Sir William was undoubtedly a man of high and noble character, endeared to all with whom he was brought into intimate relations by his unfailing courtesy and charm of manner. To the present writer, it may be said perhaps without undue egotism, he was a friend and counsellor such as cannot be expected more than once in a life-time. No better summary of Sir William’s general character and high attributes can perhaps be given (certainly the present writer cannot attempt to rival it) than the one drawn up by his biographer in the “Year-book” of the Royal Society for 1901, which may accordingly be quoted _in extenso_:— “In private life no one was more beloved and esteemed. He was in every sense a domestic man, finding the highest joys that life brought him with his family and children. The same courtly bearing and high tone, the same preference for all that was good, was in private circles mingled with the same genial smile, the fascinating account of something interesting or novel, and the respect and deference to others, which was part of his upright, unselfish nature. Many a young naturalist will gratefully remember the kind encouragement and valued advice he was ever ready to offer, and the stimulus which the sympathetic interest of a leader in the department gave him. “In the busy life of Sir William and in the constant calls on brain and nervous system—strong though these were—there came times when a feeling of lassitude with headache and spinal uneasiness, if not prostration, showed that the indoor life and the strain of many duties had told with severity both on the central nervous system and on the heart. His annual holiday sufficed in many cases to recruit his energies, especially when he visited Scotland and the charming home of his friends, Mr. and Mrs. Drummond, of Megginch. There he met other friends, such as Dean and Lady Augusta Stanley [after whom a son and a daughter were respectively named] and Colonel Drummond-Hay, of Seggieden, brother of Mr. Drummond. Moreover, he was always interested in the splendid collection of birds made by Colonel Drummond-Hay during his wanderings with the Black Watch.” Another passage from the same memoir of his life runs as follows:—