that 
the  frail  life  hung  upon  a  thread.  Yet  with  that  dis- 
tressingly low  pulse  there  was  no  actual  pain  —  a 
mercy  for  which  those  who  looked  on  could  not  be  too 
thankful. 

"  But,  0  my  gentle  sisters,  0  my  brothers, 
These  thick-sown  snowflakes  hint  of  toil's  release ; 
These  feebler  pulses  bid  me  leave  to  others 
The  tasks  once  welcome:  Evening  asks  for  peace." 

All  that  the  best  and  kindest  medical  skill  could 
devise  was  brought  to  bear  upon  his  case.  Dr  Bury 


398  ILLNESS.  [1896. 

watched  for  any  untoward  symptom,  and  his  visit  was 
eagerly  looked  forward  to  as  the  event  of  the  day. 
The  tedium  of  the  sick-bed  was  also  lightened  by  the 
frequent  sight  of  near  and  dear  relatives  :  his  sister 
Eliza  (Mrs  Tomkins)  was  constant  in  her  visits,  as  was 
his  attached  niece  Annie l  (daughter  of  Mrs  Thurburn), 
while  his  sister,  Emily  Prestwich,  had  throughout 
his  illness  remained  in  the  house.  There  was  never 
a  morning  without,  some  letter  of  affectionate  in- 
quiry, the  reading  of  which  brought  the  shining 
light  into  his  eyes,  none  giving  keener  pleasure 
than  those  from  his  friend  Evans.  Again  and  again 
Sir  Archibald  Geikie  sent  long  letters  with  accounts 
of  all  that  was  passing  in  the  geological  world,  to 
every  word  of  which  he  listened  with  delighted 
interest.  "No  letter  from  Rupert  to-day?"  was 
an  inquiry  often  made,  referring  to  his  old  friend, 
Professor  Rupert  Jones.  Then  there  were  the  letters 
from  Sir  Henry  Acland,  expressing,  as  they  ever  did, 
the  old  brotherly  affection.  From  abroad,  too,  came 
frequent  inquiries,  for  the  news  of  his  illness  had 
spread.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  these  proofs  of 
affectionate  interest  coming  constantly,  as  they  did, 
were  a  solace  and  comfort  to  the  frail  invalid  :  they 
made  him  remember  that  he  held  a  place  in  many 
hearts.  It  should  be  mentioned,  too,  that  letters  from 
Mrs  Etheridge  invariably  cheered  him  :  they  always 
brought  brightness  to  him,  telling  perhaps  of  a  step 
forward  made  by  some  other  invalid,  something  to 
think  of  and  look  forward  to.  Then  there  were  the 
little  visits  from  Mr  Bullen,  who  occasionally  brought 
a  newly  found  flint  implement  in  his  pocket,  and  when 
it  was  a  sight  to  see  the  flash  and  eager  look  of  delight 

1  Wife  of  General  Wm.  Percival  Tomkins,  RE.,  C.I.E. 


,ET.  84.]  LAST   DAYS.  399 

with  which  it  was  handled,  and  how  the  slender  fingers 
felt  it  all  over,  noting  the  chipping  and  marks  with  a 
smile  of  approval.  Nor  must  we  forget  the  fresh 
flowers — his  own  flowers,  which  were  daily  brought  to 
him,  and  now  as  ever  contributed  so  largely  to  the 
pleasure  of  his  life.  The  last  little  tree  of  which  he 
superintended  the  planting  was  the  variegated  species 
of  the  Thuiopsis,  the  T.  variegata ;  and  on  his  more 
than  once  inquiring  how  it  had  stood  the  winter,  a 
sprig  of  the  white- tipped  foliage  was  brought  to  him, 
when  it  was  characteristic  to  see  the  keen  interest  with 
which  it  was  handled  and  examined. 

As  the  spring  wore  on  it  was  too  apparent  that  his 
power  of  listening  to  reading  had  become  less,  and  that 
he  was  unable  to  bear  the  strain  of  long  -  sustained 

o 

attention.  At  night,  when  a  brief  invalid  prayer  was 
read — a  sentence  or  two — he  roused  himself  and  joined 
with  fervour,  and  followed  also  a  few  verses  of  a  psalm, 
ending  with  a  hymn,  to  which  he  specially  liked  to 
listen.  He  often  asked  for  the  hymn,  "  Jesus,  Lover 
of  my  soul "  ;  but  he  was  so  much  affected  by  it  that 
it  was  found  advisable  to  substitute  another.  Dr  Bury, 
always  on  the  watch  for  any  amelioration  of  his  posi- 
tion, suggested  his  being  carried  in  a  recumbent  pos- 
ture into  the  adjoining  library,  to  a  bed  placed  there. 
One  sad  look  round  at  his  books — those  books  which  he 
was  never  again  to  open — was  given  when  he  was  first 
moved  there ;  afterwards  he  did  not  appear  to  notice 
them.  As  no  harm  was  done  by  this  experiment  of 
an  hour  or  two  daily  in  the  library,  Dr  Bury  arranged 
for  a  move,  always  in  a  recumbent  posture,  down  to 
the  dining-room  on  the  ground  floor,  where,  from  a 
couch  in  the  bow-window,  the  invalid  in  the  daytime 
could  look  out  on  the  lawn  with  its  flower-beds,  and 


400  DEATH.  [1896. 

on  the  background  of  shrubs  and  trees0  There  is  no 
doubt  that  this  change  to  a  room  downstairs  gave 
him  immense  pleasure,  and  often  as  he  lay  quietly 
contemplating  the  flower -borders  (his  own  planning), 
he  sank  into  a  restful  sleep.  But  the  sight  of  that 
pathetic  form  in  the  window  was  almost  unnerving  for 
those  who  looked  on.  In  the  evenings  the  doors  from 
dining-  to  drawing-room  were  thrown  open,  and  to  his 
delight  his  sister-in-law,  Louisa  Milne,  played  piece 
after  piece  of  the  music  he  liked  best.  With  a  wistful 
smile  he  remarked,  "  What  with  the  music  and  the 
flowers,  I  am  beginning  to  enjoy  life."  Dr  Bury's  hope 
was  that  in  warm  summer  air  he  might  be  able  to  be 
carried  out  to  a  couch  in  the  garden,  and  this  would 
have  been  feasible  from  the  dining-room ;  but,  alas  !  it 
was  not  to  be.  There  was  a  further  failure  of  strength, 
and  an  alarmingly  low  pulse.  The  music  which  had 
given  such  manifest  delight  now  failed  to  interest  or 
attract  his  attention.  The  end  was  near :  it  came 
before  dawn  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd  June  1896. 
A  few  days  later  the  mortal  remains  of  Joseph 
Prestwich  were  laid  in  the  churchyard  of  Shoreham, 
in  the  presence  of  an  assemblage  of  attached  friends, 
many  of  whom  were  representatives  of  the  scientific 
societies  of  which  he  had  been  so  notable  a  working 
member.  The  service  was  performed  by  his  old  friend 
Canon  Bonney  and  by  the  Rev.  K.  A.  Bullen.  A  grey 
granite  cross  marks  his  resting-place,  with  the  motto  of 
the  Prestwich  family  inscribed  on  the  base,  "In  te 
Domine  speravi."  It  is  within  sight  of  his  dear  home. 

Numerous  letters  of  sympathy  bore  testimony  to  the 
place  he  held  as  a  man  of  science  and  to  the  love  he 
inspired.  An  extract  from  one  addressed  to  the  writer 


JET.  84.]  LETTERS    OF    SYMPATHY.  401 

by  Lady  Bamsay,  widow  of  the  geologist,  may  be  given 
as  an  example  of  many  : — 

I  think  I  remember  telling  you  when  you  married  that  your 
husband  stood  on  the  highest  pinnacle  of  our  love  and  esteem, 
and  those  words  are  as  true  now  as  ever,  but  to  those  feelings  I 
have  now  to  add  the  deep  grief  of  parting  with,  it  seems  to  me, 
the  one  last  link  to  the  dear  old  set  and  the  never-forgotten  old 
times,  and  that  parting,  the  loss  of  the  sweetest,  most  courteous 
and  high-minded  and  lovable  gentleman  of  my  acquaintance.  .  .  . 
The  memory  of  dear  Sir  Joseph  will  be  "  sadly  kept "  as  long  as 
I  remember  anything. 

The  Master  of  Pembroke  College  (Professor  Bar- 
tholomew Price),  who  so  recently  passed  away,  also 
gave  his  testimony  :— 

Very  many  friends  and  admirers  of  Sir  Joseph  Prestwich  are 
grieving  with  you :  they  feel  that  geological  science  has  lost  the 
foremost  of  its  able  students,  and  that  a  man  great  in  all  respects 
has  fallen  from  among  them. 

M.  Gaudry,  the  distinguished  palaeontologist,  wrote :— 

Je  suis  tres  afflige  d'apprendre  la  mort  de  mon  illustre  con- 
frere, Sir  Joseph  Prestwich.  Non  seulement  c'etait  un  des  plus 
grands  geologues  de  notre  epoque,  mais  ainsi  c'e'tait  un  homme 
d'un  si  beau  caractere,  que  tout  le  monde  1'aimait.  Le  chagrin 
des  savants  anglais  sera  partage  par  les  savants  fran^ais,  qui 
avaient  pour  Sir  Joseph  la  plus  profonde  estime.  .  .  .  L'Institut 
de  France  et  la  Societe  ge"ologique  vont  prendre  une  vive  part  a 
votre  rualheur.  .  .  . 

The  official  letter,  addressed  to  Lady  Prestwich  by 
the  President  and  Council  of  the  Geological  Society 
of  London,  records  "  their  high  appreciation  of  the 
life-long  work  achieved  by  Sir  Joseph  Prestwich,  who 
for  sixty-three  years  was  a  member  of  their  body,  alike 
respected  and  beloved." 

2  c 


402 


SUMMABY  OF  THE   SCIENTIFIC   WOEK   OF 
SIE  JOSEPH  PEESTWICH,  D.C.L,  F.E.S., 

BY 

SIR  ARCHIBALD  GEIKIE,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S., 

DIRECTOR- GENERAL   OF   THE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEYS    OF   THE   UNITED   KINGDOM. 


THE  scientific  career  of  Joseph  Prestwich  was  marked 
by  the  long  period  over  which  it  extended,  and  by  the 
wide  range  of  subjects  within  the  domain  of  geology 
which  it  embraced.  For  more  than  sixty  years,  with 
indefatigable  industry,  he  continued  to  contribute  orig- 
inal observations  and  reflections  to  the  science  to  which 
he  had  dedicated  his  life.  His  writings  cover  almost 
the  whole  field  of  geology.  He  discussed  the  various 
agencies,  epigene  and  hypogene,  which  are  now  giving 
rise  to  geological  changes  on  the  earth.  He  studied 
the  various  geological  formations  from  the  Old  Red 
Sandstone  to  the  most  recent  Gravels,  but  specially  de- 
voted himself  to  the  older  Tertiary  and  the  Quaternary 
series.  He  gave  much  thought  to  the  practical  appli- 
cations of  geology,  and  led  the  way  in  pointing  out  the 
intimate  relation  between  water-supply  and  geological 
structure.  And  lastly,  he  gave  the  world  the  benefit 
of  his  ripe  experience  and  long  reflection  in  the  text- 
book in  which  he  took  a  philosophical  survey  of  the 
whole  realm  of  geological  investigation. 


RIVER   VALLEYS.  403 

To  gain  a  general  idea  of  the  nature,  extent,  and 
value  of  his  scientific  work,  it  will  be  convenient  to 
subdivide  his  writings  according  to  the  several  branches 
of  geology  which  they  illustrate.  For  this  purpose  we 
may  first  consider  his  contributions  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  causes  that  produce  geological  changes,  and  the 
effects  to  which  they  give  rise. 

From  an  early  part  of  his  scientific  studies  Prestwich 
paid  close  attention  to  the  influence  of  running  water 
on  the  face  of  the  land.  His  interest  in  this  subject 
was  greatly  quickened  by  his  observations  in  connection 
with  the  high-level  and  low-level  Gravels  of  the  river- 
valleys  in  the  south-east  of  England  and  the  north-east 
of  France.  From  these  deposits  he  drew  the  important 
conclusion  that  the  valleys  have  been  mainly  eroded  by 
the  rivers  which  still  flow  in  them.  Though  this  ex- 
planation of  river- valleys  was  strongly  insisted  upon  by 
Hutton  and  Playfair,  and  had  been  demonstrated  for 
Central  France  by  Desmarest  and  afterwards  by  Scrope 
and  Lyell,  it  had  never  attained  wide  acceptance 
among  geologists.  When  it  was  adopted  and  enforced 
by  Prestwich  on  a  basis  of  well -ascertained  fact,  it 
came  almost  with  the  freshness  of  a  new  discovery. 
He  quickly  saw  its  significance  in  regard  to  the  slow 
sculpture  of  the  face  of  the  land,  and  the  great  antiq- 
uity which  it  proved  for  the  older  and  higher  terraces 
of  Gravel.  In  his  memoir,  read  before  the  Royal 
Society  in  1862  [56],1  he  dwelt  on  the  evidence  that 
could  be  adduced  of  powerful  and  long-continued  erosion 
in  the  valleys  by  the  streams  that  still  flow  in  them ; 
and  he  continued  to  bring  forward  additional  proofs  in 
support  of  his  views  [61],  until  geologists  everywhere 

1  The  numbers  within  square  brackets  refer  to  the  corresponding  entries 
in  the  list  of  writings  given  at  p.  422. 


404  SUMMARY   OF   WORK. 

admitted  the  validity  of  his  reasoning.  There  re- 
mained, indeed,  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  in- 
tensity of  the  operations  by  which  the  denudation  had 
been  effected.  The  followers  of  Lyell  would  not  admit 
that  the  observed  facts  demanded  the  existence  of 
larger  rivers  and  more  powerful  floods  than  might  be 
witnessed  at  the  present  time,  while  Prestwich  was 
always  prepared  to  find  that  the  geological  agents  had 
worked  on  a  grander  scale  in  former  times  than  they 
do  now.  But  the  fundamental  fact,  that  the  valleys  of 
the  south-east  of  England  and  the  north-west  of  France 
had  been  carved  out  by  the  action  of  the  rivers  that 
drain  them,  was  now  accepted  without  further  demur. 

To  Prestwich,  therefore,  must  be  assigned  a  not  in- 
considerable share  in  promoting  the  advance  made 
during  the  last  thirty  years  in  the  investigation  of 
the  history  of  terrestrial  topography.  He  continued 
to  interest  himself  in  the  subject  up  to  the  end  of  his 
life.  Some  of  his  last  contributions  to  science  dealt 
with  the  carving  out  of  the  river- valleys  around  his 
home  at  Shoreham  and  in  the  neighbouring  district  of 
the  Weald  [123-125]. 

The  geologists  of  the  British  Islands  have  always 
been  foremost  in  their  recognition  of  the  place  of  the 
ocean  among  the  agents  of  terrestrial  change.  Prest- 
wich followed  the  national  instinct  when,  in  his  Presi- 
dential Address  to  the  Geological  Society  in  1871,  he 
seized  the  opportunity,  then  offered  by  the  expeditions 
of  the  Lightning  and  Porcupine,  to  review  the  pro- 
gress of  inquiry  into  the  life  of  the  deep  sea  and  its 
relations  to  geological  history  [74],  while  at  the 
same  time  he  called  attention  to  the  geological  signif- 
icance of  the  distribution  of  temperature  in  the  ocean. 
This  latter  department  of  oceanography  especially  en- 


PHYSICAL    GEOLOGY.  405 

gaged  his  attention,  and  for  years  he  continued  to 
collect  the  materials,  which  he  finally  embodied  in  a 
voluminous  memoir,  read  in  1874  before  the  Royal 
Society  [87],  wherein  he  tabulated  all  the  recorded 
observations  of  sea-temperatures  from  1749  to  1868, 
and  discussed  some  of  their  geological  bearings. 

Nor  did  the  more  active  geological  operations  of  the 
sea  escape  his  scrutiny.  Thus  he  made  a  careful  study 
of  the  conditions  which  seemed  to  him  to  have  led  to 
the  formation  of  the  well-known  Chesil  Bank.  In  the 
account  of  this  inquiry,  which  he  communicated  to  the 
Institute  of  Civil  Engineers  [89],  he  combined  the 
results  of  an  investigation  of  the  present  action  of  the 
tides  and  currents  along  the  Dorsetshire  coast  with 
an  examination  of  the  proofs  of  earlier  geological 
changes  in  that  district.  In  this,  as  in  so  many  of 
his  other  papers,  he  was  able  to  bring  a  wide  geo- 
logical experience  towards  the  elucidation  of  the  prob- 
lems which  he  undertook  to  discuss. 

