Literature. Reviews.

pnetor and editor of that journal . For some time Mr . Syme sat for the London district in the Victoria House of Representatives , but ultimately he devoted himself entirely to the advocacy of the most advanced political views by means of the press , and contributed not a little to the downfall of the O'Shanassy ministry , whose injurious policy he fearlessly exposed and ably defeated . A Shakspearian festival took place in Paris , the other evening , at the

Trois Freres . This sounds rather oddly , no doubt , but in one sense it is a literal fact . A banquet was given by the friends and admirers of M . Piiiioxene Boyer on the completion of his second anuual course of lectures on the works of the bard of Avon . The attendance was numerous , the largest room in the well kuowu restaurant being quite full , and the company included a large number of celebrities . In the first place must be mentioned Baron Taylor , who acted as president of the feast ,

and who , when director of the Theatre Francais , was the first to present Shakspeare ' s plays to the French public in anything like a worthy shape . Emile Dechamps , the poet , and translator of many portions of the finest productions of our great dramatist , should have been there ; but , alas ! age had imprisoned him in his bed at Versailles . Amongst the guests were Dr . Brierre de Boirniont , the well known author of several important works on suicide , hallucination , and other , cognate subjects ; M .

Aehille Jubinal , deputy ; Frederic Thomas , the eloquent advocate ; Edward Fournier ; Michael Masson ; Viscount Ponson de Terrail ; M . Birwirtli , one of Mendelssohn ' s most distinguished pupils ; and many others whose names stand high in France , although they are not so well known in England . In short , literature , art , and science were well represented at this feast given iu honour of the most popular , and at the same time the most profound , exponent of the genius of him " who wrote not for an age but for all time , " and , it may be added , for all countries . It was remarked as a curious fact that journalism was preson t iu the form of a quartet of nations , France , Germany , Russia , an i

England . The tone of the assembly was unusually fraternal and enthusiastic . M . Boyer gave the key note in his own enthusiastic manner , aud announced that although he had already devoted two sessions to the study and elucidation of Shakspeare , he had still three years' work to perform before ho could say that he had made his countrymen acquainted with the full glory of the genius of the Swan of Avon . If we except Homer , Horace , Virgil , and their compeers , we know not where

we shall find record of such a tribute paid to a man of letters out of his own country . The Hallam subscription has reached , £ 1 , 000 . The time has therefore come when the form of memorial may be considered . Mr . Murray has in preparation a new work by the best as well as the most recent translator and editor of Herodotus , the Rev . George Rawliuson . It will be entitled "The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient

AA'brld ; " namely , Chaldaia , Assyria , Babylonia , Media , and Persia . The sources of information are those extraordinary native records to which so much attention has been devoted of late years , and on some of which the author ' s relative , Sir Henry Rawlinson , has thrown such light . The Rev . Dr . C ' oole has been appointed Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of St . Andrew ' s . The curators of the Edinburgh University held a meeting on AA ednesday , when Mr . Peter Guthrie Tait , Professor of Mathematics , Queen ' s

College , Belfast , was elected to be Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh , in the room of Professor Forbes , resigned . The Guarantee Fund for tho International Exhibition of 1802 , is in afair way of rapid completion . The amount now reaches £ 207 , 000 . An inspection of tho list which has been afforded us at the rooms of the Society of Arts , shows that fifty-nine names have been added to it since the last announcement , making a total of 101 names , of which , it

appears , that 15 S are those of Members of the Society of Arts . Lord Macaulay ( says the Guardian ) complained that Englishmen cared more about the victories of the Spaniards over the savages of South America , than about the history of tho foundation of our great Indian empire . This reproach is amply justified by the manner in which the records of the old company are now being disposed of . There are 200 , 000 volumes of them , all indexed and arranged , partly ,

perhaps , by the hands of Charles Lamb ; and these are daily sent off in waggon loads to the papermakers , to be pounded up into pulp . One hundred tons of records , which must have cost the country more than as many thousand of pounds , have thus already been carted away . "Well , it is , perhaps , good for the future historian of India . The existence of such a body of authentic documents would havo obliged him to dive deep into the sea of original research , instead of drawing from the shallow wells of his own imagination ,

Literature. Reviews.

