The Sun. — London, England, 1864-04-23 00:00:00

BONNET S SILKS A LYON.--Every Article of commerce takes its title either from the inventor or 'manufacturer, and the more perfect the production the greater is the credit which attaches to the originator. BONNET'S SILKS are said to be incapable of identifica tion in England ; but the fallacy of such an assertion is ex pos :d by the very trade mark of the firm, as exhibited by Messrs. JAY, of Regent-street. The following interwoven mark may be seen at the end ofeach piece :—" Manufacture de C. J. Bonnet et Cie., a Lyon e a Injnrieux." Wear guaranteed. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA, Covent-garden. From this time until the end of the season there will be four Opera nights in each week, viz., every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Satarday. Mdlle. Emilia Lagrua ; Mdlle. Giuseppini Tati ; Mdlle. Marie Battu; Signor Graziani ; Signor Mario. - •• --•-- . - This Evening (Saturday), April 23, will be performed (for the first time these two years, Verdi's opera, UN BAL LO IN MASCHERA. Amelia, Mdlle. Emma Lagrua, her first appearance in that character in England ; Ulrica, Mdlle. Oiu,keppini Tati, her first appearance in England; Oscar, ?Mlle. Marie Battu ; Renato. Signor Graziani ; Armando, Signor Tagliafico ; Angri, Signor Capponi ; Silvano, Signor Fal ar ; 11 uiudice, Signor Rossi ; and 11 Duca, signor Mario. Conductor, Mr. Costa. The incidental Divertissement wi I be supported by 3ldlle SAlvoni and M. Desplaces. Commence at half past Eight. pit tickets, 7s. ; amphitheatre eta Is, lOs. 6d., 75., and ss. ; amphitheatre, 2s. 6d. Boxes, stalls, and tickets may be had at the box-office under the portico of the theatre, which is open from ten to five, and at the principal musicsellers' and librarians•. THEATRE ROYAL DRUR Y-L AN E Managers, Messrs. Edmond Falconer and - . F. B. Chatterton. THIS EVENING, a Ecene from TWELFTH NIGHT. Atter which, will be produced the Grand Stage Revival of Shakspere's Chronicle or Historical Play, entitled the First Part of HENRY THE FOURTH. The cast will include impersonations by those eminent Irtists, Mr. PHELPS, Mr. Walter Montgomery, Mr. Walter Lacy, Mr. Addison, Mr. Ryder, Mr. Robert Roxby, Mr. Barrett, Mr. E Phelps, Mr. Rayner, Mr. H. Vandenhoff, Mr. u. Belmore, Mr. Ellerton, Mr. Fitzjames, Mr. Neville; Miss Edith Wynne, M ss Itcse Leclercq, And Mrs. Edmund Fal coner, supported by all the Members of the Drury-lane Ccm pany. Concluding with a new Masque, called THE FAIRIES' FES rIVAL. fHEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET.- Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr, Buekstone. THIS EVENING, AN UNLUCKY MORTAL. Followed by TWELFTH NIGHT. Messrs. Howe, Chip pendale, Bucitstone, Rogers, Compton, Farren, &c. ; Mes dames Angel, Lindley, Pitzwilliam, After which, the new Easter piece, entitled VENUS AND ADONIS. Messrs. Compton, Wm. Farren, Coe. &c ; Mes dames Louise Keeley, Snowden, Zi elly Power, Hill, Wright, Rogers, &c. Commence at 7. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.- Sole Lesee and Manager, Mr. Geo. Vining. THIS EVENING, Selections from Shakspere's Works, including AS YOU LIKE IT, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and the entire COMEDY OF ERRORS. The Two Dromios, by the Brothers Webb. Messrs. Vining, Her mann Vezin, !Nelson, D. Fisher, .to. ; Mesdames Hermann Vezin, H. Marston, Mdlle. Parepa, Rebecca Isaacs, &c. MR. FECHTER begs to announce that the whole profits of the First Night's Representation of hamlet will be divided between the NATIONAL SHAK SPEARE COMMITTEE and the DRAMATIC COLLEGE SCHOOLS FUND. Mr. FECHTER'S indisposition pre venting the production of Hamlet this Evening, the 23d, the LYCEUM THEATRE will be closed. On MONDAY, April 25, first time at this Theatre, Mr. John Brougham's Original Comedy, PLAYING WITH FIRE. Doors open at 7, commence at halt-past. NEW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHL-.• 8010 Proprietor and Manager. Mr. B. Webster. THIS EVENING, LEAH: Miss Bateman, supported by Messrs. A. Stirling, R. Phillips, Billington, Stuart, Eburne, Stephenson ; Miss H. Simms and Mrs. Iliilington. Al er which, an apropos Sketch, SHAKESPEARE'S HOUSE: Messrs. J. L. Toole, R. Phillips, Stephenson. To conclude with THE AREA BELLE : Nlessrs. J. L. Toole, P. Bedford, R. Homer, Miss Woolgar, and Mrs. H. Lewis. Commence at 7. mlss BATE MA N.-L E A EVENING and EVERY EVENING.--Miss Bateman will re-appear in her great impersonation of the Jewish maiden until further notice. In order to give due effect to this most remarkable success of the season, entirety new scenery by the celebrated artists Messrs. Damson and Sons, and Thompson. New dresses and appo'ntments have been prepared for its production.—N.B. In consequence of the 2treasing and numerous applications at the Box-office, ar 'iangements have now been made by which Seats m,y be ob a Fortnight in Advance. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE. Manager, Mr. W. H. Swanborough. THIS EVENING, MY PRESERVER. After which, the Pa'cony Scene from ROMEO AND JULIET. Mizses Swanborough and Wilton. Followed by the Fifth Act of hiIDSU3IMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Concluding with the Great Burlesque, ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE : Messrs. Honey, Wood, James Fenton ; ales dames Swanborough, Marie Wilton, Hughes, &c. Commence at 7. R OYAL ST. JAMES'S THEATRE, under the Management of Mr. B. WEBSTER. Re-engagement of those celebrated artistes, Mr. and Mrs. C. Mathews. —The greatly successful new Comedy every Evening. THIS EVENING, A DAY AFTELI THE WEDDING, Mr. F. Robinson and Miss ticri,ert. At a quarter before 8. the successful new Comedy, by L. Buckingham, Esq., entitled T tiE SILVER LIN IM3, : 3;r. (,harles Mathews, Mr. F. Robinson, Mr. Ashley, Mr. Montague; Mrs. Charles Mathews, Mrs. Frank Matthews, Miss A. Cottrell, Miss Wentworth, and Mrs. Stirling. After whl3h, COOL AS A CUCUMBER. Mr. Charles Mathews. To conclude with UNDER THE ROSE : Mr. Ashley and Miss A. Cottrell. Commence at 7. COALS. —The LILLESHALL COMPANY'S COALS. Direct from their own Collieries. Marquis' 26s. per ton. I Double 21s. per ton. 