Mr. Spottiswoode was buried in Westminster Abbey on Thursday, at
the request of a great number of eminent men, who, when they made their request, probably thought more of their own admiration and esteem than they did of the very limited space now available in the Abbey. Mr. Spottiswoode, dis- tinguished as he was amongst his contemporaries, and beloved as he was also, had hardly achieved euongh to earn a distinction which ought to be reserved for the few in each generation whom -even posterity will never forget. In saying this, we do not in any way mean to detract from the honour in which a man of great acquirements, of very high originality as a man of science, and of large generosity, ought to be held by all his contempo- raries. Still, Westminster Abbey should be reserved for those whom not only their contemporaries, but all subsequent genera- tions, will agree to think of as the marked men of their genera- tion. Not even such as these, however, could be laid in the grave with deeper and more universal regret than was felt by the mourners at the grave of Mr. Spottiswoode. The Royal Society have done themselves credit by electing a man of true genius as his successor. That successor is Professor Huxley.
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