After the President had concluded an admirable discourse, the General Assembly of the Academicians proceeded to appoint officers for the ensuing year; when Sir M. A. Shee was unanimously reelected President, and the list of the Council was revised, and the new list contains Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, G. S. Newton, William Mulready, and G. Jones, Esqrs. The old list-Sir W. Beechey, H. P. Briggs, Richard Westall, and Richard Ramsay Reinagle, Esqrs. LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. New Works announced for Publication. A History of English Literature. By Mr. D'ISRAELI. Professor HEEREN'S Manual of the History of Modern Europe and its Co lonies. Aldine Edition of the Poems and Correspondence of ROBERT BURNS, with a Memoir and Portrait. 3 vols. An Anglo-Saxon Gloss on the Psalter, with a literal English translation and notes. By the Rev. R. M. WHITE, B.D. Fellow of Magdalen-college, Oxford. A periodical work entitled, "The Castles of the English and Scottish Border," containing a Series of Views of Fortresses, Mansions, and other Feudal Remains connected with the History of that interesting district, from Drawings by T. M. RICHARDSON. Biographical Sketches of Painters, Sculptors, Engineers, and Architects. Metrical Exercises upon Scripture Texts and Miscellaneous Poems. By Miss H. R. KING. Tales and Popular Fictions, their Resemblance and Transmission from Country to Country. By Mr. KEIGHTLEY; with Engravings from Brooke's designs. The West India Sketch-Book; and also Sketches of the Feathered Tribes of the British Isles and the surrounding seas. By Mr. MUDie. On the Colonies of the British Empire. By MONTGOMERY MARTIN. Facts and Documents relative to the British Museum; including an Account of its Revenue and Expenditure; its Donations and Bequests; the Expense of Printing Museum Publications, &c. with a copy of the Bye-Laws as altered in 1833, &c. A History of Germany. 2 vols. 8vo. Taxation and Financial Reform. By R. TORRENS, Esq. M.P. F.R.S. vol. 8vo. Mr. Valpy will commence in Monthly Volumes (uniform with the works of Byron, Scott, &c.) the publication of Hume and Smollett's History of England, with a continuation from the accession of George III. to 1835. By the Rev. T. S. HUGHES, B.D. Preb. of Peterborough. Letters from India, deseribing a journey in the English Dominions of India in the years 1828-33, undertaken by order of the French Government. By VICTOR JACQUEMONT. The Third Volume of LANDSEER'S Illustrated Edition of the Romance of History. Theory of the Constitution, compared with its practice in ancient and modern Times. By Mr. JAMES BERNARD. A familiar or popular Introduction to Botany, on the Model of Rousseau's celebrated Letters. By DR. LINDLEY. Napoleon's Dying Soliloquy. By Mr. STEWART. The Military and Political State of Russia, in 1833. By an OFFICER, late in the Russian Army. The Housekeeper's Guide; or, a Plain and Practical System of Domestic Cookery. By the Author of "Cottage Comforts." The Art of being Happy, from the French of Droz, in a Series of Letters from a Father to his Children. By TiMOTHY FLINT, Esq. author of the History and Geography of the Mississippi Valley, &c. The Literary Cyclopædia. By THOS. DOLBY; with a Memoir of each author, by T. ROSCOE, ESQ. Second Edition of a History of the Peninsular War. By Lieut.-Col. LEITH HAY, M. P. DUPIN'S Mathematics practically applied. By Dr. BIRKBECK. The Cabinet Annual Register of 1833. A New and Improved Edition of Clark's Introduction to Heraldry, with several new plates. WESTALL'S Illustration of the Bible. The Truths Hidden by the false Witness of Convocation. By CHAS. SMITH, B.D. Rector of Newton, Suffolk. The Sixth and concluding Part has at length appeared, of the Fishes of Ceylon. By G. W. BENNETT, ESQ. The 24th Number of e Portrait Gallery of the Female Nobility of England, with Memoirs. By JOHN BURKE, Esq. author of the Peerage. ROYAL SOCIETY. Nov. 20. At the Anniversary Meeting, all the officers were re-elected, and the following members constituted the Council: Francis Baily, esq. Peter Barlow, esq. William Thomas Brande, esq. Benjamin Collins Brodie, esq. Mark Isambard Brunel, esq. William