'Cop 255. „ Nuts. Ds. „ Deep .225. „ Well screened and delivered within five miles of their De pots, Westbourne Park-road, W., and 17, South Wharf, Paddington, W. Best Coke Terms cash. JOHN SCOTT, Sole Agent. TIHE THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN," Containing the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE, gen be had Every Evening of G. R. GLhNIE, NEWS AGENT, No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park. The Weather--Sun Office, April 23, 1864. --~ - THERMOMETER. This day at Two o'clock 65 Barometer-30.01. Wind—S.E, ; moderate breeze, and very fine. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tins DAY.—Morning, 2h. 50m,—Afternoon, 3h. 10m. ro-mooßow.-Morning, 3h. Mo.—Afternoon, 3h. 41m. N 4 J fa? • 11Z, ,Per1,04101%"0 • .00; ,304 LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 1864. SHatesPEßE's Birth three hundred years ago is , in thought at least, commemorated to-day, the wide world over, by every reasonably educated English man. As for the celebration of it otherwise, it is a a pity, perhaps, that it was ever dreamt of. And this, simply, because the result of the movement set on foot with a view to its public and practical com memoration has turned out to be so very much indeed of a failure. In fact, could this anti-climax of a result have been even dimly forseen by its ()rift ginators, we may rest perfectly well assured that the movement would never seriously have been commenced. Better by far wculd it have been, had nothing whatever been attempted, than that so very little should come of all these spas_ medic efforts iu the way of elaborate preparation. Tee Stratford-upon-Avon commemmoration is, after ail, the only really rational attempt to a fitting celebration of this Tercentenary annivere sail'. And even there, in SIIAKSPERE'S own birth place, the chief incident of the day—of the day—is an unearthly three o'clock dinner (3 p.m. being the dining -hour of neither artizan nor aris tocrat), Presided over by the Earl of CARLISLE, and followed in the evening by a display of Mr. DARBY'S fireworks As for the celebration of the day, here, in trindou, but little enough, un fortunately, need be remarked upon that head. And for even that little, the public are mainly indebted, on the one hand to our orking men in the met ropolis, w and on the other to our London theatrical ma nagers. The working men have taken the morning to thems e l ves . Th e theatrical managers have taken the evening. As something at any rate in the way of a commencement of some practical kind, the London Trade Societies (who have recently aired their banners in honour of GARIBALDI) collect e d together this morning on Primro se H ill , and there, with what ceremonial they could muster, to the Bound of music, played by the binds of her MAJESTY'S Household Brigade, and to the planting of a sappling oak from Windsor Forest, in memory of this day, as WILLIAM SHAKSPERE'S three hun dredth birthday,formally rechristened the Hill itee:f —henceforth to b© called no longer Prim: ose Hill, bet Shakspera's Hill. A. for the principal manage ill celebrations of the day, in the evening, they may ; very readily be summarized. A Shaksperian Con cert and Recital at the Agricultural Hall, Islington ! The First Part of " Henry the Fourth" at Drury- Lane ! " Twelfth Night " at the Haymarket, fol lowed by " Venus and Adonis"—not, however, SHAKSPERE'S exquisite poem, but Mr. BURNAND'S ridiculous Burlesque! " The Comedy of Errors" at the Princess's, with the Brothers WEBB as the two Dromios ! The Second Part of HENRY the SIXTH at the Surrey ! At the St. James's, and at the New Adelphi, performances of a miscellaneous cha racter in aid of the Monument Fand. The Monu ment here referred to, being the one still intended to be raised eventually in Green Park by the Na■ tional Shakspere Committee—or rather that Monu ment Embracing A Statue of Shakspere, so long advertised as intended, and just now so humorously pourtrayed by one of Mr. Punch's comic draughtsmen in the Tercen tentary number of that merry publication. The Festival to-day at the Crystal Palace, again, is one of the few prominent indications in London or near it, of anything at all like a suitable public celebration of this Tercentenary of the Poet's birth• day. A beautiful SHAKSPERE Medal, it should be mentioned, however, has been produced—under the design of Mr. JOHN BELL and the skilled manipulation of Mr. L. C. WYON—at the Messrs. HUNT and ROSKELL'S establishment. As for the Coventry Ribbon-Favour, it is jast nowhere. And the same be sai3, unhappily, of the once-talked of National Holiday. Meanwhile, the more enterprising of our pub lishers are pouring out from the press, with every luxury of their craft, a really won derful variety of New Editions of those writings of SHAIisPERE's, which, as the next greatest of our English Poets said of them, are, in very deed, SIIARSPERE'S noblest and most en during monument. Coupled with his name and fame, we are here tempted to add, are two or three circumstances so remark able of their kind, as mere coincidences,-- well known every one of them, but little thought of nevertheless—that we cannot but think it will be interesting to bear in mind, however passingly, on this three-hundredth anniversary of the Great Poet's Birth. The cir cumstance of his Death occurring on the anniver sary of his Birth is of course vividly in the recollec tion of us all. And no less so is the fact of this same date, the date of the 231 of April, being the day set down in the Calendar as commemorative of the patron saint of England, ST. GEORGE. Between those two St. George's days—the 23d of Apri1,11564, the date of SHAKSPERE'S birth at Stratford-upon- Avon, and the 23d of April, 1616, the date of SRAKSPERE'S death, also at Stratford-upon-Avon— as many years elapsed as there are weeks in a year : that is, Fifty-Two. Along the southern coast line marked by the white cliffs of England, moreover, there beetles forth conspicuously to view before the gaze of every one approaching the heights of Dover, after crossing the British Channel, that gigantic evidence of the fame of SHAKSPERE, the Cliff called after him—and so called after him for what reason ? Simply because, in one of his plays, there occurs a passage of a very few lines, describing an imaginary jump from the summit of