24 BULLETIN OF THE ESSEX INSTITUTE. 



referred to. Folk-lore allusions, as Milton's when he 

 speaks of the "Lubber Friend " or " Lob lle-by-the-Fire," 

 are perhaps less common, yet not infrequently' met 

 with. Robert Browning, of the modern poets, refers 

 most often to out-of-the-way lore of this sort, a habit 

 which gives some color to the oft-repeated complaints of 

 his obscurity. The Bible has left a deeper impress on 

 our literature than any one factor. We owe more than 

 we often realize to the stately language and dignified ex- 

 pressions of the King James version. 



Monday Evening, Feb. 15, 1897. — Regular meeting 

 in the Library room. Mr. Arthur H. Chase read a very 

 entertaining paper on "Every-day life in Paris." The 

 speaker said that it had been generally held by Ameri- 

 cans that there was no home life in Paris, but it is a great 

 mistake to suppose that there is no home feeling there, 

 for in reality it is just the reverse. Home is as much 

 cherished as it is in England or America. Mr. Chase, 

 haying lived many years in Paris, had excellent opportu- 

 nities for observing the manners and customs of the peo- 

 ple. He described Sunday, which, although not kept 

 with the strictness that it is in England or in the United 

 States, after morning services in the churches, was more 

 a day of family gatherings and rational enjoyment. In 

 concluding his remarks Mr. Chase said that the two best 

 places in the world in which to live are Salem and Paris. 

 Discussion follow^ed. 



Monday Evening, Feb. 22, 1897. — The fourth lecture 

 in the course was given this evening in Plummer Hall, by 

 Prof. Charles S. Minot, of the Harvard Medical School, 

 Boston. His subject was " von Baer, the Greatest Rus- 

 sian Naturalist," which proved to be very interesting. 



