134 president's address. 



On the arrival of all at the mouth of the Dene, a halt was 

 made for lunch, suh Jove, and the day being delightful, and the 

 sea smooth as glass, the party spread themselves on the sands 

 and rocks to enjoy the beauty of the coast scenery. Along this 

 coast, when it was wilder and more picturesque even than at 

 present, wandered the poet Byron, who may have been impressed 

 by such a scene as this with those imperishable thoughts — 



" Time writes no wrinkles on thy azure brow ; 



Such as creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest now." 



At the present day, enormous heaps of shingle, composed of 

 all kinds of rocks, native and foreign, a bewilderment of geo- 

 logical formations, which have been cast into the sea as ballast, 

 are rolled on to the shore, and spoil the beauty of the sands. 

 Much time was spent in examining the accumulations of exotic 

 materials, mixed chiefly with a few washed out of the boulder 

 clay of the sea banks. Some botanizing along the banks was 

 also attended to. Many interesting plants are known to grow 

 there, as formerly recorded by the older botanists and confirmed 

 by more recent research. 



Our Vice-president, the Rev. A. Bethune, met the party near 

 Seaham Hall, and courteously conducted them through the 

 church, the peculiar features and relative age of the different 

 parts being pointed out. One member detected a Roman-dressed 

 stone in the tower, a rather out of the way place to find Roman 

 workmanship. We afterwards were shown the Marriage Regis- 

 ters, particularly that containing the signature of Lord Byron 

 and Judith Millbanke, who were married in the drawing room of 

 the Hall adjacent. After a vote of thanks for the kindness of our 

 Reverend and respected Vice-president, a short visit, under the 

 guidance of Mr. Draper, was made to the Hall gardens, which 

 were in splendid autumnal dress and in readiness for the visit of 

 His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who was shortly ex- 

 pected to visit Seaham. The party were shewn some fine speci- 

 mens of Valeriana Pyrenaica, which had established itself in a 

 neighbouring plantation, but has no right to be considered indi- 

 genous, being only a garden escape. After thanking Mr. Draper 

 for his obliging attention, the members hastened to Seaham 



