Like timid birds that fain would fly, But do not dare to leave their nests; (an example to be occasionally commended to poets), and the latter Eager as champions to be In the divine knight-errantry Of youth, that travels sea and land The family is broken up, and the sons are dispersed― One is a wanderer now afar In Ceylon or in Zanzibar, Or sunny regions of Cathay; And one is in the boisterous camp The golden wedding arrives, troops of grandchildren throng into the house, and the poem ends with a picture not unlike that in The Cotter's Saturday Night.' We hope it is not ungracious to say it was scarcely worth beginning. ENGLISH CARICATURES FROM 1689 TO 1733. spectator may laugh. But many of the satires and caricatures of the Franco-German War are too hideous to be ever contemplated with curiosity. The French satirists in this volume were of infinitely higher quality. There was humour to balance coarseness; and though it was sometimes like a diamond on a dirty finger, nevertheless, whatever the dirtiness it covered, it was in itself brilliant and valuable. As a good example of the political feeling of the time, the latter is the more apt, as it includes references to acts which Prince Bismarck declares she is now avenging. Louis the Fourteenth seized the imperial city of Strasbourg during a time of profound peace, in 1681. France retained it nearly two hundred years.— "The Usurpers Habit.' Sold by I. Savage at ye Golden head in ye Old Baily. [Oct. 3, 1691.] An engraved portrait of Louis XIV. of France seated in a chair at a table; his garments are covered with representations of battles, towns, and fortresses. Embroidered on the table-cloth are Catalogue of Prints and Drawings in the 25, devils dancing, fires, &c. On the table lies British Museum. Division I. Personal and Political Satires. No. 1236 to No. 2015. Vol. II. June, 1689, to 1733. (Printed by Order of the Trustees.) NEARLY eight hundred prints and satirical sayings or singings here serve to illustrate the pulse and passion of four-and-forty years of political, social, and religious turmoil. The less than half-a-century of time touches on four reigns, William, Anne, and the first two Georges. They were reigns in which party feeling ran so fiercely as to afford the best opportunity for the satirist, whether he worked by pen or pencil. If In either style, the satire of that day was merciless and unscrupulous. It was rough, coarse, and biting. It mangled, mutilated, or massacred with a ferocious delight. truth was perverted, so much the worse for the truth, or rather, so much the better for the perversion. With all the coarseness of some of these satires, one can hardly be offended at it. It illustrates the temper of the times, just as the grossness of 'Squire Western does that of country 'squires of his period. Now they would become, with such offences, outcasts from decent society; but the description of their offending never fails to amuse the reader. So these satirical prints, drawings, songs, and paragraphs. If some of them make the finer sense wince for a moment, that fastidious sense immediately recovers itself, under the conviction that what is meant to be conveyed is best conveyed in the satirist's manner, which was the manner of his period. If similar caricature were attempted now, it would be intolerable, simply because it would be in entire antagonism with the taste and feelings of the time. The satires and caricatures published in Paris during the war, and especially during the siege of the capital, were often inexpressibly shocking, because the minds of most men were too earnestly strung to find pleasure in contemplating such things. They may fail to attract the eye of future connoisseurs, for the reason that they do not reflect the tone and principles of contemporary society. The old satires calendared and described in this book reflect, indeed, the spirit of the times, a good deal as a muchcracked mirror reflects a face. Still, the reflection is true at the bottom, and any the hat of the king, which has a model of the town of Limerick, '10, upon it; this hat is placed as if Louis had just laid it down. In reference to this, a man with a lantern, who is looking at the king, says, 'He begins to unrigg. Limerick surrendered to William III.'s forces, October 3, 1691. By way of cravat, or 'carmagnole,' Louis wears '1,' Strasbourg, at his throat; Ypres, '16,' is falling from his right arm. Beneath are twelve lines of English verse, and the names of twenty-four places which were wrongfully in possession of the French about the date of the publication of this print. The verses are as follows: How proudly Lewis sitts upon his Throne Embroiderd o're with Towns were not his own. As Esops Iay did from the feather'd Race Snatch Plumes to look with more Majestick grace But all the Birds affronted at the Theif Of's borrowed feathers did him soon bereave So that proud Monarch must his fate Deplore And all his Thefts and conquests soon restore Mons, Strasbourg, Nice & Other Towns Hee Stole Will follow Athlone, Limerick, Carmagnole This mighty Work for William is Design'd The Scourge of France, and Darling of Mankind. The names of places are 1. Strasbourg, 2. Carmagnole, 3. Athlone, 4. Charlemont, 5. Suze, 6. Cambruy, 7. Slego, 8. Landau, 9. Bouillon, 10. Lemerick, 11. Treues, 12. Luxembourg, 13. Maubeuge, 