Clift, esq. Rev. James Cumming, Michael Faraday, esq. Davies Gilbert, esq. George Bellas Greenough, esq. Rev. Philip Jennings, D.D. Rev. George Peacock, William Hasledine Pepys, esq. Rev. Baden Powell, Rev. Adam Sedgwick, Captain William Henry Smyth. The most remarkable feature in the Anniversary Address of the Duke of Sussex, was his statement relative to the Royal Medals, placed at the disposal of the Society by his late Majesty in the year 1828. They were to be two gold medals annually, of the value of fifty guineas each. Mr. Chantrey, in conjunction with Sir Thomas Lawrence, was appointed to prepare a design for the die. Either from indecision, or that procrastination for which the late President of the Royal Academy was characterised, the design was never furnished, although it was a frequent and favourite theme of conversation with him. It was, moreever, found, that no funds had been placed at the disposal of the Society's treasurer to defray the expense of the medals. Owing to these and other causes, they had not been completed when the demise of his late Majesty took place. Under such circumstances, the Duke of Sussex, as the President of the Society, deemed it to be his duty to suggest a suspension of any future award of the royal medals, until the opinion of his present Majesty, through his legal advisers, was ascertained. That inquiry terminated in the most satisfactory manner; and steps were immediately afterwards taken to redeem all the pledges made by George IV. to the Royal Society. Mr. Wyon has executed a die, having on the obverse the head of his present gracious Majesty, the patron of the Society, and on the reverse the celebrated statue of Newton at Cambridge. The medal struck from this die is remarkable for its boldness and depth, and delicacy of finish. Ten medals of the foundation of George IV. have been awarded to the following individuals: viz. Dr. Dalton, that venerable philosopher, to whom owing the development of the atomic theory; although at the eleventh hour, it was gratifying to know that he was acknowledged as its author both at home and abroad; to Mr. Ivory, the second of these medals was awarded; this gentleGENT. MAG, VOL. I. was man was the first English philosopher who introduced to this country the beautiful and refined discoveries of La Place, La Grange, and other foreign astronomers; to Sir H. Davy and Dr. Wollaston medals were awarded, as testimonies of the high sense the Royal Society entertained of their distinguished services in science; the same honorary reward was voted to Professor Struve, for his researches respecting double stars; and to Professor Encke, the greatest, perhaps, of modern astronomical calculators, and the discoverer of the comet which bears his name. The medals for 1829 and 1830 were awarded to Sir C. Bell, Professor Michterlicht, and Sir D. Brewster. The medals on the foundation of his present Majesty were to be awarded annually, as the others; certain rules and regulations for their distribution had been submitted to the King, and received his sanction. Astronomy, physiology, geology and mineralogy, physics, mathematics, and lastly, chemistry, were the sciences which came within the scope of these regulations. The medals for the present year were awarded to Professor De Candolle, of Genoa, for his work on vegetable physiology; and to Sir J. Herschel, for his on double stars. His Royal Highness then alluded, in language feeling and appropriate, to the departure of this eminent astronomer to the Cape of Good Hope. Sir John had termirated his European labours; he had gone to another part of the earth, carrying with him the most powerful instruments; and from his great skill, his sagacity, experience, profound knowledge of physical as well as practical astronomy, a rich harvest was to be expected as the result of his labours in the ample field of a new and unexplored heaven. As usual, the President's address closed with a list of the Fellows who had died during the year; of whom he particularly noticed Sir John Malcolm, as the youngest of seventeen children, three of whom were made Knights Commanders of the Bath in one day; Dr. Babington, at whose