S64 Society of Antiquaries. 
mathematical professor at Cambridge, who he hoped would 
be induced to Jay them before the public in a more detailed 
mranner- Not being able, at present, to give the whole of 
this very ingenious paper, we shall not mutilate it by any 
imperfect abriderent, 
January 15. T he President in the et Home, esq. 
furnished the history of two cases of cataract in which the 
operation of couching was successfully adopted. The ob- 
servations on light and colours, and on the figures of bodies, 
made by the patients, the one a boy of seven, the other of 
thirteen years of age, were similar to those recorded in the 
writings of Pott and Ware, whose opinions these two cases 
only served to confirm. One of these patients discriminated 
correctly the difference between colours, but called a card 
that was held before him round, until that he was suffered 
to touch it with his fingers, when he observed that it was: 
square. In the dimensions and distance of external objects 
they both evinced extreme ignorance, and seemed to acquire 
that knowledge gradually, as children learn to read. 
January 22. On this evening the Society proceeded to the 
election of a secretary and member of the council, in conse- 
quence of the death of the late E. W. Gray, M.D. The 
junior secretary, Dr. Wollaston, naturally suecceded the 
senior, Dr. Gray; and H. Davy, esq. was unanimously 
elected junior secretary and member of the council. The 
right hon. C. Greville then took the chair, and Mr. Davy 
commenced the reading of a paper, by Dr. Herschel, on sir 
fsaac Newton’s explanation of the circular rays of light seen 
between two lenses placed on each other, or brought in con- 
tact in varions manners. Dr. Herschel rejected the suppo- 
sition of sir Isaac in ascribing fits of transmission to light, 
and: proceeded to detail the various minute experiments he 
yperformed with plano-concave and plano-convex lenses in 
order to produce these circular rays. The reading of this 
emrious paper was not coneluded. 
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, y - 
Jan. 8, 1807. The earl of Leicester, president, im the ~~ 
chair. Dr. Latham communicated some verbal corrections 
to 