it ! Another matter yet for reflection,in SHARSPERE'S regard, we would suggest as not undeserving one momentary thought to-day—refering here as we do to the cir• cumstance of this great National Genius having had his birthplace and his deathplace—appro. priately, as it stems to us—in the very centre of that England he loved so well—in one of the most beautiful old country towns in the land—in the green heart of Warwickshire. The expenses of the law and the prolixity of awyers have passed into a byword. Setting aside the fabulous cost and interminable duration of a case which runs through the various civil courts, there is no legal form, no petty transaction in which it is necessary to invoke the assistance of a lawyer which does not demand an amount of time and money totally disproportionate to the affair. The re firm of the law has long been a matter of consideration, but, like all reforms, it is a very tedious and difficult proeess. Such a large and powerful body is, inte rested in keeping up the old abuses thaA, it is a task of much patience and delicacy to introduce any measure curtailing the privileges of lawyers, or reducing the inevitable expenses of the law. We must admit that one eetT the most active and con sistent of our prerent law reformers is the noble lord now sittin2; on the woolsack. The public owe him a debt ; i f gratitude for having availed himself of the antherity of his position and the advantages of his, experience to remedy many existing defects in, our legal administration, and more especially to encourage that brevity, clearness, and simplicity which have heretofore been supposed to be entirely incompatible .with strict legality. One of h' el most important measures was on Thursday c - an i ng brought under the notice of the House of L or d s by Lord CHELMSFORD, who called the attention of their lordships to the workin 6of the Land Transfer Act, which he denounced- as a failure, since very few persons had tEAren advantage of it since the Bill had become law. Lord WESTBURY declared himself vbt.iged to his noble and learned predecessor for having given him the opportunity of explaining the actual state of affairs, and accordingly he pro ceeded to give very clear and conclusive answers to the charges brought against the bill by Lord CHELMSFORD. It appears from the statistics which he gives us, that although since the passing of the Act there have been only 65 applications for regis tration under it, yet those applications included nearly two millions' -worth of property, and such amount of business in the short space of 16 months is an unusually favourable commencement to the practical working of any measure. The Lord Chan cellor reminded the House that all such reforms worked their way very slowly, and cited the example of the Copy bold Enfranchisement Act, now so popular, under which there was in the first year of its existence only one application. In the second year there 12 cases; in the next, 29 ; and so on by slow but sure degrees, until, twenty years later, the number had risen to 785, The Enclo sure Commissioners' Act, egAin, had at first only 10 cases in twelve months ; the second year showed an increase of two ; the third year the number of cases was 39 ; and so on, until the annual amount is 246. Such is the slowness with which the know ledge of these important changes spreads among the people. It is not surprising if we come to consider the absurdity and difficulty attending legal docu meats, and the consequent abandonment of affairs almost entirely into the hands of lawyers. It is scarcely likely that a man who has been for many years in the habit of turning to his solicitor for an explanation of every legal question will at once take upon himself the unwonted responsibility of acting entirely in opposition to 'nis solicitor's opinion and advice. Ho must be a strong-minded and clear-headed man who will at once brave the displeasure of his professional adviser and turn a deaf ear to his doubts as to the accuracy, efficiency, and legality of his proceedings. The solicitors, as a body, plainly intimated their intention of op- Posing this measure when it was first introduced, and they have amply fulfilled the thi eat, as Lord WESTBURY frankly told the House on Thursday. Nevertheless, the advantages pf Act Lao so TIM SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 23, 1864. Yesterday, after less than a fortnight's sojourn in the ca pital, General Garibaldi quitted London on his return to his island home iu Caprera. With the General also left his two sons, Menotti and Ricciotti, his secretary, his surgeon, and the other members of the little household that accompanied him from his islanl. Up to last night no effort had been spared by delegates from various deputations to induce the General to postpone his departure for at least a time; but Garibaldi, having accepted the Duke of Sutherland's invi tation to proceed in his yacht to Caprera. could not think of drawing back at the eleventh hour from such an engage ment. He therefore firmly adhered to the intention he ex pressed in the early part of this week of leaving town on Friday. During the week he had expressed a desire to meet the Americans resident in London before his departure, and yesterday he accepted an invitation to breakfast with the Hon. Freeman H. Morse, consul for the United States, at his residence, Kensington-gate. Among others present be sides the host and Mrs. and Miss Morse, were the U.S. Mi nister, Mr Adams, and Mr Wilson and Mr Moran, secretaries of Legation, Mr Cyrus W, Field, the Hun W. M. Evarts, Mr J. S. Morgan, Mr W. E. Forster, M.P., and Mrs Forster, Mr Seely, M.P., and Mrs Seely, Mr Rossini, &c. After the dejeuner a large number of American ladies and gentlemen were presented to the General. Shortly before 12 o'clock Garibaldi returned with his host to Mr Seely's residence at Prince's-gate. The gentlemen comprising the Italian Reception Com mittee, Messrs Bellinzona, Biachi, Ciocci, Cetti, G. Galli, Lironi, Ortelli, Ponzini, G. Roncoroni, and A. Roncoroni, and the bearer of the national flag, Mr Bareggi, called at Prince's-gate to take their farewell of the General. The committee arranged themselveson either side of the entrance to the mansion, and were most kindly received