A.DDIIESS. 
Read by the President, Mr. II. D. Geldart, to the Members of 
the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, at their 
Fourteenth Annual Meeting, held at the Norfolk and Norwich 
Museum, March 27th, 1SS3, 
Ladies axd GE.VTLEMRx_A\'lion a boy roaches tlio age of fourteen, 
he ceases to bo a chihl, and his parents and friends look sharply at 
him, to see what clianco of life and work there is in liim, and wlmt 
ho 13 hkoly to bo fit for. So witli our Society ; it is fourteen years 
old to day ; it has passed the risks of early childliood, and is now 
a youth, with a fair chance of survival to a strong and healthy 
manhood. When wo mot hero for the first time fourteen years a^o 
some of our friends thought that our Society would soon grow fidnt 
and fail. We were but weak then; we had published nothing; now 
wo exchange ‘Transactions’ with thirty other Societies, We started 
111 life with one hundred and twelve members; we have now 
two hundred and thirty-seven; our funds are flourishing, our library 
grows apace, and almost the only regret which mixes with our 
good hopes of life to come is, that our kindly genial friend who 
first filled this chair, and “rocked the cradle” for us,^ is no longer 
here, that he might see to-night the adolescence of the babe°in 
whom he took such great and lively interest. 
The past year has been uneventful and prosperous. We have 
elected eight new members, and lost five, three of them by death • 
and we have now a total of two hundred and thirty-seven, of whoin 
thirteen are life, and thirteen honorary members. Those whom 
* The Kev. J. Crompton. 
0 0 
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