204 TlMEHRI. 



IO. — "HIAWATHA: FROM AN ETHNOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW. 



Delivered on Monday, February iStk, by E. F. im Thurn, M.A., Special 

 Magistrate of the Pomeroon River. 



The lecturer dealt with the "legendary substance of the 

 poem, pointing out its special interest to the ethnologist, 

 more particularly in relation to the natives of Guiana, 

 who were a primitive folk, not only closely akin to the 

 characters depicted in the poem, but one in much the 

 same stage of civilisation. The historical Hiawatha was 

 then described, and his personality discriminated from 

 the Ojibway hero represented under his name by the 

 poet. The primitive materialism, and its correlated 

 customs among the aboriginal races of the world gene- 

 rally, were touched upon ; and the unusually close 

 relation existing between the aboriginal American races, 

 in their modes of life, habits or customs, beliefs, actions, 

 and records, was pointed out, numerous passages being 

 quoted from the poem in illustration of special points of 

 agreement between the North American races and the 

 Aborigines of Guiana, which were compared. 



II. "METAMORPHOSES OF MATTER."' 



Delivered on Monday, March 18th, by E. E. H. Francis, F.C.S. 

 Governtnent Analytical Chemist. 



The lecturer, who, in a former lecture on the same sub- 

 ject, had dealt with chemical changes of matter in 

 relation to analysis, now proceeded to describe some of 

 the various chemical changes in relation to inorganic 

 and organic synthesis. Reference was made to Wohlek'S 

 conversion of the cyanate of Ammonium into Urea in 