by their renowned countryman, who, while heartily shaking hands with them, wished them and their families and friends every happiness. After leaving Prince's-gate, the General, with Mr Seely, drovs to Lord Shaftesbury's residence in Grosvenor-square, and afterwards proceeded to Stafford-house, arriving there at half-past 12. There was no crowd, for it was believed that the General had already left town, and certainly none expected him at Stafford-house. Yet the visit to Stafford house was made expressly with the view of affording his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales an opportunit; of paying a private and friendly visit to the great ") , .. alian triot before quitting thi s coun t r y. Th e pa D ... - rince of Wales came to town yesterday t o a tt en d a . of the Duchy of Lanca s t er , a l• . meeting of the Council .a after the transacti on o f thi s Palace to Staffor business his Royal IF . _ gtaness walked from B uc ki ng h am : house without attracting an y observa tion* c- ''house he remained for upwards of an hour. at is needless to say with what sincere satisfaction tte announcement of this visit by his Royal Highness to the General will be received throughout the country. At a little before 4 o'clock Garibaldi left Stafford•house for Cliefden-house, near Maidenhead, the seat of the Duchess Dowager of Sutherland. He will resume his journey for Plymouth on Monday; and will pass that night at Col, Peard's residence, Penquite, Cornwall. On Tuesday morn ing the General and his friends embark on board the Duke of Sutherland's yacht for Caprera. We are favonrei by Mr. Seely with a copy of the follow ing farewell address from Garibaldi to the English nation : " i offer my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the English nation and their Government for the reception I have met with in this free land. I came here with the primitive object of thanking them for their sympathy for me and for my country, and this my first object is accomplished. I have desired to be altogether at the disposition of my MT lish friends, and to go to every place where I might be wished to go, but I find that I cannot now fulfil all these engagements of my heart. " If I have caused some trouble and disappointment to many friends, I ask their pardon ; but I cannot draw the line between where I could and where I could not go, and there fore for the present these are my thanks and my farewell. " I hope, perhaps, at no distant timt to return to see my friends in the domestic life of England, and to re deem some of my engagements with the generous people of this country, which, with deep regret, I feel that I cannot now fulfils " G. GARIBAT,D] "28, Prince's-ga.;o, London, April 22." TO TIIE EDITOR or TITE SUN. Sir,—Allow me to confirm everything that was stated yesterday evening by Mr. Gladstone in the House of Commons. The advice tendered to General Garibaldi was dictated solely by considerations for his health and position. The names of those present at the meeting would be a sufficient proof that no other thought could have had any influence. Many of them were those of his long-tried and best friends, who bad hazarded much more in his behalf than would be involved in resistance even to the actual displeasure of a foreign Power. That such displeasure, however, was a simple invention I assert, and am able to prove. The solid, persevering, and hearty attachment of Mr. Gladstone to the cause of Italy and General Garibaldi is as notorious as it is generous and true ; and though I cannot for myself claim any such honour, I declare in the most solemn manner, and on the word of a gentleman, my firm belief that we were all of us animated by the same ardent desire (without reference to anything, or anybody, but the General himself) to urge that, and that only, which was indispensable to his personal welfare. It was, I assert, the General's own and unsu,ggested d - cision to give up the provincial journey altogether. He could not, he declared, draw a line of preference for certain towns, and that to acotanplish the whole list was impossible, —Your obedient servant, April 22. SHAFTESBURY. WILLS AND BEQUESTS. (From the Illustrated London News.) The will of the Right Hon. Lord Arthur Lennox, formerly M.P. for Chichester, was administered to in her Mejesty's Court of Probate by his relict, Lady Charlotte Lennox, daughter of the fourth Duke of Gordon, Lord Arthur Lennox was a son of the late Duke of It'elmond, K.G. He held the post of Lord of the Treasury and Clerk of the Ord nance, 1841-6; and was a Lieut.-Col. in the Army, formerly commanding the 72d Highlanders and 68th Light Infantry. This ga ll ant o ffi ce r died at the age of fifty-eight, having execute d h i s w ill so far back as 1840, entirely in his o wn h an d wr iting, bequeathing to his relict, Lady L ennox, t h e whole of his prow perty, both real and personal, for her life, which, upon her ladyship's decease, is to be divided equally amongst all their children. The will of Mrs Mary Dorothra Pemberton, relict of the late John Pemberton, Esq., of Sherbarn Hall, Durham, was proved in the London Court, under £BO,OOO person a lt y ; the executors being Thomas C. Thompson, Esq., Barrister-at-Law (nephew of the late John Pemberton); and the Rev. John Cundil l , B.D. The will bears date 1853, and there are four codicils. Legacies are left to near relatives and friends; also legacies to servants. The residue of the funded property is bequeathed equally amongst eight of her nieces. Tne estate of Sherbarn Halt is devised to the said Thomas C. Thompson, who also takes a moiety of the residue of the real and perso nal property, the other moiety being :oft between Mrs. Burden and Mrs. Murray, the nieces of the testatrix's late husband. The will of James Maxse, Esq., of Upper Gros venor-street, was proved, in London, under £300,000 personalty, and probate granted to the Right Hon. Lady Caroline Fitzhardioge Maxse, the relict, daughter of the late Earl of Berkeley, and the solo executrix, appointed by the will, bearing date 1860, to which are appended five codicils. To his relict, Lady Caroline, the testator has bequeathed his real estate, and also a considerable p or tion of the personal estate (saving a sum of £135,000 to be held in