The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1884-04-29 00:00:00


NATURAL alsroar, ANTIQUARIAN, AND
SKETCHING CLUB.

A very pleasant and most enjoyable evening wits
spent last Thursday by the members of the Working
Men's Library in oonnection with tin Museum of tide
town. It is intended to start a Natural History,
Antiquarian, and Sketching Club among theta, and,
to nista' niernbare to join, Mr. Mode, the excellent
curator, very kindly offered to tak• them over the
Musson free of "barge. Beforo taking them over,
however, he (Mr. Mottle) gave a short address to the
assembled members in the reading room. During his
rowlocks be pointed out the good that would be derived
from starting such • olob. A great do•I of interot
would be got from notnral history, aid above all (but be
did not want to preach) he moat say It would
make us look more to film who had formed such
curious yet wonderful objects. But then, to turn to
antiquities, what wonders were to be woo there?
Look, for instanos, at the beautiful corviop in our
Lugs, old, sacred offifiosa, ete. But what lesson should
this tom& us It should teach us to be more diligent
in our rasping?* millirem, so as not t let that* of old
time beat us now. And then, nolo, to turn to sketch.
lag. Ho would not say much about that, suffice it
to say that it was another of those thing" which, I.
the end, lead us to think more of God. But now, as
regarded the forming of the club, he saw nothing
in the way to hinder the formation of it, In fact, it
would be good for the town. Ile did not so why it
should not loomed here., wall as in other towns much
smaller than this Therefore to hoped it would suooe•d.
In conclusion he would like to tender bio hearty
thank. to Mr. Atkins and Mr. S. B. Daddoidge, who
had kindly lent some valuable oolleetiose for the
I occasion. The nuteting then adjourned to the
Moon= On entering, the first thing Mr. Motile
drew attention to WY • collection of bones of satin°t
animals and birda, among which wars to beseen bones
of the estinot bird, the dodo ; • huge jawbone of a boor
from B Lowell Cave, Somerset (where numerous other
bones of the soon nature her, been found), bases of
extinct animals from Now Zealand, were also shown.
Passiogson the party same to the fossils. Here wary
fossils from Swann°, Portland, Weymouth, Coming-
ton,•nd Bingham.' Meloombe ; • coy large anunonito
together with one of the joints of the backbone of •
whale, and some spoeimens of fomilised wood.
Mr. Mods next showed • ones of fossil" olden, from
Lyme Regis, and a cabinet full of fossils, which had
lately been bought for the Museum, but owing to
the want of oases these tr old not be seen. Attention
was now directed to • floe collection of ores ; among
them • fine nugget of gold, eon to be worth about RI,
from Australia. Mr. Mode now explained some
antiquities, consisting of a candlestick 400 years old;
• stone door weight (?) dated 1603, port of the pipe
which conveyed water to the monastery at Abbotabury,
part of • carving from the same ciao, promoted by
the Hos. Lira. Ashley, specimen of old Hiodoo
carving, an ancient urn partly Clad with burnt human
bones. The party next came to a case eontaining a
will made by an old townsman during Oliver
Cromwell's time, so old deed relating to the
purchase of some house. in South-street; • Roman
sword, found at Poandbury during the making of the
tunnel; • gold-plated ring, found in the globe at
Trinity Church ; a silver ring, loon I under the foot In
the church at Can; an &ashen lock and key, from
High East-street; • R,m,n arr,whead aod other
implement,; stone bead necklace and glass hair pins
found in levelling • rood at Fordiugt ot (the necklace
put together by Mr. Mottle) ; Mot scrapers and arrow
adsi • North Indian (East) ; • wilt of Om'
stumble, found In the mouth of a 'skeleton at
Fordington ; a bronze dosser, found at Came ; solid
gold bracelets, found near Contemn,: braes betrothal
ring' kas They next came to the cola department.
Here WM • 0011•041012 of coins found around Dor.
°bestow • a case of Roman coins proasond by Mr. I
Prompt:on oomprieing, among Mimi, no lees than 60
different colas, all "nook during the thno of Cons I
gangue. The nest coo protested to view contained
a set of British coins from the melee% Britons down
to the preens time, mostly saver. A ease of jars,
=was.. IVY next shown, as well a, come
old glass and an old gun.—Mr. Mods then
sand co Mr. Dodderidge to describe his cam of
antiquities, which he at ones did in • very able and
effislest manner. The top pot of his come contained
• see of earns mostly found monad Dorobeenr, which
soasisted of Roman edam of Moans, Golliwog,
Urbs Roma, Domlnitian, also a swims& of
a forgery of Roman coin ; Dosimeter, Tatiana,
Bristol, and Noremburg tokens, ko. ; Gory 111.
ihrt•Puld7:Phaos, twopenny-plea of Vitroria, silver
dont from Limo, Afghan *Mu, &c.; a curious knife
from Greenland; part of • stone colt or axe, picked op
near Martinet ern by himself; 'tine scrapors, owl is
dressing the hides of animal stone knives (?), all
f mud war Dorchester; top part of the skull alas
Egyptian, used at • drinking asp ; vegetable ivory
from America; sad • Prayer Bo ,k printed in London
previous to the Civil Wu, during Charism I. time,
dated 1683. We must not forget to mention that Mr.
Dudderidge exhibited some good sketches of some of his
wins, drawn by himself. —Mr. hfoule now called on
Mr. Atkins, who described his caw (which consisted
wholly of bonsai., and moths) in • very full and
careful manner. Sonia of his sposoimeas were szomsd-
!ugly Sae, and were preeervol with great care and
neatness. They were also arranged very beautifully.
After this, Mr. Mauls described some more butterflies
promoted by the Has. Mr.. Ashley. and lastly he
(Mr. Moen) described some beautiful bird". 'The
then terminated with ten present giving
proceeding.
:glee as members. We must not forget to
mention tho name of Mr. Voss, who vary kindly helped
to describe vitriol's things. We must now conclude,
wishing this society every moose, which we are
wish' will snood it.