212 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
could be traced ; this is supposed to be the site of Alfred's second fort. A barrow
has recently been discovered at Easneye, which occupies a wooded prominence
opposite Amwell, but it has not as yet been explored.''1
The second halt was made at the Rye House, where luncheon was served.
Afterwards an Ordinary Meeting of the Club (the 162nd) was held, Mr. J.
C. Shenstone, Vice-President, in the chair.
The following were elected members : Mr. V. G. Adair Roberts, Mr. James
Vining, and Mr. H, Wood.
Mr. Shenstone proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Major Flower for his
services, given for the third time, in arranging these pleasant meetings on the
Lea, and to the Lee Conservancy for their kindness in again lending the Salisbury
for the excursion.
Major Flower replied, and said that it had afforded him much pleasure to be
of any service to the Club.
Mr. W. M. Webb, F.L.S., read the title, and gave a few words in explanation,
of Part I. of "The Non-marine Mollusca of Essex,'' being a systematic catalogue
of all the species of land and fresh-water Mollusca hitherto found in our county.
[This paper will appear in The Essex Naturalist.]
On behalf of Mr. W. Whitaker, F.R.S., Mr. Cole "read" the title, and
gave a few words of explanation, of a paper on "Some Essex Well-Sections,
Part IV., with some Water Analyses" [see ante, pp. 167-190].
Mr. W. C. Waller, F.S.A., was announced to read the "Report on the
Barclay-Johnston MSS. and Papers in the Epping Forest Museum Library'' [ante,
pp. 157-160], but as he considered the paper too technical, it was taken as "read,"
and Mr. Waller substituted a short paper entitled "An Episode in the History of
the River Lea" [ante, pp. 190-193].
A saunter along the banks of the river at Rye House after lunch brought to
light many smaller plants which could not be seen or reached from the barge. It
was here that we saw the wasps visiting the flowers of Scrophularia aquatica, L.,
and were able to examine the adaptations for cross fertilisation in this plant, as
well as in that of Mimulus luteus, L., with its irritable stigma.
Many of the visitors were interested in examining the remains of the Tudor
building The Rye House, the scene of the celebrated plot having for its object the
assassination of Charles II. and his brother, the Duke of York, on their return
from Newmarket. The Gate House is the only part of the old building that
remains, but new buildings have been erected, occupying to a great extent the
sites of the old ones, so that the general appearance now is much the same as is
shown in the plan printed in 1685, in the "True account and declaration of the
horrid conspiracy against the late King, his present Majesty and the Government,
as it was ordered to be published by his late Majesty." A room in the Rye
House is the present resting-place of the "Great Bed of Ware," mentioned in
Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" :
" Sir Andrew Ague-cheek. Will either of yon bear me a challenge to him ?
" Sir Toby Belch. Go, write it in a martial hand ; be curst and brief: it is no matter how
witty, so it be eloquent, and full of invention : taunt him with the licence of ink : if thou
'thou'st' him some thrice, it shall not be amiss ; and as many lies as will lie in thy sheet of paper,
although the sheet were big enough for the Bed of Ware in England, set em down."
1 We give the above statements on Lieut. Croft's authority, although but little reliance can
be placed on local traditions connecting these works with Alfred, in the absence of systematic
exploration of the earthworks.—Ed.