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societies or of the opticians who generally exhibited at their Soirees. The 

 exhibition was to be scientific rather than popular ; they wanted their 

 friends to see just what sort of men they were when they were " at home." 

 The Secretary would be glad to receive the names of any members who 

 were willing to assist, and extra invitations could be obtained by asking 

 for them. 



Mr. W. J. Brown said he should like to ask if he rightly understood that 

 this exhibition was intended to take the place of the Soiree ? He hoped that 

 it might be merely supplementary to it. To give up the Soiree would be to 

 abandon one of the most pleasing features of the Club, and he thought that 

 the Committee, before coming to such a decision should bear in mind that 

 there was a large number of members who, like himself, were unable to 

 attend most of the meetings, and that the journal and the Soiree were about 

 the only return such men got for their subscriptions. He knew it had been 

 said that members of that sort were of very little use, but he thought it 

 would be admitted that their subscriptions were of equal pecuniary value to 

 any others. 



The President, in reply, stated that the Committee, whom the members 

 had returned as their representatives, had considered that the cost of the 

 Soiree, which amounted to about £70 or £80, would be very much better 

 employed if placed upon the shelves of their bookcase, than expended in 

 such an evanescent manner as providing a Soiree for their lady friends) 

 however much they might enjoy it at the time. He was himself always in 

 favour of a Soiree, but the matter did not rest with him ; as chairman he 

 could only give his casting vote in case opinions were evenly balanced. 

 Their representatives had, however, decided against a Soiree, and he thought 

 that for the present the matter must rest where it was. 



Mr. W. J. Brown said that if the great expense of the Soiree consisted in 

 the cost of refreshments, could they not abandon them as had been done in 

 the case of other societies ? Let them be provided, and those who wanted 

 them pay for them at the time. 



The Secretary said that the cost of the refreshments was £30. The amount 

 paid for the >Soiree always seemed large, but the items were all passed before 

 the Committee, and they did not see how they could be reduced. 



The President said that as he had served in former times in the position 

 now held by Mr. Ingpen, he could say from experience that it was not 

 possible to cut down the expense any lower if the thing was to be done 

 decently. 



Mr. W. J. Brown hoped that it would not be thought that he asked the 

 questions in any captious spirit; his object was merely to obtain informa* 

 tion for himself and others. He hoped that they might bear the matter in 

 mind at the next annual meeting. 



Mr. J. W. Groves exhibited and described a new form of freezing 

 microtome, in which ether spray had been substituted for ice and salt. The 

 internal construction of the apparatus, and the method of getting rid of the 

 vapour of the discharged ether were further explained by drawings on the 

 black board. 