Three thousand pounds have been collected , chiefly from men of letters and their friends , in aid of the memorial church of George Herbert , the poet , at Bemerton . Tins sum includes donations from Lord Stanhope , Lord Macaulay , Deans Milman and Trench , Sir Bulwer Lytton , Mr . Alfred Tennyson , Mr . Longfellow , and many other literary celebrities . About £ 1 , 000 are still needed to complete the work . Subscriptions are received by the Hon . Mr . Herbert , Belgrave-square .

The Berlin Academy of Sciences has published , besides the annual volume of its "Treatises" of 1858 , a supplementary volume to that of 1854 , which contains a very important essay from one of its members , G . K . E . Buschmann , on " The Traces of the Aztekic Languages in tho North of Mexico and the North of America ; " as also " An Examination of the Nations and Languages of Northern Mexico aud the AA ' estern part of North America , from Guadalaxara to the Polar Sea . " For the history

of the nations and languages of the above named countries this laborious and erudite work is of interest , aud proves the author to be a successor of AVilhelm Von Humboldt in this branch of science . A new book about Russia , by Prince Dolgorouk }' , has recently appeared in Paris , and is likely to make a sensation . The Athcnceum says " ' such strange disclosures have not been made for a long time , " but it gives us no idea as to what they throw light upon .

The latest contribution to the great rag controversy iu France is an address from the French paper makers to M . Baudrillart , the editor of the Journal des Debats , a paper which takes a free trade view of the question , and strongly advocates a free export of rags from France . The address is ironically entitled " A ery Humble Observations , " & c . Its gist is , that it is not fair to ask for a removal of the prohibition of the export of rags from France , so long as other countries keep up heavy or

prohibitory duties on tho expoit of theirs . A prohibition of the export of rags exists , it seems , in Belgium aud Spain , wliilo duties of various amounts , but in all cases considerable , affect the export from Germany , Austria , Holland , Portugal , and the Two Sicilies . M . Baudrillart lias replied to his " humble" memorialists , and professes himself unconvinced by their arguments and statistics . Chevalier Buiisen is going to leave Heidelberg , and will take up his

future abode at Bonn , iu order to pursue the literary labours which he has in hand . On Thursday week a communication was read to the Society of Antiquaries from Mr . Akennaii , their secretary , entitled " Notes on the Origin and History of the Bayonet . " Mr . Akorman observed that he had been unable to verify the statement that this weapon derived its name from Bayonnc , the reputed place of its inveution . Voltaire alludes

to it in the eighth book of the " Heuriade . " The results of the inquiry may be thus briefly recited : —That " bayonette" was the name of a knife , which may probably have been so designated either from its having been the peculiar weapon of a cross-bowman or from the individual who first adopted it . That its first recorded use as a weapon of war occurs iu tho memoirs of Puysegnv , and may bo referred to the year 1617 . That it was first mentioned in England by Sir J . Turner ,

1670-71 , That it was introduced into the English army iu the first half of tho year 1672 . That before the peace of Nemengen , Puysegur had seen troops on the continent armed with bayonets , furnished with rings , which would go over the muzzles of the muskets . That in 16 S 6 the device of tho socket baj'onet was tested before the French king-, and failed . That in 1689 Mackay , by the adoption of the ringed bayonet , successfully opposed tho Highlanders at the battle of Killicrankic . Lastly , that the bayonet with the socket was in general use in the year

1703 . At the meeting of tho Royal Society on the 20 th ult ., Dr . Faraday gave an oral account of a paper , "Note on Regelation , " accompanied by several very interesting experiments . The following papers were also read : — " Notes on the apparent Universality of a Principle analogous to Regelation ; on the Physical Nature of Glass , and on the Probable Existence of AVater in a State corresponding to that of Glass , " by E . AA ' .

Brayley , Esq . " On the Effect of the Presence of Metals and Metalloids upon the Electric Conducting Power of Pure Copper , " by A . Matthiessen , Esq ., and M . Holzmann . Tho annual meeting of the Royal Institution was held on Tuesday , May 1 . AAlIliam Pole , Esq ., M . A ., F . R . S ., Treas . and V . P ., iu the chair . The Annual Report of the Committee of Alsitors for the year 1859 was read and adopted . The statement of sums received shows a steady

and gradual increase in the yearly income . On December 81 , 1859 , the funded property was ^ 20 , 5 S 3 lis . Id . ; and tho balance , £ 1 , 157 los . 2 d ., with six exchequer bills of £ 100 each . There were no liabilities . A list