The great honour bestowed upon me to-night by your Council is one which I appreciate deeply but for which I find it difficult to thank you. The many years spent over work in the peaceful isolation of beloved deserts and mountains has ill prepared me for speaking at gatherings like the present. Also I cannot fail to-night to realize how distant are the special fields of my labours from the sphere of those great historical and archaeological interests which make so strong an appeal to the people of this country and which for many years past have found their chief guardian in the Society of Antiquaries.