14. Nice, 15. Fribourg, 16. Ipre, 17. Dinant, 18. Galloway, 19. Orange, 20. Mons, 21. Ville Franche, 22. Phillisbourg, 23. Valenlienne, 24. Philippville, 25. The Counsel.'" are numerous. The satires against Louis the Fourteenth, especially at the downfall of his scheme for being the really sole monarch in Europe, The following, forming the first three and the last verse of a broadside of the year 1708, and entitled 'The French King's Rhodomontade,' illustrate some of the feeling of that year : "The French King's Rhodomontade. Lorain a Day, A Week Burgundy Won, Flanders a Month; What wou'd a Year have done Rochester's Prophetick Answer, By Fraud you got Burgundy; By Iove you'll pay for 't One Day. High-Churchmen of wonderful Merit, Now for ever Dispair Of a Catholick Heir Or a Sham-Prince of Wales to Inherit." More or less, all through Anne's reign, the satires against Louis the Fourteenth abound. Among these some of the "medals" have great humour in them. But there were other subjects of importance also deeply occupying men's minds. For example : "Needs must when the Devil drives; or, an Emblem of what we must expect if High Church gets uppermost. [1709.] An engraved broadside, representing 'Perkin,' or James Francis Edward Stuart, the first Pretender, riding in a coach, to the footboard of which is attached a gallows, with a pair of wooden shoes suspended from it; this is a satire on the French allies of the High Tory party. The Devil drives. There are six horses. H. sach (everell)lio' blowing a trumpet tantive hi Oh,' rides as postillion. The two leaders, 'passive Obedience)' and 'Non(resistance),' trample upon Property,' represented by the figure of a prostrate man. The second pair of horses, Lisstu' and 'Higinisco,' i.e., probably, Philip Stubbs and Francis Higgins, trample on Liberty. The wheelers, Slavery) and Popery,' tread on 'Toleration,' and the wheels are passing over 'Moderation."" 6 "Moderation" was one of the pass-words of the Low Church party, admirers of Hoadly. How some people looked upon these, the subjoined lines will show :— "A British Janus, Anglicè a Timeserver.' An engraved broadside, with a design representing a figure of a half-bishop in a palpit, and a halfpuritan in a tub. This appears to be a general satire, not personal. The print is described in the following lines, part of those which are engraved beneath it : A British Janus with a double face, A Monster of a strange Gigantick Race: Of illustrations combining the social and the political, that of the "Calves' Head Club" is fullest of interest. The following is part of an extract from a work called 'The Whigs Unmasked': House, but that they remov'd as they thought con"I was informed that it was kep't in no fix'd venient; that the Place they met in, when he was with them, was in a blind Alley near Moorfields, where an Axe was hung up in the Club-Room, and was reverenced as a principal Symbol in this Diabolical Sacrament. Their Bill of Fare was a large Dish of Calves Heads, dressed several ways, by which they represented the King and his Friends, who had suffer'd in his Cause. A large Pike with a small one in his Mouth, as an Emblem of Tyranny; a large Cod's-Head, by which they pretended to represent the Person of the King singly; a Boar's-Head, with an Apple in its Mouth to represent the King, by this, as Beastial, as, by their other Hieroglyphics they had done, Foolish and Tyrannical. After the Repast was over, one of their Elders presented an Ikon Basilike, which was with great Solemnity burn'd upon the Table, whilst the Anthems were singing. After this another produc'd Milton's Defensio Populi Anglicani, upon which all laid their Hands, and made a Protestation in form of an Oath, for ever to stand by, and maintain the same. The Company consisted wholly of Independants and Anabaptists, (I am glad, for the Honour of the Presbyterians, to set down this remark ;) and the famous Of the song that used to be sung at the Club on the 30th of January, the first and last stanzas will show the spirit: "Now let's sing, carouse and roar, The happy Day is come once more; For to Revel, Is but civil, As our Fathers did before; Who, when the Tyrant would enslave us, * * * Then let's Laugh and Revel here, And no Bishop Dines without one all the Year : The illustrations of the reign of George the First are less political than social. Those referring to the South Sea Bubble are especially numerous and interesting. Walpole's Excise Bill is the prominent object of satire in the succeeding reign. Throughout the volume as many subjects are illustrated as caricatured, and the subjects include nearly every incident that can occur in the various phases of human Jerry White, formerly Chaplain to Oliver Cromwel, which lands him under the wheels of an ex- life. The labour of arranging and copiously describing the prints and drawings in this Catalogue must have been enormous, and is most creditable to Mr. F. G. Stephens, whose name should have been on the title-page. NOVELS OF THE WEEK. Grantley Grange. By Shelsley Beauchamp. Heloise. By Cotsford Dick. (Charing Cross The un 'Heloise' is slight and sad, telling how the child of a spendthrift father was tempted, in order to save him, to make a false promise of marriage to one of his gambling creditors, and thereby break the heart of a lover to whom