January 13. — iNIr. T. S. Dowtou delivered a Lecture on 

 Phrenology. He commenced with a retrospective view of 

 the metaphysical doctrines respecting the nature and pro- 

 perties of the human mind which have existed from the days 

 of Aristotle down to _ our own times, and endeavoured to 

 shew the superiority of the phrenological system, which, by 

 taking the cerebral developement into consideration, seems 

 most calculated to pave the way for a rational aiid permanent 

 philosophy. He divided the subject into 'three parts, in 

 conformity with the phrenological classification of the mental 

 attributes, animal propensities, moral sentiments, and intel- 

 lectual faculties; and gave in this lecture an analysis of the 

 first class, viz, : — The Animal Propensities. 



January 20. — Mr. Dowton delivered a second Lecture on 

 Phrenology : the second Class of Faculties — the moral 

 sentiments, formed the subject, which Mr. D. observed dif- 

 fered from the propensities, inasmuch as they Avere always 

 accompanied by an emotion or feeling of a particular kind, 

 and hence were named sentiments by Dr. Spurzheim. The 

 cultivation of this class of faculties by education and 

 example was observed by the lecturer to be of the utmost 

 importance, as they exert a benign influence over the lower 

 propensities, soften and control their energies, and form, in 

 fact, the very basis of the moral conduct. 



January 27. — Mr. Wilkinson delivered a Lecture on tbe 

 History of England, being the sixth of a series. The fifth 

 lecture treated on the constitution, government, and laws, 

 and the state of learning, from the Norman Conquest to 

 the reign of Henry the Third ; and this was devoted to 

 the consideration of the state of the arts, commerce, 

 manners, and customs during the same period. Mr. W. 

 commenced by shewing the improvement in the state of the 

 arts; particularly noticing those of agriculture, architecture, 

 poetry, and music. He then adverted to the state of com- 

 merce, its comparative annihilation by the departure of the 

 Romans, its languid state in the time of the Heptarchy, its gra- 

 dual revival after the establishment of the English Monarchy, 

 and gave some controversial remarks as to the effects of the 

 Norman Conquest on internal and foreign commerce. He 

 next entered on the manners and customs of this period — 

 the most useful and entertaining, yet the most neglected and 

 worst executed part of history ; shewing the difficulty of 

 forming clear conceptions of national characters and man- 

 ners, and that imperfection must be the consequence. The 

 manners and customs of the Anglo Saxons having been 



