6 
Transactions of the Society. 
It would seem that thus early in the Society’s career a question 
arose which has troubled many others, lor we find a resolution of the 
18th of March, 1840, “ That it did not appear desirable at present to 
act upon the rule relating to the holding of soirees at which ladies 
should be admitted.” 
On the 27th of January, 1841, Mr. Daniel Cooper submitted a pro- 
spectus of a proposed Microscopical J ournal, and asked permission to 
publish abstracts of the papers read at the meetings of the Society, offer- 
ing to make the journal serviceable to the views of the Society ; this 
request was granted, and thus the Transactions of the Society first ap- 
peared in print, and thus commenced the connection of the Society with 
Cooper’s, afterwards Cooper and Busk’s, ‘ Microscopic Journal,’ pub- 
lished by one who has done good service to English science, and whose 
face is still sometimes seen with pleasure at the Linnean Club, viz. 
the veteran John Yan Voorst. 
On the 15th of February, 1841, the Society held its first annual 
meeting, and it was then reported that it had one hundred and seventy- 
seven members ; it is a curious evidence of the change of times to find 
that fifty of these resided in the City of London. The recognition of 
the scientific importance of the Society is shown by the fact that 
twenty-two of the members were Fellows of the Royal Society, and its 
wide range of interest by the fact that the list included such widely 
different names as Richard Beck, Thos. Bell, Professor of Zoology at 
Ring’s College, John Birkett, of Guy’s, George Busk, Sir James Clarke, 
John Edward Gray, Keeper of the Zoological Department of the 
British Museum, Chas. Hullah, the musician, John Kippist, the librarian 
of the Linnean, Dr. Lindley, the Marquis of Northampton, then 
President of the Royal Society, Andrew Ross, Dr. Sharpey, John 
Tomes (not Sir John then, and miscalled Thomas in the lists of 
members), Yan Yoorst, and Erasmus Wilson. In spite of all this 
the new- comer was perhaps not universally received with special 
cordiality, for we find Owen in his first address combating the idea 
that the Microoscpical Society would deprive the older Societies of 
biological papers. 
On the 17th of February, 1841, the propriety of appointing a 
librarian and curator was discussed, and it was suggested that John 
Quekett might accept it as an honorary office. On the 17th of March 
the first number of the 4 Microscopic Journal ’ was presented by the 
editor; on the 23rd of June Dr. Farre resigned the secretaryship, 
and John Quekett was appointed to that office, which he held for 
nineteen years. It is odd that these are the first mentions of John 
Quekett in connection with this Society, he is not among the original 
seventeen, and yet he must have been residing in the house at the time, 
and as he is marked as an original member he must have joined the 
Society before the 29th of January, 1840. This is, I think, the appro- 
priate place to say a few words about him, for although he was even- 
tually elected president, yet it was a mere compliment at a time when 
