The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-22 00:00:00

The first soiree in connection with the present meeting
of the Association was held at St. Andrew's Hall last
night, and not even the most querulous could take excep-
tion to the way in which the citizens had displayed their
hospitality. In this respect they have covered themselves
with glory, and their traducers, who declared that they
did not know how to manage such an entertainment, with
undying shame. The place of meeting is in itself
worth a good long walk to see, and when beheld
for the first time, with the accessories of brilliant com-
pany and firstrate music, makes the visitor think much
better of Norwich than he has been inclined to do during
the dismal weather which has prevailed up to this time.
St. Andrew's Hall is situated in the very centre of the
city, and was, I learn, originally part of the convent of
the Black Friars. The building was commenced
by Sir Robert Erpingham in the year 1415,
and was completed by his son, a friar of the order
of St. Dominick. The magnificence and adapta-
bilities of the structure only confirm what has so often,
been proved before, that the monks of old knew perfectly
well what they were about. On the north side of the
church is a narrow cloister extending the whole length,
and here it was that the refreshments, consisting of
dainties of all kinds, were 'placed last night.
The effect of the gas jets, placed as they
were along the line of each arch, was very striking,
viewed from either end of the corridor. The great hall
itself, which was turned from its sacred use as a church
in the reign of Henry VIII., and converted into a place
for the use of the corporation, was profusely decorated
with flags and flowers. The orchestra was occu.
pied by the band of the Royal Engineers. The
walls of the hall are covered with portraits of worthy
mayors, of days long since gone by. There are
a few historical portraits amongst them—Queen Anne and
Prince George of Denmark. There is also the last likeness
of Nelson, the Norfolk hero, furnished by Sir William
Beechey. The hall, large as it is, was crowjlcd, and the
leading members of the Association were present with
scarcely an exception, and as in other quarters they have
brought their contributions of science, so they
brought on this occasion their contributions of beauty,
in the shape of their wives and daughters. The only flaw
in the soiree was the hat andcoat business. These articles
of apparel, as well as ladies' shawls and wraps, were
received at the entrance. This was well ; but when you
desired to regain them the tug of war began. An elderly
matron and two youthful assistants on receipt of the
articles in question duly handed you a ticket, but
neglected the important operation of affixing the corre-
sponding number to your property. The consequence was
that nothing could be found. I left early, having had
experience of such things. Matters were serious then.
What they were when everybody wanted everything at
once, and ladies were almost fainting with the heat, I am
at a loss to conceive. This Ido know, that an acquaint.
ance waited an hour, and then came home without a
hat at all. With this exception, the utmost praise is
clue to the mayor and citizens for tho way in which they
organised and carried out the soiree.
The Prehistoric Archaeologists are in high feather•
Their congress, which, as mentioned yesterday, was
opened by Sir John Lubbock, who hit hard right and left
at his opponents, has to-day settled down to work, and
has secured not only the presence, but the promise of sup.
port in the way of papers, from several distinguished mem.
hers of the Association. The society has only been in
existence, or at all events has only been before the public,
for three years. The idea of an annual International Congress
originated, I believe, at a small meeting held at La Spezzia
in 1835 ; the following year the Prehistorics assembled
at Newchatel, and last year they met in Paris. They are
evidently peripatetic, for it is one of their primary rules
that they shall only hold their congress in any country
once in three years. But what, it may be asked, are the
specialities of that which Dr. Hooker in his inaugural
address denominated a new science ? To which it may be
replied, that anything that has to do with the earliest traces
of the existence of man, with researches in
caverns inhabited at a remote period, the
structural character of primeval man, the character
of the Fauna associated with him, megalithic monuments,
stone and bronze antiquities, early habitations, intrench-
ments and implements of war, early methods of interment,
and existing customs and implements, as illustrations of
prehistoric times, is as meat and drink to the adherents
of the science. The congress lasts here till Wednesday,
after which the members proceed in a body to London, to
hold their first meeting, and to visit the British Museum.
They talk, then, of a scientific excursion to Salisbury.
The attendance at the sections has been generally good,
and the papers thus far well up to the average. At pre.
sent there has been nothing lively (after the manner of
the Cambridge meeting) in the way of discussion, and I
can hardly see that there is any chance this year of what
I heard a learned professor—l don't mean of the fistic.
-net, for from his lips there would have been nothing
strange in the simile—describe as a " merry mill " between
members of the Association holding diverse views of
science. The most attractive are, as usual, the Biology,
Geographical, and Physical Science sections.