84 A YORKSHIRE NATURALIST 



for quiet little suppers to be extemporised as 

 pleasant sequels to the more official assemblies. 

 These were easily arranged, because the host fre- 

 quently resided near the Society's rooms, and his 

 guests were generally not far from their own houses 

 when supper was ended. The huge exodus to 

 villages miles away from the town, now so cha- 

 racteristic of the wealthier part of the Manchester 

 population, had then only begun. 



But another change, superadded to that already 

 mentioned, took place ; and affected a large portion 

 of the Manchester Society. The dinner-hour was 

 most generally one o'clock ; hence the members were 

 not prevented by the intervention of the six or seven 

 o'clock dinner from attending the meetings, as is now 

 the case. Thus, not only were the members attend- 

 ing our meetings reduced, but there was a marked 

 change in the social position of those who did 

 attend. 