In  England,  and  more  especially  in  the  south-eastern 
counties,  the  geologist  has  but  slender  opportunity  of 
studying  the  underground  operations  with  which  his 
science  deals.  In  the  year  1870  Prestwich  spent  some 
time  among  the  volcanic  regions  of  Italy.  The  writer 
of  the  present  notice  of  his  labours  had  the  advantage 
of  accompanying  him  in  some  of  his  excursions  around 
Rome  and  Naples,  and  recalls  with  pleasure  the  keen 
interest  which  the  veteran  geologist  took  in  every 
phenomenon  in  the  volcanic  history  of  those  fascinating 
districts.  He  especially  remembers  the  exploration  of 
Vesuvius,  the  scrutiny  of  the  crater-wall  of  Somma,  and 
the  enthusiasm  awakened  by  the  evidence  of  profound 
erosion  in  the  gullies  that  descend  from  the  crest  of 
Somma  into  the  plain  to  the  north — an  enthusiasm 


406  SUMMARY    OF    WORK. 

that  was  not  damped  by  the  torrents  of  rain  that  fell 
as  the  travellers  threaded  their  way  down  one  of  the 
ravines. 

Even  had  this  journey  never  been  made,  Prestwich's 
sound  views  and  wide  sympathies  in  every  department 
of  his  favourite  science  would  not  probably  have 
allowed  him  to  leave  the  field  of  volcanic  geology  un- 
trodden. He  had  evidently  reflected  much  on  the 
subject  before  he  contributed,  in  1885,  three  short  but 
suggestive  papers  to  the  Royal  Society.  In  the  first 
of  these  he  discussed  the  various  recorded  observations 
of  underground  temperature,  and  concluded  that  the 
rise  of  the  thermometer  amounts  to  an  average  of  1° 
Fahr.  for  every  48  feet  of  descent.  He  further  sug- 
gested that  the  abnormally  high  temperatures  found 
in  piercing  the  Alps  for  the  construction  of  railway 
tunnels  might  be  the  residue  of  the  heat  caused  by  the 
intense  lateral  pressure  and  crushing  of  the  rocks 
which  accompanied  the  last  elevation  of  the  mountain- 
chain  [112].  Pursuing  this  idea,  he  was  led  to  speculate 
on  the  probable  cause  of  the  metamorphism  observable 
among  mountain-ranges  in  strata  which,  upon  the  sur- 
rounding plains,  have  undergone  no  alteration  [114]. 
He  connected  the  change  with  the  great  development 
of  heat  during  the  process  of  mountain-making.  Rea- 
soning from  the  results  of  Mallet's  experiments  on 
rock-crushing,  he  contended  that  the  effects  of  this 
increased  temperature  would  vary  with  compressibility, 
some  rocks  being  made  three  times  hotter  than  others 
under  the  same  strain.  In  this  way  he  accounted  for 
the  local  character  of  the  metamorphism,  and  for  its 
much  more  marked  development  in  some  strata  than  in 
others.  In  the  third  memoir  [113],  he  controverted  the 
common  assumption  that  the  expulsion  of  lava  at  a 


EAKLY   FIELD-WORK.  407 

volcanic  vent  is  due  to  the  expansion  of  water- vapour 
contained  within  the  molten  rock  under  great  pressure 
and  at  a  high  temperature.  But  he  had  formed  no 
original  conception  of  volcanic  energy.  Following  Mr 
Osmond  Fisher's  reasoning,  he  supposed  that  a  thin 
terrestrial  crust  rests  on  a  slowly  yielding  viscous 
layer  within  which  lies  a  solid  nucleus.  The  aqueous 
vapour  in  volcanic  eruptions  he  regarded  as  due  to  the 
surface  and  underground  waters  with  which  the  in- 
tensely hot  magma  of  the  interior  comes  in  contact, 
and  he  believed  that  the  actual  cause  of  the  uprise  of 
molten  material  and  the  outflow  of  lava  is  to  be  sought 
in  the  effects  of  the  secular  refrigeration  and  contrac- 
tion of  this  planet,  the  cooling  and  shrinking  outer 
shell  compressing  and  forcing  out  the  intensely  heated 
material  inside. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Prestwich  began  his 
geological  career  by  studying  in  minute  and  patient 
detail  the  coal-field  of  Coalbrookdale,  and  that  he  was 
thereafter  led  to  explore  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  of  the 
Moray  Firth.  This  early  work  was  so  eclipsed  by  the 
brilliance  of  his  later  researches  among  much  younger 
formations,  that  a  later  generation  of  his  contem- 
poraries hardly  realised  the  rare  excellence  and  orig- 
inality of  his  first  great  essay.  The  elaborate  memoir 
on  Coalbrookdale  [7],  presented  to  the  Geological 
Society  when  its  author  was  only  a  young  man  of 
twenty,  is  certainly  a  remarkable  performance.  Those 
to  whom  it  was  first  addressed  can  hardly  have  failed 
to  recognise  in  its  author  one  of  the  future  leaders  of 
English  geology.  Selecting  an  area  of  about  100 
square  miles,  he  carefully  mapped  its  geology  on 
the  scale  of  one  inch  to  a  mile.  The  map  was  no 
mere  sketch,  but  an  elaborate  survey,  wherein  the  out- 


408  SUMMARY   OF   WORK. 

crops  of  the  several  seams  of  coal  were  traced,  and 
the  positions  and  effects  of  all  the  principal  disloca- 
tions were  represented.  The  structure  of  the  ground 
was  further  displayed  in  a  series  of  horizontal  and 
vertical  sections,  while  additional  details  were  given 
in  an  excellent  descriptive  memoir,  combining  a  com- 
plete account  of  the  stratigraphy  and  palaeontology 
of  the  district.  The  lists  of  fossils,  together  with 
plates  of  new  species,  form  an  important  feature  in 
this  publication.  Not  only  were  the  organic  remains 
of  the  several  formations  discriminated,  but  even  the 
characteristic  forms  of  successive  horizons  were  dis- 
tinguished, and  the  bearing  of  the  palseontological 
evidence  on  the  geological  conditions  of  deposit  were 
luminously  discussed.  This  Coalbrookdale  monograph 
must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  classics  of  English 
geology,  marking  a  notable  advance  in  the  progress 
of  stratigraphy,  and  serving  as  a  model  for  the  sub- 
sequent investigation  of  the  geological  structure  of 
our  coal-fields.  It  appeared  before  the  then  recently 
organised  Geological  Survey  had  mapped  any  of  those 
parts  of  the  country,  and  it  is  remarkable  how  closely 
the  mapping  of  the  Survey  in  subsequent  years  fol- 
lowed the  lines  which  he  had  laid  down. 

But,  unquestionably,  the  most  important  of  Sir 
Joseph's  original  contributions  to  science  are  to  be 
found  in  the  series  of  papers  which  he  wrote  on 
the  older  Tertiary  formations  of  the  south  -  east  of 
England,  and  on  the  younger  deposits  containing  the 
earliest  traces  of  man.  This  brilliant  work  was  begun, 
carried  on,  and  completed  during  the  scanty  intervals 
of  leisure  which  he  could  snatch  from  a  busy  mer- 
cantile life.  Properly  to  understand  its  scope  and 
value,  we  must  go  back  to  the  earlier  decades  of  this 


EOCENE   STRATA.  409 

century  and  take  note  of  the  vague  and  confused 
ideas  then  entertained  by  geologists  as  to  the  arrange- 
ment and  stratigraphical  value  of  the  series  of  deposits 
that  overlie  the  Chalk.  The  term  London  Clay  had 
been  applied  by  William  Smith  to  these  deposits  from 
the  argillaceous  character  of  their  chief  member.  Sub- 
sequently various  geologists  noticed  the  occurrence  of 
a  group  of  sandy  and  clayey  strata  between  the  main 
mass  of  the  London  Clay  and  the  top  of  the  Chalk. 
These  were  grouped  together  as  Plastic  Clay  and  Sand, 
but  their  true  stratigraphical  value  and  palasontological 
interest  were  hardly  recognised.  In  the  year  1846, 
Prestwich  published  the  first  of  the  long  series  of 
papers  in  which  he  gradually  worked  out  the  true 
relations  of  the  several  members  of  the  series,  and 
brought  them  into  relation  with  their  equivalents  in 
France  and  Belgium.  The  story  of  this  evolution  of 
clear  order  out  of  the  confusion  that  had  preceded 
Prestwich's  researches  has  been  well  told  by  Mr 
Whitaker,  who  has  followed  so  worthily  in  the  foot- 
steps of  the  pioneer  whose  labours  he  chronicles.1 
Beginning  among  the  cliff  sections  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight  [9],  Prestwich  traversed  every  part  of  the 
Hampshire  and  London  basins,  recording  his  obser- 
vations on  copies  of  the  Ordnance  maps,  and  in 
voluminous  note -books.  From  year  to  year  he 
communicated  his  results  to  the  Geological  Society, 
each  paper  throwing  new  light  on  the  history  of  the 
geological  formations,  until  in  1854  his  great  essay 
on  the  Woolwich  and  Reading  series  [23]  added  the 
coping-stone  to  the  edifice  he  had  so  patiently  reared. 
He  showed  that  between  the  top  of  the  Chalk  and 
the  base  of  the  London  Clay  a  group  of  strata,  which 

1  Mem.  Geol.  Survey,  The  Geology  of  London,  vol.  i.  (1889),  p.  88. 


410  SUMMARY    OF    WORK. 

he  had  called  the  "  Lower  London  Tertiaries,"  was 
capable  of  a  threefold  arrangement  into --1st,  the 
basement-bed  of  the  London  Clay  ;  2nd,  the  Woolwich 
and  Reading  series ;  and  3rd,  the  Thanet  Sands. 
Tracing  out  the  range  and  general  physical  features 
of  the  middle  group,  he  brought  forward  numerous 
sections  showing  the  local  variations  of  the  sediments 
from  Hampshire  to  the  east  of  Kent.  He  gave  ample 
lists  of  the  fossil  contents  of  the  strata,  and  discussed 
them  in  their  bearings  on  the  geographical  conditions 
under  which  the  deposits  were  accumulated.  For  the 
first  time,  the  succession  of  geological  events  recorded 
in  the  oldest  Eocene  strata  of  England  was  clearly 
stated. 

After  reducing  to  order  the  older  Tertiary  series  of 
England,  Prestwich  conferred  a  still  further  service  on 
geology  by  bringing  the  English  formations  into  line 
with  those  of  France  and  Belgium.  In  a  series  of 
elaborate  papers  [32,  36,  109,  118]  communicated  to 
the  Geological  Society,  he  established  the  correlation  of 
these  deposits  both  lithologically  and  palseontologically, 
and  in  so  doing  became  the  acknowledged  leader  in  the 
Tertiary  geology  of  Western  Europe. 

In  the  course  of  his  researches  among  the  Eocene 
formations,  Prestwich  was  necessarily  led  to  take  note 
of  the  younger  Tertiary  deposits  sparingly  distributed 
over  the  east  and  south-east  of  England.  At  intervals, 
from  the  very  beginning  of  his  career,  he  had  made 
excursions  into  Suffolk  and  Norfolk.  From  1845  to 
1855  he  devoted  much  time  to  the  study  of  the  younger 
Tertiary  deposits  of  these  counties.  But  he  was  too 
much  engaged  in  his  Eocene  investigations  to  find  time 
to  elaborate  his  Pliocene  notes  into  methodical  form. 
It  was  not  until  the  spring  of  the  year  1868  that  he 


PLIOCENE    STRATA.  411 

was  able  to  bring  forward  a  detailed  account  of  his 
studies  in  the  form  of  a  memoir  on  the  Coralline  Crag 
[65],  followed  by  another  two  months  later  on  the  Red 
Crag  [66],  and  by  a  third  in  the  year  1870  on  the 
Norwich  Crag  [69].  These  three  memoirs  were  de- 
layed in  publication,  and  did  not  appear  until  the  year 
1871,  when  they  were  issued  in  successive  numbers  of 
the  twenty-seventh  volume  of  the  '  Quarterly  Journal  of 
the  Geological  Society.'  Though  the  observations  re- 
corded in  them  by  Prestwich  were  the  results  of  his 
own  sedulous  examination  of  the  ground,  and  though 
the  conclusions  he  arrived  at  were  founded  on  his  own 
original  researches,  these  papers  made  their  appearance 
after  much  time  and  labour  had  been  spent  in  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  same  deposits  by  other  observers. 
He  was  perhaps  hardly  aware  to  what  extent  his 
earlier  work  had  been  forestalled  in  date  of  publication 
by  the  labours  of  his  younger  contemporaries.  As 
original  contributions  to  geology,  his  East  Anglian 
papers  have  thus  not  the  same  originality  and  fresh- 
ness that  were  shown  in  his  series  of  Eocene  memoirs, 
where  he  had  the  ground  largely  to  himself,  and 
published  his  researches  while  they  were  still  new  and 
not  anticipated  by  other  fellow-labourers. 

To  one  of  his  investigations  in  later  Tertiary  geology 
reference  may  here  be  made  as  an  instance  of  his 
sagacity  of  observation.  He  had  long  been  acquainted 
with  certain  ferruginous  sands  scattered  over  the 
North  Downs  from  Folkestone  to  Dorking.  He  re- 
cognised these  materials  to  be  different  from  the  red 
flint -drift  or  loam,  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  the 
outliers  of  older  Tertiary  sands  and  pebble  -  beds 
on  the  other.  In  1854  some  highly  ferruginous 
parts  of  these  deposits  yielded  a  number  of  casts  of 


412  SUMMARY    OF    WORK. 

shells  which  were  regarded  by  some  palaeontologists  as 
indicating  the  base  of  the  London  Clay.  Prestwich, 
however,  assigned  them  to  a  much  more  recent  period. 
He  shared  the  opinion  of  Searles  Wood,  who  regarded 
them  as  probably  of  the  age  of  the  Lower  Crag.  More 
recent  observations  by  Mr  Clement  Reid  of  the  Geolog- 
ical Survey,  and  the  discovery  of  other  and  better 
preserved  fossils,  have  left  no  doubt  that  Prestwich 
was  entirely  justified  in  looking  upon  these  remnants 
of  a  once  extensive  deposit  as  Pliocene. 

Outside  the  ranks  of  geologists  Prestwich  was  prob- 
ably best  known  for  his  connection  with  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Antiquity  of  Man,  and  for  his  share  in 
bringing  home  to  the  English  public  the  enormous 
importance  of  geological  knowledge  in  dealing  with 
water  -  supply  and  other  questions  of  every  -  day 
occurrence. 

