MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES 
161 
the conclusion of the General Meeting the visitors were escorted over 
the Castle by the resident, Thos. Cooke, Esq. Admiring the magnifi¬ 
cent view from the battlements of the keep, peering down into the 
well in the basement, examining the dungeon and the chapel room, 
and playing a sort of “hide-and-seek” in the (apparently countless) 
ghostly and other chambers which, interspersed among ramifying 
staircases, constitute this grand old pile, an hour was pleasantly 
passed. Issuing from the Castle about five p.m., a large party were 
conducted over the magnificent parish church of Tam worth by the 
Rev. H. Dale ; the ascent of the church tower was made by a very 
remarkable double winding staircase, almost unique of its kind in 
Britain. The Moat House—a most picturesque Elizabethan mansion 
—was next inspected, and, finally, the old earthwork, known as “ Offa’s 
Dyke,” was scrutinised at its point of best preservation. 
THE CONVERSAZIONE. 
Diligent hands had been at work, and when the members of the 
Union entered the Town Hall of Tamworth at the hour of opening on 
Tuesday evening, June 12th, they found themselves in a suite of rooms 
which appeared well suited for the purpose of a scientific conversazione, 
but which had only been made so by much hard work. The following 
extract from the Tamworth Herald gives a good general idea of the 
programme laid before visitors:—“ The appearance of the large room 
was a treat long to be remembered. Arranged round the building were 
cases of birds of all sizes, colours, and species, from the huge and 
magnificent Eagle to the more humble Wren, the Robin, and the 
Sparrow. On the right-hand side of the room was a very fine collec¬ 
tion of British birds, lent by Mr. R. W. Chase, of Birmingham, who, 
during the evening, explained their various habits, &c. Around the 
end of the building and covering the opposite wall were cases of birds 
lent by local friends, and it is needless to observe that they formed 
a source of pleasure, interest, and admiration not only amongst 
Ornithologists, but likewise amongst the public generally. Several 
tables were arranged in the centre of the room at which an exhibition 
of microscopes, by members of the Birmingham Natural History and 
Microscopical Society, illustrating life—both vegetable and animal— 
from its earliest to its latest stages, took place. A series of slides showing 
the microscopic structure of rocks was also exhibited. At the end of the 
table a great curiosity was shown by Mr. J. Rabone, namely, “ Shakes¬ 
peare’s brooch.” Numerous pictures of old Tamworth were exhibited 
in the corridor, whilst in the lecture room were to be seen Norremberg’s 
polariscope and an experiment illustrating the porosity of stone, lent 
by the Midland Institute Scientific Society; geological specimens, 
exhibited by Mr. Horace Pearce, F.L.S., F.G. S.; geological specimens, 
exhibited by the Rev. W. Robinson ; relics discovered at Stapenhill, 
an ancient burial-ground near Burton-on-Trent, lent by the Burton 
Archaeological Society; Roman pig of lead, found at Hints, near 
