46 



had gained the respect and the love of all her subjects. 

 (Loud cheers.) 



The Presiuent then gave " The Prince of Wales and 

 the rest of the Royal Family," which was also drunk with 

 all the honours. 



Alderman Brent rose in response to the call of the Pre- 

 sident, and said he had great pleasure in meeting the So- 

 ciety on that occasion, and felt that all these social and 

 scientific gatherings were productive of much good, and 

 tended to the general advantage of the members as well 

 as to the progress of the particular department of know- 

 ledge to which they were devoted. It would not perhaps 

 be out of keeping or uninteresting were he to give them 

 some account of the proceedings of the " Somersetshire Ar- 

 chaeological and Natural History Society," with whom he 

 spent two most pleasant days during the last week in the 

 month of August. Amongst the leading members of this 

 Society were Mr. Ashworth Sandford, formerly he believed 

 one of the representatives of the county of Somerset ; 

 Messrs. Moore, Dawkins, Freeman, Rev. W. Jones, &c. 

 The preliminary meeting was held at Ilminster, in the 

 school-room of that town. A converzazione followed in the 

 evening. The church at Ilminster, which was ably de- 

 scribed by Mr. Parker, presented several particulars of in- 

 terest, especially the Squints or Hagioscopes— constructions 

 adopted with openings into the church or church yard, 

 ■where— as at the remarkable little church at Stoke-sub- 

 Harapden, the lepers and infected persons stood outside, and 

 looked through into the interior of the church and toward 

 the altar during the performance of certain holy offices, 

 a few centuries since. The great interest, however, of the 

 day was comprised in discourses delivered by Mr. M oore 

 and Mr. Sandford. The former of these gentlemen may 

 be called the leading geologist of the district, if he may 

 not be said to have a general fame, several of his paleonto- 

 logical discoveries such as the "Eryon Moorii," " Leptaena 