she was secretly married. The autobiography seen. We Argus Fairbairn, who derives his classic name, like some other unfortunates, from the ship in which he is born, is an instance of the misery and misfortune attached too often to the accident of illegitimate birth. The unpractical, dreamy nature which poor Argus derives from the Welsh musician, who is his only recognized male relative, naturally enhances the painfulness of his position. His history, which is influenced on one side by unsympathetic connexions through his mother's husband (Scotch men of business of a rather hard type of respectability), on the other by attempts which he repudiates ungraciously, his own father's attempts to alleviate his lot, though not unnaturally, is a sad one throughout, and is ended practically by a shock too severe for his sensitive nature, dealt him by the hands of a worldly adventuress, whom he has invested with all the attributes with which high-flown passion is wont to surround its object. The best character in the book is Lady Severn, the wife of the distinguished statesman who in early youth had been the ruin of the peasant girl who trusted him with her heart. In her far-sighted and unselfish kindness to her husband and his unhappy son, and even to poor Lois Fairbairn, we are glad to recognize an ideal somewhat higher than our creeping moralists are bold enough to set before them. The story throughout is well told, though we trust the author will see fit in future volumes to amend in some respects the standard of her English. We protest against such phrases as "frightened of," "for long to come,' name for mention or speak of, "befit" for fit, &c. "Brougham" rhymes to "room," as any reader of verse can testify, and our fathers knew. But perhaps we should be thankful for a minimum of accurate writing, so we will not multiply instances. Melusina Meadows and her father, though not very original, are amusing; and the book, on the whole, is not below the average. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. MR. MURRAY sends us New Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun; its Annals during the past Twenty Years, by Mr. Samuel Mossman. The book forms a popular résumé of the annals of Japan since the time when its barriers of exclusiveness were first intruded on by the Americans in 1853. The volume consists mainly of newspaper cuttings from the various Eastern journals, passages excerpted from blue-books and official documents, whilst some few of the chapters have previously appeared in their present form in the pages of the Leisure Hour for 1872. These materials have been strung together by the compiler, who disclaims all pre tensions to the higher functions of the historian, and are now presented in a lucid chronological a rangement. For his information as to the course of events during the first five years, Mr. Mossman is necessarily dependent upon an American source, and draws largely upon Dr. Hawk's narrative of Commodore Perry's Expedition with its accompanying diplomatic entanglements so successfully encountered. The political connexion of Great Britain with Japan (in those days the old feudal Japan) dates from 1858, when, taking advantage of the recent treaty of Tientsin and the presence of a large naval force in the neighbouring seas, Lord Elgin proceeded to Yedo and concluded a treaty with the Tycoon, or more properly the Siogoon, whom we in company with other foreign powers ignorantly looked upon as the despotic autocrat of the realm; and Mr. Oliphant's book supplies an authentic record of the first negotiations carried out by his chief on this occasion. In 1859 Sir Rutherford Alcock took up his residence as our representative at Yedo; and it is from his published work and Mr. Walter Dickson's valuable sketch that the history of the next few years is taken. 66 The Election Manual, by Messrs. L. P. Brickwood and Herbert Croft, which has just been published by Messrs. Virtue, Spalding & Daldy, will justify the hope expressed by the authors, 66 that the book will recommend itself to the general public by the simplicity of its arrangement, and to the profession by the authority of the judgments from which it is compiled." The title, however, is not a happy one, for it would lead a purchaser to look to the "Manual" for a concise statement of the law of parliamentary elections in all its ramifications, whereas it is really a treatise on that branch only which relates to purity and impurity of election. Perhaps the scope of the work would be better indicated by some such title as The Election Petitioner's Manual.' Au reste, the book, as it stands, must be admitted to fill an important gap, and will, no doubt, be extensively used, both by defeated candidates and by election Judges. It must be borne in mind that a new branch of "case law" has been inaugurated by the legislative changes which have taken election petitions from the cognizance of parliamentary committees and referred them to the arbitration of the Judges. A copious flow of decisions has already been the result, and these are carefully dissected and arranged by Messrs. Brickwood and Croft, who have classified them under the heads of Agency," "Bribery," "Treating," &c., and have taken much pains to point out their tendency and systematize their teaching. It must be confessed