When  in  the  spring  of  1859,  at  the  suggestion  of 
Dr  Hugh  Falconer,  he  undertook  to  investigate  the 
alleged  proofs  of  the  occurrence  of  flint  -  implements 
together  with  the  remains  of  extinct  mammalia  in 
some  of  the  old  valley  -  gravels  of  the  north  of 
France,  he  entered  on  the  inquiry  with  no  very 
sanguine  hope  of  finding  that  there  was  any  good 
ground  for  the  contention  of  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes, 
who  some  ten  years  before  had  proclaimed  his  belief 
in  the  remote  antiquity  of  the  human  race.  But 
the  evidence  proved  so  strong  as  entirely  to  satisfy 
him  that  the  French  observer,  who  had  met  with 
but  scant  sympathy  or  support,  was  nevertheless 
right  in  his  main  conclusion.  It  was  important  to 
establish  the  fundamental  fact  that  man  was  a  con- 
temporary of  the  long  extinct  mammals  whose  bones 
were  found  lying  beside  his  flint  weapons  in  beds 


ANTIQUITY   OF   MAN.  413 

of  undisturbed  gravel,  and  further  to  show  that  the 
deposit  of  this  gravel,  though  referable  to  a  compara- 
tively late  geological  period,  must  be  older  than  the 
present  configuration  of  the  ground.  Prestwich  lost 
no  time  in  communicating  the  results  of  his  examina- 
tion of  the  Abbeville  region  to  the  Royal  Society  [46]. 
He  cautiously  abstained  from  pronouncing  on  the  antiq- 
uity of  man,  contenting  himself  with  pointing  out 
that  though  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  man  was 
contemporary  with  certain  extinct  forms  of  elephant, 
rhinoceros,  deer,  and  other  animals,  no  evidence  had 
yet  been  obtained  to  show  the  chronological  value  of 
the  interval  that  had  elapsed  since  the  deposit  of  the 
gravels  containing  the  worked  flints.  He  himself  was 
at  first  inclined,  not  so  much  to  throw  the  human  period 
indefinitely  backward,  as  to  bring  down  the  period  of 
the  extinct  mammalia  nearer  to  our  own  day,  and  to 
account  for  their  disappearance  and  for  the  modification 
of  the  superficial  topography  by  some  sudden  or 
rapid  geological  change,  which,  though  transient,  was 
powerful  enough  to  leave  its  memorial  on  the  surface 
of  the  land.  As  his  investigations  proceeded  he  felt 
the  weight  of  evidence  continually  augmenting  in 
favour  of  the  long  lapse  of  time  required  for  the  ex- 
cavation of  the  valleys  and  for  the  production  of  the 
vast  changes  in  the  configuration  of  the  land  since  the 
accumulation  of  the  implement -bearing  gravels.  In 
his  next  great  memoir,  published  in  1864  [56],  he  ad- 
mitted that  "we  must  greatly  extend  our  present 
chronology  with  respect  to  the  first  existence  of  man ; 
but  that  we  should  count  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
years  is,  I  am  convinced,  in  the  present  state  of  the 
inquiry,  unsafe  and  premature."  In  this  valuable 
essay,  the  whole  evidence  of  the  valley-gravels  and  of 


414  SUMMARY   OF   WORK. 

the  gradual  erosion  of  the  valleys  is  marshalled  with 
great  skill,  and  discussed  with  characteristic  clearness 
and  caution.  In  later  essays  he  admitted  that  man 
was  living  in  Glacial  or  Post- Glacial  times  which  came 
down  approximately  to  within  10,000  or  12,000  years 
of  our  own  day  [116,  122]. 

Thus  it  is  to  Prestwich,  more  than  to  any  other 
geologist,  that  we  owe  the  establishment  of  the  fact 
that  man  coexisted  with  a  number  of  now  long  extinct 
mammals,  and  that  his  advent  on  the  earth  must  be 
relegated  to  a  far  higher  antiquity  than  that  which 
had  previously  been  accepted.  While  he  was  engaged 
in  the  researches  that  led  to  these  results,  he  at  the 
same  time  greatly  enlarged  our  knowledge  of  the  later 
phases  of  the  Ice  Age,  particularly  in  the  river-valleys 
of  the  south  of  England  and  north-west  of  France. 
The  term  "  Drift "  has  been  vaguely  applied  to  a  mul- 
tifarious series  of  superficial  deposits,  differing  widely 
from  each  other  in  origin  and  in  age.  Prestwich 
strenuously  contended  for  the  local  origin  of  the 
gravels  in  which  flint-implements  and  mammalian  re- 
mains occur  together.  He  showed  that  these  accumu- 
lations unquestionably  belong  to  the  river  -  systems 
within  which  they  are  found,  that  they  were  fluviatile 
in  origin,  and  were  deposited  by  the  streams  which 
still  flow  in  the  same  valleys.  He  maintained,  how- 
ever, that  the  rivers  were  formerly  vastly  larger  than 
they  are  now ;  that,  in  virtue  of  their  size,  width,  and 
transporting  power,  they  were  able  to  carry  downward 
and  spread  out  over  their  flood-plains  the  widely  dis- 
tributed sheets  of  coarse  shingle  now  remaining ;  while 
from  time  to  time  they  rose  in  floods  of  extraordinary 
magnitude  that  deposited  the  fine  silt,  containing  land- 
shells,  which  is  now  to  be  seen  covering  all  the  differ- 


LATER   GEOLOGICAL    CHANGES.  415 

ent  gravel  -  beds.  Considerable  difference  of  opinion 
still  exists,  however,  regarding  some  of  these  deduc- 
tions. Other  observers,  as  remarked  above,  have  been 
unable  to  perceive  any  satisfactory  evidence  that  the 
rivers  were  generally  more  swollen  than  they  are  at 
present,  though  at  exceptional  periods  of  melting 
snow  they  may  have  surpassed  in  volume  any  floods 
chronicled  in  their  valleys  during  historic  time.  But 
Prestwich  detected  the  traces  of  another  transporting 
agent  than  that  of  mere  unaided  river-water.  In  the 
presence  of  large  unworn  blocks  among  the  ancient 
gravels,  together  with  much  sharp  angular  detritus, 
he  recognised  the  operation  of  river-ice.  Thus  all  over 
the  south-east  of  England,  where  the  climate  is  now 
so  mild,  he  traced  indications  that  in  old  times  the 
rivers  flowing  on  the  platform  of  the  higher  gravels 
were  frozen  over ;  that  ice  forming  along  their  margins 
or  over  their  bottoms  lifted  and  carried  along  the 
shingle  and  boulders  lying  there ;  and  that  when  these 
Arctic  conditions  prevailed,  man  had  already  appeared, 
fishing  in  the  rivers,  or  tracking  the  mammoth,  the 
bison,  and  various  extinct  forms  of  deer  through  the 
surrounding  forests  and  prairies. 

Among  Prestwich 's  contributions  to  the  history  of 
the  latest  geological  changes  that  have  affected  the 
south  of  England  and  the  north  of  France,  his  num- 
erous papers  on  the  so-called  Raised  Beaches  of  this 
region  [4,  44,  48,  52,  64,  79,  88,  97-99,  128]  deserve 
recognition.  The  notices  of  recent  uprise  of  the  land 
in  Britain  and  on  the  opposite  French  coast  were  based 
on  his  own  personal  observations,  and  they  are  of 
value  as  records  of  facts  formerly  visible,  but  some  of 
which  have  been  obscured  or  concealed  by  the  progress 
of  building  and  other  changes.  Prestwich,  however, 


416  SUMMARY   OF   WORK. 

carried  his  deductions  far  beyond  these  local  limits. 
He  collected  a  vast  mass  of  evidence  from  the  writings 
of  Continental  geologists,  regarding  what  he  considered 
to  be  evidence  of  a  submergence  of  Western  Europe 
at  the  close  of  the  Glacial  period  [130].  His  data 
ranged  from  the  coasts  of  Belgium  and  France  to  Gib- 
raltar, and  embraced  the  whole  wide  basin  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. Besting,  however,  on  the  testimony  of 
witnesses  of  unequal  value,  they  lack  the  directness 
and  coherence  of  his  own  personal  observations,  and 
the  deductions  based  upon  them,  though  elaborately 
worked  out,  have  not  yet  obtained  general  acceptance. 
As  regards  the  conclusions  drawn  by  him  in  some  of 
his  later  papers  dealing  with  the  supposed  evidence 
of  changes  of  level  in  the  South  of  England,  geological 
opinion  is  likewise  divided  [see  especially  128].  These 
papers,  though  the  result  of  much  close  personal  ob- 
servation made  during  the  course  of  many  years,  were 
not  written  out  and  communicated  to  the  world  until 
the  closing  years  of  his  life.  In  the  long  interval 
which,  in  "'some  cases,  had  elapsed  between  his  labours 
in  the  field  and  the  discussion  of  them  in  these  papers, 
much  had  been  done  in  certain  directions  by  other 
observers.  In  regard,  for  example,  to  the  "  Head"  or 
"  Bubble-Drift "  of  the  South  of  England,  we  may  share 
his  regret  that  he  was  unable  to  revisit  all  the  ground, 
and  to  review  his  conclusions  in  the  light  of  more  re- 
cent research.  But  it  was  of  great  service  to  the 
history  of  geological  progress  that  the  actual  field- 
notes;._and  matured  opinions  of  so  patient  and  accurate 
an  observer  should  have  been  at  last  put  on  record  by 
himself. 

One   of  the   most   useful   services  rendered  by  Sir 
Joseph  Prestwich  to  the  cause  of  his  own  science  was 


PRACTICAL    GEOLOGY.  417 

the  active  share  he  took  in  the  practical  applications 
of  geology.  His  labours  in  this  department  were  mani- 
fested in  two  different  directions.  In  the  first  place,  he, 
more  than  other  geologists  of  his  day,  insisted  on  the 
necessity  of  a  knowledge  of  geological  structure  in  deal- 
ing with  the  question  of  water-supply.  From  his  early 
communication  to  the  Institute  of  British  Architects 
[16]  down  to  his  pamphlet  on  the  Oxford  water-supply 
[ill],  an  interval  of  thirty-five  years  elapsed,  during 
which  he  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  leading  authority 
on  this  subject  in  England,  and  his  co-operation  doubt- 
less added  much  to  the  value  of  the  Report  of  the 
Royal  Commission  on  Water  -  Supply,  issued  in  1869 
[67].  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  maps  prepared 
by  him  for  this  Report  were  never  published.  In  the 
second  place,  his  early  devotion  to  the  coal  -  field  of 
Coalbrookdale  gave  him  a  knowledge  of  our  Carbon- 
iferous System,  arid  an  interest  in  its  development, 
which  he  turned  to  good  use  in  later  years,  when  he 
acted  as  a  member  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Coal. 
Not  the  least  valuable  part  of  that  important  and 
voluminous  work  was  supplied  by  him  in  his  papers 
on  the  quantity  of  unwrought  coal  in  the  coal-fields 
of  Somerset,  and  on  the  probability  of  finding  coal 
under  the  newer  formations  of  the  South  of  England 
[75].  In  the  last-named  paper  he  gave  a  resume  of 
all  that  had  been  ascertained  up  to  the  year  1866 
regarding  the  possible  extension  of  the  Coal-Measures, 
and  gave  good  grounds  for  supporting  the  conclu- 
sions of  Godwin  -  Austen,  and  for  believing  in  "the 
high  probability  of  the  existence  of  basins  [of  coal] 
under  the  Secondary  and  Tertiary  formations  of  the 
South  of  England."  This  opinion,  and  the  reasoning 
on  which  it  was  based,  have  recently  acquired  fresh 

2  D 


418  SUMMARY   OF   WORK. 

interest  and  value  from  the  successful  borings  for  coal 
in  Kent. 

The  main  portions  of  Prestwich's  numerous  contribu- 
tions to  the  literature  of  geology  are  to  be  found  in 
the  journals  and  transactions  of  the  various  scientific 
societies  with  which  he  was  associated.  But  he  was 
likewise  the  author  of  a  number  of  independent  works, 
the  preparation  of  which  gave  him  an  opportunity  of 
ranging  over  a  broader  field,  and  appealing  to  a  wider 
circle  of  readers,  than  that  which  he  reached  by  his 
more  technical  writings.  The  most  important  of  these 
separate  publications  was  undoubtedly  his  treatise  or 
text-book  on  '  Geology,  Chemical,  Physical,  and  Strati- 
graphical,'  in  two  volumes,  of  which  the  first,  dealing 
with  the  chemical  and  physical  aspects  of  the  science, 
appeared  in  1886  [115],  and  the  second,  taking  up 
chiefly  the  stratigraphical  side,  two  years  later  [117]. 
In  these  volumes,  issued  towards  the  close  of  his 
scientific  career,  Prestwich  sums  up  his  views  011 
every  branch  of  the  science  to  which  he  had  dedicated 
his  life.  Apart,  therefore,  from  their  value  as  con- 
tributions to  geological  literature,  they  have  a  special 
biographical  interest  in  relation  to  the  position  of  their 
author  with  regard  to  disputed  questions  in  geology, 
and  to  the  general  philosophy  of  the  science.  Through- 
out his  life  he  remained  opposed  to  the  extreme  doc- 
trines of  the  Uniformitarian  school.  He  contended  that 
it  was  impossible  to  admit  that  the  limited  period — 
—  2000  years  at  the  most  —  during  which  man  had 
been  recording  his  observations  of  nature,  could  fur- 
nish a  standard  by  which  the  operations  of  the  vast 
succession  of  bygone  ages  could  be  measured.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  never  adopted  to  the  full  the  opinions 
of  the  opposite  or  catastrophic  school.  He  believed 


UNIFORMIT  ARIANISM.  419 

that,  while  the  laws  of  nature  are  immutable,  the 
relative  intensity  of  different  geological  agencies  may 
have  varied  from  period  to  period,  and  that  in  seek- 
ing for  explanations  of  the  phenomena  presented  by 
geological  evidence  we  are  not  to  be  hampered  by  any 
foregone  conclusions  as  to  uniformity  or  variation,  but, 
as  in  other  questions,  must  frame  our  hypotheses  on  an 
exhaustive  discussion  of  the  facts. 

He  contended  that  our  interpretations  should  be 
judged  by  their  agreement  with  the  multifarious  ques- 
tions suggested  by  the  facts,  and  by  the  manner  in 
which  they  satisfy  the  various  conditions  of  the  prob- 
lems to  which  they  are  applied.  Neither  a  Uniformi- 
tarian  nor  an  extreme  Convulsionist,  he  was  content 
to  accept  the  guidance  of  the  present  condition  of 
geological  causation  on  the  face  of  the  globe,  so  long 
as  it  did  not  involve  any  contradiction  of  what  seemed 
to  him  the  obvious  teachings  of  the  rocks.  But  he 
never  shrank  from  invoking  a  gigantic  flood,  or  a 
subsidence  or  elevation  of  the  land,  if  such  seemed 
to  him  the  most  natural  solution  of  the  problems 
that  presented  themselves  before  him.  He  lived  long 
enough  to  have  witnessed  some  remarkable  oscilla- 
tions in  geological  opinion.  In  his  young  days  a 
belief  was  almost  universal  in  former  catastrophes 
by  which  the  surface  of  the  globe  had  from  time  to 
time  been  devastated.  He  saw  the  rise  of  Lyell  into 
fame,  and  the  overwhelming  influence  in  this  country 
of  the  Uniformitarian  doctrines  which  that  great 
teacher  so  cogently  enforced.  He  marked  the  decline 
of  the  extremer  form  of  Uniformitarianism,  and  the 
growth  of  a  creed  more  nearly  in  harmony  with  his 
own. 

But  it  is  not  from  his  direct  contributions  to  theo- 


420  SUMMARY    OF   WORK. 

retical  questions  that  Prestwich's  name  will  be  enrolled 
in  the  list  of  the  founders  of  English  geology.  His 
long,  earnest,  patient,  and  sagacious  researches  among 
the  Tertiary  formations  will  for  ever  mark  him  out  as 
one  of  those  to  whom  geology  is  indebted  for  opening 
up  some  new  chapters  in  the  history  of  the  globe. 
And  when  in  future  years  the  story  of  Early  Man 
comes  to  be  written  with  the  fulness  of  accumulated 
knowledge,  it  will  be  remembered  and  acknowledged 
that  he  was  one  of  the  foremost  pioneers  in  that  fas- 
cinating branch  of  geological  inquiry. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  refer 
here  to  the  influence  which  Prestwich  exerted  on  his 
scientific  contemporaries.  The  writer  of  these  lines, 
who  knew  him  well  for  many  years,  may  perhaps 
be  permitted  to  bear  his  testimony  to  the  remark- 
able and  perennial  charm  of  his  personality.  While 
we  revered  him  as  one  of  the  last  of  the  old  heroic 
race  of  geologists ;  while  we  honoured  him  for  the  end- 
less enthusiasm  and  perseverance  with  which,  often  in 
the  midst  of  many  hindrances,  he  devoted  every 
leisure  moment  to  the  cause  of  geology ;  while  we 
admired  him  for  the  infinite  patience,  the  scrupulous 
caution,  and  the  laborious  exhaustiveness  of  his  re- 
searches, we  loved  him  for  the  gentle  child-like  sim- 
plicity of  his  heart,  his  unaffected  modesty,  and  his 
genuine  goodness.  His  bright  sunny  temperament 
always  found  out  what  was  best  in  those  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact.  His  unfailing  sympathy  delighted 
to  find  expression  in  active  helpfulness.  The  smile 
that  lighted  up  his  handsome  features  seemed  to  reveal 
at  one  glance  the  tenderness  and  kindliness  and  truth- 
fulness of  his  nature.  One  felt  after  an  interview 
with  him  cheered  and  brightened  by  contact  with  one 


CONCLUSION.  421 

whose  serene  old  age  seemed  to  place  him  so  far  above 
the  littlenesses  and  troubles  of  life.  While  his  writings 
will  perpetuate  his  scientific  achievements,  it  should 
be  placed  on  record  that  it  was  not  these  achievements 
alone  which  gave  Joseph  Prestwich  his  pre-eminence 
among  his  contemporaries,  but  that  he  owed  this  posi- 
tion in  large  measure  to  the  integrity  and  charm  of 
his  character. 


