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The second meeting of the Winter Session was held on 

 November 17th, when Mr. John Vinycomb, F.R.S.A., delivered 

 his presidential address, which is here given in extenso : 



The President said — The pursuit of knowledge, in some of its 

 various forms, and the pleasure of intercourse with minds 

 similarly directed, form the main links which bind the members 

 of this Society together, and while we meet and take pleasure in 

 meeting each other on common ground, with a general toleration 

 of each other's strong points, it will be readily understood that, 

 while our aims and aspirations all tend in the same direction, 

 our ways are naturally divergent. I have often thought that 

 the title of the Society of which I have the honour to be President 

 does not fully indicate the wide scope of subjects which its rules 

 permit, and so it is found that, while some course the flowery 

 meads in entymological or botanical pursuits, others, with a 

 different bias are on the look out for objects of antiquarian 

 interest, or, with hammer in hand, strive to unlock the secrets 

 of the rocks. So true it is that the scientific lover of nature 



Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, 

 Sermons in stones, and good in every thing. 



In the domains of natural history, archaeology, and kindred 

 subjects, the fields are wide, and call for investigation, and a rich 

 store yet awaits the patient student. You will not be surprised, 

 therefore, if I depart a little from the usual course in this, my 

 opening address, and take up a subject which, at first sight, 

 seems to lie far afield, and to have little connection with the 

 operations of a Naturalists' Field Club. I crave the indulgence of 

 the many friends with whom I have so long associated in this 

 Society while I lightly sketch out some of the leading features 

 of that universal symbolism which has existed in ancient and 

 modern times. The subject, however, is so wide that I can only 

 barely touch the fringe of it. I am induced to take up this 

 somewhat neglected subject because to me it has the greatest 

 interest, and because I feel that some knowledge of the science 

 is indispensable to all who would read aright the literature and 

 the art of past times as expressed in its monuments. 