that, notwithstanding recent beneficial changes, much remains to be done in this department of legislation. Taking the subject of "Treating" as a type of the rest, we find that, after all, it is still entirely uncertain whether giving meat and drink (except on the actual days of nomination and polling) is "treating" or not within the meaning of the law. Such misplaced generosity is only forbidden if it is exercised "in order to be elected," or "for being elected," or for the purpose of influencing an election; and the presiding Judge is at once thrown back on a question of motive, with no means of arriving at an opinion except by arguing back, as it were, from the act of donation itself. This vague legislation has led one learned Judge to seek refuge in the argument that, although a single thimbleful of drink known to be given "with intention" would avoid the election, it would be absurd to infer intention from so minute a gift, though one would reasonably come to such a conclusion from the gift of a large number of thimblefuls. Respect for the bench cannot restrain us from asking how many thimblefuls ought to be considered sufficient evidence of intention, and what should be the exact measure of the thimble? Possibly the size ought to be different in different places, according to the presumed relative thirstiness of the population. It is important to observe that the gift of refreshment to a voter on the day of nomination or polling is absolutely illegal, irrespective of any question of motive. This is intelligible and definite. We cannot help thinking that all law should be so, and that matters can scarcely be in a satisfactory state when a Judge may say, and say truly,— "In fact, giving meat or drink is treating when the person who gives it has an intention of treating, not otherwise." MR. EFFINGHAM WILSON sends us a new edition of that standard work, Fenn on the Funds. The book has been re-written and brought down to the present date by Mr. R. L. Nash. FROM Messrs. Whittaker & Co. we have received Dod's Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage. So far handy volume to be revised with diligence and as we have tested it, we have found this cheap and Broadus's (J. A.) Treatise on the Preparation, &c. of Sermons, new edit. cr. 8vo. 4/ cl. Buddicom's (Rev. R. J.) St. Chad's Day in Lichfield, 2/6 cl. lp. Cure's (E. C.) Gifts of God, 1/ cl. swd. Fry's (C.) Christ an Example, 12th edit. 12mo. 1/6 cl. Hull's (Rev. E. L.) Sermons, 3rd Series, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. 2/6 cl. lp. Morris's (H.) Book of Genesis, with Analysis and Notes, cr. 8vo. Old and New Testament Precepts, 2 vols. 32mo. 1/ cach cl. Pollard's (M M.) Daily Bread on the Waters, 32mo. 1/ cl. Hardcastle's (H.) Law and Practice of Election Petitions cr. 8vo. 8/ cl. Notcutt's (G. J.) Factory and Workshop Acts, 12mo. 9/ cl. Smith's Law of Contracts, by V. T. Thompson, 6th edit. 16/ cl. Atkins's (E.) Pure Mathematics, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Church's (A. H.) Laboratory Guide, 3rd edit. cr. 8vo. 6/6 cl. Guy's (W. A.) Public Health, cr. 8vo. 5/; Part 2, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Barker's (Lady) First Lessons in the Principles of Cooking, 1/ Frere (Sir H. B.) On the Impending Bengal Famine, 5/ cl. Slang Dictionary, new edit. cr. 8vo. 6/6 cl. Smith (J. N.) On the Science of Sensibility, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. "THE NEW SHAKSPERE SOCIETY." I Now deeply regret having written the letter which appeared in the Athenæum of the 7th instant. I do so because I had hoped, rather perhaps than expected, that it would have called forth what would have been a graceful act on the part of the New Shakspere Society, an intimation that any of those who took an interest in the old Society would receive a hearty welcome from its successor. But what has it produced? An announcement from its founder and manager, copied, it would seem, from Handel's I am de company, or Louis Quatorze's L'État c'est moi, in which that gentleman identifies himself as the Society, and in that character says “I reject Mr. Collier; I repudiate Mr. Thoms; I denounce Mr. Wright; I decline Mr. Cooper." I almost feel as if I owed an apology to these gentlemen for having brought down upon them the uncourteous and public snubbing which Mr. Furnivall has administered to them in your columns. That gentleman then points with satisfaction to the "Catholicity" of his list of Vice-Presidents; and the notabilities who figure in his Prospectus, a Crown Princess and the President of the United States, a pretty actress, and the Poet-Laureate, whether they give it a character of "Catholicity' or not, certainly give it at least the charm of variety. Mr. Furnivall also refers, and here with justifiable pride, to what he has done with respect to the Early English Text Society. Every student of our national literature is bound to give him the highest credit for the great and good work which, under his management, that Society has accomplished; I admit it to the full. But, at the same time, it is to be regretted, and is regretted by many of his warmest admirers, that his acknowledged zeal is so often marred by an entire absence of ordinary discretion. No one, perhaps, but himself could have secured the printing of the 'Percy Folio'; no one can deny that