and now Secretary to the London Missionary 

 Society, has forwarded to the Museum a valu- 

 able assortment of South Sea Curiosities, 

 consistinj^ of above twenty articles ; besides 

 ^bout fifty specimens of Foreign Shells. - 



Several other Donations, received from 

 various Friends, will be enumerated in the 

 Annual List. 



Owing to various causes, lirtle has been 

 done this year in the way of reading Essays. 

 On the 8th of July, Mr. John Hugill read an 

 excellent Essay, on the nature, properties, 

 and uses of water ; which he illustrated by a 

 variety of interesting experiments. On the 

 22nd of the same month, the Rev. George 

 Young, A.M., delivered an Essay on An- 

 tiquities, particularly those of Egypt. The 

 principal part of this Essay had been com- 

 municated before, as a portion of Mr. Young's 

 Course of Lectures; and the interest which 

 it then excited, induced some Members of 

 the Society to beg that it might be repeated. 



No other meetings for hearing Essays, have 

 been held during the year. But it is grati- 

 fying to add, that this defect has been more 

 than compensated by a Course of Scientific 

 Lectures, of some length, delivered by John 

 Murray, Esq., F.S. A., &c. &c. After some 

 negotiation with the Council, who made ^ 



