Hart of a fife Jrstorg.” 
THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. . 
January 28 , 1904 . 
By ARTHUR B. PROWSE, M.D., F.R.C.S. 
I HAVE prepared the following summary of the past 
life of this Society in the hope that it may prove 
both interesting and instructive to many of the present 
members, and that the record may serve to rouse us, one 
and all, to take a more strenuous and practical interest 
in the aims and work contemplated by its originators. 
The pleasure which always accompanies the acquire- 
ment of scientific knowledge is purer and more lasting than 
that derived in many other more widely-popular ways : 
and this is one great reason why we should strive to do 
more, ourselves, by personal observation and study, and 
also do our best to interest others in the work. I quote 
here from an early Report of the Council ” : “A Society 
cannot live on the inheritance of the past ; its existence 
depends on the self-consciousness of present active powers 
rather than on the credit of past achievements.” And 
again, “ A Society changes its complexion more rapidly 
than an individual ; decay begins as soon as present 
activity fails, and its decay is followed by oblivion, even 
before it officially dissolves. Every society that pursues 