he did right in printing it in its entirety; but could anything be more injudicious than to print the "Loose and. Humorous" poems separately; and then, instead of passing over their gross indecencies as lightly as possible, accompany them by a modern English marginal gloss. This, however, is but a small matter compared with the greater want of judgment exhibited in his present obvious intention, as shown by the letter which has called forth these remarks, to use the great name of Shakspeare for the glorification of himself and a few chosen friends. Under these circumstances I, for one, cannot bow down and worship the Golden Image of himself which the Founder and Manager of the New Shakspere Society has set up; but must wait to see what his "Committee of Workers" (and there is one among them, at least, from whom good work may confidently be looked for) can accomplish Maidenhead, Feb. 16, 1874. My friends will not require them, but a few words of explanation may not be thrown away upon my enemies. Employed as I was, night and day, upon other avocations, it will not be surprising if I say that I was always most efficiently assisted by other members of the Council of our old Shakespeare Society, especially by Messrs. Amyot, Cooper, and Cunningham. The first introduced me to Mr. John Allen, Master of Dulwich College, who himself copied for me various papers there preserved-the verses by Ben Jonson, and several letters. Amyot aided me in the same way, as well as Peter Cunningham; and when I proposed to edit 'Henslowe's Diary, Amyot produced from his own shelves a MS. copy of considerable portions of it, made by or for Chalmers. Upon these Cunningham (my nextdoor neighbour) worked, Amyot and he filling up the missing pages, which were not a few, and often referring to me, where the old manager's hand was peculiarly illegible. Amyot's MS. of parts of the Diary' I had seen and employed years before. My duty was to supply the notes, and for nearly all of them I am responsible. Mr. Cooper, I think, furnished a few; but as it is almost thirty years ago, and I am now past eighty-five years old, I cannot pretend to speak positively. So of the documents derived from Dulwich College; Mr. Allen copied a few (he was intimate with Amyot, and I had a note from Lord Holland); the Rev. Mr. Lindsay (librarian), I think, others; Amyot some; Cunningham several; and I added the rest. If we made mistakes, I am sorry for it; but as to the most curious of the papers we could not well err, because I had lithographs made from them, by permission of Master Allen. Our painstaking on the subject gave a great deal of trouble, and we were anxious to make it as little as possible. The "Perkins Folio" of 1632 I shall allow to rest on its own merits, or demerits, as the word is now ordinarily understood. One point, its value, is now admitted, I believe, on all hands. I need only refer here to the innumerable references to it by Mr. Dyce in his last edition of Shakespeare, where those who are interested (and who is not ?) may constantly see important changes of text derived from the "Perkins Folio," followed by such words as these:-This emendation restores the language of Shakespeare. J. PAYNE COLLIER Literary Gossip. We have pleasure in announcing that we hope soon to commence publishing letters from Berlin by the celebrated German author, Herr F. Spielhagen. DECISIVE news regarding Dr. Livingstone's fate may perhaps be received in London on Monday. If the story of his death be true, the body of the great traveller should have reached Zanzibar about the beginning of this month. The news of its arrival there may very likely be brought to Aden by the steamer due at the latter port, we believe, to-morrow, and the intelligence would, of course, at once be telegraphed to England. Meanwhile, it is best for our readers to imitate Dr. Kirk, and suspend their judgment. The servant who has come on in advance has once already run away from Dr. Livingstone, and he may possibly have run away again and been loitering about. His story, therefore, may have been simply concocted for the purpose of obtaining stores from Lieut. Cameron. On the other hand, he has, except on the one occasion on which he formerly deserted, shown himself faithful and attached to his master; and there is another fact which Lieut. Cameron strangely does not mention, but which we learn from a private source, and It is, of course, premature to speculate, but 1037.; Capgrave's Legenda Angliæ, printed in 1516 by Wynkyn de Worde, wormed, 231.; Black Letter Bible, in English, by Miles Coverdale, printed at Zurich, 1550, wormed, and with fac-similes, 531. 10s.; Cranmer's Version of the Bible, issued in November, 1541, imperfect, 201; a series of 127 Ballads, printed between 1670 and 1690, for singing in the street, sold for one halfpenny each, 43.; Voragine's Legenda Aurea, printed in 1527 by De Worde, made up with fac-similes, 417.; vellum in 1499, at Lyons, 517. 10s. ; several Officium Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, printed on illuminated Hora, at prices varying from 131. to 231.; Gould's Humming Birds, 677.; Musée WE have received M. Victor Hugo's new novel, Quatre-vingt-treize,' of which we shall of England, illustrated with 2,500 portraits, Français, 801.; Granger's Biographical History publish a review next Saturday. We have 66.; Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, glanced through the first chapter, which gives large paper, 701.; Kip's Views in Great work; it is entitled "Le Bois de la Sau- Halliwell, india proof illustrations, 847.; a a partial idea of the tone and character of the Britain, 391. 