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either in the region of science or that of literature, required considerable imag— 
inative power. Literature had, under the influence of science, become more defi- 
nite in its methods and aims, and science, under the influence of literature, had 
become more popular in its character. Some of the most eminent men of science 
of recent times were possessed of a high degree of literary power. Both lit- 
erature and science had suffered somewhat through the vanity of some of their 
professed students ; and there was a tendency on the part of both to degenerate- 
inte mere individualism. Both were, however, essentially social in their charac- 
ter, and should therefore be pursued in subordination to social ends. If we 
were to keep in view the vast debt we owe to the civilization into which we 
have been born, we should not, as students either of science or literature, seek 
merely to please ourselves, but should consecrate our best efforts to the cause of 
humanity. 
The second essay, by Mr. J. G. Whyte, on “‘ Herbert Spencer’s Biology,” 
gave a most excellent condensation and exposition of the theory so ably advo- 
cated by that illustrious philosopher. He pointed out the gradual and wide- 
spread change which has taken place in conceptions of the formation and 
progress of the earth and its inhabitants, so that the once universally accepted 
theory of special creations and frequent catastrophes has in great part yielded to 
that of evolution, first brought into prominence by the writings of Darwin.. 
While it is not claimed that this theory will furnish the immediate solution of 
every problem which greets the student of natural history, it undoubtedly 
enables him to grasp the meaning of many things formerly unintelligible, to 
arrange them in proper sequence, and to render them of service in his further 
studies of the animal and vegetable worlds. As the studies of paleontology, 
embryology, etc., receive increased material and workers, more of the “ missing 
links ” are from time to time unshrouded, and the forms at present inhabiting 
the earth are more readily traced back to those which existed in far earlier ages. 
THIRD SOIREE. 
TUESDAY, January 11th, 1881: Rev. A. F. Kemp, M.A., LL.D., delivered 
an address on “Some Fungi found at Ottawa,” first explaining the difficulties 
encountered by a student in this branch of botany through the absence of works 
