Two members dined with the Speaker before the meeting, in the University Centre.

The President being ill, the Secretary welcomed the audience of eight mortals, and introduced Dr Spufford.

That gentleman spoke for seventy-five minutes, the learned nature of the title being in no way belied by the sermon itself. He described how many persons migrated in that glorious age, how far, and whither. The numbers of these rather foolish and baneful migrants was sometimes large, as many as fifteen per cent of a village population in a year. In many cases, indeed, the genealogist's task is as difficult as that of the rustic farmer who strives to drive off the hungry lion that attacks his sheep, although armed only with a bronze reaping-hook; he is assisted, however, by the facts that many migrants moved only short distances, that certain religious personages compiled full registers of their parishioners, and that many of the fair proportion that moved to London died almost immediately without leaving descendants.

After a number of questions, the Secretary proposed the Vote of Thanks, and uttered several notices.

The meeting closed at five bells of the same.