422 


LIST    OF    PAPEKS,    BOOKS,    ETC., 
BY  SIR   JOSEPH   PRESTWICH,   M.A.,  D.C.L.,   F.E.S.,  ETC. 


1834. 

1.  On  some  of  the  Faults  which  affect  the  Coal-field  of  Coalbrookdale. 

Proc.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  18,  19. 

1835. 

2.  Observations  on  the  Ichthyolites  of  Gamrie  in  Banffshire,  and  on  the 

accompanying  Red  Conglomerates  and  Sandstones.     Proc.  Geol.  Soc., 
vol.  ii.  pp.  187,  188. 

1836. 

3.  Memoir  on  the  Geology  of  Coalbrookdale.     [Abstract.]     Proc.  Geol.  Soc., 

vol.  ii.  pp.  401-406. 

1837. 

4.  On  some  Recent  Elevations  of  the  Coast  of  Banffshire,  and  on  a  Deposit 

of  Clay  formerly  considered  to  be  Lias.     Proc.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  ii. 
p.  545. 

1838. 

5.  Sur  les  Debris  de  Mammiferes  terrestres  qui  se  trouvent  dans  1'Argile 

plastique,  aux  Environs  d'Epernay.      Bull.  Soc.  Ge'ol.  Fr.,  vol.  ix. 
pp.  84-95. 

1840. 

6.  On  the  Structure  of  the  Neighbourhood  of  Gamrie,  Banffshire,  partic- 

ularly on  the  Deposit  containing  Ichthyolites.      Trans.  Geol.  Soc., 
Ser.  2,  vol.  v.  pp.  139-148. 

7.  On  the  Geology  of  Coalbrookdale.     Ibid.,  pp.  413-495. 

8.  On  the  Occurrence  of  Mammalian  Remains  in  the  Lower  Eocene  Deposits 

of  Epernay,  Marne.     Mag.  Nat.  Hist,  Ser.  2,  vol.  iv.  pp.  187-194. 


LIST    OF   PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC.  423 

1846. 

9.  On  the  Tertiary  or  Supracretaceous  Formations  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  as 
exhibited  in  the  Sections  at  Alum  Bay  and  White  Cliff  Bay.  Quart. 
Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  223-259. 

10.  On  the  Wealden  Strata  exposed  by  the  Tunbridge  Wells  Railway. 

[With  JOHN  MORRIS.]    Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  397-405. 

1847. 

11.  On  the  Occurrence  of  Cypris  in  a  part  of  the  Tertiary  Freshwater  Strata 

of  the  Isle  of  Wight.     Rep.  Brit.  Assoc.  for  1846,  Pt.  2,  pp.  56-58. 

12.  On  the  Probable  Age  of  the  London  Clay,  and  its  relations  to  the  Hamp- 

shire and  Paris  Tertiary  Systems.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  iii. 
pp.  354-377. 

1 3.  On  the  Main  Points  of  Structure  and  the  Probable  Age  of  the  Bagshot 

Sands,  and  on  their  presumed  Equivalents  in  Hampshire  and  France. 
Ibid.,  pp.  378-409. 

1849. 

14.  On  the  Position  and  General  Characters  of  the  Strata  exhibited  in  the 

Coast  Section  from  Christchurch  Harbour  to  Poole  Harbour.  Quart. 
Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  v.  pp.  43-49. 

15.  On  some  Fossiliferous  Beds  overlying  the  Red  Crag  at  Chillesford,  near 

Orford,  Suffolk.     Ibid:,  pp.  345-353. 

1850. 

16.  On  the  Geological  Conditions  which  determine  the  relative  Value  of  the 

Water-bearing  Strata  of  the  Tertiary  and  Cretaceous  Series,  and  on 
the  Probability  of  finding  in  the  Lower  Members  of  the  Latter  be- 
neath London  Fresh  and  Large  Sources  of  Water-supply.  Proc.  Roy. 
Institute  of  British  Architects,  July  8,  1850. 

17.  On  the  Structure  of  the  Strata  between  the  London  Clay  and  the  Chalk 

in  the  London  and  Hampshire  Tertiary  Systems.  Part  I.  The  Base- 
ment Bed  of  the  London  Clay.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  vi. 
pp.  252-281. 

1851. 

18.  A  Geological  Inquiry  respecting  the  Water-bearing  Strata  of  the  Country 

around  London,  with  reference  especially  to  the  Water-supply  of  the 
Metropolis.  8vo.  London.  Pp.  240. 

19.  On  the  Drift  at  Sangatte  Cliff,  near  Calais.     Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc., 

vol.  vii.  pp.  274-278. 

1852. 

20.  On  some  of  the  Effects  of  the  Holmfirth  Flood.     Quart.  Journ.  Geol. 

Soc.,  vol.  viii.  pp.  225-230. 

21.  On  the  Structure  of  the  Strata  between  the  London  Clay  and  the  Chalk 

in  the  London  and  Hampshire  Tertiary  Systems.  Part  III.  The 
Thanet  Sands.  Ibid.,  pp.  235-264. 


424  LIST   OF   PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC. 

1853. 

22.  Sur  la  Position  geologique  des  Sables  et  du  Calcaire  lacustre  de  Rilly 

(Marne).     Bull.  Soc.  Geol.  Fr.,  Ser.  2,  vol.  x.  pp.  300-310. 

1854. 

23.  On  the  Structure  of  the  Strata  between  the  London  Clay  and  the  Chalk 

in  the  London  and  Hampshire  Tertiary  Systems.  Part  II.  The 
Woolwich  and  Reading  Series.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  x. 
pp.  75-170. 

24.  On  some  Swallow  Holes  on  the  Chalk  Hills  near  Canterbury.     Ibid., 

pp.  222-224. 

25.  On  the  Thickness  of  the  London  Clay  ;  on  the  relative  Position  of  the 

Fossiliferous  Beds  of  Sheppey,  Highgate,  Harwich,  Newnham,  Bog- 
nor,  &c. ;  and  on  the  Probable  Occurrence  of  the  Bagshot  Sands  in  the 
Isle  of  Sheppey.  Ibid.,  pp.  401-419. 

26.  On  the  Distinctive  Physical  and  Palseontological  Features  of  the  London 

Clay  and  the  Bracklesham  Sands  ;  and  on  the  Independence  of  these 
two  Groups  of  Strata.  Ibid.,  pp.  435-454. 

27.  On  the  Correlation  of  the  Lower  Tertiaries  of  England  with  those  of 

France  and  Belgium.     Ibid.,  pp.  454-456. 

1855. 

28.  On  the  Origin  of  the  Sand-  and  Gravel-pipes  in  the  Chalk  of  the  London 

Tertiary  District.     Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xi.  pp.  64-84. 

29.  On  a  Fossiliferous  Drift  near  Salisbury.     [With  JOHN  BROWN.]    Ibid., 

vol.  xi.  pp.  101-107. 

30.  On  a  Fossiliferous  Deposit  in  the  Gravel  at  West  Hackney.     Ibid., 

pp.  107-110. 

31.  On  a  Fossiliferous  Bed  of  the  Drift  Period  near  the  Reculvers.     Ibid., 

pp.  110-112. 

32.  On  the  Correlation  of  the  Eocene  Tertiaries  of  England,  France,  and 

Belgium.     Ibid.,  pp.  206-246. 

1856. 

33.  On  the  Boring  through  the  Chalk  at  Kentish  Town,  London.     Quart. 

Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xii.  pp.  6-14. 

34.  Note  on  the  Gravel  near  Maidenhead,  in  which  the  Skull  of  the  Musk 

Buffalo  was  found.     Ibid.,  pp.  131-133. 

35.  On  the  Correlation  of  the  Middle  Eocene  Tertiaries  of  England,  France, 

and  Belgium.     [Abstract.]    Ibid.,  pp.  390-392. 

1857. 

36.  On  the  Correlation  of  the  Eocene  Tertiaries  of  England,  France,  and 

Belgium.     Part  II.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  89-134. 


LIST   OF   PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC.  425 

37.  On  some  Fossiliferous  Ironstone  occurring  in  the  North  Downs.    [Ab- 

stract]     Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xiii.,  1857,  pp.  212,  213. 

38.  The  Ground  beneath  us  :    its  Geological  Phases  and  Changes  ;   being 

Three  Lectures  on  the  Geology  of  Clapham,  and  the  Neighbourhood 
of  London  generally.  8vo.  London.  Pp.  79. 

1858. 

39.  On  the  "  Haggerstone."     Geologist,  Vol.  i.  pp.  113,  114. 

40.  On  the  Occurrence  of  the  Boulder  Clay,  or  Northern  Clay  Drift,  at 

Bricket  Wood,  near  Watford.     Ibid.,  pp.  241,  242. 

41.  British  Localities  of  Fossil  Mammalia.     Ibid.,  pp.  251,  252. 

42.  On  the  Boring  through  the  Chalk  at  Harwich.    Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc., 

vol.  xiv.  pp.  249-252. 

43.  On  the  Age  of  some  Sands  and  Iron-Sandstones  on  the  North  Downs. 

Ibid.,  pp.  322-335.     [With  a  Note  on  the  Fossils  by  S.  V.  Wood.] 

44.  On  the  Westward  Extension  of  the  Old  Raised  Beach  of  Brighton  ;  and 

on  the  Extent  of  the  Sea-bed  of  the  same  Period.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol. 
Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pp.  215-221. 

1859. 

45.  Sur  la  Decouverte  d'Instruments  en  Silex  associes  a  des  Restes  de  Mam- 

miferes  d'Especes  perdues  dans  des  Couches  non-remaniees  d'une 
Formation  geologique  recente.  Paris,  Comptes  Rendus,  vol.  xlix.  pp. 
634-636,  859. 

46.  On  the  Occurrence  of  Flint  Implements,  associated  with  the  Remains  of 

Animals  of  Extinct  Species  in  Beds  of  a  late  Geological  Period,  in 
France,  at  Amiens  and  Abbeville,  and  in  England  at  Hoxne.  Proc. 
Roy.  Soc.,  vol.  x.  pp.  50-59  [Abstract]  ;  Phil.  Trans,  for  1860,  1861, 
pp.  277-318. 

47.  Flint  Implements  from  the  Drift.    Athenaeum,  Dec.  3  and  Dec.  10,  1859. 

1860. 

48.  Letter  on  the  Boulders  and  Gravels  of  the  Gower  Cave  District,  and  on 

a  Raised  Beach  to  the  West  of  Gower.  (Appendix  to  Dr  Falconer's 
Memoir  on  the  Ossiferous  Caves  of  Gower.  PalEeont.  Mem.,  vol.  ii. 
p.  536.) 

49.  [Note  on  the  Bone-cave  at  Brixham  in  Devonshire.]    Quart.  Journ.  Geol. 

Soc.,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  189,  190. 

50.  Description  of  the  Gravels  from  Spitzbergen  collected  by  Mr  Lament. 

Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  438,  439. 

51.  On  the  Presence  of  the  London  Clay  in  Norfolk,  as  proved  by  a  Well- 

boring  at  Yarmouth.     Ibid.,  pp.  449-452. 

52.  On  a  Raised  Beach  in  Mewslade  Bay,  and  the  Occurrence  of  the  Boulder 

Clay  on  Cefn-y-bryn.  [Abstract]  Ibid.,  pp.  487-491.  [Appendix 
to  paper  by  Dr  Falconer.] 


426  LIST   OF    PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC. 

1861. 

53.  On  some  New  Facts  in  Relation  to  the  Section  of  the  Cliff  at  Mundesley, 

Norfolk.     Geologist,  vol.  iv.  pp.  68-71. 

54.  Notes  on  some  further  Discoveries  of  Flint  Implements  in  Beds  of  Post- 

Pliocene  Gravel  and  Clay  ;  with  a  few  Suggestions  for  Search  else- 
where. Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xvii.  pp.  362-368. 

55.  On  the  Occurrence  of  the  Gyrena  fluminalis,  together  with  Marine  Shells 

of  Recent  Species,  in  Beds  of  Sand  and  Gravel  over  Beds  of  Boulder 
Clay,  near  Hull ;  with  an  Account  of  some  Borings  and  Well-sections 
in  the  same  District.  Ibid.,  pp.  446-456. 

'        1862. 

56.  Theoretical  Considerations  on  the  Conditions  under  which  the  Drift 

Deposits  containing  the  Remains  of  Extinct  Mammalia  and  Flint  Im- 
plements were  accumulated,  and  on  their  Geological  Age.  On  the 
Loess  of  the  Valleys  of  the  South  of  England,  and  of  the  Somme  and 
the  Seine.  Proc.  Roy.  Soc.,  vol.  xii.  pp.  38-52,  170-173  ;  Phil.  Trans., 
1864,  pp.  247-309. 

57.  Report  on  Wines,  Spirits,  Beer,  and  other  Drinks.     International  Ex- 

hibition, 1862.  [Reprinted  for  Private  Circulation  by  permission  of 
the  Society  of  Arts.] 

1863. 

58.  On  the  Section  at  Moulin  Quignon,  Abbeville,  and  on  the  Peculiar  Char- 

acter of  some  of  the  Flint  Implements  recently  discovered  there. 
Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xix.  pp.  497-505. 

59.  The  Antiquity  of  Man.     Athenaeum,  April  25,  1863. 

60.  The  Human  Jaw  of  Abbeville.     Ibid.,  June  13,  1863. 

1864. 

61.  On  some  Further  Evidence  bearing  on  the  Excavation  of  the  Valley  of 

the  Somme  by  River-action,  as  exhibited  in  a  Section  at  Drucat,  near 
Abbeville.  Proc.  Roy.  Soc.,  vol.  xiii.,  1864,  pp.  135-137.  Reprinted 
in  4to,  with  notes. 

62.  On  the  Quaternary  Flint  Implements  of  Abbeville,  Amiens,  Hoxne,  &c.  ; 

their  Geological  Position  and  History.  Proc.  Roy.  Instit.,  voL  iv. 
pp.  213-222. 

63.  The  Brick-earth  with  Elephant  Remains  at  Ilford.     Geol.  Mag.,  vol.  i. 

pp.  244,  245. 

1865. 

64.  Additional  Observations  on  the  Raised  Beach  of  Sangatte  with  Reference 

to  the  Date  of  the  English  Channel  and  the  Presence  of  Loess  in  the 
Cliff  Section.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxi.  pp.  440-442  ;  Phil. 
Mag.,  vol.  xxx.  pp.  378,  379. 


LIST   OF   PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC.  427 


1868. 

65.  On  the  Structure  of  the  Crag  Beds  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  with  some 

observations  on  their  Organic  Remains.  Part  I.  Coralline  Crag. 
Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.  [Abstract],  vol.  xxiv.  pp.  288,  289. 

66.  On  the  Structure  of  the  Crag  Beds  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  with  some 

observations  on  their  Organic  Remains.  Part  II.  The  Red  Crag  of 
Suffolk.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxiv.  pp.  460,  461  [Abstract] ; 
Phil.  Mag.,  vol.  xxxvii.,  1869,  pp.  146-148. 

1869. 

67.  Royal  Commission  on  Water-supply.     (Appointed  1866.)    Report  of  the 

Commissioners.     1869.     Maps. 

68.  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works.      Reports  on  the  Boring  Operations  at 

Crossness.     (Appendix  C.  1868.)     1869. 

1870. 

69.  On  the  Crag  of  Norfolk  and  Associated  Beds.     [Abstract.]    Quart.  Journ. 

Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxvi.  pp.  281,  282  ;  Phil.  Mag.,  vol.  xi.,  1870,  pp.  137, 
138. 

70.  A  Fact  relating  to  the  Crag-pit  at  Thorpe,  near  Norwich.    Geol.  Mag., 

vol.  vii.  p.  539. 

71.  Notes  on  Earthquakes.     Ibid.,  pp.  541-544. 

72.  The  Thames  Subway.     Nature,  vol.  i.  pp.  280,  281,  Jan.  13,  1870. 

1871. 