house the first meetings of the Geological Society were held; Lord Dover, the warm patron of artists; Joshua Brookes, forty years an eminent professor of anatomy, and who, during that period, superintended the anatomical education of 7000 pupils; Mr. Morgan, the actuary, &c. Dec. 5. J. W. Lubbock, esq. V. P. James Copeland, M. D. Edwin Pearson, esq. M. A. and Charles Terry, esq. were elected Fellows; and Peregine Edward Towneley, esq. was, by ballot, readmitted. The reading consisted of the report of the Anniversary Meeting, and the Duke of Sussex's Annual Address. M Dec. 12. Francis Baily, Esq. V.P. Reports from Sir John Herschel, Professor Airy, and Captain Smyth, on the performance of a telescope constructed with fluid bases, by Professor Barlow, were read; and also an Account of experiments on the Magnetic Forces, made in the West Indies, by the Rev. G. Fisher; and a paper on the Theory of the Moon, by J. W. Lubbock, Esq. V. P. in reply to M. Poisson's recent work on the same subject. Dec. 17. M. I. Brunel, Esq. V.P. A paper on the true position of the Magnetic Pole, by Captain Ross, which excited the deepest interest; and another by Dr. Daubeny, on the quantity and quality of the gas disengaged from the King's Spring at Bath. A fine portrait of the ex-President Davies Gilbert, Esq. recently painted for the Society by Phillips, has been placed in the meeting-room. Nov. 6. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. At the first meeting for the season, three communications were read. The first was on some of the dislocations which affect a band of limestone and calcareous slate, separating the upper from the middle division of the schistose rocks of the Cambrian mountains; and on the passage of veins of the Shap granite into the adjacent grauwacke; by Mr. Sedgwick, the Woodwardian Professor of Geology at Cambridge. The second was a notice respecting some points on the section of the coast near St. Leonard's and Hastings, by Dr. Fitton. And the third was a letter from Mr. Woodbine Parish, jun., accompanying a collection of fossils, made during the last summer at St. Leonard's, and presented by him to the Society. Nov. 20. Read, a description of the geological structure of the north coast of the river and gulf of St. Lawrence, from the mouth of the Saguenay (long. 69° 16' W.) to Cape Whittle, (long. 600 W.) and on the proofs of change in the relative position of land and water, by Capt. Bayfield, R.N. Dec. 2. Read, a letter by H. E. Strickland, esq. on the red marl and lias of part of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire, and on a line of disturbance which affects those formations between Bredon Hill in Gloucestershire, and Inkleborrow in Worcestershire. Then followed two papers by Dr. Mitchell-one on the Portland oolite of Quainton and Bredon Hills, Buckinghamshire; and the other, on the changes which have been produced by the action of the sea on the coast and the bed of the Thames near the Reculvers, since the time of the Romans. A letter from Mr. Ellis was accompanied by a specimen of silicified wood enclosed in a chalk flint, found on Tamworth Down, near Basingstoke. Dec. 16. The first communication read was by Mr. Romley Wright, on the geology of the Brown Clee Hill, in Shropshire; and the second, by Capt. Burnes, on the physical geological structure of the banks of the Indus, the Indian Caucasus, the plains of Tartary, the line of country between Asterabad, Teheran, Ispahan, Shiraz, and Busheer, and the other districts visited by the author during his late widely extended travels in the East. The memoir was illustrated by maps, sections, and the series of specimens collected by Capt. Burnes. OXFORD UNIVERSITY. By a statute which received the assent of the House of Convocation on Dec. 2, and which comes into operation in Act Term 1834, all candidates for a degree in medicine are (besides producing certificates from some hospital of eminence of a diligent attendance upon lectures and hospital practice) to undergo an examination before the Regius Professor of Medicine, and two other examiners, who are to be doctors in that faculty, and appointed by the Vice-Chancellor. For the superior degree, a dissertation written by the candidate upon some subject to be approved by the Regius Professor, is to be publicly delivered, and a copy given into the hands of the Professor, before admission to the doctor's degree. