of the Institute has been an ample reward for all who have worked for it. With reference to what Professor Macdonald has said, I think, when he reads the Address, he will see that I have not written against the Anthropological Society as such, but merely have given a specimen of one of its papers. It would have occupied too much time on that one subject, or I might have gone on to show, that the first member of the Anthropological Society who spoke on Mr. Heath's paper-a man well entitled to speak on the subject,— I mean Mr. Luke Owen Pike, who is the author of a recent able work on the British People, condemned the paper very much more thoroughly and in rounder terms than could possibly be implied from my comments. The only other speaker whose speech is yet reported on the subject, did advocate its conclusions, as a Darwinian; but I could not enter into their criticisms of the paper; and I only gave the extracts to show the way in which the subject was treated in that Society in contrast with our own; but not wishing to identify the Anthropological Society with Mr. Heath's opinions, for I believe when the whole discussion comes out, it will be found that there is scarcely a single person who entirely agrees with him.

The Rev. W. MITCHELL now left the Chair, which was taken by Captain Fishbourne.

Rev. W. R. COSENS.-I feel I am highly honoured by having had the next motion placed in my hands. It is one which will require few words from me to commend it; but at the same time I think whoever moves it, ought to pay that due respect to the person whose name is contained in it which we all feel for him. I am a young member of the Society, and I come here to learn, in order that I may be able to teach, I hope more truly and thoroughly, those who are committed to my charge,-my poor people in Westminster. I am sure all of us may derive from the excellent and eloquent addresses that have been delivered from time to time by our Vice-President that instruction which, I may say for myself, I have received from them. (Hear, hear.) I beg to move a vote of thanks to our Chairman; and I am sure you will all agree with me, that not only this evening, but on every occasion when Mr. Mitchell is present, he gives a right tone to our thoughts, by those few words he may speak, or the addresses with which he may favour us, indicating the strict line which we ought to adopt with regard to those very abstruse subjects we have to consider. I feel it is a privilege for us that such a man should preside here so constantly, so that we have the benefit, not only from time to time or of an occasional attendance of so learned and gifted a man, but that he devotes his time and attention almost without limit to this Society. I feel, therefore, we ought to record our cordial thanks, not only for his presiding this evening, but for the constant amount of labour and thought he devotes to the interests of this Institution. (Hear, hear.)

Captain F. W. H. PETRIE.-I beg to second that motion. I was among the first who joined the Victoria Institute, and having worked as well as I could at it, I can bear my testimony to the great value of the services of Mr. Mitchell. (Applause.)

The CHAIRMAN.-I need hardly put this resolution to the meeting. I am

sure you will all entirely concur in it. I have pleasure in also bearing testimony to the great value of our Chairman's services; and I may say I know that his addresses have had considerable influence outside our Society. Our noble President has told me, that in the circle in which he moves, he hears constantly that the effect produced by those addresses is considerable indeed; and I am sure you will give your unanimous vote of thanks to Mr. Mitchell for presiding on this occasion.

The motion was carried with acclamation.

Rev. W. MITCHELL.-It gives me the greatest possible pleasure to work for this Society. I feel it to be a labour of love, as well as a duty; but that labour is very considerably lightened by the assistance I so constantly receive from our Honorary Secretary, and also from our worthy Treasurer. They do everything they can to lighten any little work I undertake, and I can assure you it gives me the most sincere pleasure, on every occasion when I have an opportunity of meeting you, and of furthering the interests of this Institute, which I believe to be identical with the best interests of our race. (Applause.)

This concluded the business of the Meeting.

ORDINARY MEETING, JUNE 3, 1867.

CAPT. E. GARDINER FISHBOURNE, R.N., C.B., HON. TREASURER, IN THE CHAIR.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed.

The Rev. WALTER MITCHELL, M.A., vice-president, then delivered a lecture on "The General Isomorphism of all Crystalline Bodies, and the Relations of all Forms of Crystals to those of the Cubical System," being an outline of a paper on this subject which will be hereafter published in the Journal of Transactions.

[Mr. Mitchell's paper has now been partly prepared, and it was expected that the first part of it would appear in the present number of the JOURNAL; but owing to the tables of minute figures, and the diagrams illustrating the paper, which will delay its passing through the press, I have deemed it advisable not to keep back this number of the JOURNAL any longer, but rather to defer Mr. Mitchell's important Memoir, which will be published when completed.

The subject was one that scarcely admitted of extempore discussion; but the following observations were made upon the occasion when Mr. Mitchell's lecture was delivered; and the remarks of Mr. Charles Brooke, F.R.S., now a vice-president of the Institute, and of Professor Morris, F.G.S., of University College, London, will be read with interest.

In the course of his lecture, Mr. Mitchell had especially referred to the valuable labours of Mr. Brooke's father in the same field, as well as to those of Hauy, and others, who had endeavoured to discover the true laws of crystallography.-J. R., ED. February, 1868.]

