Reviews.

Reviews .

THE MAGAZINE OF ART ( Illustrated ) . —Part i Cassell , Petter , and Galpin . g ^ This is a new publication of this indefatigable firm , which is full of interest and promise . The letter-press is admirable , the engravings most artistic We shall follow its onward career with the deepest interest , and hope before long to call the attention of our readers to it again . It is a very cheap sevenpenny-worth indeed .

MAXIMS AND MISCELLANIES FOR MERCHANTS AND BUSINESS MEN . By HENRY TURNER London ; William Tegg and Co . This seems to be a very cheap ( 6 d . ) and seasonable " brochure , " and well worth perusal and thinking over ' But alas , just now wc elo not like to think ; it is a

somewhat trying process for our minds . We like others to think for us , so perhaps these maxims may command some little attention among the classes for whom . they are mainly designed . Let us trust that it will be so , as men of business have minds , and souls too , ( let us not forget ) , as well as other classes in the community . The maxims appear to be sensible , practical , and readable .

BULLS AND BEARS ; A LAY OF LONDON CITY . — Kerby and Endean . We have read this little poem with pleasure . It is very suggestive in perusal , and easy in rythm . It well deserves

attention and patronage , and as our space is so limited in the Freemason that we cannot give any of the " speaking" verses , wc have forwarded it to the editorial authorities of the Masonic Magazine , by whom it will no doubt be dealt with fully in the June number .

PRINCE BISMARCK—FRIEND OR FOE . Wm . Ridgway , 169 , Piccadilly . This is one of the numerous pamphlets which the prospect of war has evoked from the inner consciousness of combative contemporaries . We do not apprehend that much yet is clear as regards the actual " mind" of the

great statesman , but this wc think we may believe , that he will not allow Panslavism to infringeupon Teutonic rights , nor can he regard with complacency any Russian " pourparlers " which serve to make the Black Sea a purely Russian lake , to close the Dardanelles , and to interfere with the free navigation of the Danube . Prince Bismarck knows

too well the real danger that is luikingover Europe , as behind all these ncgociations , not to be " forewarned and forearmed . " There is in our opinion a still wider question as regards Europe , which looms in the distance of diplomatic dispatches and congressional meetings . Wc think the pamphlet ably and spiritedly written .

SEBASTOPOL TRENCHES , & c . By COL . REVNELI . PACKE , C . B . Kerby and Endean . This is a very prettily got up and well printed book , which carries its readers back to old days of fame and fighting , of anxiety and alarm . It records the gallant deeds of our brave army , it reminds us of good soldiers

like old Lacy Yea , and Col . Egerton , and Hedley Vicars , and many more , who found the best of all endings , in our opinion , a soldier ' s death and grave . The book is printed in a very remarkably clear and pleasant type , with a good margin , and for all who like to be reminded of these eventful days ( sad as they were to many , as God

knows , ) will find much to interest and gratify in Col . Packe ' s unpretending but well written pages . To recall the " Trench Life" of the Crimea is an " oft told tale" to many of us ; some know it so well that we must content ourselves with mentioning this new book to-day , and warmly

commending it to the notice of our many military , and naval , and , for the matter of that , civilian readers . If , as Dr . Johnson thought , the interest of a book was proved by " that which you took up for a short time and then wanted to go back to , " we think we can predicate the same of " Sebastopol Trenches . "

KENNING'S MASONIC CYCLOPEDIA . The estimable and able Editor of the Freemason , Bro . A . F . A . Woodford , has sent us ( though too late for review ) his magnificent volume , " Kenning ' s Masonic Cyclopaedia , " so beautifully printed by our dear and excellent Bro . George Kenning . I am very sensible of this gift , and return my best thanks to Bros . Kenning and

Woodford , though I am only able to give so short a notice of the book . But I specially congratulate a country in which there is a sufficiently intellectual Masonry to render possible such books , so important and so precious , by purchasing them . I have always desired that for my own country . 1 have tried to make them understand all the necessity , all the utility of such a literature to French Masons , but it is the voice in the desert . —HUBERT . —Chaine d'Union .

Meeting In Favour Of Bro. Hedges' Candidature For The Secretaryship Of The Girls' School.

MEETING IN FAVOUR OF BRO . HEDGES ' CANDIDATURE FOR THE SECRETARYSHIP OF THE GIRLS' SCHOOL .

( Communique ? by a Correspondent . ) On Monday a meeting of brethren favourable to Bro . Hedges took place at the Freemasons' Tavern , when resolutions in favour of his claims as a candidate were passed , and a numerous committee appointed to canvass

for votes and ' conduct his election . The first list of the Committee appears in the advertising columns of the Freemason , and this will be considerably increased next week . The next meeting of the Committee will take place on Wednesday next . For name of Secretary , and for any other information see advertisement .

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

The Committee of this Institution met on Wednesday at Freemasons' Hall , Bro . Colonel John Creaton , V . P ., in the chair . There were likewise present Bros . Raynham W . Stewart , S . Rawson , Griffiths Smith , C . A . Cottebrune , L . Stean , Thomas Cubitt , Charles John Percival , A . H .

