NOTES ON HISTORY OF THE STATUTES 167 



should be held on * Wednesday, beginning about three of the clock in the 

 afternoon, and continuing until six, unless the major part of the Fellows 

 present shall, for that time, resolve to rise sooner, or sit later'. And the 

 Statutes of 1752 reproduced exactly the Statute (IV, Stat. i) of 1663. Never- 

 theless, the records of the Society show that the day and hour of the ordinary' 

 meeting were more than once changed in the interval, as they have been since. 

 The following table shows the changes and their respective dates up to the 

 present time : 



1663. On Wednesdays, at 2 p.m. 



July 1, 1663, changed to Wednesday, 3 to 6 p.m. 



Feb. 5, 1666 Thursday at 3 p.m. 



April 10, 1672 Wednesday. 



Oct. 30, 1674 Thursday at 3 p.m. 



Dec. 8,1690 Wednesday 4 



March 1, 1710 Thursday 4 



April 20, 1769 Thursday 6 



June 15, 1780 Thursday 8 



(?) 1831 Thursday 8.30p.m. 1 



Feb. 19,1880 Thursday 4.30 



The first Statute enacting that no meeting should be held on certain days 

 or in certain weeks was passed in 1831 ; previously to that time the Statutes 

 simply said ' upon Wednesday ', or * upon Thursday '. But the practice of 

 having an Autumn recess was of much older date than 1831 ; moreover, the 

 Journal Book shows that from the earliest times it was customary to hold 

 no meetings on Ash Wednesday and certain other holy days, and that in 

 particular no meeting was held on the anniversary of the death of Charles I. 

 In 1661 the Journal Book omits the date, January 30, without remark, 

 although a meeting was due upon that day. On January 30, 1666, the 

 Minute appears, ' This day being the Anniversary Fast-Day, there was no 

 Meeting of the Society.' In 1667, the entry is, ' The Society met not, because 

 of the solemne Fast.' Similar entries occur in subsequent years, the last being 

 on January 30, 1834. After this date the custom was omitted. 



(f) The Admission of Strangers to the Meetings of the Society. 



In the Statutes of 1752, any of His Majesty's subjects having the title and 

 place of a Baron, or having any higher title or place, are permitted to be 

 present at the Meetings of the Society, ' with the allowance of the President '; 

 other persons may attend ' upon leave obtained of the President and Fellows 

 present'. In 1776 the mention of titled persons is omitted, and the Statute 

 simply provides for * strangers ' being present. Some years later, viz., in 1784, 

 a new section was added to Cap. XI as follows : 



1 Careful search has failed to show when this change was made, but it was probably 

 about this time. 



