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Mr. Crisp said that he rose as a " brother snip," not to bear testimony to 

 the well-known excellence of all Microscopical Secretaries in general, but 

 to the special qualities of Mr. Ingpen in particular. No Club had ever had 

 a Secretary who was more devoted to its interests ; and whilst repeating 

 and cordially endorsing all that had been said that evening in recognition 

 of Mr. Ingpen's services to the Club, he might specially refer to the 

 unobtrusive manner in which he had always performed his duties. 



Mr. A. D. Michael thought that after what had been said, and said so well 

 by those who had spoken, little remained for him to add, but he should 

 hardly feel comfortable if he were not to express his own concurrence in 

 what had been expressed. There was a proverb that " One did not know 

 the value of a blessing until there was a danger of losing it; " but on looking 

 round at the different Scientific Societies, one could not but be struck with 

 the wonderful way in which the honorary secretaries performed their 

 arduous and important duties ; and during the few years that he had been 

 connected with the Club he had found, what he had no hesitation in saying 

 was the case, that no Society was better served or more indebted for the 

 service than was the case with their own Society in regard to Mr. Ingpen. 



Mr. Ingpen, who on rising was received with prolonged applause, said 

 he felt in the greatest state of embarrassment he had ever been in 

 since he had held office amongst them. He hardly knew what to say, or how 

 to express his feelings at the reception which they had just given him. 

 His embarrassment was increased by the glowing terms used in his praise, 

 and it would be complete but for the known fact that their worthy Vice- 

 President, Dr. Matthews, always put on a pair of rose-coloured spectacles 

 when he reviewed the conduct of his friends. The more sober view of the 

 case would be something as follows : He took up the secretaryship as a labour 

 of love nearly eight years ago, and had all along been happy in his work ; 

 he had the pleasure of serving under a series of eminent and able Presidents, 

 with a Committee always ready to give help, and with colleagues with 

 whom he had always worked in the most perfect harmony. He took 

 the opportunity of thanking one and all of them for their great assistance, 

 and for their uniform kindness and forbearance towards him throughout 

 that period. The part which it had fallen to his lot to perform had not 

 been so difficult as it might have been. He had not, like their first 

 Secretary, to assist in the construction and organization of the Club, nor 

 like the second to extend its range and influence in new directions, but he 

 had merely to do his best to keep it from retrograding, and to see that it 

 proceeded in the course which had been already marked out for it. The 

 only difficulty would have been to have retarded its progress. Perhaps they 

 would allow him to say a word or two as to the nature and character of this 

 testimonial. That glittering portion of it upon the table seemed to him 

 emblematic of the influence of the Quekett Club upon the home circle. They 

 had probably sometimes heard a slight expression of discontent from Mater, 

 familias at the absence of Paterfamilias at the meetings of the Club ; but it 

 was worthy of remark that the same microscopical pursuits often kept him 

 at home, when he might possibly have been — elsewhere. There was an 



