Rev. GRINDALL REYNOLDS read a paper relating to King Philip's war and the fight at Brookfield.

Rev. LUCIUS R. PAIGE, D.D., read a paper upon the same general subject, entitled "Wheeler's Defeat, 1675. Where?"

EDWARD H. THOMPSON, Esq., a foreign member and United States consul at Merida, Yucatan, presented to the Society the plaster reproduction of a façade of a ruined building at Labna, Yucatan, allusion to which was made at the April meeting. The plaster cast, a picture of which appears in this connection, secured by Mr. THOMPSON through the liberality of the President-elect, is set up in the west hall of the Society. The members present repaired to this room to inspect the work and the various casts and photographs made in connection with it.

In describing his work, Mr. THOMPSON said: During my earliest researches among the ruins of Yucatan, there grew in my mind the desire to give in some manner to the student of archæology, and to others interested more casually perhaps, an adequate idea of these mysterious edifices. Pen pictures, at best, give but a faint idea of them. Photographs, while fulfilling admirably certain conditions, nevertheless, give but little more than a phantom-like resemblance to reality. Therefore, the best, the only way, to fully accomplish my desires in this respect, was to reproduce an edifice, or such portions of it as would best serve my purpose. Furthermore, this reproduction must be an accurate one, else its value as an object of study for archæologists would be lost. True, with the aid of proportional photographs and measurements, a tolerably good reproduction could have been made, sufficient to be an object of interest to the casual visitor, but to my mind, the accuracy desired by the scientist could be obtained only by making moulds of some material, plastic enough to receive every impression, however faint, hardening afterward, in order to retain the impression when once received, and strong

enough to withstand the inevitable shocks and casualties of a long journey upon the backs of men and mules, upon springless drays and railroad trains.

I

After some months of experimenting, I succeeded in producing a composition containing all of the above qualities, and subjected it to thorough trial by practical tests. then sought for the façade of an edifice, that should contain, within a suitable area, the characteristic examples and effects produced by the ancient builders.

While upon my expeditions to Labna, a certain façade had especially attracted my notice, as containing upon its surface, remarkably striking characteristic effects. It was a typical structure of the ancient workers. During explorations among nineteen recorded and unrecorded groups of ruins, I failed to find one other, that upon an equal surface, combined so much that was typical in character and striking in design. Having arranged these matters to my satisfaction and being convinced as to the practicability of the scheme, I communicated the idea to our fellow-member, Mr. STEPHEN SALISBURY, and aided by his kind offices and counsel, began the task, which, I am pleased to say, was completed successfully.

There were in this, as in other undertakings, disappointments, delays and obstacles, but they were not insurmountable, and to-day we have the honor of presenting to the Society, a cast representing a section of the most interesting façade in the ruins of Labna, a typical specimen of the ancient architecture of Yucatan.

The edifice of which this structure represents a section, is the largest one in the group of ruins known as Labna, and seems to have been still unfinished when deserted, and partially destroyed. Its carved and sculptured front, with its numerous turns and angles, has a length of over three hundred feet. Twenty or more chambers are as yet visible. Some of them, especially the one of which the entrance is here represented, are in a very perfect state, others are

buried and broken into almost utter ruin. The façade, of which the section before us is a part, is thirty-five feet long by eighteen feet high, and the entire upper portion of it is incrusted with rich carvings and ornaments. Complete moulds have been taken of this elaborate work and are now within this building. This section represents about one-fifth of the entire façade. It will be observed that the hieroglyphics inscribed upon the up-raised portion of the Serpent symbol, closely resemble some of the characters given in the Landa alphabet. Whether an American Rosetta Stone will enable us ever to decipher them is a question for the future to determine.

On motion of Hon. HAMILTON B. STAPLES, LL.D., the thanks of the Society were tendered to Mr. THOMPSON for his very valuable work in bringing to light one of the interesting ruins of Yucatan.

WILLIAM B. WEEDEN, Esq., read a paper on "The Early African Slave-Trade in New England."

ANDREW MCF. DAVIS, Esq., read by its title a paper entitled "A History of the First Scholarship at Harvard.” REUBEN A. GUILD, LL.D., read by its title a paper on "Roger Williams, Freeman of Massachusetts."

Rev. EDWARD E. HALE, D.D., presented a paper written by Mr. Edwin D. Mead, entitled "John Hampden in America."

For all the above-mentioned papers, the Society voted its thanks, and they were referred to the Committee of Publication.

On recommendation of the Council, it was voted that the Society refer to the Committee of Publication with power to act, the question as to a separate presentation and publication of the Report of the Council in its business portion, and the essay which has for many years been published as a part of it.

The meeting was then dissolved.

JOHN D. WASHBURN,

Recording Secretary.

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL.

THE Council of the American Antiquarian Society respectfully submit their Seventy-fifth Annual Report.

Our Charter dates from October 24, 1812: so that this week completes three-quarters of a century of organization, and it might be instructive at the present anniversary, if time allowed, to sum up the results accomplished in this round of years. The last occasion for a like review was in connection with the semi-centennial commemoration of 1862; and the briefest comparison of the present condition of the Society with what was then reported will indicate sufficiently, perhaps, our satisfactory progress.

In 1862, the Society's library, the centre of its activity, was estimated at about 34,000 volumes; the number of volumes now is at least 80,000, not to speak of large additions of valuable pamphlets, while the facilities for making these acquisitions useful to all inquirers have more than kept pace with the increase in numbers.

The permanent fund of the Society had, in 1862, reached $42,500; while the total is now nearly $104,000. The component parts of this total were, in 1862, only four,—of which the Bookbinding Fund remains substantially unchanged, but the Librarian's and General Fund, the Collection and Research Fund, and the Publishing Fund, have risen severally to twice or thrice their former value, and no less than eight special funds have been established by as many benefactors.

During this twenty-five years, the Society's publications, which attest to the world its right to live, have comprised three volumes of Transactions and fifty-three numbers of