11 



an absorbing interest and pleasure, and its success has been more 

 than enough reward. And when I read the words of your circular, 

 expressed with such delicacy, tact, and kindness, over the honoured 

 names of Lord Rosebery and Professor Masson, I could only say to 

 myself, Tliis is a day worth living for. If you, ladies and gentle- 

 men, wished to give me, at the close of my career, a supreme 

 gratification and pleasure by thus assuring me, in this generous 

 manner, that my work among you has been appreciated, you have 

 indeed succeeded. It was also a kind and considerate thought 

 to present this welcome gift in so handsome a vessel. The bowl 

 is something tangible to remain behind me, and to be treasured, 

 as it will be, by my wife and family, and by my young son, who 

 even now insists on having his finger in the pie of our Miscellany 

 volume. 



An occasion of this kind tempts one to a certain amount of 

 egotistical reflection, and if for a moment I refer to personal 

 reminiscences, I trust I shall not be indiscreet. I was in fact 

 thinking to myself. Is there anything in my work for the Society 

 upon which I can plume myself.^ Is there any good stroke of 

 business for which I can take credit to myself? And my mind 

 reverted to the first council meetings of the Society, in one of 

 which I found myself in a minority of one. I was instructed to 

 prepare a draft of the constitution. We came to the question 

 who was to be President. Well, there could be no hesitation 

 here — obviously Lord Rosebery. 



I must remind you, parenthetically, that the Society originated 

 in a letter from Lord Rosebery to the Scotsman, February 1886, 

 pointing out that while many societies were busy in bringing out 

 new editions of old works, there was room for another which 

 should deal more exclusively with the publication of unedited 

 scraps of historic interest. The suggestion was taken up by 

 Bishop Dowden, who said that he and some friends had in con- 

 templation the formation of some such historic society on perhaps 

 a more limited basis ; and he generously offered to merge his own 

 scheme in that of the broader one outlined by Lord Rosebery. 

 A General Committee to carry out the project was then formed, 

 under the convenership of the Bishop. It is on this account 

 (I may mention) that by an unwritten law of the Society Bishop 

 Dowden is retained as a permanent member of our Council. 



Well, the presidentship being settled, I was about to proceed 

 to the npxt item on the Agenda, when a chorus of voices arose — 