trust for the payment of two annuities to his two suns and unmarried c' sughter), the relict taking a life interest in the surplus residue, which, upon her ladyship's decease, will be divided in certain proportions amongst the sons and daughters. There are legacies to servants. The late Mr. G. Daniel, of Canonbury, has be queathed to the British Museum the famous cabinet carved from the mulberry-tree presented by the Corporation of Stratford-on-Avon to David Garrick, upon the occasion of the jubilee of 1769. He has also left to the British Museum the Garrick cor responclenee upon the subject, en 3 a perfectly unique ring, containing a fine miniature of Shak epere under crystal and set in gold, will not be overlooked. So long as open voting continues to be the practice, so long will bribery, influence, and intimidation be the rule rather than the exception. The meeting at Manchester seems to have left this point rather in the background, but it must be made a sine qua non if real and substantial reform is wanted. Who will give it remains to bo seen. It is certain to encounter a formidable oppo!ition, being entirely for the good of the people that no political interest can profit by it. Meanwhile the coming election will give the country an opportunity of testing its repre sentatives on the point, and we look upon the organisation of the National Reform Conference as a favourable sign of the times. DEPARTURE OF GARIBALDI, great and apparent that it will assuredly find more and more favour with the public as it becomes more widely known and its utility better appreciated. The Lord Chancellor showed to their lordships a certificate of title under the new Act, with the map, the accurate result of the title, the copy of the entry on the register ; and from holding this simple and comprehensible document in his hand, the owner, if he wished to sell his property, could carry it to the auctioneer, the purchaser could examine the corresponding entry in the book of register, and the business is at an end. This simple registration supersedes the wearisome inves tigations, the tedious delays, and all the expense and uncertainty belonging to the transfer of land under the old Acts. In the event of a mortgage or a wish to raise money temporarily, the advantages are equally great. In fact, matters are brought within a man's own scope and comprehension in stead of bring hopelessly entangled in the hands of his professional advisers. No wonder the solicitors set their faces against a measure which reduces an investigation of title occupying 150 sheets of parchment to one side of a single sheet ! Yet such was the case with the very document which the Lord Chancellor held in his hand, and the Duke of MONTROSE cited a case which had come under his own observation in which a charter consisted of half a page instead of 30 pays I Under the existing system of legal charges, such a measure is certain to encounter most formidable opposition, since as solicitors have themselves said with great force to the Chancellor, " the law as it now stands, rewards them for prolixity and fines them for brevity." And the interest thus brought to bear is by no means insignificant. Lord WESTBURY declared a patent fact when he said that this was a lawyer ridden country, for every peer among his auditors had a solicitor sitting on his shoulders like SIND BAD'S old man of the sea, whom he could not shake off? The noble and learned lord went on to say with some humour, but much truth, that most of them were quite in the dark as to the wearing of the unwieldy masses of parchment to which from time to time they appended their names. " All other mysteries have been unfolded, but this thing which comes home to you all is a sealed book." With a view to the removal of the obstacles which militate against the success of this measure, and also in the interests of the public, the Lord Chancellor proposes to introduce a measure for the alteration of the law with regard to the remuneration of solicitors. Such a bill, if fairly framed and successfully carried out, will indeed be a public boon, and there is probably no one who has ever had any dealings with the grave and learned confraternity who will not gladly hail an innovation which makes verbosity and ob scurity inseparable attendants on the already suf ficiently perplexing and discomfiting dealing of the law. The growing feeling of the country with respect ;o the insufficiency of its Parliamentary represen ation bodes no good to the tottering fortunes of he present Administration. Her MAJESTY'S adw visors are indeed in such an unfortunate position that it is difficult to see what can extricate them from their perplexities. It is true, that it would be scarcely possible to exceed the unpopularity of their foreign policy—a policy which, by its in genious combination of loud remonstrances with very timorous actions, its " meddling and mud dling," has continued to combine in a very remark able degree the drawbacks and inconveniences of peace and war. It has given ns the necessity of maintaining costly and extensive war armaments, at the same time that it can neither uphold our honour nor protect our commerce. It has made us take a prominent part in every foreign question, while it has neither befriended the Rea}; nor con• ciliated the strong—neither satisfied out allies nor daunted our opponents. Our reputation has collapsed, our professioLs are ridiculed, and self interest is invariably declared to be the ruling motive of a paver which is continuAlly making uncalled for concessions, and abandoning every advantag e which a bolder and a wiser age had ga;,eed. Under these circumstances the foreign policy of the Government will certainly not be its strong point at the hustings when that mailable day of trial comes, which even Lord PALMERSTON'S tact and ingenuity cannot stave off much longer. But unfortunately for the prospects of the Whig Cabinet, supposing that a sadden settlement of all the vexed questions at present distracting Europe were possible, they would not be much better off. If Russia granted Poland en independent constitn.