73.  On  the  Structure  of  the  Crag  Beds  of  Suffolk  and  Norfolk,  with  some 

Observations  on  their  Organic  Remains.  Part  I.  The  Coralline  Crag 
of  Suffolk.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxvii.  pp.  115-146.  Part 

II.  The  Red  Crag  of  Essex  and  Suffolk.     Ibid.,  pp.  325-356.     Part 

III.  The  Norwich  Crag  and  Westleton  Beds.     Ibid.,  pp.  452-496. 

74.  Deep-sea  Life  and  its  Relations  to  Geology.     Address  to  the  Geological 

Society.     Ibid.,  pp.  xlii-lxxv. 

75.  Report  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  [in  1866]  to  inquire  into  the 

Several  Matters  relating  to  Coal  in  the  United  Kingdom ;  including — 
Report  on  the  Quantities  of  Coal,  wrought  and  unwrought,  in  the 
Coal-fields  of  Somersetshire  and  Part  of  Gloucestershire,  pp.  33-70  ; 
and  Report  on  the  Probabilities  of  finding  Coal  in  the  South  of 
England,  pp.  146-166.  Rep.  Royal  Coal  Commission,  vol.  i.  Fol. 
London. 

1872. 

76.  'La  Seine.'    Review  by  J.  P.  of  'Le  Bassin  Parisien  aux  Ages  Ante- 

historiques.'  Par  M.  Belgrand,  Inspecteur  -  General  des  Fonts  et 
Chausees,  Directeur  des  Eaux  et  des  Egouts  de  la  Ville  de  Paris. 
Nature,  vol.  v.  pp.  337-380,  March  14,  1872. 


428  LIST   OF   PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC. 

77.  Denudation  of  the  Mendips.     Nature,  vol.  vi.  pp.  60,  61,  May  23,  1872. 

78.  Our  Springs  and  Water-supply,  and  our  Coal-measures  and  Coal-supply. 

Address  to  the  Geological  Society.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol. 
xxviii.  pp.  li-xc. 

79.  On  the  Presence  of  a  Raised  Beach  on  Portsdown  Hill,  near  Portsmouth, 

and  on  the  Occurrence  of  a  Flint  Implement  on  a  High  Level  at 
Downton.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxviii.  pp.  38-41. 

80.  Report  on  the  Exploration  of  Brixham  Cave,  conducted  by  a  Com- 

mittee of  the  Geological  Society,  &c.,  J.  Prestwich,  Reporter.  Proc. 
Roy.  Soc.,  vol.  xx.  pp.  514-524  [Abstract]  ;  and  Phil.  Trans.,  vol. 
clxiii.,  1873,  pp.  471-572. 

81.  On  the  Probable  Extension  of  Coal-measures  in  the  South-East  of  Eng- 

land.   Popular  Science  Review,  vol.  xi.  pp.  225-243. 

1873. 

82.  Our  Coal -supply.      Review  of  Professor  Hull's   Coal-fields  of  Great 

Britain,  and  of  the  Report  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  to  Inquire 
into  the  Several  Matters  relating  to  Coal  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
Vol.  I.  London,  1871.  Manchester  Guardian,  Feb.  7  and  19,  1873. 

83.  Building  Stones.     Review  of  Professor  Hull's  Treatise  on  the  Building 

and  Ornamental  Stones  of  Great  Britain  and  Foreign  Countries. 
Ibid.,  Aug.  8,  1873. 

84.  The  Depths  of  the  Sea.    Review  of  Professor  Wy ville  Thomson's  Depths 

of  the  Sea.     Ibid.,  Dec.  1873. 

1874. 

85.  On  the  Geological  Conditions  affecting  the  Construction  of  a  Tunnel 

between  England  and  France.  Proc.  Inst.  Civ.  Eng.,  vol.  xxxvii., 
1874,  pp.  1 10-145. 

86.  Translation  into  French,  1874,  of  the  Structure  of  the  Crag  Beds— Les 

Couches  du  Crag,  par  Dr  Michel  Mourlon. 

87.  Tables  of  Temperatures  of  the  Sea  at  Different  Depths  beneath  the 

Surface,  reduced  and  collated  from  the  Various  Observations  made 
between  the  Years  1749  and  1868.  With  Map  and  Sections.  Proc. 
Royal  Soc.,  vol.  xxii.  pp.  462-468 ;  and  Phil.  Trans.,  vol.  clxv.,  1876, 
pp.  587-674. 

88.  Notes  on  the  Phenomena  of  the  Quaternary  Period  in  the  Isle  of 

Portland  and  around  Weymouth.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol. 
xxxi.  pp.  29-54. 

1875. 

89.  On  the  Origin  of  the  Chesil  Bank.     Proc.  Inst.  Civ.  Eng.,  vol.  xl.,  1875, 

pp.  61-79. 

90.  The  Past  and  Future  of  Geology.     Inaugural  Address,  Oxford,  1875. 

8vo.     Macmillan  &  Co.     Pp.  48. 


LIST   OF   PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC.  429 

1876. 

91.  On  the  Geological  Conditions  affecting  the  Water-supply  to   Houses 

and  Towns,  with  special  Keference  to  the  Modes  of  supplying  Oxford. 
8vo.  Oxford.  Pp.  48. 

92.  On  the  Mineral  Water  of  the  Artesian  Well  at  St  Clements,  Oxford, 

Read  before  the  Ashmolean  Society,  1876. 

93.  Thickness  of  the  Oxford  Clay.    Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.  II.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  237-239. 

1878. 

94.  On  the  Section  of  Messrs  Meux  &  Co.'s  Artesian  Well  in  the  Tottenham 

Court  Road,  with  Notices  of  the  Well  at  Crossness,  and  of  another  at 
Shoreham,  Kent ;  and  on  the  Probable  Range  of  the  Lower  Green- 
sand  and  Palaeozoic  Rocks  under  London.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc., 
vol.  xxxiv.  pp.  902-913. 

1879. 

95.  On  the  Discovery  of  a  Species  of  Iguanodon  in  the  Kimmeridge  Clay 

near  Oxford ;  and  a  Notice  of  a  very  Fossiliferous  Band  of  the 
Shotover  Sands.  Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.  II.,  vol.  vi.  pp.  193-195. 

96.  On  the  Origin  of  the  Parallel  Roads  of  Lochaber,  and  their  bearing 

on  other  Phenomena  of  the  Glacial  Period.  Proc.  Roy.  Soc.,  vol. 
xxix.  pp.  6-21 ;  and  Phil.  Trans.,  vol.  xvii.,  1879,  pp.  663-726. 

1880. 

97.  On  a  Raised  Beach  in  Rhos  Sili  Bay,  Gower.     Rep.  Brit.  Assoc.,  Swan- 

sea, 1880,  p.  581. 

98.  On  the  Geological  Evidence  of  the  Temporary  Submergence  of  the 

South-west  of  Europe  during  the  early  Human  Period.  Rep.  Brit. 
Assoc.,  Swansea,  1880,  pp.  581,  582. 

99.  Sur  la  Plage  Soulevee  de  Sangatte.    Bull.  Soc.  Geol.  de  France,  3e  Serie, 

vol.  viii.  pp.  547-552. 

100.  Note  on  the  Occurrence  of  a  new  Species  of  Iguanodon  in  a  Brick-pit 

of  the  Kimmeridge  Clay  at  Cumnor  Hurst,  three  Miles  W.S.W.  of 
Oxford.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxxvi.  pp.  430-432. 

1881. 

101.  On  the  Strata  between  the  Chillesford    Beds  and  the  Lower  Boulder 

Clay.  The  Mundesley  and  Westleton  Beds.  Rep.  Brit.  Assoc., 
York,  1881,  p.  620. 

102.  On  the  Extension  into  Essex,  Middlesex,  and  other  Inland  Counties, 

of  the  Mundesley  and  Westleton  Beds,  in  relation  to  the  Age  of 
certain  Hill-gravels  and  of  some  of  the  Valleys  of  the  South  of 
England.  Rep.  Brit.  Assoc.,  York,  1881,  pp.  620-622. 


430  LIST   OF   PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC. 

103.  Some  Observations  on  the  Causes  of  Volcanic  Action.     Rep.  Brit. 

Assoc.,  York,  1881,  pp.  610-613. 

104.  Letter   on    Section   at   St    Edward's   School,   Summertown,   Oxford. 

Reprint  from  St  Edward's  School  Chronicle,  Dec.  12,  1881. 

105.  An  Index   Guide  to  the  Geological   Collections  in  the  University 

Museum,  Oxford.     8vo.     Oxford. 

1882. 

106.  On  the  Occurrence  of  the   Cyrena  fluminalis  at  Summertown,  near 

Oxford.     Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.  II.,  vol.  ix.,  1882,  pp.  49-51. 

107.  On  a  Peculiar  Bed  of  Angular  Drift  on  the  Lower  Chalk  High  Plain 

between  Upton  and  Chilton.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxxviii. 
pp.  127-134. 

1883. 

108.  Notes   relating   to   some   of   the    Drift   Phenomena  of   Hampshire : 

1.  Boulders,  Hay  ling  Island ;  2.  Chert  debris  in  the  Hampshire 
Gravel ;  3.  Elephant  Bed,  Freshwater  Gate.  Rep.  Brit.  Assoc., 
Southampton,  1882,  pp.  529,  530. 

109.  On  the  Equivalents  in  England  of  the  "  Sables  de  Bracheux,"  and  on 

the  Southern  Limits  of  the  Thanet  Sands.  [Abstract]  Ibid.,  pp. 
538,  539. 

1884. 

110.  A   Letter    on    the   Oxford  Water-supply.      Clarendon   Press,    1884 

(April). 

1885. 

111.  Oxford  Water-supply.     Letters  and  Report.     8vo.     Oxford,  Clarendon 

Press.     Pp.  12. 

112.  On  Underground  Temperatures,  with  Observations  on  the  Conduct- 

ivity of  Rocks,  on  the  Thermal  Effects  of  Saturation  and  Imbibition, 
and  on  a  Special  Source  of  Heat  in  Mountain  Ranges.  Proc.  Roy. 
Soc.,  vol.  xxxviii.,  1885,  pp.  161-168. 

113.  On  the  Agency  of  Water  in  Volcanic  Eruptions,  with  some  Observa- 

tions on  the  Thickness  of  the  Earth's  Crust  from  a  Geological  Point 
of  View,  and  on  the  Primary  Cause  of  Volcanic  Action.  Proc.  Roy. 
Soc.,  vol.  xxxviii.,  1885,  pp.  253-260. 

1 14.  On  Regional  Metamorphism.     Proc.  Roy.  Soc.,  vol.  xxxviii.,  1885,  p. 

425. 

1886. 

115.  Geology,  Chemical,  Physical,  and  Stratigraphical.     Vol.  I.  Chemical 

and  Physical.     Svo.     Clarendon  Press,  Oxford. 

1887. 

116.  Considerations  on  the  Date,  Duration,  and  Conditions  of  the  Glacial 

Period,  with  reference  to  the  Antiquity  of  Man.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol. 
Soc.,  vol.  xliii.  pp.  393-410. 


LIST    OF   PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC.  431 

1888. 

117.  Geology,  Chemical,  Physical,  and  Stratigraphical.      Vol.   II.    Strati- 

graphical  and  Physical.     8vo.     Clarendon  Press,  Oxford. 

118.  Further   Observations  on  the  Correlation  of  the   Eocene   Strata  in 

England,  Belgium,  and  the  North  of  France.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol. 
Soc.,  vol.  xliv.  pp.  88-109. 

119.  Congres    Geologique    International :    Discours   du    President    [1888], 

Reprinted  in  Compte  Rendu  du  Congres,  1891,  pp.  20-31. 

120.  The  Atmosphere  of  the  Coal-period.      Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.  III.,  vol.  v. 

pp.  238,  239,  334,  335. 

1889. 

121.  On  the  Recent  Discovery  of  the  Remains  of  the  Mammoth  in  the 

Valley  of  the  Darent.     Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.  II.,  vol.  vi.  pp.  113,  114. 

122.  On  the  Occurrence  of  Palaeolithic  Flint  Implements  in  the  Neighbour- 

hood of  Ightham,  Kent,  their  Distribution  and  Probable  Age.  '  Quart. 
Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xlv.  pp.  270-294. 

1890. 

123.  On  the  Relation  of  the  Westleton  Beds,  or  Pebbly  Sands  of  Suffolk,  to 

those  of  Norfolk,  and  on  their  Extension  inland  :  with  some  Observa- 
tions on  the  Period  of  the  Final  Elevation  and  Denudation  of  the 
Weald  and  of  the  Thames  Valley,  &c.  Part  I.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol. 
Soc.,  vol.  xlvi.  pp.  84-117.  Part  II.  Ibid.,  pp.  120-153.  Part  III. 
On  the  Relation  of  the  Westleton  Shingle  to  other  Pre-Glacial  Drifts 
in  the  Thames  Basin,  and  on  a  Southern  Drift,  with  Observations  on 
the  Final  Elevation  and  Initial  Subaerial  Denudation  of  the  Weald, 
and  on  the  Genesis  of  the  Thames.  Ibid.,  pp.  155-181. 

124.  The  Elevation  of  the  Weald.     Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.  III.,  vol.  vii.  pp.  479, 

480. 

1891. 

125.  On  the  Age,  Formation,  and  Successive  Drift-Stages  of  the  Valley  of 

the  Darent;  with  Remarks  on  the  Palaeolithic  Implements  of  the 
District,  and  on  the  Origin  of  its  Chalk  Escarpment.  Quart.  Journ 
Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xlvii.  pp.  126-160. 

126.  The  Saiga  Antelope  in  Britain.    Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.  III.,  vol.  viii.  p.  190. 

1892. 

127.  On  the  Primitive  Characters  of  the  Flint  Implements  of  the  Chalk 

Plateau  of  Kent,  with  reference  to  the  Question  of  their  Glacial  or 
Pre-Glacial  Age.  With  Notes  by  Messrs  B.  HARRISON  and  DE 
BARRI  CRAWSHAY.  Journ.  Anthrop.  Inst.,  vol.  xxi.  pp.  246-262. 

128.  The  Raised  Beaches,  and  "Head"  or  Rubble-Drift  of  the  South   of 

England  :  their  Relation  to  the  Valley  Drifts  and  to  the  Glacial 
Period  ;  and  on  a  late  Post-Glacial  Submergence.  Quart.  Journ.  Geol. 
Soc.,  vol.  xlviii.  pp.  263-343. 


432  LIST   OF   PAPERS,    BOOKS,    ETC. 


1893. 

129.  The  Position  of  Geology.     (A  chapter  on  Uniformitarianism.)     Nine- 

teenth Century,  October  1893,  p.  551. 

130.  On  the  Evidences  of  a  Submergence  of  Western  Europe,  and  of  the 

Mediterranean  Coasts,  at  the  Close  of  the  Glacial  or  so-called  Post- 
Glacial  Period,  and  immediately  preceding  the  Neolithic  or  Recent 
Period.  Phil.  Trans.,  vol.  184,  pp.  903-984. 

1894. 

131.  The  Great  Japanese  Earthquake.     Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.   IV.,  vol.  i.  pp. 

191,  192. 

132.  On  the  possible  Marine  Origin  of  the  Loess.     Ibid.,  pp.  237,  238. 

133.  The  Southern  Drift.     Ibid.,  pp.  476,  477. 

1895. 

134.  Collected  Papers  on  some  controverted  Questions  of  Geology.     8vo. 

London. 

135.  On  Certain  Phenomena  belonging  to  the  Close  of  the  last  Geological 

Period,  and  on  their  Bearing  upon  the  Tradition  of  the  Flood.  8vo. 
London. 

136.  A   Geological   Inquiry  respecting  the   Water-bearing  Strata  of   the 

Country  around  London,  with  reference   especially  to  the  Water- 
supply  of  the  Metropolis,  and  including  some  remarks  on  Springs. 
(A  Reissue,  with  Additions  by  the  Author.)     8vo.     London. 

137.  The  Greater  Antiquity  of  Man.     Nineteenth  Century  for  April. 

138.  Nature  and  Art.     Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.  IV.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  373,  376. 


POSTHUMOUS. 

1898. 

139.  The  Solent  River.     Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.  IV,  vol.  v.  pp.  349-351. 

140.  Memoranda,  chiefly  on  the  Drift  Deposits  in  various  Parts  of  England 

and  Wales  :  being  Extracts  from  the  Notebooks  and  other  MSS.  of 
the  late  Sir  Joseph  Prestwich.  Ibid.,  pp.  404-417.  [Communicated 
by  Lady  Prestwich,  and  edited  by  H.  B.  Woodward.] 


