130 



The Twentieth General Meeting. 



of art wero fully employed in its embellishment. In the vicinity 

 of the querns, or quarries, may be seen the distinct outline of the 

 Roman amphitheatre, although but few traces remain of the seats 

 or steps for the use of the spectators, which have long since 

 become mounds of earth; they are about 20 feet in height, and enclose 

 an oval space of 148 feet from east to west, and 134 feet from north 

 to south. A great variety of coins have also been discovered at 

 various times, of the period of the Emperors Trajan — Hadrian, 

 which denote that Corinium was an opulent city. After the de- 

 parture of the Romans, Cirencester fell into the hands of the West 

 Saxons, and became part of the kingdom of Wessex. I shall not 

 occupy your time with any description of the remarkably fine and 

 ancient parish church of St. John, because I find that Mr. Fuller 

 has prepared a paper upon its history, but having visited it myself 

 since its complete restoration, in 1866, by Sir Gilbert Scott, at a cost 

 of no less than £12,000, I will only add that I am sure it deserves a 

 close inspection on your part ; and I have only now, in conclusion, 

 to express the hope that I have not unnecessarily wearied you, and 

 that our present meeting may prove in every respect as successful 

 and interesting as many of its predecessors, and that we may be 

 blessed with fine sunny weather for our excursions, upon which so 

 much depends, and which will thus enable us to see everything 

 couleur de rose. 



At the conclusion of the address, which was much applauded, the 

 Rev. A. C. Smith moved a hearty vote af thanks to Mr. Goddard. 

 The President had told them that he "felt like a drone among bees."" 

 He (the speaker) did not know what that meant, unless Mr. Goddard 

 meant them to infer he was a bee without a sting, as he had not been 

 severe upon any of them in the remarks he had made. He begged 

 leave to propose a vote of thanks to the President for his kindness 

 in taking the chair, and also for the interesting paper he had given 

 them. 



The vote having been carried by acclamation, Mr. Goddard acknow- 

 ledged the compliment, and then called upon Mr. Richard Jefpebxes, 

 of Coate, who read a paper on " Swindon, its History and Antiquities/' 

 which will appear in a future page of the Magazine. 



