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First 3 ff. headed 'Rules for the formation of a Club', including list of founding members: The Duke of St. Albans, Montagu Corry, J. J. Cowell,, G. O. Trevelyan, F. Storr, W. Everett, H. Y. Thompson, E. Willmot.' Signed E[dmund] Willmot, President, May 1960.

The rest of the minutes record dates of meetings and the members' rooms in which each took place; participants, including honorary members and visitors; elections of new members

With letter, written at Trinity 27 Mar. 1905, from Henry Jackson to Walter Morley Fletcher relating to Erastus Corning Pruyn. This is attached to notes by Jackson, comprising a list of members (1 folded sheet), each with a brief biography and date of their admission to Trinity, and a list of visitors (6 single sheets) with the same information. A note of the end of this states: '[W. E.] Currey tells me that the refreshments provided in the early days of the Club were sandwiches and gin sling. In its later days there was an elaborate supper, with two Trinity Hall cups, one Chesterfield, the other usually Madeira. Supper was usually at ten o' clock, after supper whist was resumed'. With envelope originally containing these notes, addressed to the Librarian, Trinity College, and with a label in the hand of A. F. Scholfield, Librarian.

Letter declining invitation to the 1905 Apostles' dinner.

Trinity College, Cambridge.—Lists and discusses recent elections to the ‘Cambridge Apostles’. At the last Congregation Sedley Taylor proposed that money should be raised for a chair of physics by abolishing heads of houses.

(Dated Saturday.)

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Transcript

Trin. Coll. Cam.
Saturday

Dear Sir Frederick

At last I have got sight of the secretary’s book, {1} which has been changing keeper lately and so became temporarily invisible. The list of me and my successors is as follows:

165—W. K. C.—Nov. 17 ’66
166—J F Moulton—Jun 1 ’67
167—F. E. Anderson—Nov 2 ’67
168—G. H. Blakesley—Feb 22 ’68
169—C Colbeck—Oct 24 ’68
170—M. R. Pryor—Nov. 13 ’69
171—Hopkinson—Oct 28 ’70

It appears from this that your constant advice about electing people is quite right; for while the average rate of election since the beginning of years has been 3 men a year, we have for the last four years let it get down to below 2. Jackson and Currey have become angels; {2} it appears that Elphinstone was rude to the former at Richmond and hinted that he was staying on too long. Stuart is now secretary. Besides Hopkinson who comes in today we have 2 new men in prospect. The objection to them is that they are all high tripos men to be—I mean mathematical—and this will give too strong a flavour of π to the functions. The last meeting was in my rooms—question wife or mistress?—and you will be glad to hear that with the help of 2 angels we were unanimously in favour of the latter—Stuart making some weak partial protest supposed to be due to a well-known influence. The last news of their shadowy outside is that at a Congregation last Saturday Sedley Taylor proposed to raise money for a physical professor by abolishing heads of houses. 2 of them died on the spot, 3 (including our own) are dangerously ill, and the rest are gone to refresh themselves in the country—we don’t appear to have got the money yet though. I have been sleepless since I came back and accordingly unfit to do anything whatever.

Yours all of us
W. K. Clifford.

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The dashes in the table of elections have been added.

{1} The record book kept by the secretary of the Cambridge Conversazione Society or ‘Cambridge Apostles’.

{2} i.e. they had left the Society.

Accompanied by a proof of Jackson's obituary for Currey dated Dec. 1908 and a MS draft of a memoir of Currey by Jackson dated 16 June 1911.