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The BULLETIN, taking the place of the PROCEEDINGS, 

 is now well up to time, and for the coming year arrange- 

 ments have been made to secure its prompt appearance. 

 This is a very important measure, as it renders the pub- 

 lication more profitable by increasing the number of sub- 

 scribers and bringing the subscriptions in more promptly. 



Meetings. There have been held of business and pub- 

 lic evening meetings, twenty-two ; Special, one ; Field 

 Meetings, four ; at Bradford, Swampscott, West Peabody 

 and Methuen, where the usual courtesy and attentions 

 were extended to the Society by the residents. 



At the public evening meetings various valuable and 

 interesting papers have been presented during the win- 

 ter, to ail audience often numbering less than twenty-five 

 persons, yet at other times, when the subject of discus- 

 sion had been announced in the papers, a fair, and, at 

 times, a large number have attended ; this leads to the 

 conclusion that the attendance can be materially aug- 

 mented by a little previous arrangement, and a notice of 

 speakers and subject in the papers a day or two before 

 the meeting. When we consider the character of these 

 meetings, well repaying the two hours spent at them, 

 it is to be regretted* that more do not avail themselves 

 of these free lectures and discussions, the variety of 

 subjects being so great that each must interest some, 

 while none can fail to gain information from all. There 

 have also been a social meeting at Hamilton Hall, and an 

 excursion to Plymouth by steamer, under the auspices of 

 the Institute. The fiftieth anniversary of the formation 

 of the Essex Historical Society was celebrated at the In- 

 stitute rooms on the twenty-first of last month. An able 

 address was delivered in the afternoon by Mr. A. C. 

 Gooclell, and in the evening a company viewed the collec- 

 tions and partook of a collation. 