% tion to morrow, if the Northern States of America recognised the independence of the Sl:fath, and both parties gave Earl RUSSELL'4 eloquence as the reason of their coadact ; nay, even supposing the Schleswig-Holstet l problem *to be finally solved during the - lifetime of the present House of Com mon? the troubles of the Government would not be altogether over. There would be one obstacle in the road to SUMS ) one ghost that re fused to be laid, and its name would be Reform. The very question which carried them into power has turned into one of their most seriuus perplexi ties. No one can suppose, the most sanguine Liberal cannot possibly imagine, that it is the in tention of Lord PALMERSTON'S Cabinet to grant any comprehensive measure of Reform. Yet the awkward questions will inevitably be asked on the hustings, to which it is very improbable that " Rest and be thankful" will be accepted as a sufficient or satisfactory answer. Ministers will be reminded of those high-flown professions which flowed so glibly from their lips at the time of the uncondi.- tional rejection of the DERBY Reform Bill, How imperative was it then to extend the franchise, to remodel the electoral districts, to shorten the dura tion of Parliaments—for why should such con sistent and patriotic members fear to meet their constituents ? and as for election expenses, the ballot would put a very decided limit to them. Unfortunately the same story will not do twice over, and a long and continuous tenure of office leaves little excuse for unfulfilled pledges. It can not, therefore, be very gratifying to the Government or their supporters to witness the assembling of popular delegates from many of tha large towns of the kingdom which recently took place at Alan- chester to confer on the great question of National Reform. Mr. ERNEST JONES was there, with his proposal of manhood suffrage, and a good many adherents, who declared that the mass of the people would never be thoroughly aroused by a less comprehensive measure. Others were there, however, more prudent and more far-seeing, who reminded the Conference that th© people of this country had always been averse to sudden and violent changes, and that consequently the way to ensure success was to proceed with caution, and to obtain the aid of all classes by demanding mode rate end practical measures, It is on this principle that we trust the reformers throughout the country will act, not plunging into wild extremes, which startle the prudent, and wllich, after all, have only theory to recommend them. No Government can much longer delay a reform of the Parliamen tary representation and an extension of the suffrage. A constituency of 1,200,000 is perfectly inschquate to represent the people of this country. But in securing this important reform we hope that a measure even more important i❑ its direct in4a...oee upon our Yuriiamencary system LATEST INTELLIGENCE. [nEUTER'S TELEGRAMS.] AMERICA. (Per the North American, via Greencastle.) NEW YORK, APRIL 9 (Afternoon). The Army of the Potomac is preparing for an early forward movement. All surplus baggage has been cent to the rear, and furloughs have been stopped. COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. Money tight. Gold 70.4 prem. Exchange on London, 1861. Stocks opened firm to-day, but have since become very heavy—New York Centrals, 1431 ; Illinci3, 1491 ; Erie, 1261. Cotton quiet. Middling Upland, 64c. Breadstuff advancing. Petrohutn very firm. Crude, 351 ; refined, 52 to 511. The City of Manchester, from New York on the 9th inst., arrived at Queenstown at 7.30 a.m. She brings 131 passengers and 276,270 dols. in specie. She landed 10 sacks of mails and 12 passengers, and proceeded at 7.40 a.m. Her news has been anticipated. SPAIN, MADRID, APRIL 23. The Qneen has left for Aranjuez. The Novedades of to-day says The Progres sist banquet will not disturb public tranquillity, although more than 1,000 persons will take part in it." 'HE JOURNEY OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA, HAMBURG, April 22, Evening. Yesterday afternoon the King of Prussia arrived at the C3stle of Gravenstein, and after a short stay proceeded to Atabull, where he saluted the regi ments which had been engaged in storming the Duppel redoubts. His MHjesty praised and thanked several of the officers and soldiers, and the whole of the troops defiled before the King; after which he took his leave, and at 4.30 p.m. went on to the trenches. Early this morning Herr von Bismark, accompanied by Herr Kendell, councillor of lega tion, passed through 'hamburg on his way to join the King of Prussia. It is faid that the object of the King's visit to the duchies is to sound the population, and to pare the way for a vote in con formity with the views of the Prussian government. It is also seta that the Emperor of Austria is ex * P e c t :.,it s in the duchies. THE lONIAN ISLANDS. A letter from Corfu, of the 4th inst., states : " Further portions of the fortifications of Vido have been destroyed during the past .week, and the huge and rugged heaps of masonry can now be plainly seen from the town. One ob..fect particularly strikes the attention ; it is a permanent gun platform, thrown over on its side, and it is almost, if not quite, intact. Similar instances have occurred with other platforms in this fortress, which have not been broken. Gunpowder itself has been unable to shatter these hard and solid blocks. The martello tower on the north. side of the island was blown up ; it rose slightly, then burst open, and fell in a thousand pieces, adding its quota to the ruins already existing around it. There yet remain some large portions of this fortress to be destroyed." The same letter contains the following paragraph on the finances of the Islands :—" The deficiency in the funds necessary for the payment of the ex penses of the State for the past month has been made good by the Government out of the municipal chest. The decision of the Special Commission has just been given in favour of the municipality, as against the Go vernment, vesting in the former certain property known as public property, producing a large annual rental, together with a huge sum for mesne profits, the whole of which sums ought to be devoted to the purposes of local government only. Within a week or two after this decision is given the municipal chest is emptied by the Government for its own purposea. This is a very strong measure, and is in effect malting Corfu pay for the other islands. It the union with Greece is not effected before the end of the present month, the Government will again have to tax their ingenuity to provide money for the current expenses." POLAND. The .Nord publishes the following despatch from Breslau, dated 21st :—" The Breslau Gazette an nounces that at Woyern, in the Grand Duchy of Posen, a Prussian Captain of the 49th Regiment of the Line, with 11 men, having lost their way,arrived at Wturck, on Russian territory. The Prussian soldiers there fired en some .Russian cavalry, be lieving them to be a body of insurgents. They were immediately surrounded by 400 Russians, commanded by Colonel Nelldorff, dis a rmed and con ducted to Woley kin, but were liberated on the fol lowing day. The Russian colonel was challenged to fight by the Prussian captain, but refused to give , the required satisfaction." FRANCE. BOURSE, April 22.