433 


LIST    OF    SOCIETIES 

TO   WHICH 

SIR   JOSEPH   PRESTWICH   BELONGED. 


Fellow  of  the  Koyal,  Geological,  and  Chemical  Societies  of  London. 

Associate  of  the  Institute  of  Civil  Engineers. 

Correspondent  of  the  Institute  of  France  (Academy  of  Sciences). 

Member  of  the  Geological  Society  of  France. 

Honorary  Member  of  the  Imperial  Geological  Institute  of  Vienna ;  of  the 
Koyal  Academy  of  the  Lincei  of  Rome  ;  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences 
of  Belgium  ;  Anthropological  Society  of  Brussels  ;  American  Philo- 
sophical Society  ;  Pontifical  Academy  of  Rome  ;  Helvetic  Society  of 
Natural  Science  ;  Vaudois  Society  of  Natural  Sciences  ;  Literary  and 
Philosophical  Society  of  Manchester;  Belgian  Society  of  Geology, 
Palaeontology,  and  Hydrology ;  Imperial  Society  of  Emulation  of 
Abbeville  ;  Imperial  Geological  Society  of  Hungary ;  Geological 
Society  of  the  North  of  France  ;  the  Yorkshire  Philosophical  Society  ; 
the  Edinburgh  Geological  Society  ;  and  the  Geological  Society  of  South 
Africa. 

Corresponding  Member  of  the  Geological  Society  of  Cornwall,  and  of  the 
Society  of  Natural  History  of  Boston,  U.S.A. 


INDEX. 


Abbeville,    118,    119,    122-124,    126, 

127,  155,  179,  182,  189,  241. 
Abbott,  W.  J.  L.,  362,  372. 
Acland,  Sir  Henry  D.,  250,  256,  259, 

306,  312,  328,  331,  340,  387,  398  ; 

letter  from,  374. 
Adams,  John,  5. 
Aikin,  John,  2. 
Aix-les-Bains,  239. 
Alderbury  Hill,  357,  362,  376. 
Allnutt,  Mr,  84. 
Alps,  115,  116. 

American  Philosophical  Society,  209. 
Amiens,  122,  124,  127,  146,  156,  160, 

162,  163. 
Ancestry,  1. 
Ancona,  221. 
Ansted,  Prof.  D.  T.,  250. 
Anstie,  John,  30. 
Antiquity  of  man,  117,  127,  128,  145, 

383,  412,  420. 

'Antiquity  of  Man'  (Lyell's),  176. 
Aquarium,  77. 
Archbishop  of  Rheims,  222. 
Archiac,  E.  J.  A.  d',  72,  98. 
Argyll,  Duke  of,  379  ;  letter  from  the, 

384. 

Arms  of  Prestwich  family,  5. 
Arran,  Isle  of,  54. 
Ash,  373. 

Ashby-de-la-Zouch,  272. 
Ashmolean  Society,  312. 
Athenaeum  Club,  175. 
Atlantis,  379. 

Austen.     See  Godwin- Austen. 
Autobiography,  10-13,  16-18,  20,  24, 

30,  31,  398. 
Auvergne,  172. 


Axe  valley-gravels,  173. 
Axminster,  160. 

Babbage,  C.,  172. 

Bagshot  Sands,  63. 

Balfour,  Prof.  I.  B.,  335. 

Ballast,  326. 

Banffshire,  45,  48. 

Barnes,  C.  L.,  391. 

Barnes,  Thomas,  12. 

Baronetcy  conferred  on   Sir    Thomas 

Prestwich,    3 ;    assumed    by    John 

Prestwich,     4  ;     further     questions 

relating  to  273. 
Barrande,  J.,  100. 
Barrois,  Dr  C.,  343. 
Bartlett,  Mr,  198. 
Barton,  W.,  5. 
Barton  Clays,  104. 
Bate,  C.  Spence,  203. 
Bath,  58. 

Bather,  F.  A.,  391. 
Battersea  Fields,  11. 
Beaumont,  E.  de,  128,  187,  188. 
Beaumont,  Major,  296. 
Beauvais,  80. 
Beckles,  S.  H.,  112. 
Bedford,  Admiral,  245. 
Bedford,  175,  188,  192  ;  discovery  of 

flint- implements  at,  163. 
Belcher,  Sir  E.,  245. 
Belgium,  196. 

Bell,  A.  M.,  324,  346,  347. 
Best,  E.,  174. 
Beyrich,  E.,  343. 
Bible   and   Geology,    268,    374,    375, 

378,  394. 
Biddenham,  165. 


INDEX. 


435 


Binney,  E.  W.,  171. 

Birth  of  Joseph  Prestwich,  9. 

Blackdown     Hill,     Dorchester,     197, 

241. 
Blackmore,  Dr  H.  P.,  142,  357  ;  letters 

from,  362,  363,  375. 
Blakeway,   E.,   and   family,    7-9,    25, 

27,  29. 

Blanford,  W.  T.,  336. 
Boisvilette,  M.,  165. 
Bonaparte,  Prof.  R.,  343. 
Bone  Case,  the,  180. 
Bones,  preservation  of,  160. 
Bonney,  Prof.  T.  G.,  129,  229,  336, 

400. 

Boppart,  60. 
Borghetto,  219. 
Boscombe,  371. 
Boulder,  a  large,  225. 
Boulder  Clay,   370  ;  of  Gower,    151 ; 

of  S.  -  W.   of  England  and   Wales, 

152,   158. 
Boulder  Clay  and  valley  drifts,  131, 

133. 

Boule,  M.,  390. 

Boulogne,  29,  30,  80,  233,  238. 
Boulonnais,  266. 
Bourgeois,  Abbe",  185,  187. 
Bovey  Tracey,  203,  204. 
Bowerbank,  Dr  J.  S.,  59,  60,  227. 
Brady,  Sir  A.,  183. 
Brandon,  304. 
Braunton,  102. 

Bristol,   49;    coal-field   of,   209,   212. 
Bristow,  H.  W.,  120,  129. 
British  Association,   46,   49,   54,    58, 

210,    229,    310,    314,    316,    377; 

offered  the  Presidency  of  the,  278. 
Brixham  Cave,    111,    120,    129,    130, 

133,  145  ;  report  on,  224,  236. 
Broadbent,  Sir  W.,  396. 
Broseley,  visits  to,  24,  30-32. 
Brouillet,  M.,  277. 
Brown,  John,  144,  146,  191,  424. 
Browning,  R.,  331. 
Brunet,  M.,  280. 
Buckland,   Dr  W.,    30,   58,   65,    111, 

139,    174,  265,  369. 
Bullen,  Rev.    R.   A.,   352,   358,   363, 

372,    386,    396,    398,    400;    letter 

from,   396. 

Bunbury,  Sir  C.,  165. 
Burdett-Coutts,  Lady,  112. 
Burdiehouse,  47. 
Bury,  Dr  F.  C.,  394-396,  399,  400. 


Business,  40,  42,  84  ;  retirement  from, 

236,  238. 
Busk,  G.,   148,  179,  184,  236  ;  letter 

from,  278. 

Calais,  196. 

Calcaire  Grassier,  24. 

Caldy  Island,  301. 

Cameron,  Rev.  J.,  271. 

Campbell,    J.    F.,    letters   from,  235, 
300. 

Canterbury,  157. 

Capellini,  Prof.  G.,  343,  380,  390. 

Carlisle,  291. 

Carnarvon,  138. 

Carpenter,  Dr  W.  B.,  178,  180,  184, 
226,  308  ;  letters  from,  322. 

Castracane,  Monsignor,  223. 

Caudell,  H.,  270. 

Cautley,  Sir  Proby,  111. 

Cavell,  E.,  208. 

Caverns,   Bone,    111,    117,    120,    129, 
130,   133,  137,  145,  152,   153. 

Caves,  Italian,  219. 

Cefn  Cave,  152,  153. 

Challenge  in  reference  to  plateau  im- 
plements, 389,  394. 

Chalk  escarpment,  348. 

Chalk-flints,  323. 

Chambers,  R.,  letter  from,  142. 

Chamouni,  116. 

Channel  Islands,  308,  310,  311. 

Channel  Tunnel,  246,  256. 

Character  and  habits  of  Joseph  Prest- 
wich, 21,  27,  37,  39,  56,  331,  420. 

Charles!.,  2,  3. 

Charnwood  Forest,  272. 

Chemical  experiments,  21,  33-36. 

Chesil  Beach,  241,  243,  405. 

Chiabrera,  Signer,  219. 

Choflfat,  Senor,  343. 

Christy,  H.,  148. 

City  life,  26,  33,  52,  56,  84,   99-102, 
230,  236. 

Clapham,  Surrey,  7. 

Clapham,  Yorkshire,  248. 

Clark,  Sir  Andrew,  letter  from,  348. 

Clay  with  flints,  228. 

Claypole,  Prof.  E.  W.,  343. 

Clifton,  Captain,  241. 

Clifton,  Prof.,  259. 

Clubs,  in  London,   59,   193,   194  ;  at 
Oxford,   253. 

Clwyd,  Vale  of,  153. 

Coal,  Royal  Commission  on,  201,  211. 


436 


INDEX. 


Coal-measures  beneath  south  of  Eng- 
land, 296,  417. 

Coal-pits,  descents  into,  31. 

Coalbrook  Dale,  24,  30-32,  46,  407. 

Colchester,  W.,  207,  243,  313,  339. 

Colin,  M.,  12. 

Collections  of  fossils  and  rocks,  237. 

Colleges  for  Women,  305. 

Commercial  room,  41. 

Conularia,  24. 

Conybeare,  Rev.  W.  D.,  35. 

Copford,  146. 

Corbicula.     See  Cyrena. 

Cornet,  M.,  325. 

Cornwall,  159. 

Correlation  of  Eocene  beds,  98-100, 
102-105,  410. 

Cradock,  Rev.  Dr,  260. 

Crag  district,  73,  147,  197. 

Crag,  Memoirs  on,  207,  208,  225,  411. 

Crawshay,  De  B.,  324,  346,  352,  355, 

356,  362,  373,  431. 
Creation,  six-days',  136. 
Croll,  Dr  J.,  333-335. 
Culford,  314. 
Cumnor,  306. 
Cunnington,  E.,  241. 
Cunnington,  W.,  75,  76,  86,  154. 
Cyrena    fluminalis    (Corbicula    conso- 

'  brina),  131-133,  161,  168,  314,  315. 
Cyrena  semistriata,  90. 

Dallas,  W.  S.,  250. 
Dana,  Prof.  J.  D.,  308. 
Dancing,  passion  for,  27,  101. 
Darent-Hulme,    199,    200,    206,   209, 
227,  230,  232,  237,  251,  261,  307, 

357,  392. 

Darent  Valley,  354,  356. 

Darwin,  C.,  360  ;  letter  from,  300. 

Darwin,  Prof.  G.  H.,  372. 

Daubree,  A.,  53,  172,  279,  304,  364, 

382,  389  ;  letter  from,  390. 
David,  Prof.  T.  W.  E.,  390. 
Davies,  T.,  250. 
Dawkins,  Prof.  W.  Boyd,  248. 
Death  of  Joseph  Prestwich,  400. 
Degree,  honorary,  340,  344. 
De  la  Beche,  Sir  H.  T.,  35,  58,  59,  66, 

67,  72,  92,  173,  175. 
De  la  Harpe,  Dr  P.,  106,  107. 
Delanoue,  M.,  187. 
Delesse,  A.,  53,  184,  187,  189-191. 
Delgado,  Colonel,  343. 
Deluge,  310,  311,  366,  368,  387. 


Deshayes,  G.  P.,  48,  90. 

Denny s,  N.,  36. 

Denudation  of  the  Weald,  69,  71,  91, 

94. 

Derbyshire,  167. 
Desmarest,  A.  G.,  403. 
Desnoyers,    J.,    130,    184,    187,    217, 

390. 

Desor,  E.,  115. 
Detroyat,  M.,  279,  280. 
Devil's  Den,  74. 

Devon,  North,  251  ;  South,  203. 
Dewalque,  G.,  343,  390. 
Dewlish,  365. 
Diaries  of  Mrs  Prestwich  (sen.),  9  ;  of 

Joseph  Prestwich,  33-37. 
Didcot,  269. 
Dijon,  239. 

Diluvial  period,  70,  369. 
Dorchester,  241. 
Drainage,  Metropolitan,  72. 
Drawing  lessons,  15. 
Drifts,   sequence  of,   135 ;  studies  of, 

68,  91,  122,  210,  243,  414. 
Drucat,  M.,  135. 
Dublin,  46. 
Dumont,  A.,  87. 
Duncan,  Dr  P.  M.,  233. 
Dupont,  E.,  197. 
Dura  Den,  230. 
Dutton,  Capt.  C.  E.,  327. 

Earthquakes,  5,  225. 

Earth's  crust,  276,  331  ;  age,  372. 

Eastbourne,  265,  266,  293. 

Easter  excursions,  75,  76,  82,  87,  89, 

92,   148,   162,   170,   176,   196,  203, 

208,  210,  227,  233,  247,  266,  274, 

277,  278,  305,  371. 
Eastern  counties,  157,  225. 
Edinburgh,  47. 

Edwards,  F.  E.  (portrait  of),  126. 
Elephants,  fossil,  113,  131,  346,  365. 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  letter  from,  1. 
Ellacombe,  Canon  H.  N.,  393. 
Engis  skull,  196. 
Eocene  strata,  correlation  of,  98-100, 

102-105,  409. 
Eolithic  implements,   357.      See  also 

under  Plateau. 
Epernay,  48,  54,  80. 
Erith,  131. 

Escarpment,  Chalk,  348. 
Essex,  Drift  of,  68. 
Etheridge,  R.,  308. 


INDEX. 


437 


Etheridge,  Mrs,  398. 

Eudiometer,  34. 

Evans,  A.  J.,  294. 

Evans,  Sir  John,  32,  55,  124,  125, 
127,  128,  144,  162,  165,  167,  170, 
171,  176,  179-181,  185,  189,  192, 
197,  208,  236,  243,  266,  271,  276, 
278,  292,  305,  314,  316,  356,  357, 
372,  383,  388,  395,  397  ;  meeting 
with,  105;  letters  from,  163,  190; 
rhymes  by,  327,  329. 

Everest,  Rev.  R.,  112. 

Ewelme,  284. 

Excursions.    See  Easter  and  Geological. 

Fairs,  London,  10,  11. 
Falconer,  Charles,  215,  246,  304. 
Falconer,    Dr   Hugh,    111-114,    117- 
120,   123,  127,  128,   137,   139-141, 

145,  151,  158,   176,  177,  179,  182, 
184,  186-188,  236,  247,  412,  425  ; 
letters    from,    119,    130,    141,    152, 
180  ;  death  of,  195. 

Falmouth,  40,  159. 

Faluns  of  Touraine,  103,  104. 

Fareham,  257. 

Farringdon,  76. 

Father,  death  of  Prestwich's,  101. 

Ferguson,  M.,  159. 

Field-classes  at  Oxford,  257. 

Fisher,  Rev.   0.,  241,  270,  273,  275, 

304,  314,  369,  372,  407. 
Fisherton,  142. 
Fishguard,  303. 
Fitch,  Robert,  155. 
Fitton,  Dr  W.  H.,  58,  65,  74,  80,  82, 

83  ;  letter  from,  80. 
Flint  implements,  117,  163,  167,   168, 

324,  325,  329,  346,  352,  362,  412  ; 

discovery  of,   122,   126  ;  fabrication 

of,  128,  144,  182. 

Flints,  green-coated,  71  ;  origin  of,  323. 
Floods,   86,   169,  310,  374,  375,  378, 

380,  387,  415. 
Flower,    J.    Wickham,    73,    98,    124, 

146,  189,   198. 
Fluviatile  beds,  70. 
Folin,  Marquis  de,  279. 
Folkestone,  118-121,  273. 
Fontainebleau  Sands,  102-104. 
Forbes,  D.,  232. 

Forbes,  Prof.  E.,  59,  76,  87,  89,  90, 
92,  95,  98,  103,  104,  226,  245,  256; 
letter  from,  89,  90. 

Forged  implements,  128,  144,  182. 


France,  Geological  Society  of,  48,  53, 
88,  312  ;  elected  Vice-  President  of, 
381. 