10s.; Shakespeare's Works, by draie," and from the manner in which it series of humorous sketches, by Gavarni, from is penned and conceived, we infer that M. Figaro, 331. 10s.; Turner's Picturesque Views Victor Hugo has partly eschewed the enigmatic in England and Wales, india proofs, 30%. 108.; style and thought conspicuous in L'Homme Shakespearian Forgeries by Ireland, presented qui Rit' and 'Les Travailleurs de la Mer,' to Moncrief as fabrications by himself, 15l.; to return to the pregnant form of 'Les Higden's Polycronicon, printed in 1527 by It seems certainly more in consonance with the stern realism of the d'œuvre, 171. 15s.; Nash's Old Mansions, Peter Treversis, and considered his chefgigantic drama the great poet has under-coloured and mounted, 301. taken to wrap in the form of a novel. In the wood of La Saudraie, in Brittany, a Parisian battalion of volunteers, headed by Santerre, comes a starving peasant woman with her three children, instead of the Breton foes it expects to encounter. A conversation between the commander and the outcast takes place. Why is she there? Where does she come from? Who is she? The woman tells, in broken words, how she fled to the woods from her village before the Republicans,-how her grandfather hanged for a trifling offence by his seigneur, how her father met with the same fate at the same hands, and how her husband was killed two days before, fighting for those very masters who kept him in servitude. The battalion adopts the forlorn creatures, to the cry of "Vive la République," and the commander stretches out his hand to the mother, saying, "Venez, citoyenne, ne craignez rien. La République vous protège." The episode is told with M. Victor Hugo's wonted spirit, and it bodes well for the interest of what will Misérables.' follow. rooms across was ON Tuesday last the sale of a valuable assemblage of books and manuscripts, at the of Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, attracted a number of collectors, who eagerly competed for the various rarities brought to the hammer, without paying the slightest attention to books which are necessary in an ordinary library, but are without attraction for amateurs in search of literary curiosities only. The day's sale consisted of 235 lots, most of which belonged to the useful class, and produced 1,8247. 38. At least more than three-fourths of the money may be assigned to the odd thirty-five lots. Many of the unfortunate competitors went away lamenting the diminished chances of obtaining a Caxton or a Wynkyn de Worde at a reasonable price. Among the books sold were a collection of Piranesi's Engravings, 255.; Cristine de Pisa's Boke of the Fayt of Arms, printed by Caxton in 1489, with several fac-simile leaves, A VOLUME containing a collection of letters of the late Mrs. Julius Hare, entitled Words of Hope and Comfort to those in Sorrow,' which was printed for private circulation a few years ago, will be shortly issued to the public, by Messrs. Hurst & Blackett, and will be dedicated by express permission to Her Majesty. LAST Week Mr. Beal read a paper 'On Buddhism' at Plymouth. The lecturer grounded his remarks on his translation of the 'Abhinish kramana Sûtra' (Fo-pen-hing-tsi-King') from the Chinese. This work forms one of the Mr. Beal was appointed about a year ago to examine these books and report on their contents. The value of the particular work in question is that it undoubtedly contains, as a germ, the original life of Buddha, known as the Fo-pen-hing. This book we know was translated into Chinese about 70 A.D.; so that we have here a valuable terminus ad quem in fixing the date of the origin and development of the Legend of Buddha. Taken in connexion with the evidence afforded by the Sanchi sculptures, we may be sure that the leading particulars in this legend are of an independent origin,—that is, independent of any Christian influences. The 'Abhinishkramana Sûtra' contains the history of Buddha during his previous existence in the Tusita Heaven; his incarnation and subsequent history up to the time of his emancipation; and his career as a teacher to the time of his death. Intermixed with the main narrative are numerous episodes and Jâtakas, some of which are highly curious. Mr. Beal also alluded to the evidence this work affords that the pre-historic Cross was, in the first instance, the symbol of the four quarters of the world (shaped as an ordinary Greek cross), and, when surrounded by a circle, denoted the encircling path of the sun from left to right round the earth. A later symbol of the same character is the Swastika, the arms of which (according to the work in question) should always be drawn from left to right, and not from right to left, as is sometimes done. A COLLECTION of autographs was sold on Thursday last, at the rooms of Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge. Amongst the more eagerly contested were a Prelude for the Lute, by S. Bach, for 167.; a letter from Beethoven, announcing that he had been offered the post of Kapellmeister, 117. 