spirit of isolation from other literary and scientific men because its membership was confined at the outset to eighty Fellows who had written "memoirs of merit or rendered eminent services to literature or science"--a number subsequently increased to a hundred under certain limitations. On the contrary it asks for, and has constantly published, contributions from all workers in the same fields of effort with the simple proviso that such contributions are presented with the endorsation of an actual member, though they may be read before any one of the four sections by the author himself. Every association, whether purely literature or historical, or scientific, as I have already intimated, has been asked to assist in the work of the society,[58] and its delegates given every advantage at the meetings possessed by the Fellows themselves, except voting and discussing the purely internal affairs of the Royal Society. Some misapprehension appears to have existed at first in the public mind that, because the society was named "The Royal Society of Canada," an exclusive and even aristocratic institution was in contemplation. It seems a little perplexing to understand why an objection could be taken to such a designation when the Queen is at the head of our system of government, and her name appears in the very first clauses of the act of union, and in every act requiring the exercise of the royal prerogative in this loyal dependency of the crown. As a fact, in using the title, the desire was to follow the example of similar societies in Australia, and recall that famous Royal Society in England, whose fellowship is a title of nobility in the world of science. Certain features were copied from the Institute of France, inasmuch as there is a division into sections with the idea of bringing together into each for the purposes of common study and discussion those men who have devoted themselves to special branches of the literature of learning and science. In this country and, indeed, in America generally, a notable tendency is what may be called the levelling principle--to deprecate the idea that any man should be in any way better than another; and in order to prevent that result it is necessary to assail him as soon as he shows any political or intellectual merit, and to stop him, if possible, from attaining that mental superiority above his fellows that his industry and his ability may enable him to reach. The Royal Society suffered a little at first from this spirit of depreciation which is often carried to an extent that one at times could almost believe that this is a country without political virtues or intellectual development of any kind. The claims of some of its members were disputed by literary aspirants who did not happen for a moment to be enrolled in its ranks, and the society was charged with exclusiveness when, as a fact, it simply limited its membership, and demanded certain qualifications, with the