288 



President's Address. 



by numbers, so that every specimen may be said in some degree to 

 help to illustrate the original or the natural history of our county. 



" Your Committee concludes the Report by once more urging on 

 its many members in all parts of the county continued and careful 

 observation of objects of interest in their respective localities ; and 

 by again inviting communication with the Honorary Secretaries on 

 all matters which shall come under their notice which shall tend to 

 elucidate the past history of our county, or increase our acquaintance 

 with its natural history 



On the motion of the Chairman, the Report was adopted and 

 ordered to be printed ; the Vice-Presidents of the Society, the 

 General Secretaries, the Local Secretaries, and Committee were re- 

 elected, and other formal business of the Society disposed of ; and 

 then the President addressed the meeting as follows : — 



Ladies and Gentlemen, — It gives me the greatest pleasure to 

 appear before you to day, not only from the position in which I find 

 myself as President of the Society, but as a fellow archseologist who 

 is anxious to do his best to instruct and give you pleasure, and who 

 is now much gratified at seeing so many friends present, ready to 

 afford him encouragement and support. (Hear, hear.) This is 

 actually the 19th anniversary of our Society, and it is with pride 

 that I am able to tell you, once more, of the complete success which 

 has crowned all our endeavours. Again we rally round us the best 

 literary genius — the deep searcher of antiquarian lore, and the more 

 humble but not less useful delver among our buried treasures. But 

 also, I am proud to say, that we have gained the confidence of the 

 great and wealthy people of this county. No longer is the anti- 

 quary turned away from the door with an admonition to retire to 

 some place popularly supposed to be exceedingly hot — (laughter) — - 

 but invited to enter and inspect for himself, to then place on record 

 what he has seen, and to publish it for the benefit of all. Nor does 

 the archaeologist digest only the ponderous tomes which fill the 

 libraries of our great mansions, and painfully extract sweetness from 

 a musty parchment ! He sips a sweetness also from a cup of nectar 

 which is most generously put to his weary lips, and he (but we must 

 not make this public) digests a very good dinner at the expense of 