—The market continues firm, but without any further advance in Rente ; Threes, for the'Account, being unvaried at 67f. 50c. Mobilier have again improved, and are now quoted at 1,272 f. 50c. Railway market quiet, but firm. The market left off as follows : 41 per Cents. 94 25 Italian Loan 6B 80 Do. end month.... Do. end month 6B 70 3 per Cents Do. end month.... 67 25 Do. end month — Credit M0bi1ier....1227 5U Russian Do, end in0 n th....12 2 5 Austrian --'lntnish Throes.„„. Credit F onoier l3lO Roman Si Home Debt — Deferred BA ILIVA.YB. Cash. Account. 896 25 .). 891 25 975 .. 982 50 Orleans Northern .... New ditto Lyons and Mediterranean New ditto Southern Western Eastern . ... tar Tinian .... Austrian Lorr bard North of Spain ..... Saragossa.. Ditto to Barcelona 952 50 .. 965 900 - - C7O - 670 - 505 - - - 482 50 .. 482 50 375 - 372 50 415 - .. 421 25 561 25 .. 560 - 495 - 490 - 580 580 SHIPPING—This Day, LONDON, April 23.—Wind this day at noon—South. East; moderate breeze and very fine weather. PORTSKOUTH, April 23,— Arrived—Manchester, from Calcutta. FALMOVTII, April 23.—Wind E.—Arrived—Alexander, from Skied. CLYDE, April 21.—Wind N.W.—Sailed—Bungalore, for Matanzis—John Gray, for Trinidad—Melrose, for New York—Abbey Craig, for Mirarnichi, Sailed—City of Brussels, for Calcutta, OFF BLACKWAYEE., April 21.—Wind W.—Arrived-- Ocean Belle, from Nassau. PLYmotrrit, April. 22.—Wind E,—Arrived—Acadian, from Philadelphia for Havre, leaky. NEWPOUT, Apri. 22. Wind S.E.—Arrived—Tyne, steamer, from Bristol, BY MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH. GRAVESEND, Saturday Morning. Sailed—Panther, s turner, for Boulogne; Hanover,eteamer, for Calais; Holland, steamer, for Ostend. DEL, Saturday orning. Passed—Protcsia, for Trini d ad ; Spirit of a the Deep, for Shanghai; Sussex, for Port Phillip; Pandora, for Con stantin, ple ; Helen Bair, for Bangkok—all from London— Ed ward Sophia, barque, from Belize (in tow) ; General Slade, from Guernsey —both from London. THE CIVIL SERVICE.—House of Commons.—Mr R. G. Lindsay has been appointed a supernumerary clerk, Audit-office.—Mr W. A. Iwpey, Mr H. F. Wilkin son, Mr C. S. Worsley, and Mr H. V. Bacon have been appointed examiners. Copyhold Inclosure and Tithe Cona mission.—Mr J. Graham has been appointed a clerk. War otlice.—Mr E, Elen has been appointed second-class viewer, army clothing depot, Pimlico. Customs—Mr J. Hopwood has been appointed an established clerk at London Docks. Inland Revenue.—Stamps and Tax Branch.—Mr H. For der, surveyor of taxes, has been transferred from the Merthyr Tydvil to the second Brighton district. Excise Branco.—Mr W. Reid, officer, Glasgow, first division, has been appointed to Carlisle division —Mr G. Atkinson, offi cer, Carlisle division, to Glasgow, Ist division—Mr J. Ball, officer, Bromley, Ist division, to Bromley, 3d division—Mr W. Ilickox, officer, Portsmouth, 3d division, to Bromley, Ist division—Mr H, Gapp, officer, Maidstone, 2d division, to Portsmouth, 3d division —Mr T. Jones, officer, Ingate stone division, to Maidstone, 2d division—Mr A. Ashby, officer, Cork, sth division, to Ingatestono division—Mr H. M'Clelland. officer, Cork, 2:1 division, to Tralee divison—and Mr J. H. Hugo, officer, Amesbury ride, to Cork 2d divi sion.—Civi/ ;Service Gazette. khakspere's Doctors, (From to-day's Lancet.) Six doctors are represented in Shakspere'd dramas. The allusions to physicians and surgeons are very frequent, but six only actually appear upon the stage in propria persona. In the play of "Henry the Eighth" Dr. Butts appears. This is the only occasion upon which Shakspere has introduced a physician who had really figured in history. William Butts, we learn from Dr. Munk's "Roll of the College of Physi cians," was educated at Gonville Hall, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow. He was physician to Henry VIII., and enjoyed his confidence to a re markable degree, being knighted by the King under the title of Sir William Butts, of Norfolk. Shakspere pictures in a few words the physician's powerful influence with the monarch. Cranmees enemies at court have contrived that he shall be kept waiting amidst the servants outside the door of the council chamber. Butts remarking this, says— " This is a piece of malice, lam glad I came this way so happily; the kiag Shall understand it presently." Oranmer, upon this, exclaims— " 'Tis Butts, The king's physician : as he passed Along, How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me I Pray Heaven he sound not icy disgrace!" Dr. Caius, who plays such a prominent part in the " Merry Wives of Windsor," is described as a French physician. The character seems to have been de vised simply for the sake of the fun which is get out of the foreigner's broken English. In the whole play there is scarcely an allusion to the doctor's profession, and he might for all practical purposes have belonged to any other. Our laughter is entirely directed against the man, in no respect against the physician, The poisoned goblet over accompanies the dagger as en emblem of the tragic muse. The treacherous draught has been, from earliest times, employed by the dramatist as the most terrible of all the means by which life is taken upon the stage. Shakspere makes frequent use of this agency. One might be led to expect that occasions of this nature would