France,  Institute  of,  elected  a  Corres- 
ponding  Member  of  the,  322. 

Franks,  Sir  A.  W.,  125. 

Frere,  John,  125,  143. 

Frome,  159. 

Galton,  Sir  D.,   148,  162,    196,   203, 

210,  234,  241,  278,  279,  394. 
Gamrie,  45. 

Gardening,  232,  237,  261,  358. 
Gardner,  J.  Starkie,  203. 
Gamier,  M.,  159,  235. 
Garrigou,  Dr  F.,  187,  189. 
Gaudry,  A.,  53,  88,    134,    142,    185, 

187,   197,279,  293,322,343,364, 

389;  letter  from,  401. 
Geikie,  Sir  A.,  59,  67,  223,  362,  373, 

398,  402. 
Genealogy,  1. 

Gentleman,  Chaucer's  ideal  of  a,  318. 
Geological  excursions  (see  also  under 

Easter),  29,  73,  80,   158,   191-193, 

197,  225,  271,  273,  308. 
Geological  papers,  314-316,  322,  394, 

395,  402  (see  also  under  Tertiary); 

preparation  of,  87. 
Geological  pupils,  390. 
Geological     Society,     35,     36,     401  ; 

elected  a  Fellow  of  the,  40  ;  elected 

on  Council,  57  ;   award  of  Wollas- 

ton  Medal  by  Council  of,  66  ;  Secre- 

tary    of,    99  ;     Treasurer    of,    99  ; 

elected  President  of  the,  212-215  ; 

Addresses  to  the,  226,  233. 
Geological  Society  Club,  65. 
Geological  Society  of  France,  48,  53, 

88,  312,  381. 

Geological  Survey,  173,  175. 
Geologists'  Association,  251,  347. 
Geology  of  the  Bible,  268. 
Geology,    controverted    questions    on, 

383  ;  practical,  417. 
Geology,  early  studies  of,  24. 
Geology,  Text-book  of,  318,  328,  337, 

339. 

Germany,  visit  to,  60. 
Gilbert,  Prof.  G.  K.,  343. 
Glacial  Period,   333,    334,   370.     See 

also  Drifts. 

Glacial  submergence,  167. 
GLaciers,  Swiss,  116  ;  of  North  Wales, 

138. 


438 


INDEX. 


Gladstone,  W.  E.,  letters  from,  328, 

378,  379,  387. 
Glamorganshire,  137,  281. 
Glasgow,  55. 
Glencoe,  285,  286. 
Glen  Roy,  285,  298,  300. 
Glen  Spean,  287. 
Gloucester,  281. 
God  win- Austen,  R.  A.  C.,  68,  73,  76, 

82,  83,  87,  89,  92,   112,  120,  124, 

128,  129,  152,  175,  189,   193,   196, 

203,  238,  293,  294,  296,  312,  417; 

letters  from,  82,  128,  169,  187. 
Goniometer,  35. 
Gosselet,  J.,  234,  266,  343. 
Gower  coast  and  caves,  137,  139,  140, 

149,  281. 

Gravel  sifter,  the,  180,  181. 
Gravels,  high-  and  low-level,  97,  98, 

169,  313,  376,  403,  412. 
Gray,  Prof.  Asa,  308. 
Grays,  Essex,  97,  209. 
Green,  Prof.  A.  H.,  250. 
Green  Street  Green,  325,  352. 
Greenough,  G.  B.,  35,  40,  65. 
Greenough  Map,  173. 
Greensand,  Upper  and  Lower,  80. 
Greenwell,  Canon  W.,  377. 
Ground  beneath  us,  lectures  on  the, 

96,  108. 
Guernsey,  308. 
Guidu,  Dr,  279. 

Gunn,  Rev.  John,  146,  155,  156,  159. 
Gurney,  Miss  Anna,  155. 
Guy  Fawkes'  Day,  17. 

Hale,  jun.,  Mr,  363. 

Hall,  Marshall,  250. 

Hamilton,  W.  J.,  174. 

Hamy,  E.  T.,  279. 

Hard  water,  201. 

Harrison,  B.,  304,  313,  324,  325,  337, 

341,  344,  346,  347,  349,  352,  355, 

356,  359,  360,  364,  371,  372,  380, 

394,  431. 
Hastings,  73. 

Haverfordwest,  283,  284,  301. 
Hawkins,  B.  Waterhouse,  23. 
Haw  well,  Rev.  J.,  391. 
Hayling  Island,  256. 
Head,  360,  416. 
Headon  Hill  Sands,  104. 
Hubert,  E.,  88,   103,    104,    134,   185, 

187,  217,  279,  304,  389. 
Heddle,  Prof.  M.  F.,  230. 


Heer,  Rev.  Dr  0.,  166,  203. 
Heim,  A.,  343. 
Hempstead  Beds,  102,  103. 
Henslow,  Rev.   Prof.  J.  S.,  143,  146, 

148. 

Hendred,  East,  269,  321. 
Hertford,  74,  171. 
Hibbert,  Dr  S.,  47. 
Hicks,  Dr  H.,  153. 
High-level  gravel,  98,  313,  386. 
Hippopotamus,  169. 
Holmfirth  Flood,  86. 
Holy  Land,  213. 
Home  life   (see  also  Darent-Hulme), 

230,  236,  315,  358,  392. 
Home  studies,  27,  28,  33. 
Homer,  378,  379. 
Hook,  The,  192. 
Hooker,  Sir  J.  D.,  94,  106,  107,  170, 

181,  246  ;  letter  from,  106. 
Hopkins,  W.,  255,  276,  373. 
Hordle,  329. 
Horner,  Leonard,  108,  109,  153;  letter 

from,  108. 

Howorth,  Sir  H.  H.,  397. 
Hoxne,  125,  144,  146. 
Hudleston,  W.  H.,  242,  250,  284. 
Hughes,  Prof.  T.  M'K.,  137,  276-278, 

305. 
Hulke,  J.  W.,  306,  344;    letter  from, 

365  ;  death  of,  383. 
Hull,  Prof.  E.,  244. 
Hull,  156,  157. 
Hulme  Hall,  2,  4. 
Human  jaw,  178,  180,  182,  186,  187, 

189. 

Hunt,  Dr  T.  S. ,  343. 
Huntly,  Dowager  Marchioness  of,  144. 
Hurry,  E.,  43. 
Hutton,  W.,  47. 
Hutton,  Dr  J.,  403. 
Huxley,  Right  Hon.   T.  H.,  96,  180, 

181,     212,    213,     256,     318,    366; 

death  of,  388. 
Hydro-geological  map,  297. 

I'Anson,  Edward,  29,  35,  36,  74. 

Ice  of  rivers,  415. 

Ice-sheet,  370. 

Ightham,  346,  356,  372. 

Iguanodon,  306. 

Ilfracombe,  251. 

Implements,    flint.       See    Flint    and 

Plateau. 
Institute  of  France,  322. 


INDEX. 


439 


International  Exhibition  of  1862,  171. 
International  Geological  Congress,  336, 

342. 

Ireland,  visits  to,  45,  46,  50. 
Irving,  Rev.  Dr  A.,  360. 
Isle  of  Wight,  58,  71,  89,  309,  365. 
Italy,  visit  to,  218. 

Jackson,  Dr  John  (Bishop  of  London), 

20. 

Jackson,  Mr,  172. 
James,  Sir  H.,  297. 
Jameson,  Prof.  R.,  47,  54. 
Jamieson,  T.  F.,  300. 
Jaw,  human,  178,  180,  182,  186,  187, 

189. 
Jeffreys,     J.    Gwyn,    196,    203,    207, 

208,    226,    227,    279  ;     death    of, 

321. 

Jerrold,  D.,  261. 
Jersey,  308. 
Jones,    Prof.    T.    R.,    148,    250,    372, 

374,  377,  398. 
Jowett,  B.,  305,  331. 
Judd,  Prof.  J.  W.,  268,  307,  327,  336. 
Jukes-Browne,  A.  J.,  362. 

Kaup,  J.  J.,  227. 

Keeping,  H.,  190. 

Kelsey  Hill,  157. 

Kelvin,    Lord,    256,    275,    276,    372, 

373. 

Kensington  gravel-pits,  236. 
Kentish  Town  well,  294. 
Kerrera,  289. 
Kessingland,  225. 
King,  Rev.  S.  W.,  159. 
King-crabs,  201. 

Kingsley,  Rev.  C.,  letter  from,  136. 
Kingsmill,  T.  W.,  382. 
Knighthood,  397. 
Koninck,  L.  G.  de,  303. 

Lady  Margaret  Hall,  305. 

Lake,  underground,  240. 

Lambert,  M.,  87. 

Lambeth,  home  at,  11. 

Landriot,  Dr,  222. 

Landslip  at  Sheppey,  330. 

Lapland,  169. 

Lapparent,  A.  de,  343. 

Lapworth,  Prof.  C.,  letter  from,  330. 

Lartet,  E.,    114,   134,   174,    180,    184, 

187,  217,  390. 
Latchmore,  F.,  333. 


Laughing-gas,  34. 

Lavender  Hill,  10,  11. 

Laws,  E.,  301. 

Le  Conte,  Prof.  J.,  308;  letter  from, 

326. 

Lectures  on  chemistry,  &c.,  34-36. 
Leech,  Mr,  162. 
Leckenby,  J.,  156. 
Leidy,  Prof.  J.,  363. 
Letters  to — 

The  Duke  of  Argyll,  385. 
The  Rev.  R.  A.  Bullen,  353. 
W.  Colchester,  207,  208. 
W.  Cunnington,  76,  86. 
Sir  H.  T.  De  la  Beche,  72. 
Sir  John  Evans,  106,  125,  149,  162, 
164,  172,  184,  191-193,  197,  203, 
210,  227,  233,  234,  274,  277,  292, 
293,  295,  298,  299,  303,  304,  306, 
310,  314,  317,  321,  324,  327,  332- 
336,  350-352,  354,  355,  359,  360, 
363,  367,  368,  373,  382,  388,  394. 
Dr  H.  Falconer,  114,  117,  118,  120, 
129,  130,  132,  137,  141,  149,  153, 
155,  158,  160,  161,  166,  169,  173, 
175,  184,  186-189,  191. 
His  father,  14,  18. 
The  Rev.  0.  Fisher,  270,  275,  336, 
372,  373,  383. 

A.  Gaudry,  381. 

Sir  A.  Geikie,  350,  353,  360,  364. 
Editor  of  'Geologist,'  113. 
R.  A.  C.  Godwin-Austen,  294,  296. 
His  niece  Gracie,  328. 

B.  Harrison,   313,   316,   325,   349, 
366,  375,  382. 

E.  Hurry,  43,  44. 

Sir  J.  D.  Hooker,  107. 

E.  Lartet,  181. 

W.  Lonsdale,  64. 

Sir  John  Lubbock,  97. 

Sir   Charles  Lyell,   68,   70,   85,   91, 

94,    98,   99,   102-104,   131,   132, 

134,  143,  145,  146,  151,  166,  171, 

205    239 

J.  C.  Mansel-Pleydell,  242. 
Jules  Marcou,  319,  335,  340,  380. 
Sir  R.  I.  Murchison,  198,  212,  214, 

229. 

Captain  F.  Petrie,  268. 
Dr  G.  Plarr,  348. 
Lady  Prestwich,  266,  267,  278-281. 

C.  Prestwich,  46-48. 

The  Duke  of  Richmond  and  Gordon, 
297. 


440 


INDEX. 


Letters  to — 

J.  C.  Scott,  311. 

J.  P.  Scott,  307. 

Mrs  Russell  Scott,  50,  60,  61,  84,  87. 

Sarah  Scott,  201. 

Sophie  Scott,  53,  77. 

The  Rev.  W.  S.  Symonds,  262. 

C.  Thurburn,  147. 

H.  B.  Tomkins,  273. 

of  sympathy  on  death  of  Prestwich, 

401. 

Lexden,  191. 

Liddell,  Very  Rev.  H.  G.,  249,  340. 
Lie"ge,  196. 
Lihou  Island,  309. 
Limpsfield,  347. 
Limulus,  201,  202. 
Lincei,  Royal  Academy  of  the,  380. 
Lindley,  Dr  John,  32. 
Lismore,  289. 
Lithography,  23. 
Lobley,  Prof.  J.  L.,  250. 
Loch  Laggan,  287. 
Loch  Leven,  286. 
Loch  Ryan,  291. 
Loch  Treig,  287. 
Lochaber,  285,  298,  300. 
Loess,  382. 

Logan,  Sir  W.  E.,  175. 
London  Basin,  the,  80. 
London  Clay,  63,  70. 
London  Clay  Club,  59. 
London,   Carboniferous  strata   under, 

294;  drainage  of,   72. 
Longuemar,  de,  277,  279. 
Lonsdale,  William,  35,  64,  65. 
Loughborough,  291,  292. 
Lowe,  J.,  100. 
Lowestoft,  225. 
Lubbock,  Sir  John,  97,  98,  148,  170, 

176,  189,  313,  314,  334. 
Lucas,  Rev.  P.,  283. 
Lucy,  W.  C.,  281. 
Lulworth,  242. 

Lyell,  Sir  Charles,  35,  58,  65,  68,  83, 
97-100,  102,  103,  108,  112,  124, 
152,  158,  164,  165,  176,  177,  181, 
188,  348,  403,  404,  419;  letters 
from,  100,  124,  204. 
Lyell,  Sir  C.,  letter  to  the  Rev.  W. 

S.  Symonds,   158. 
Lyell,  Lady,  death  of,  239. 
Lyme  Regis,  308. 

Maccagnone,  121. 


Mackeson,  H.  B.,  238. 

M'Enery,  Rev.  J.,  130. 

Mackie,  S.  J.,  118. 

Maidenhead,  97. 

Maiden  Newton,  154. 

Maillard,  Abbe",  80. 

Mallet,  R.,  406;  letter  from,  255. 

Malvern  Drift,  262. 

Mammoth.     See  Elephants. 

Man,  antiquity  of,  117,  127,  128,  145, 
176,  383,  412. 

Mansel-Pleydell,  J.  C.,  241,  365. 

Mantell,  Dr  G.  A.,  83,  181. 

Mantovani,  Signer,  222. 

Maps,  Field,  351. 

Maps,  Geological,  174,  319,  320. 

Marcotte,  M.,  133,  143. 

Marcou,  Prof.  J.,  319. 

Mark  Lane,  52,  99-102,  230,  236. 

Market  Bos  worth,  271. 

Market  Weighton,  156. 

Marlborough,  74. 

Marriage,  216. 

Marsh,  Prof.  0.  C.,  343. 

Mass<§nat,  M.,  277. 

Mastodon,  208. 

Mathematics,  275. 

Mayer-Eymer,  C.,  343. 

Medal  given  by  Charles  I.  to  Sir  T. 

Prestwich,  3. 
Meeson,  R.,  97,  115,  133. 
Melville,  Dr,  157. 
Menchecourt,  126,  131,  132,  135,  143, 

152,  178. 
Mentone,  218. 
Merian,  P.,  116. 
Metamorphism,  324,  326,  406. 
Metropolitan  drainage,  72. 
Mewslade  Bay,  140,  150. 
Mildmay,  H.  B.,  353. 
Milman,  Dean,  204,  205. 
Milne,  Miss  L.,  311,  400. 
Milne- Ed  wards,  A.,  185. 
Milne-Edwards,  H0  185,  187. 
Minet,  W.,  316. 
Mitchell,  Dr  James,  34,  36. 
Moel  Tryfaen,  137,  166. 
Moggridge,  M.,  218. 
Mohl,  Madame,  217. 
Monte  Cavo,  222. 
Moore,  J.  C.,  99,  291. 
Morris,  Prof.  John,  32,  58,  73,  74,  76, 
80,   87,    126,    135,   149,    156,    157, 
159,  209,  228,  250,  284,  423. 
Morte  Point,  252. 


INDEX. 


441 


Moseley,  Prof.  H.  N.,  321. 

Mother,  death  of,  76. 

Moulin  Quignon,  135,  141,  178,  179, 
182,  183,  185,  188. 

Mount  Sorrel,  272. 

Mourlon,  M.,  248,  343. 

Miiller,  Max,  295. 

Mumbles,  the,  139. 

Mundesley,  133,  145,  146,  166,  167. 

Murchison,  Sir  Roderick  I.,  31,  35, 
54,  55,  57,  83,  148,  169;  letters 
from,  83,  194,  211,  214,  226. 