10s., and a Song to Hope, by the same musician, 107; a letter from Michel Angelo Buonarroti, acknowledging the receipt of 1,600 gold ducats as part-payment for the tomb of Pope Julius, 67. 10s.; a letter from Burns, 13., and a Cantata, 127.; a letter from Erasmus, stating that the King and Archbishop had invited him to England, 16. 10s.; H. Fielding, complaining of money disappointments, 67. 10s.; De Foe, complaining of his treatment, 117. 118.; Goethe, 227. 108.; Goldsmith, giving a doleful account of his travels on the Continent, 371. 108.; Hogarth, accepting to be a Member of the Academy of Augsburg, 187. 10s.; Keats, 71. 158.; Lamb, 91. 15s.; Songs by Mendelssohn, 157.; Mozart, respecting his intended wife, 167. 168.; Rubens, 15l. 158.; Schiller to Goethe, 91. 58.; Shelley, 77. and 67. 12s.; Smollett, 117. 11s.; Sterne, requesting a loan of 50l., 91. 98.; Swift, stating that on account of his poverty, "if I come to More Park it must be on foot," 97. 98.; Tasso, with a sonnet, 281. 10s.; Wordsworth, abusing Guy Mannering,' 71. 2s. 6d.; &c. The entire sale produced 636/. 1s. 6d. Ar the monthly meeting of the Manchester Statistical Society, held a few days ago at the Memorial Hall in that city, a paper was read by Mr. Plant, Curator of the Museum in Peel Park, On the Statistics of Free Libraries,' from which it appeared that in eight of the chief towns in Lancashire the number of volumes lent from these libraries during the time they have been in existence was 31,000,000. This is independent of the branch free libraries which exist in one or two of the larger towns. The fiftieth anniversary of the Manchester Mechanics' Institution has just been celebrated. A NEW weekly paper is announced, for the special use and benefit of "fanciers," or those who breed for exhibition any kind of pet birds or animals, such as dogs, poultry, pigeons, birds, rabbits, cats, &c. It is to be called the Fanciers' Gazette, and will be under the editorship of Mr. Lewis Wright, the author of various books on poultry. AN English penny newspaper has been started at Venice, called The Venice Mail! Such a portentous innovation would have made Othello turn white, Iago virtuous, and Shylock humane. SCIENCE THE GOVERNMENT SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION. I. WE have been favoured with a perusal of some extracts from the despatches addressed to the Hydrographer of the Admiralty by Capt. George S. Nares, commanding H.M.S. Challenger, now pursuing her voyage of scientific research. These extracts are in print, but they have not been published, and as they are the first authenticated accounts of the proceedings, although much undoubted information has reached us, we shall not apologize to our readers for giving them a brief résumé of the route and results of the voyage, so far as it has been accomplished, in the North and South Atlantic Oceans. The extracts are accompanied by some most interesting sectional diagrams of the depth and temperature of the ocean. It will be remembered that the Challenger left England at the close of the year 1872, most liberally furnished with every article and instru ment that could conduce to the success of the voyage. The officers were selected for their attainments in the various branches of nautical, astronomical, and magnetical science, and the Naturalist Staff, under Prof. Wyville Thomson, were chosen with equal care for their tried abilities in natural history; but, although cosmopolitan in our ideas, Englishmen could not be found to fill the places we regret that for this truly national expedition occupied by the two foreign gentlemen attached to that staff; and it does not say much for our system of education that they could not. At the same time, we admit that the two gentlemen selected are well worthy to hold the positions they fill. The vessel proceeded at once to Lisbon and Gibraltar. A few deep soundings were taken, and trawling successfully accomplished in deeper water than the attempt had ever before been made in. The fish brought up in the trawl from 600 fathoms presented a most curiously inflated appearance, due to the very sudden relief of pressure on their bodies. At Gibraltar the meridian distance between that place and Malta was measured by means of the electric telegraph cable. left Gibraltar, and proceeded to the westward, to On the 26th of January, 1873, the Challenger continue the line of soundings between Lisbon and Madeira. Deep water, with soft ooze bottom, favourable for telegraph cables, was found to exist. On this passage to Madeira deeper water was this leading to the inference that the chain of basins found near to the African coast than further out, commencing at the Black Sea extended to yet another, beyond the Mediterranean. Madeira was reached on the 3rd of February, and Teneriffe on the 7th. Here a party landed to explore the uplands in the interior of the island; but they only reached the snow line of the Peak, the guides refusing to go further. On the 14th of February the expedition sailed from Teneriffe to sound the first section across the Atlantic towards Sombrero. During the passage soundings were frequently taken, and the nature of the bottom ascertained. Deep dredgings were obtained at stations about 300 miles apart, as the weather and circumstances permitted. When at