26 



could be sold, the project was abandoned as being 

 unlikely to yield any profit to the Society, in the 

 judgment of the committee having the matter in 

 charge. They recommended, however, that a con- 

 cert should be given instead, which was agreed to, 

 and which took place at the City Hotel, on Feb- 

 ruary 5th, 1839, and yielded a surplus of $237.12, 

 which sum was handed over to the Treasurer for the 

 use of the Charitable Fund. The efforts to obtain 

 extraneous aid, thus happily inaugurated, were after- 

 wards repeated, and on the 23d of December, 1840, 

 another concert was given at the new National 

 Opera House, which appears to have been a still 

 greater success, since it yielded a surplus of $1,300, 

 after the payment of all expenses." 



That a membership of the St. George's Society 

 was esteemed a high honor at this time is evinced 

 by the fact that at a meeting held October loth, 

 1840, a committee was appointed to draft a form of 

 diploma of membership to be issued to members, 

 and a design having been prepared by Messrs. Raw- 

 don, Wright & Hatch, engravers, the same was ac- 

 cepted, and the number required were ordered to be 

 printed. The form and wording of this diploma 

 are not given, nor is there any indication appearing 

 in the minutes of what they consisted. It is prob- 

 able, however, that this diploma consisted of the 



The success of this concert was attributable to the eminence of the 

 artists who volunteered, the veteran Braham singing " The Death of 

 Nelson " and " The Bay of Biscay." See N. Y. Albion, Dec, 26th, 1840. 



