94 Presidentship of the Earl of Morton 1766 



years in London as a physician, but when the British Museum 

 was organised he in 1753 received the appointment of under- 

 librarian in that institution, of which he became in 1772 

 principal-librarian. He was elected into the Royal Society 

 in 1751, was chosen Foreign Secretary in 1762 and one of 

 the two secretaries in 1765. He died in 1776. 



Dr. Morton's career was not unlike that of his colleague. 

 He first practised as a physician in London, but in 1756 

 he was appointed under-librarian in the British Museum, 

 and when Dr. Maty died he succeeded him as principal- 

 librarian. He was elected into the Royal Society in January 

 1752, and became one of its secretaries in 1759. He con- 

 tinued to take an active interest in the Club for many years. 



So far as relates to the detailed history of the Club, the 

 most interesting feature in the new regulations adopted 

 at this time is the provision that a record shall henceforth 

 be kept not only of the name of each visitor but also that 

 of the member by whom he was introduced. Up to this 

 time the register affords no clue to the several hosts of the 

 invited strangers. But henceforth, as each member would 

 usually sit beside the person whom he had introduced, some 

 indication is furnished of the grouping of the company at 

 table, and in course of time it can be seen how friendships 

 arose or were cultivated by the frequency wherewith a 

 member invites the same outsider. 



This year the Club welcomed a larger number of foreign 

 guests than in any previous year in its history French, 

 Russian, Italian and Polish men of note. Reference may 

 here be made to some of these visitors. 



Louis George de Brequigny, a French historian and anti- 

 quary, was sent over to England by his Government after 

 the Peace of 1763 to examine documents, preserved among 

 our records, bearing on the history of France. He passed 

 three years here amid a chaos of papers " covered with a 

 damp and malodorous dust/' 



Padre Paul Frisi, an Italian mathematician and physicist, 

 had been appointed in 1755 Professor of Moral Philosophy 

 and Metaphysics at Padua. He travelled in France, Eng- 



