36 
whatever the contents were he ordered them to be burnt. Pur- 
suant to this order they were distributed among the public baths, 
of which there were a great number in the city, where for six 
months they continued to supply the fires. We may be thank- 
ful that we have amongst us men such as Mr, Tait of London, 
and Mr. Andrew Carnegie, who are emulating the wisdom of 
Alexander the Great, and Ptolemy Soter, in establishing libraries ; 
Mr. Carnegie has given such a sum of money as would probably 
amount to more than those ancients spent in establishing the 
Alexandrian library. In surveying our educational position we 
must see that we are better equipped than these ancients, and 
have advanced far beyond them in knowledge and the use we 
make of it. But at the same time we may do well to remember 
that we may still learn some lessons from the past, that we are 
after all only copying their example, and in many respects build- 
ing on the foundation they laid. 
Comments appreciative of the Paper were made by the Chair- 
man, Messrs. G.Gill, J.S.Sutcliffe, J.Lancaster, J. A. Osborn, B.A., 
Fred. J. Grant, J.P., and Alderman Burrows, J.P., and a hearty 
vote of thanks was accorded to the Lecturer. 