Museum,  Oxford,  254. 

Mushet,  Mrs,  27. 

Musk-ox,  97,  98. 

Mylne,  R.  W.,  124,  161. 

Naples,  223. 

Narberth,  303. 

Natural  History  Society,  42. 

Nature  and  art,  388. 

Neocomian,  80. 

Neumayr,  M.,  343. 

Newton,  E.  T.,  372. 

Nicholson,  Prof.  H.  A.,  338. 

Nicol,  — ,  76. 

Nikitin,  S.,  343. 

Noachian  deluge,  310,  311,  366,  368, 

374,  375,  378,  387. 
Nomenclature,  103,  128. 
Norfolk,  155,  159. 
Northampton,  156. 
Norwich,  50. 
Norwood,  Surrey,  17. 
Note-books,  56,   102,   157,   158,   237, 

350,  351. 
Nummulites,  98. 
Nyst,  P.  H.,  196. 

Oban,  289. 

Odling,  Prof.  W.,  259. 

Oil-painting,  23. 

Oldham,  R.  D.,  343. 

Overton  Longville,  144. 

Owen,  Sir  R.,  112,  180,  181  ;  letter 
from,  250. 

Owen  versus  Huxley,  180. 

Oxford,  Professorship  of  Geology  at, 
249  ;  removal  to,  253  ;  excursions 
round,  258 ;  water-supply  of,  258, 
320,  322;  life  at,  259,  305,  331, 
332,  374;  museum  at,  315;  re- 
moval from,  335 ;  receives  Hon. 
degree  of  D.C.L.  at,  340,  344; 
pupils  at,  390. 


Pagham,  362. 
Painting,  23. 
Palaeolithic  implements.  See  Flint 

and  Plateau  implements. 
PalaBolithic   implements   and    Boulder 

Clay,  336. 

Palaeolithic  man,  311. 
Palseontographical  Society,  58. 
Palermo,  121. 
Palestine,  214. 
Pallas,  P.  S.,  169. 
Palmaria,  220. 
Parallel  roads  of  Glen  Roy,  285,  299, 

300. 
Paris,  school  at,  12-17  ;  visits  to,  53, 

148,  166,  216,  278. 
Parish  work,  353. 
Paroxysmalism,  255. 
Pattison,  S.  R.,  39,  366. 
Paviland  Cave,  139,  149,  150. 
Pavlow,  Prof.  A.,  343. 
Peek,  Sir  C.  E.,  355. 
Pengelly,  Miss,  129. 
Pengelly,  W.,  112,  113,  129. 
Pennystone  iron-ore,  24,  30. 
Pensbury,  9. 
Perrin,  M.,  239. 
Perthes,  Boucher  de,  119,  121-123,  125- 

128,    134-136,    141-143,    154,    161, 

178,  179,  181,   182,  184-187,  355, 

412. 

Peterborough,  144,  176. 
Petrie,  Captain  F.,  267. 
Phillips,  Prof.  J.,  248,  251,  270,  338, 

366. 

Philosophical  Club,  194. 
Philp,  Mr,  111. 
Pholas-borings,  69. 
Physics,  early  studies  in,  34, 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  393. 
Pillet,  M.,  240. 
Pinsard,    M.,    135,     158,     159,    161, 

235. 
Plants,    Eocene,    71,    94,    106,    107  ; 

fossil,  from  Mundesley,  166. 
Plarr,  DrG.,  348,  351. 
Plateau   implements,   324,   337,   341, 

346,  349,  352,  355,  356,  363,  373, 

375,  377,  378,  382,  384,  385,  388, 

389,  394. 
Playfair,  J.,  403. 
Pliocene.     See  Crag. 
Ponzi,  Prof.  G.,  223. 
Portland,  Isle  of,  241-243. 
Practical  Geology,  417. 


2  F 


442 


INDEX. 


Prestwich,  Civil,  9,  101,   102  ;  letter 

from,  49  ;  death  of,  202. 
Prestwich,  Edward,  death  of,  266. 
Prestwich,  Elias,  6. 
Prestwich,  Emily,  203. 
Prestwich,  Sir  John,  4,  225. 
Prestwich,  Joseph,  sen.,  6-9,  56. 
Prestwich,  Sir  Thomas,  3. 
Prestwich  (village),  1. 
Prestwichia,  202. 
Prevost,  Constant,  48,  53. 
Price,  Prof.  B.,  320,  345  ;  letter  from, 

401. 

Prigg,  H.,  333. 
Princes  Risborough,  167. 
Pritchard,  Rev.  C.,  259,  268  ;  letter 

from,  337. 

Professorship  of  Geology,  249. 
Prytherch,  family  of,  8. 
Public  speaking,  213. 
Pullen,  Captain,  245. 
Pury,  M.  de,  115. 
Pycroft,  Dr  G.,  180. 
Pyrenees,  279. 

Quaker  family,  8. 
Quartz-pebbles,  351. 
Quaternary,  122,  125,  128,  370. 
Quatrefages,  A.  de,  134,  179,  182,  184, 

187,  190,  279. 
Queen  Elizabeth,  letter  from,  1. 

Rae,  Dr  J.,  306. 

Railway  sections,  350. 

Raised  beaches,   140,   150,  151,  360, 

415. 
Ramsay,  Sir  A.  C.,  67,  112,  117,  129, 

138,  148,  297,  310,  311,  348. 
Ramsay,  Lady,  letter  from,  401. 
Reading,  fossil  plants  at,  94,  106,  107. 
Recreation,  52. 
Reculvers,  162. 
Rees,  Dr  G.   Owen,   29,   38,   49,  68, 

207,  249,  304  ;  letter  from,  67. 
Reid,  Clement,  362,  412. 
Religious  views  of  Joseph  Prestwich, 

21. 
Religion  and  science,  394.     See  also 

Bible. 

Renard,  A.,  343. 
Renevier,  Prof.  K,  116,  343. 
Retirement  from  business,  236,  238. 
Reviews,  235,  244,  427,  428. 
Rheims,  Archbishop  of,  222. 
Rhos  Sili  Bay,  141,  151,  281. 


Rhymes  by  Sir  J.  Evans,  327,  329. 

Richthofen,  Baron  F.  Von,  343,  382. 

Rigaux,  E.,  238,  243. 

Rigollot,  Dr,  122,  123,  144. 

Billy,  Cakaire  de,  88  ;  Sables  de,  80. 

River-drift,    97,    98,    169,    313,   376, 

403,  412. 
River-ice,  415. 
Riviere,  E.,  48,  218. 
Rogers,  Prof.,  148. 
Rolleston,    Dr    G.,   259,   260;    letter 

from,  312  ;  death  of,  313. 
Rome,  221  ;  Royal  Academy  of  Lincei 

of,  380. 

Roorkee,  Professorship  at,  92. 
Roquette,  S.,  358. 
Rose,  C.  B.,  37. 
Rouville,  P.  de,  390. 
Royal   Commissions,    194,    201,    202, 

206,  207,  211. 

Royal  Institution,  lecture  at  the,  192. 
Royal  Medal,  198. 
Royal   Society,    194,    306;  elected   a 

Fellow   of   the,    91  ;    chosen   Vice- 
President  of  the,  318. 
Rubble  Drift,  416. 
Rudler,  F.  W.,  344. 
Rush  Hill,  springs  at,  11. 
Ruskin,  John,  253  ;  letters  from,  168, 

254. 
Rutot,  A.,  343. 

Sabine,  Sir  E.,  245. 

St  Acheul,  126,  135,  159-161. 

St  Agnes,  159. 

St  Albans,  133. 

St  Andrews,  230. 

St  Clement's,  Oxford,  265. 

St  David's,  283,  301. 

St   Paul's   Cathedral,   foundations  of, 

204. 

Salisbury,  56,  376. 
San  Sebastian,  280. 
Sanders,  W.,  175. 
Sangatte  Cliff,  196,  197. 
Saporta,  Marquis  de,  343. 
Schmerling  Collection,  196. 
School-days   in  London,    10,    11,   17  ; 

in  Paris,  12-17  ;  at  Reading,  17-20; 
Science  and  Religion,  394.     See  also 

Bible. 

Scotland,  visits  to,  45,  46,  229,  285. 
Scott,  G.,  359. 
Scott,    Russell,    51,    52,  58,    60,    65, 

265,  293  ;  death  of,  306. 


INDEX. 


443 


Scott,  Mrs  R.,  84,  87,  352  ;  death  of, 

376. 

Scott,  Sophia,  76. 
Scrap-book,  30. 
Scrope,  G.  P.,  403. 
Sea,  deep,  226 ;  temperatures  of,  244, 

404. 

Seal,  Great,  of  United  States,  5,  6. 
Sedgwick,  Rev.  Prof.  A.,  35,  41,  57, 

93,  94 ;  letter  from,  93. 
Seeley,  Prof.  H.  G.,  250,  308. 
Serres,  Marcel  de,  131. 
Settle  Cave,  248. 
Shakespeare's  Cliff,  57. 
Sharp,  Samuel,  156. 
Sharpe,  D.,  76,  83,  87,  92. 
Shelley,  P.  B.,  home  of,  221. 
Sheppey,  Isle  of,  329. 
Shields,  Mr,  303. 
Shode  Valley,  372. 

Shoreham,    Kent,    346 ;    purchase    of 
land   at,    193;   the   home   at — see 
under  Darent-Hulme. 
ShornclifFe,  118. 
Shotover  Hill,  258. 
Siberia,  169. 
Siemens,  Sir  W.,  316. 
Skertchly,  S.  B.  J.,  304,  336,  352. 
Smith,  Mrs  G.  Murray,  27. 

Smith,    Prof.     H.    J.    S.,    259,    260; 
death  of,  317. 

Smith,  William,  40,  409. 

Smyth,   Sir    W.    W.,    67,    210,    266, 
278,  305. 

Snowdon,  138. 

Social  life,  193. 

Societies  to  which  Prestwich  belonged, 
list  of,  433. 

Solent  river,  386,  387. 

Somerset  coal-field,  209,  212. 

Somerville,  Mrs,  223. 

Somerville  Hall,  305. 

Somme  Valley,    129,    147,    148,    178, 
185,  333. 

Sonnet,  16. 

Southampton,  316. 

Southwold,  225. 

Sowerby,  J.,  24,  32,  58. 

Sowerby,  J.  de  C.,  59. 

Spencer,  Herbert,  285,  290. 

Spezzia,  219-221. 

Spottiswoode,  W.,  295,  306,  308,  314, 
331  ;  death  of,  317. 

Spratt,  Admiral  T.  A.  B.,   226,  245, 
256. 


Springs  at  Rush  Hill,  11. 

Spurrell,  — ,  131. 

Spurrell,  F.  C.  J.,  308. 

Steenstrup,  K.  J.  T.,  343. 

Stefanescu,  Dr,  343. 

Story,  Rev.  Dr,  286. 

Strahan,  A.,  242. 

Stranraer,  290. 

Studer,  B.,  115. 

Studies  at  home,  27,  28,  33. 

Stur,  D.,  343. 

Submergence,   great,    167,    311,    361, 

365,  368,  374,  384,  416. 
Suffolk  Lane,  102. 
Summary  of  work,  402. 
Sussex,  erratics  in,  359,  362. 
Swalecliffe,  167. 
Swansea,  310,  311. 
Switzerland,  115. 
Symonds,  Rev.  W.  S.,  158,  262. 
Szabo,  J.,  343. 

Tabrum,  A.  H.,  393. 

Tait,  Prof.  P.  G.,  372,  373. 

Temperatures,  deep  -  sea,  244,  404  ; 
underground,  406. 

Tenby,  301. 

Tertiary  geology,  study  of,  66  ;  Me- 
moirs on,  55,  63,  64,  73,  79,  86,  93- 
96,  408. 

Text-book  of  Geology,  318,  328,  337, 
339,  418. 

Thame,  83. 

Thames  Valley  deposits,  131,  133. 

Thieullen,  A.,  357. 

Thomas,  Captain,  137. 

Thomas,  Prof.  A.  P.  W.,  391. 

Thomson,  Sir  C.  W.,  226,  244. 

Thomson,  Sir  W.     See  Lord  Kelvin. 

Thurburn,  Mrs,  358 ;  death  of,  341. 

Tiddeman,  R.  H.,  248,  315. 

Tomes,  Sir  John,  179. 

Tomkins,  H.  B.,  273,  274. 

Tomkins,  General  W.  P.,  398. 

Topley,  W.,  336,  341,  344,  347,  372. 

Terrell,  Dr  0.,  184,  343. 

Tournal,  M.,  131. 

Treasure,  hidden,  4. 

Trees,  planting  of,  65. 

Trimmer,  J.,  91,  92,  152,  153,  166. 

Turner,  Dr  Edward,  20,  24,  35. 

Tylor,  Alfred,  73,  76,  87,  180,  188, 
193. 

Tylor,  E.  B.,  354. 

Tyndall,  Prof,  J.,  270. 


444 


INDEX. 


Underground  temperatures,  406. 
Uniformitarianism,     255,     319,    334, 
360,  362,  367,  369,  373,  381,  418. 
United  States,  Great  Seal  of,  5,  6. 
University  College,  London,  20,  22. 

Valley  gravels.     See  River-drift. 

Valley  of  Rocks,  74. 

Valleys,  excavation  of,  384,  385,  403, 

413. 

Valpy,  Dr  Richard,  17,  18. 
Van  Beneden,  E.,  196,  197,  343. 
Vectine,  82. 

Verneuil,  E.  de,  222,  223. 
Vesuvius,  223,  405. 
Vibraye,  X.  de,  185,  187,  208,  390. 
Victoria  Cave,  172,  248. 
Vivian,  E.,  121,  130. 
Vivian,  Sir  H.  (Lord),  311. 
Volcanoes,  326,  330,  405. 

Walcott,  C.  D.,  343. 

Wales,  ice  action  in,  138. 

Wallace,  A.  R.,  250,  359,  360. 

Wallich,  Dr  G.  C.,  226. 

Walsingham,  159. 

Waltzing,  27. 

Wandsworth,  10. 

Warburton,  H.,  65. 

Ward,  Dr,  295. 

Warden  Point,  Sheppey,  329. 

Warington,  R.,  20. 

Warwick,  271. 

Watchet,  252. 

Watelet,  M.,  210. 

Water,  hard,  201. 

Water,    Royal    Commission   on,    194, 

211. 
Water-bearing  strata,  book  on  the,  84, 

383. 

Water-cure,  60-63. 
Water-supply,  national,  298. 
Water-supply  of  Oxford,  258,  320,  322. 
Water-supply,  researches  on,  78,  360, 

417. 

Waterloo,  battle  of,  12. 
Watts,  Prof.  W.  W.,  332. 


Weald,  denudaticn  of  the,  69,  71,  91, 

94. 
Well  at  Darent-Hulme,  199  ;  at  Green 

Street  Green,  325. 
Westleton  shingle,  225,  349. 
Weston-super-Mare,  323. 
Weymouth,  197,  240,  241. 
Weymouth  anticline,  242. 
Whincopp,  W.,  207,  208. 
Whitaker,  W.,  80,  325,  351,  409. 
Whitstable,  167. 
Wicken,  339. 
Wight,  Isle  of,  58,  71,  89,  309,  365; 

disturbances  in,  71. 
Wigtown,  291. 
Willett,  H.,  352. 
Williams,  G.  H.,  343. 
Williams,  H.  S.,  343. 
Wilson,  DrG.,  59. 
Wiltshire,  Rev.  Prof.  T.,  307. 
Wimborne,  387. 
Wines,  report  on,  171. 
Wissant,  238. 
Wollaston  Medal,  66. 
Wolverton,  171. 
Wood,  E.,  171. 
Wood,  Colonel  E.  R.,  137,  139,  140, 

150,  158,  247  ;  letter  from,  247. 
Wood,  S.  V.,  126,  412,  425. 
Woodward,  Dr  H.,  58,  201,  250,  397. 
Woodward,  H.  B.,  33,  79,  155,  432. 
Woodward,  S.,  50. 
Woodward,  S.  P.,  147,  152. 
Worcester,  40. 
Wrangell,  169. 

Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  204,  205. 
Wyatt,  James,  163-165,  175,  188. 

Xiphosura,  202. 

Yarnton,  258. 
York,  314. 
Yorkshire,  156. 

Zetetical  Society,  38. 
Zirkel,  F.,  343. 
Zittel,  K.  A.  Von,  343. 


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