16 THE BATH INSTITUTION. 



The principle upon which the Sub- Committee 

 proceeded in the selection of books to be purchased, 

 was that only those which might be said to have 

 established for themselves a place in the literature of 

 Europe should be bought ; that Dictionaries of high 

 authority should be gathered together ; and that the 

 leaning should rather be to works large and expen- 

 sive than to those which it might reasonably be sup- 

 posed the members would have in their own houses. 



Presents in the departments of Geology, Zoology 

 and Botany showed the interest which was taken in 

 the scientific department ; and here it must be added 

 that the Institution at its beginning received the 

 most valuable assistance from two gentlemen, Mr. 

 Woods, the eminent naturalist, and Mr. Lonsdale^ 

 who was afterwards the Curator of the Museum of 

 the Geological Society, The last-named gentleman 

 for a long time devoted almost every day to the 

 business of arranging and cataloguing the things 

 contributed to the museum. 



The casts of the Apollo and Laocoon were the gift 

 of the two Mr. Duncans; and Mr. Elwin presented 

 the other casts, which were procured by the assistance 

 of Lord Burghersh in Italy. 



At length on Wednesday, the 19th of January, 

 1825, the rooms were opened to the subscribers. On 

 the Friday following an inaugural lecture was de- 



