indicate that he was becoming well known in circles other than scientific, of which a further proof was given in the autumn of 1848, when he received the offer of knighthood. Of course, in any country where "orders of merit" exist, other than Great Britain, Lyell would have been "decorated" years ago, but we manage things differently. As a rule, we let science and literature be their own reward, and, as an exception, confer the same distinction on a man who has won a world-wide reputation (provided he is fairly rich) and on an opulent tradesman who is accidently prominent on some auspicious occasion, or is a local wirepuller in party politics. Lyell went over from Kinnordy to Balmoral to receive the intended honour, and had, as he writes, "a most agreeable geological exploring on the banks of the Dee, into which Prince Albert entered with much spirit." In February, 1849, he was elected for the second time President of the Geological Society, and in the autumn, when at Kinnordy, was again invited to Balmoral, where he had some interesting talks with Prince Albert on subjects ranging from various educational and broad political questions to the entomology of Switzerland, Scotland, and the Isle of Wight. In the middle of September he attended the meeting of the British Association at Birmingham, where he was for the third time President of the Geological Section. A few weeks later his father, whose health had been for some time failing, died at Kinnordy.[118] The latter was a rich man, but as he made liberal provision for his daughters and younger sons, Sir Charles, though he succeeded to a considerable estate, found himself unable to afford the expense of keeping up Kinnordy as well as a house in London. Which, then, was henceforth to be his home? The attractions of Kinnordy were obvious, but the long distance from the metropolis was a serious drawback, while the duties of a resident landlord would have interfered much with his geological work, which would have been still more hampered by the severance from libraries, museums, and intercourse with fellow-workers. Thus he felt it his duty to retain his house in London and to let Kinnordy, though, as his mother and sisters retreated to the "dower house," he was able from time to time to visit the old place. The decision probably was less painful than it otherwise would have been from the fact that his boyhood had been spent in England. At any rate, it was a wise one, in regard to both his own reputation and the progress of science in general.