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The Forty-Third General Meeting. 



quite ready to do justice to the tea most thoughtfully provided for 

 them by The Vicar — and after thanking him heartily for his 

 kindness, proceeded to the station, and reached Salisbury at 6.20, 

 after as thoroughly enjoyable a day as has ever fallen to the lot of 

 the Society. Both the arrangements and the weather were perfect, 

 for whilst the one allowed of ample time to see all that that there 

 was to see at each place visited, the other took the form of a bright 

 sun and a pleasant air, with an entire absence of the sweltering 

 heat which had been so prevalent for some time before. 



The EVENING CONVERSAZIONE, held at the County Hotel at 8.30, 

 was but sparsely attended. The first paper, by Dr. 0. B. Straton, 

 was an interesting one on " Witches' Brooms," which led to a 

 discussion in which The Chairman, The Bishop of Salisbury, 

 and others took part. After this paper the Members were once 

 more indebted to the kindness of some of the Salisbury ladies for 

 a musical interlude ; which was followed by a paper on " The 

 Heraldry of Salisbury Cathedral," by The Be v. E. E. Dorling ; 

 and this, again, by a paper by Mr. C. E. Ponting, F.S.A., on 

 Mere Church, part of which — for time did not allow of the reading 

 of the whole of it — was read by The Bev. E. H. Gtoddard in the 

 the author's absence. All these papers will be found printed in the 

 Magazine. 



THUBSDAY, JULY 16th. 



The weather was cool and overcast — just the weather, indeed, 

 for a long drive — as the party, numbering about thirty-five, leaving 

 Salisbury at 10 o'clock and journeying by rail on the South Western 

 line as far as SEMLEY, met their carriages there, and proceeded to 

 drive to MERE. About two-and-a-half miles short of that place, 

 however, a mishap occurred, which threw out the arrangements 

 somewhat, and caused considerable delay. The axle of one of the 

 carriages broke, and the occupants had to turn out and walk most 

 of the way to Mere. On the way WOODLANDS HOUSE was visited, 

 with its very complete fourteenth century chapel (turned into a 

 living room and adorned with a fine fireplace early in the seven- 

 teenth century) and its later hall and porch. This remarkable 



