222 Presidentship of Sir Joseph Banks 1806 



Stephen Weston (F.R.S. 1792), Viscount Kirkwall, eldest 

 son of the Earl of Orkney (F.R.S. 1804), Thomas Murdoch 

 (F.R.S. 1805), Dr. Charles Burney (F.R.S. 1802). 



Stephen Weston was born in Exeter, of which his grand- 

 father had been bishop, and was educated at Oxford, where 

 he became a Fellow of Exeter College. He is remembered 

 for his letters from Paris during the time of the Revolution, 

 and for his antiquarian papers and oriental translations. 



The Rev. Charles Burney, son of the musician, was 

 reputed to be one of the best Greek scholars of his day 

 in this country. He formed a large and valuable library 

 of classical authors which, on his death in 1817, was pur- 

 chased for the nation and placed in the British Museum. 



Although it had now become the settled practice that 

 visitors did not attend the annual General Meetings, Dr. 

 Horsley presented himself this year, and we may be sure 

 that he received a friendly welcome. Indeed, the cordiality 

 of his reception seems to have led to a curious misunder- 

 standing on the part of the new Treasurer, as will be seen 

 in the proceedings of the next Anniversary. The Bishop 

 was not a member of the Club, and yet he could hardly be 

 looked upon as a visitor from the world outside. There was 

 a pathetic interest in his presence among his old associates 

 that day Banks, Maskelyne, Cavendish, Dalrymple, and 

 others for the impression may have been more or less 

 definitely present to his mind, if not to theirs, that it was 

 probably the last time he would be with them. He may 

 have felt that his end was near and that it was well worth 

 while to make the effort to meet them once more at their 

 yearly festival. He lived only three months longer and died 

 on the 4th October following. 



The visitors this year included a few fresh names of some 

 note. On gth January Maskelyne introduced his friend 

 the Rev. John Brinkley, a distinguished Cambridge graduate 

 and first Smith's prizeman, who after assisting for some 

 years in the work of Greenwich observatory was on 

 Maskelyne's recommendation appointed in 1792 the first 

 Astronomer Royal for Ireland, and put in charge of the 



