The President's Address. 



11 



the liberal owner has invited us. Tisbury Church, rich in its 

 monumental records, will not be overlooked, nor must we forget 

 that Tisbury was the birthplace and residence of Sir J ohn Davies, 

 Attorney- General for Ireland, who, though he wrote works on law, 

 yet found time to give to the world his " Nosce Teipsum " and 

 " Immortality of the Soul/-' In the preface of his " Reports of 

 Cases and Matters in Ireland/' he curiously enough advocates the 

 use of the old Norman French, in which the English laws were 

 formerly written, as much more likely to be understood by the 

 student than if it were translated into English. I think, from 

 communications received, and some internal evidence, I am fortunate 

 enough to possess a portrait of this distinguished man. The manor 

 of West Hatch, held of the lord of the manor of Tisbury, claims 

 to have been the place of residence of Lawrence Hyde, from whom 

 descended the Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor of England. 

 Place Farm, or " The Grange/' is noteworthy as the manor house 

 of Tisbury. Formerly, in the centre of one of its fields, called 

 P Lost Stone/'' was a circular work set round with stones. In 

 driving through the " Abbey Grounds 33 of Fonthill, we must 

 not forget to admire the genius of Beckford, or the correct taste 

 which he displayed in laying them out, and the readers of his 

 " Vathek 33 may easily understand his erection of that shadowy yet 

 splendid creation of fancy, which, though it satisfied his dreams, 

 fell " like the baseless fabric of a vision, and left not a wreck behind.-" 

 Fonthill House contains a costly and remarkable collection of china, 

 which the owner, Mr. Morrison, with his usual kindness, has pro- 

 mised to show us. Passing on through Chilmark — first mentioned 

 in the Saxon chartulary of Wilton Abbey — we reach the picturesque 

 village of Teffont, and then on through Dinton, with its handsome 

 old church, to Compton-park, where you will be made very welcome,, 

 and be shown such relics and curiosities as I may possess. This 

 evening my friend Mr. Nightingale, will kindly enlarge upon the 

 objects of interest which you are to see in your excursion to-morrow, 

 and I shall have the pleasure of introducing members of the Society 

 who have kindly undertaken to read papers to you. The Blaekmorc 

 Museum and its collections will be illustrated by Mr. Edward 