The CHAIRMAN.-You will allow me to give our unanimous thanks to Mr. Mitchell for his very interesting lecture. Few of us can follow him, I am sure, throughout the whole of it, but we can all follow him so far as to see that there is a manifest design in these laws of crystallography, and that there must be a very large amount of increasing credulity among those who, in the face of such knowledge, still deny both a design and a Designer in nature. It is quite impossible that such laws, ranging themselves so indisputably and clearly under one great law, can be considered accidental, and as

Q

the result of fortuitous circumstances.

There is clearly a design and a Designer throughout all; and I am sure we have learned a great deal more, and seen a great deal further, than we could have done without Mr. Mitchell's assistance. He has furnished us with a fresh proof that can leave no room for doubt in our minds as to the evidence of a Designer-of a great Author, ordering all things for His own purposes. There are several gentlemen here, I understand, conversant with the matter-Mr. Brooke, whose name has been so often mentioned by Mr. Mitchell, and Professor Morris-and perhaps they will give their opinions on the subject.

CHARLES BROOKE, Esq., F.R.S.-I beg leave to observe that the name mentioned was the name of my deceased father, and not of myself; but I have also paid a great deal of attention to this subject, and am extremely interested with the views Mr. Mitchell has so ably worked out. The views contained in the paper my father published were just those which Mr. Mitchell represented them to be; and some of those views he has now enunciated, certainly very cleverly, carry the mutual relations of the various forms of crystals to a still further point than they were developed in my father's paper.

Professor MORRIS, F.G.S.-I find it difficult to offer any additional remarks this evening, after hearing the very learned lecture of Mr. Mitchell, but I think it is one of those subjects which although apparently difficult at first, yet, to those who have paid attention to it, becomes in the end most clear; and one of the great merits of Mr. Mitchell's researches is that his labours will tend ultimately to simplify the difficult science of Crystallography. Few persons are aware when they look round our public collections, seeing the varied forms of crystals, which are the flowers of the mineral kingdom, that they all belong to some great law, marking design; and I think that the explanations Mr. Mitchell has been giving, point out that there is as much evidence of design in the mineral kingdom as we find in the law of symmetry in the vegetable kingdom. (Hear, hear.) There are certain types in the vegetable world by which are arranged the great classes of plants; and now we have seen that there is also in the mineral kingdom another and analogous law. I think it must be a great gratification to this Institute to have been the means of inducing Mr. Mitchell to explain those broad principles which were seen by others to some extent, but which he has completed and marked with a master's hand. I think it will be also interesting to those who are not acquainted with crystallography, to know that every mineral substance, as Mr. Mitchell pointed out, follows some definite type in crystallizing. I may observe, also, that that beautiful law which he has explained with regard to minerals has its practical value: it is valuable in the cabinet, and also commercially, as it enables us to detect the true from the false, as well as how to clear off the blots from our beautiful gems. Many of you are, perhaps, aware of the law as it affects the diamond—and which Mr. Mitchell is especially familiar with-its peculiar cleavage; and how some diamonds, on obtaining a better form by being scientifically cut, have been afterwards valued at a much higher price. We have one case

where the purchaser of a diamond worth some thousands of pounds, took it back to the seller after cleaving it according to the laws of crystallography, and I think it realized a thousand pounds more. We are still more indebted to this knowledge, and especially to our lecturer this evening, for I believe it was owing to his suggestions that the Koh-i-noor, which was but roughly cut when it was brought to this country, afterwards had its flaws removed and its beauty increased. (Hear, hear.) I think all of us must feel that this apparently difficult subject has been made very interesting to all, since it has been shown that those beautiful flowers of the mineral kingdom have laws equal in regularity to those of the other kingdoms of nature, and that crystals are all connected with one fundamental form, taking the cube as the primary form, and that the other forms are derived from modifications of this figure. What Mr. Mitchell has discovered and pointed out is like to the sculptor, who seems to realize, even in the solid block of marble, some beautiful image hereafter to be chiselled out; for Mr. Mitchell has shown us how, from the common cube, all the beautiful and varied crystallised forms found in the mineral kingdom may probably be derived. (Hear, hear.)

Mr. REDDIE. It is a fortunate circumstance that our chairman this evening is also our treasurer, because I think I shall only express the sentiments of the Council, as well as of all our members, in saying that we must endeavour to do every justice to the valuable and important paper of which Mr. Mitchell has now given us an outline. And I propose that in this instance we shall depart from what has hitherto been our practice, and produce Mr. Mitchell's paper when written, not only with illustrations, but with coloured illustrations, giving as far as possible the effect of the coloured models with which he has illustrated his lecture, and by which the relationship of the different classes of crystals to one another has been made so very distinct, and, I had almost said, so very simple. I am sure, if you agree, that the Council will be most glad to allow, though at some expense, a page or two of coloured illustrations, in order to do justice to this most valuable paper on crystallography. (Approbation.)

The meeting was then adjourned.

R