61 



The Evening Meetings, notwithstanding a little discourage- 

 ■ment at first, owing to causes over which, no doubt, the Members 

 had no control, have been maintained during the past year with 

 varied success, and the programme for 1866 duly carried out. 

 The first Lecture of the series by the President was alluded to 

 last year — the second for February loth on "Ancient Leaden 

 Stamps found in England and other parts of Europe, by the 

 Reverend Prebendary Scarth," was not given owing to tho 

 ■domestic afiliction of the Vice-President. His place, however, 

 was kindly supplied by the Rector of Swainswick, who gave a 

 description of the three marble figures inserted in the wall of the 

 Angel Inn, at ]\Iarshfield. The conclusions which Mr. Earle had 

 arrived at after careful observation were that these crowned 

 figures rei^resent the Virgin and Child, S.S. Margaret and 

 Catherine; and were formerly a jjortion of a series of five 

 figures forming the reredos over an altar ; the two others being 

 now lost, or perhaps still to be found concealed in the walls of 

 the town, or somewhere in the neighbourhood. He ventured to 

 ^ve them as early a date as the 13th century, and said that they 

 merited the careful attention of the antiquary. Alluding to the 

 frequent occurrence of the name of St. Catherine in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Bath, and quoting the ancient oath Avhich the 

 Freemen of Bath took, that they should maintain " St. Katem's 

 chapel, and keep holy St. Katern's day," he impressed the Mem- 

 bers with the idea that the day would be a red letter one in his 

 calendar, on which any traces of this said St. Catherine's chapel 

 could be discovered. After tea the President gave a short 

 description of the peculiar habits and structure of the Artemia 

 salina^a small crustacean found in the salt pans at Lymington, 

 and called by the workmen the "Lymington shrimp." Some 

 tree-wasps' nests were exhibited, and the Secretary of the Bath 

 and West of England Agricultural Society laid on the table 

 several volumes of beautiful paintings of Natural History objects, 

 by Mr. Robbins, an artist of some reputation in Bath, of the 

 last century. 