Tattershall , John G . Stevens , James Brett ,- J . A . Farnfield , Geo . Bolton , Edw . Cox , H . Massey ( Freemason ) , and James Terry ( Secretary ) . After the reading and confirmation of the minutes , Bro . Terry read the report which will presented to the subscribers at the annualj meeting on Friday , and which the Committee appointed at last meeting to draw up had drafted .

The Committee of the Institution were then renominated the name of Bro . Dilley being nominated in place of the late Bro . Little . Bro . Raynham W . Stewart , in pursuance of his notice given at last meeting , moved the presentation of a testimonial to Bro . Dr . Strong . He said that Dr . Strong , the honorary surgeon to the Institution , had devoted much

time and great attention to the annuitants in the Institution at Croydon . He was ready at all hours , at all times , and all seasons to attend to the brethren and widows who were in the Institution . He had lately received the distinction of honorary Vice-President ; but he had no pay for his office of surgeon to the Asylum . It was true he had been allowed £ 25 a year for drugs , but that

was at a time when the Institution had in it only eighteen annuitants , there were now thirty-three . If he had been allowed only £ 20 a year for his services ever since he had held the office , the sum would amount to far more than that which was proposed to be voted to him as a testimonial . They could not think of offering a medical practitioner less than £ 20 a year for his services , and as Dr . Strong had

been seventeen years the Honorary Surgeon to this Institution , he would if he had been paid this sum have received an amount far above that which he ( Bro . Stewart ) now asked the brethren to vote in the shape of a testimonial . He moved " That considering the great attention and services renderetl to the inmates of the Institution , a testimonial of the value of 100 guineas be voted

to H . J . Strong , Esq . M . D ., in recognition and appreciation of ' those services . " Bro , Griffiths Smith seconeled the motion , which was then put and carried unanimously . Bros . Col . Creaton , S . Rawson , Benj . Head , Raynham W . Stewart , J . f \ . Farnfield , and James Terry , were appointed a committee , to consider and decide upon the

testimonial , its presentation , and when that should take place . Bro . Cutbush having recommended a gardener , to fill up the place now held " temporarily , the committee accepted the recommendation and appointed the applicant . Col . Creaton said that this subject reminded him of another which he had thought of . They had no place at

the Institution for the gardener to reside in , and it was very important that they should have a man on the premises or near them , whose assistance might be obtained in an emergency . All the inmates of the Institution were old , and in the event of their being taken ill at night , the gardener might be called up , to be sent on a special errand . He ( Col . Creaton ) , had made enquiries about a cottage next the Institution , which he believed could be

purchased . He did not propose to take any action that day , but if the committee would empower him and the Secretary to make further inquiries into the matter , they would state at a future meeting what they had done in the meantime . After a few remarks from the brethren the Committee approved of this course , and the meeting was brought to a close in the usual manner .

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

The General Committee of this Institution held its meeting for May on Saturday , last , at Freemasons' Hall , Bro . Raynham , W . Stewart , V . P ., in the chair . Bros . S . Ranson , S . Rosenthal , G . M . E . Snow , Jesse Turner , L .

Ruf , R . B . Webster , H . T . Thompson , Hyde Pullen , Jesse Turner , Murray , Don . M . Dewar , W . H . Perryman , Robert Tyrrell , H . W . Hunt , H . Massey ( Freemason ) , and F . Binckes ( Secretary ) also attended . Two applications for outfits were granted , and the only other business was the reception of the nomination of Bros . Chancellor , Head ,

Hunt , Moutrie , Murray , Paas , Pullen , Roebuck , Row , Rosenthal , Stewart , S . Wood and Alf . Durrant for the House Committee ; and Bros . Boyd , Dosell , Head , Mann , D . W . Pearse , Grabham , Jesse Turner , Alex . Wallace , Webster , and Pullen , for the Audit Committee . A notice of motion for for increasing the salary of Mrs . Walden , the assistant matron , was also given .

The West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution.

THE WEST LANCASHIRE MASONIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION .

A meeting of the General Committee of this admirable Institution was held at the Masonic Hall , Hope-street , Liverpool , on Friday evening , the 3 rd inst ., to consider applications with respect to children to be put on the

foundation of the charity . About 20 candidates were selected and recommended for the charity , and a sub-committee was appointed , to consider alterations and amendments of the rules of the " West Lancashire " Masonic Educational Institution .

The picture galleries of the South Kensington Museum have been lately enriched by the loan of an early Florentine portrait ( 400 years old ) of a young maiden in all her grace and beauty .

Notes On Art,&C.

NOTES ON ART , & c .