a distance of 160 miles south-west of Ferro, a remarkable difference was found in the depth, the water deepening from 1,525 fathoms to 2,220 fathoms within the distance of twenty miles. The rocky nature of the bottom, and the lowering of the temperature usual at that depth, would indicate a considerable movement of the lower stratum of water. When two-thirds of the distance between the Canary Islands and Sombrero, a depth of 3,150 fathoms was obtained, the weather being remarkably fine, and the lines remaining up and down all the time of running out. The bottom brought up by the sounding-rod and afterwards by the dredge, was a dark chocolate-coloured clay, with none of the usual characteristics of Atlantic ooze, and contained but little animal life. This newly-discovered formation of the bottom of the sea extends for about 350 miles to the east and west of this deep channel or hole, the banks rising on each side, and the nature of the bottom changing gradually into the usual Atlantic ooze. The same clay, but of a slightly lighter colour, was found in the west deep, near the West Indies. At three-fifths of the distance across, and 1,000 miles east of the West Indies, a depth of 1,900 fathoms was found on the "Dolphin Rise," discovered by Lieuts. Lee and Berryman, of the United States Navy. This rise is evidently of some extent, the soundings showing a depth of less than 2,000 fathoms for a distance of 180 miles. Great care was taken to insure a correct record of temperatures at the various depths: these were frequently observed at every 100 fathoms between the surface and a depth of 1,500 fathoms. Mr. Seiman's galvanometer for ascertaining the temperature of the sea gave good results; but as there is considerable difficulty in reading the results when there was any motion of the ship, the expedition was compelled to depend entirely on the protected thermometers. Magnetic observations were obtained regularly, and the opportunity was taken at Lisbon to compare the instruments with those at the magnetic ́ observatory at that place. The Challenger reached St. Thomas on the 16th of March, and left again on the 24th for Bermuda and the American coast. hollow, 3,875 fathoms in depth, immediately north of the Virgin Islands. As there had been no expectation of finding such an extreme depth near the land, a weight of only three cwt. was used as a sinker; but the fine weather and smooth sea enabled an undoubtedly correct sounding to be obtained. When the rod was recovered from this sounding, the two thermometers which had been sent down were found to be broken, the bulbs The soundings show that there is a remarkable having collapsed with the enormous pressure at this great depth, nearly four and a half tons to the square inch. The several deep soundings taken in the neighbourhood of Bermuda prove it to be a solitary peak, rising abruptly from a base only 120 miles in diameter. The deep water within sixty miles existence, shows the fallacy of supposing that a of the land, giving no indication whatever of its deep sounding disproves the existence of a neighbouring shoal. Whilst at Bermuda magnetic observations were obtained, and as great local disturbance was found complete magnetic survey obtained of the west end to exist, several stations were made, and a fairly of the island. An attempt was made to obtain soundings in the deep water below the Gulf Stream, but the strong surface current frustrated all endeavours, and they had to be relinquished, but by using heavy weights, the serial temperatures were observed to 600 fathoms with tolerable certainty. The soundings were continued to the edge of the shallow water off Sandy Hook; the course was then changed to the north-eastward, and the soundings carried along the edge of the bank extending from the American coast towards Halifax, at which port the ship arrived on the 9th of May, leaving again on the 19th, sounding in a direct line to Bermuda. After refitting, the Challenger again left Bermuda on the 13th of June to recross the Atlantic to the Azores. The depth of water increased rapidly on leaving Bermuda to 2,875 fathoms; the bottom then preserved a tolerably even surface for 300 miles, and after that gradually shoaled towards Fayal. After remaining five days at St. Michael's, soundings were obtained between that island and Madeira, and between Madeira and Cape Verde Island, the greatest depth between the two first named islands being 2,675 fathoms and 2,400 between the last. The deep water continued close up to the islands, but between St. Antonio and St. Vincent the soundings denoted the existence of a ridge connecting the two islands. An attempt was made to obtain by dredging specimens of pink coral, said to be found near Porto Praya; and although a few specimens, very similar to the Mediterranean red coral, were obtained, no pink coral was found. It is remarkable that the temperature at 80 fathoms, the depth at which the coral grows, is the same as that of the Mediterranean coral banks, viz. 52°; and also that that temperature is not found at the same depth further north. The inference drawn from finding this kind of coral in this place is, that it may be found in other favourable localities out of the Mediterranean. On the 9th of August the expedition left Porto Praya, making a course to the south-eastward, |