of France to Queen Elizabeth, rode with Sir Thomas Gresham who was his host, and with other persons of distinction, to the French church, to show his approbation of the Protestant religion. Odet de Coligny, who rests in Canterbury cathedral, is becoming better known to the English people through the recent biographies of his illustrious brother, the Admiral de Coligny, and the incidents of his mission and of his death, which have lately been brought to light.

Many other points of interest are opened up by Mr. Moens's paper; among others the permission given in 1553 to one Thomas Gualtier, to set up a French printing-press, one of whose productions was a Prayer Book, translated into French by Françoys Philippe, the title-page of which states that it was also printed "pour les isles de Sa Majesté"-also the technical forms of service called "Le Discipline," that of the Walloon church at Norwich, is fully treated and described by Miss Toulmin Smith in the Norfolk Antiquarian Miscellany. The discipline of the London Foreign Churches, under John A. Lasco as General Superintendent, is known to all who take an interest in this subject, and may be found in the library of the French church of St. Martin's-le-Grand.

Mr. ROBERT HOVENDEN, referring to the observations of Mr. Moens respecting the registers in the custody of the authorities of the French church in St. Martin's-le-Grand, urged that one of the earliest efforts of the Society should be directed to these documents, as experience taught him that, where obstacles and difficulties were placed in the way of access to similar records, the apparent want of courtesy not unfrequently arose from the fact that the manuscripts were in a condition that would not bear investigation. If, then, these records at the French church were in the condition suspected, the sooner they were exposed to light and air the better it would be for their preservation. He would also suggest, when volumes were missing from any series of the registers of foreign churches, that Dr. Williams's library would be a likely depository in which search should be made, as formerly many registers of non-conforming communities found their way into this collection.

Mr. F. P. LABILLIERE stated that a large number of Huguenot marriages had been celebrated at St Benet's church, Paul's Wharf, and the neighbouring church of St. Laurence Pountney, these being among the nearest churches to Doctor's Commons, where the marriage licences were obtained. He also testified from experience to the admirable way in which the registers at St. Benet's church were kept, having once had occasion to refer to

the entry of a marriage which took place in 1708, and which was found by the Vicar in a few moments.

Mr. EDWARD ERNEST STRIDE advocated the transcribing and printing in extenso of the registers of the refugee congregations, as he considered that those registers were practically almost inaccessible to the student of Huguenot history and genealogy, while the information to be obtained from them was of the highest possible value.

Mr. W. J. C. MOENS, replying to the remarks of the various speakers, referred to the French Prayer Book, mentioned by Mr. Kershaw, as having been printed for "les isles de Sa Majesté," and stated that the church at Southampton called itself L'Eglise Wallonne et les isles de Jersey, Guernsey, Serq, Origny," &c.; also that the original "discipline" of the church at Norwich, copied and described by Miss Toulmin Smith, is in the MS. department at the British Museum.

From the observations of Mr. Hovenden, with which Mr. Moens quite agreed, he trusted that the documents (which, as well as the funds of the French church of St. Martin's-leGrand, were now in charge of trustees under a scheme approved by the Charity Commissioners, and sanctioned by the Court of Chancery) would be soon taken possession of and arranged. That the minute-books, member-books, &c., of the various French churches must have all been in existence in 1846 is certain, for the late Mr. John Southerden Burn compiled his valuable book on the French Protestant Churches in England chiefly from those sources, which gravitated to the two remaining churches with the registers, as the congregations were gradually dissolved. It is stated that some registers of nonparochial churches were given up by the managers of Dr. Williams's library, but some minute-books may still be in that collection.

Replying to Mr. Labilliere, Mr. Moens stated that marriages appeared to have been discontinued in the foreign churches towards the end of the year 1753, and that therefore they must have been celebrated in the parish churches. The register section of the Harleian Society devotes its energies to the transcription and publication of the registers of city churches, and it is to be hoped that a way may be found for the two societies to pursue together this desirable work, which is so greatly needed. By the Act 6 & 7 Will. IV. cap. 56, the foreign churches were enabled to be registered for again solemnising marriages.

In regard to Mr. Stride's suggestion as to the propriety of

having the registers transcribed and printed in extenso, that course would be both tedious and expensive. In every entry there is a repetition of set forms, which would be useless for information, and would treble the bulk and the expense of publication. The names of the respective parties, the witnesses, godfathers and godmothers, were alone required.

The meeting was adjourned to Wednesday, 10th June, at 8 p.m.

60

THE HUGUENOT SOCIETY OF LONDON.

FIRST ANNUAL MEETING.

Held at "The Criterion," Piccadilly.

Wednesday, 10th June, 1885.

Lieut.-General Frederic P. Layard in the Chair.

The Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting, held on the 13th May, having been read and confirmed, the Chairman said,—

"Before the Report of the Council is presented, I am desired to express to the Meeting the great regret of our President, the Right Hon. Sir Henry Austen Layard, G.C.B., that he cannot be with us this evening.

'It may be remembered that at the Inaugural Meeting, on the 15th April, Sir Henry Layard hesitated to accept the office of President of our Society on the ground that his duties and engagements would take him from England for some months during this year. He left very shortly after that meeting, and is now at Venice-rather overburdened with work and out of the reach of books bearing upon our particular subject. Under these circumstances, and seeing that the Society has been less than two months in existence, Sir Henry Layard proposes that the first Presidential Address shall be given at the next Annual Meeting, when he trusts that a year's successful operations will have to be reviewed.

"I will only add that our President, in his letters, expresses the greatest interest in the progress we are making, and I know that he will be gratified to receive, in a few days, the proof of our first issue of "Proceedings," and the sketch for our form of Diploma, the first of which is here for inspection.

"I will now ask the Treasurer to submit his statement of accounts."

The following statement was then read by the Treasurer:

Br.

TREASURER'S STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FROM APRIL 15TH TO JUNE 10TH, 1885.