TURKISH ANTIQUITIES . —An agreeable variation on the daily news from Constantinople is the report of the completion of the Museum of Antiquities in the Turkish capital . In 1873 Atifi Pasha , the Minister oi Instruction , ordered the renovation for this purpose of an old kiosk on the Seraglio Point , built in 1471 by the

conqueror of Constantinople , and the work has been pushed steadily forward , even despite the war , until now a spacious edifice , richly decorated with marble , is ready to receive the archaeological collection of the city . Visitors at Constantinople who have found their way to the dark , dusty hall in the arsenal where quantities of valuable antiquities were crowded together in chaotic confusion , will appreciate the

value of this ample provision for their exhibition , especially for the extensive collections resulting from Schliemann ' s excavations at Troy . A school of archaeology is to be established in connexion with the museum . —Nature . A Chinese Play is to be performed at one of the Berlin theatres , under the direction of the Celestial Embassy to Germany . The interpreter belonging to the

Embpssy has translated the piece into German , and the drama will be brought out with correct costumes and native scenery . A fresh Arctic Expedition in search of the records of Sir John Franklin , is being prepared in America , the leadec being a young cavalry officer , Lieutenant Schwatka . When serving against the Indians last year

he read an account of the discovery of some Franklin relics , mentioning the probability of the existence of a cairn in the Arctic regions , and resolved to go in search oE it . The owners cf the vessel which brought home the relics are ready to fit out the necessary expedition , and the Lieutenant will accordingly start in June for Repulse Bay , with a crew of some six white men and twenty Esquimaux ,

wellarmed , as the travellers expect to meet with a hostile tribe of the Nachillas , a savage race believed to inhabit the neighbourhood of the cairn . The vessel will winter in Repulse Bay , and the search party intend to leave in May , and make a sledge journey to the cairn , supposed to be between 400 and 700 miles distant . Here they will spend the summer and winter , returning in the spring of 1880 to Repulse

Bay , where , lest the first vessel should be crushed in the ice , a second ship is also to be sent . The expedition hopes to be back in America in the autumn of 1880 . The Zoological Gardens were visited in 1877 by 781 , 377 persons , a larger number than in any preceding year except 1876 . The additions to the collection during the year numbered 1560 , of which 506 were presented , 324

bought , 181 bred in the Gardens , and the remainder obtained by deposit or exchange . The wealth in old tapestries existing in the Vatican , some of it stowed away in cupboards or otherwise hidden , has always been suspected , and has recently been made known by Eugene Muntz in his articles on the tapestries of the Vatican in the Croniauc des Arts . Whether in

consequence of this revelation , or from other reasons , the present Pope has now commanded that all the various pieces disposed about the building shall be collected and arranged in chronological oreler for exhibition . It seems that for two centuries the Kings of France were accustomed to send every year a piece of Gobelins tapestry to the reigning Pope , and as the manufactories of Flanders in the 14 th and 13 th

centuries also contributed their share , it may be imagined what a large quantity has been accumulated . The wellknown tapestries executed in Flanders from Raphael ' s celebrated cartoons will alone be excepted from this collection , as they are already exhibited , but even without these famous works the Vatican collection cannot fail to be of the highest interest . —Academy .

The Paris Salon does not open until the 25 th inst . The opening had already been deferred on the 15 th , so as not to interfere with the inauguration of the Exhibition . NOTTINGHAM CASTLE . —From the contents of

a telegram received by the Nottingham Town Clerk from Paris a hope has been revived in the town that the Prince and Princess of Wales will yet be present at the opening of the Castle as an art museum , and a deputation has been appointed to wait on the Prince or his secretary in reference to the matter , immediately on their arrival in this country from Paris . As has been stated , the Town Council are

willing to postpone the ceremony for some time to suit the Prince ' s convenience , and it is now hoped that he and the Princess may find it possible to visit the town in August or September . THE GRESHAM LECTURES . —The Mercers ' Company have given notice that the lectures founded by Thomas Gresham will be read to the public gratuitously

on the following days , in the theatre of Gresham College , Basinghall-street , commencing each day at 6—namely , Physic ( Dr . Symes Thompson ) , 7 th , 8 th , 9 th , and ioth of May ; Divinity ( the Dean of Chichester ) , 14 th , 15 th , 16 th , and 17 th of May ; Geometry ( the Dean of Manchester ) , 21 st , 22 d , 23 d , and 24 th of May ; Law ( Dr . Abdy ) , 27 th , 28 th , 29 th , and 31 st of May ; Rhetoric ( Mr . Dallin ) , 4 th ,

, . , th , 6 th , and 7 th of June ; and Music , ( Dr . Wylde ) , nth , 12 th , 13 th , and 14 th of June . In consequence of the temporary indisposition of Herr Anton Rubinstein , the 55 th festival of the Lower Rhine , to be held at Diisseldorf , will , with the unanimous desire expressed by the Committee of Management , be conducted by Joseph Joachim . There can surely , in this instance , be no cause for grumbling .

MM . Erckmann-Chatnanhave brought out a new book in Paris—Les Conies Vosgiens—stories of their favourite Alsace . Baron Adolp he Rothschild has latety given , it is said , £ 14 , 000 for two fine bronzes recently discovered at Venice .