and his melancholy. Gray was a scholarly, virtuous man with a gentle sense of humour which prevailed even over his melancholy. A sufferer from poor health himself, Gray was a very sympathetic character. His poetry showed a love of nature, great learning and a good knowledge of rhythm and onomatopoeia. Though a constant upholder of Poetic Diction, Gray did appeal with success to his reader's emotions.
December 2nd.-Paper on " Angling and Anglers," by V. G. Weston.
The speaker stressed the wide appeal enjoyed by the sport and explained how success depended upon skill and the prevailing weather conditions. He described the various classes of fish, both 11 coarse " and " game," and the different methods employed to catch different types of fish. In conclusion, some fishing anecdotes were related (of the type which some prefer to describe as fishy). The questions which followed the paper were answered with the proficiency and assurance of an expert.
December 91h.-Essay on " The Convoy System " by J. J. Lyons. Essay on " Robert Herrick " by W. A. Quinn.
The first essay described a convoy at sea and the perfectly timed co-operation of the Navy and the Air Force. The latter provided air escorts and balloons. Today the merchant ships themselves were armed in proportion to their size. The whole subject was very competently dealt with. The second essay showed Herrick to have been an avowed disciple of Ben Jonson and a hedonist. Born in London in 1591, the son of a goldsmith, little is known of his early life. The essayist then devoted himself to the two classes of Herrick's poetical works, the profane poems, called the " Hesperides," and the religious or " Noble Numbers. "
February 2nd.--Paper on " Austria and the Nazis " by R. Berger.
The writer traced the gradual deterioration of Austro-German relations from after the last war to the murder of Dr. Dollfuss, when the breach was completed. The next Chancellor, Dr. Schussnigg,
after unsuccessfully appealing for foreign aid, had to submit to Hitler's ultimatum and tender his resignation. On the succession of the notorious Nazi, Seyss-Inquart, the German troops entered Austria, followed by the Fuhrer, who received a great ovation from a deluded people. Within a fortnight of the Nazi regime, there was a pogrom against the Jews and anti-Catholic riots. The writer spoke of the Hitler Youth Movement, of which he had personal knowledge, of the Gestapo, the S.S. and the S.A. Anti-Nazi feeling in Austria was increasing and Austrians awaited the day of Allied victory and their own liberation. The writer answered many interesting questions on the conclusion of the paper.
February 91h. Paper on " Some of John Milton's poetry and His Style, Metre and Diction in general " by C. J. Earl.
The Paper began with an examination of " L'Allegro," " Il Penseroso " and " Paradise Lost," and the increasing austerity and sonorousness of the latter was pointed out. In this poem .Milton's conviction of his fulfilment of a Divine mission becomes apparent, and the great epic gave him scope for vivid imagery and the expression of strong Puritan ideas. Nevertheless it was a work of art and not a treatise on Theology. Milton's style was discussed at length, his use of Latin words in their original sense, his use of the pun. Through his desire for condensation, lie was sometimes prone to mixed metaphors and to obscurity. The Chairman congratulated Earl on his Paper and hoped that it would encourage others to read Milton.
February 161h.-Paper on " The English Ballad " by W. A. Quinn.
The distinctive characteristics of the balladform were explained, and its essential feature was found to be group action, for the ballad was usually a song or chorus created by the community as a whole. This type of ballad was anonymous, local in character and not didactic. After Tudor times the ballad proper declined and was superseded by " broadsides," which were sheets of paper with narrative poems in rough imitation of the old