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY. Dec. 19. The subject of the English poem, by resident under graduates, for the Chancellor's third gold medal, is"The second Triumvirate." The subjects for the Members' four prizes, of fifteen guineas each, are, for the bachelors" Quænam sint commoda expectanda a recenti apud Cantabrigiam clarorum virorum congressu?" For the under-graduates-" Quinam sint effectus libertatis in possessionibus Hispaniæ transatlanticis?" The subjects for Sir William Browne's gold medals are, Greek Sapphics-“ Niger navigabilis." Latin Horatian-Australis expeditio J. F. G. Herschel, E. A Greek epigram, after the Anthologia; and Latin ditto, after Martial-" Scire tuum nihil est, nisi te scire hoc sciat alter." The Porson prize is the second scene of the third act of Shakspeare's Richard II. "Let's talk of graves," &c. to "How can you say to me I am a king?" WINCHESTER COLLEGE. The prize annually given by Sir William Heathcote, Bart. to the young gentlemen of Winchester-college, has been adjudged to Mr. Abraham White Baker, commoner. The object of Sir W. Heathcote, in offering this prize, is to promote the knowledge,-1st. Chiefly of the principles of the Christian religion, as defined by the Church of England; 2d. Of the Greek and Latin languages; 3d. Of history (chiefly ancient) and geography; 4th. Of mathematics. WESTMINSTER SCHOOL. The dramatic performance of the Westminster scholars, previous to the usual Christmas holidays, was the Phormio of Terence, which was very creditably represented by the following dramatis persone:-Demipho, Vernon; Geta, Moysey; Phormio, Barnes; Chremes, Randolph; Antipho, St. John; Dorio, Monckton; Phædria, Law; Davus, Stedman; Sophrona, Balston; Nausistrata, Murray; Hegio, Butler; Cratinus, Phillimore; Crito, Gray. At the fall of the curtain an amusing epilogue was given, sustained by several characters, in which the suggestions of the critics who have recommended the adoption of the Roman costume, were treated with ridicule; and the established custom of representing the characters of Terence in the modern habiliments of laced coats, cocked hats, or satin breeches, pertinaciously defended; a defence which we consider perfectly satisfactory, as the plays of Terence (which alone are performed) are mere comedies, unconnected with any historical events, or fixed epoch of time. We add the Prologue and Epilogue entire, which are written with considerable talent. PROLOGUS. Præmittor, cum jam ludos aulæa morantur, Ac juvat altisoni musam celebrare Maronis, Altius eloquium, et melioris dulcia linguæ Aut Syrus aut quisquam Pamphilus esse potest. Sed nostri fortasse, suis dum commoda curent, Quæ placeant cuneis, consuluere minùs. Quod sit in hoc culpæ, vestrum est ignoscere: partes Ne prologum pudeat commemorasse bonas. EPILOGUS. (Enter Demipho and Chremes from the house.) D. Rem magnam molire Chremes; mutandus amictus [dubio! Est cuique.-C. Ah res est magna proculD. Sum quidem, uti nosti, laudator temporis acti, Me puero, et vestes has retinere velim ; Sed tamen, ut penitùs cesset discordia, fiant Quæcunque uxori sint placitura tuæ. C. Nunc merito te, frater, amo; nam me gravat uxor Ista mea, et nostras increpat usque moras. Ne vestem mutare time, Romana decebit Te toga, et incipiet plaudere grex criticus. D. Scilicet.-C. At Geta adest præsto, quem quærere soccos {sum. Jussi et personam.-G. Non Geta sed Gheta D. Hui! vocem mutare jubent, et vertere vestes! Heus, Gheta, dic quidnam sit Cicero?-G. Kikero. [ore rotundo, D. Quid Kikero! Kikero!-G. Quidni? loquor Et vos arrectis auribus.-D. Hui! nimium est! [suadet C. Haud nimium est, frater, Nausistrata vult ità, Grex criticus.-D. Fiat, morigeror criticis. Aures erigere enitar, loquar ore rotundo, Nec, si infra soccum sint joca vestra, querar. (Enter Phormio.) P. Fecisti probe, et opportuno in tempore.-C. Quidnam est; [Væ miseris. Quis nos alloquitur?- G. Phormio. C. P. Salvete.-C. Oh, Salve!