78 
NATURE NOTES 
migrated or extinct. Reference was made in conclusion to the wall-paintings 
discovered in recent years, that were evidently executed by the same race to 
adorn the caves in which they dwelt, in the province of Santander and Southern 
France. 
Twenty-four members attended this demonstration, and at the end a cordial 
vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Reginald Smith on the proposition of Mr. 
Wilfred Mark Webb, seconded by the Excursions’ Secretary. 
Saturday, February 23. — Streatham has a particular interest for Members 
of the Selborne .Society, as the Rev. Thomas Holt, the grandfather of Gilbert 
White, held the living there, and was buried in the church on December 4,. 
1710. The excursion, kindly arranged by Miss Willson to this place proved, 
therefore, most attractive to the party of sixteen that assembled. The church 
was visited under Miss Willson’s guidance. The registers date back to 1528 
and are as complete as any in England. They were open to inspection, and the 
entry referring to the Rev. Thomas Holt (the father of Gilbert White’s mother) 
was looked up. Miss Willson pointed out that Lord John Russell, of Reform Bill, 
fame, is supposed to have drawn it up in the Rectory hard by. It was discovered 
that Lord John Russell was baptised in 1710, shortly before the death of the 
Vicar. This, however, must be another member of the Bedford family, which 
was long connected with the Parish. On leaving the church it was found that 
the Old Rectory was being rapidly demolished, and passing on, *he members 
proceeded to “ Limatburg,’’ where they were hospitably entertained by Mrs. 
Meihe and Miss Willson, and had an opportunity of examining the archaeological 
and other treasures collected there, which were displayed for the purpose. They 
included a now celebrated collection of shoes, some remarkable rigid bodices of 
the time of George II., pocket sundial.s, pistol tinder boxes, implements from 
the Swiss Lake dwellings, and many conchological and geological specimens, 
including some interesting flies and spiders preserved in amber. The meeting 
was brought to a close by a very cordial vote of thanks, proposed and seconded 
by the General and Excursions Secretaries respectively, which was accorded to 
Mrs. Meih6 and Miss Willson, with whose names was coupled that of Miss 
Dorothy Meihe. In this way ended one of the pleasantest excursions of the 
season. 
Saturday, March 9. — By kind permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
over sixty members viewed the fine old palace at Lambeth. The party was 
shown round by Mr. S. W. Kershaw, the Librarian, and by Mr. Paiker, who 
pointed out and explained very lucidly all the points of interest. 
Lambeth owes its palace to the dissensions between the prior and monks of 
Christchurch, Canterbury, and the priests of the Cathedral. The latter, in order 
to escape annoyance, left Canterbury and finally made their home at Lambeth in 
the tw’elfth century. Baldwin tried to build a chapel at Lambeth during the 
reign of Henry H. The Pope stopped him. Hubert Walter was the next to try 
and his chapel stood for a short time. It was left, however, for Cardinal Morton 
to build a permanent one in 1490. Morton’s gateway still exists in an excellent 
state of preservation and is especially interesting inasmuch as every sovereign 
■since and including Henry VIL, has passed under it. 
The Library, once the banqueting hall, contains over 30,000 volumes and 
numerous prints, mainly contributed by former archbishops. One case is especially 
interesting ; it contains “ The Chronicles of St. Albans,” a beautiful fourteenth 
century history of Britain dating from King Arthur, a •* Gutenberg ” Testament 
printed 1450 1455, a missal of the diocese of Limouges, and an exceptionally 
beautiful copy ol the Koran of 1802. 
The Picture Gallery contains many gems, Hogarth, Ilolljein, Romney, 
Reynolds and other old mtisters being represented by portraits of previous 
arcb bishops. 
The Water Tower, now utilised as a post-room, was used by Chicheley when 
embarking on the Thames. 
The Lollards’ Tower is the oldest portion of the jralace. A small prison 
chamber, boarded with elm and chestnut boards, is reached, after the laborious 
ascent of a spiral staircase with a circular wooden newel. This room it is said 
was used as a prison for the incarceration of Lollards. It is very probable that 