-D. Salve!-P. Satin' omnia recte? [In Latium! Optume.-G. Et in Latium tendimus.-P. Græcia quærenda est: sal Atticum et Attica C. vestis. Thesis, Arsis, D. Hic me Romanam suadet habere togam. Quid faciam? abripient omnia causidici! P. Parvi momenti res est, non auspice tali N. Hoc quid sit, mi vir, responde?-C. Nescio Quis fari, Geta, te jussit? loquere, Hegio.-H. Nonne Cratinum. Ceuses?-D. Incipias ergo, Cratine, loqui. Cra. Demipho, non equidem tali me dignor honore! [si placet, incipiam D. Dic, Crito?-Cri. Mene? Oh.-Cra. Hem, Omnia tentanda esse puto-inflectenda-novanda sunt Mutanda-error inest-omnia sint aliter Ac sunt-intellectus enim viget, aureaque ad[mus. Sæcula-jam sapimus vere, hominesque suH. Ipse antiqua probo-dico nihil esse novandum, Quod fuit, esto immutabile, semper idem. Res defende tuas, propriaque in pelle quiesce, Si sapis, et sanctum sit vetus omne tibi. D. Dic, Crito?-Cri. Non opus est rem multis ducere verbis, Nec refert vestes sintne novæ an veteres, Omnia condemno spectacula-fabula cesset Omnino-res est fæda, abolenda -D. Probe, Omnes dixistis probe.-N. At amplius hoc re. putandum [Vale. Arbitror, et jubeo quemque valere. H. D. Quid secum volvit, Nausistrata?-N. Demipho, pax.-D. Pax. C. Ah pax! et junctes sanguine jungat amor. D. Euge! Chremem dixisse probe, Nausistrata, credas? [Sat est. N. Credo, tamen conjux sit satis una.-C. D. Ibimus ergo domum, atque unà cænabimus LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. The number of Literary and Scientific Societies has been greatly on the increase. The Royal Society numbers 750 members; the Antiquarian 300; Royal Society of Literature 271; Zoological, 2446; Horticultural, 1875; Royal Society of Arts, 1000; Royal Institution, 758; Geological, 700; Linnæan, 600; Asiatic, 560; Geographical, 520; Astronomical, 320. The members constituting the London Medical, Westminster Medical, Medico-Chirurgical, MedicoBotanical, Phrenological, and Entomological Societies, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Institution of Civil Engineers, cannot be short of 1700 persons. Next follow the London, Russel, Western, and Marylebone Institutions, whose proprietary and yearly subscribers may be estimated at 1500. Here are in the whole 13,000 names (some it is true frequently repeated) supporting 26 Associations in London, founded for the sole purpose of promoting the interests of learning and science, and diffusing useful knowledge. And, for the immediate benefit of the operative class, the metropolis possesses a Mechanics' Institute, which is said to have 1000 members. EDUCATION OF THE POOR. A circular has been issued by Lord Melbourne, to the Overseers of the Poor in England and Wales, requesting them to furnish answers to certain queries, that his Lordship may make a return to Parliament, ordered in May last, viz. "A return of the number of schools in each town, parish, &c.; which return, after stating the amount of population, shall specify; -1. Whether the said schools are infant, daily, or Sunday schools; 2. Whether confined, either nominally or virtually, to children of the Established Church, or of any religious denomination;-3. Whether endowed or unendowed; 4. By what funds supported, if unendowed;-5. The number and sexes of the scholars ;-6. The age at which the children generally enter and quit school;-7. The salaries and other emoluments allowed to the masters or mistresses;-8. Those schools which have been established or revived since 1818;-and, 9. Those schools to which a lending library is attached." LUNAR ECLIPSE. Dec. 26. A total eclipse of the Moon took place this evening, which caused a complete obscuration of that luminary. It commenced at 42 minutes, 5 seconds after seven o'clock; and at 42m. 25s after eight, the moon was involved in total darkness. The greatest obscuration was at 9h. 31m. 19s. The emersion commenced at 10h. 20m. 12s. and the eclipse wholly terminated at 11h. 20m. 45s. The eclipse began at 123° 33' from the Moon's vertex, and ended at 75° 10' from the same, agreeably to the annexed representation, where the curve B M E shows the visible path of the Moon's centre with respect to the horizon of the place. |