iureish opportunities for the introduction of the physician into the play ; but, curiously enough, this only happens once—in the play of " Cymbe line." When the Queen is plotting the destruction of her step-daughter Imogen, she applies to Corne lius, her physician, for some poisonous drugs. The physician cautions an unskilled woman against experiments which seem to be dictated by curiosity and can lead to no useful result. Had not the action of drugs been tested by himself or some other skilled observer, he would not have been in a position to substitute in safety those he gave her for the poisonous kinds which she desired, and Itnogen would have perished miserably. He communicates (to the audience) the reason of his justifiable deception in the following passage Ido not like her. She does think she has Strange lingering poisons: I do know her spirit, And will not trust one of her malice with A drug of such damn'd nature. Those she has Will stupefy and dull the sense awhile : Which first, perchance, she'll prove on cats and dogs; Then afterwards up higher ; but there is No danger in what shcw of death it makes, More than the locking up the spirits a time, To be more fresh, reviving." It is interesting to contrast the conduct of Corne lius with that of the Apothecary in "Romeo and Juliet," under somewhat similar circumstance— " Meagre were his looks, Sharp misery had worn him to the bones," The poor wretch, starving and over-tempted by Romeo, makes but a brief resistance to the bribe of forty ducats; but, as he parts with the poison, there is evidence of a painful struggle in his excla mation— "My poverty, but not my will, consents 1" . - - Following Dr. Johnson's example, we might here express a hope that Romeo, were he living now in London, might find as much trouble in procuring a dose of poison a 3 he did in Mantua. We fancy, however, that he would not need either to seek our a starving drng vendor, or to give him such a sum as 40 ducate, so much have we improved in these matters during the last three or four centuries. Two thctors figure in "Macbeth"—:n English man and a Scot. The former has very little to do. He merely describes to Malcolm how the King (Edward the Confessor) is curing a crowd of per sons affected with " the evil" by a touch of his royal hand. The latter has a much more important part. He is present with a waiting gentlewoman when Lady Macbeth walks in her sleep. Not a gesture escapes his attention; and with judicious care, when Lady Macbeth speaks, he takes written notes of her words. He is soon struck by their terrible import. The physician sees in the condition of mind of his patient a danger of suicide, and properly takes pre cautions against it. To Macbeth's inquiry, shortly afterwards— " How does your patient, doctor ? " he replies— " Not so sick, my lord, As she is troubled with thick coming fancies, That keep her from her rest. MAcn. Cure her of that : Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased ; Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow; Raze out the written' troubles of the brain; And, with some sweet oblivious antidote, Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff Which weighs upon the heart ? Therein the patient Must minister to himself, MAC% Throw physic to the doge, I'll none of it 1" DOCT. It is curiously significant of the error often pro duced by isolating passages from their context that this last expression of Macbeth has been interpreted into a disbelief on Sbakspere's part in the power of medicine ! The question which the remorse-haunted Thane has addressed to the doctor is evidently in tended quite as much on his own account as on that of his wife; and the reply, shattering the last rem nant of hope, fills up the measure of his misery, and forces from him the cry of impatience. Not less admirable is the picture of the physician in " King Lear," It would almost seem, indeed, that Shakspere had some living representative in his eye whom he esteemed and wished to honour when he conceived these two characters, so much do they resemble one another in the qualities of judgment and candour. The old king, maddened for a time by the ingratitude of his daughters, has roamed about the country, exposed to storm and cold. Cordelia, whom he, has so wrongly judged and harshly treated, and who is overflowing with affection for her father, succeeds in housing him in the shelter of her camp. In intense anxiety at the old king's delirium, she addresses herself to the physician : " What can man's wisdom In the restoring his bereaved sense ? There is means, madam ; Our foster-nurse of nature is repose, The which he lacks; that to provoke in him Are many simples operative, whose power ' Will close the eye of anguish," The means employed are successful; after a long and refreshing sleep the king awakes. Never, probably, has anything more true and tender been written than the scene which follows. The physician's concluding advice is equally be fi,ting the circumstances : " Be comforted, good madam : the great rage, You see, is killed in him ; and yet it is dang‘.a To take him even o'er the time he has lost. Der ire him to go in : trouble him no more Till further settling." Such is a very brief sketch of the medical charac ters introduced into his plays by the great poet whose tercentenary we celebrate this day. It should be our especial duty to venerate Shak spere, for never have we had so powerful a cham pion. His estimation of our art is marked by the character of the representatives of it which he in troduces. With unworthy examples, doubtless, before him, which were as open to his ridicule as ever were the doctors of his ago to Moliere, he never condescends to picture the class from base and ex ceptional models, but draws the character of the physician with a liberal and loving hand. Three hundred years have passed since then, and with them great changes have come over the charac• ter and position of medical men ; but their purpose in life is still the same, and, mindful of this, they will treasure in their remembrance his just appre• dation of their art— " Bequeathing. it, as a rich legacy, To all their issue." gr, . ~/„„ i f ira t HER MAJESTY. OSBORNE, April 22. The Queen walked and d rov e in the grou nds yesterday morning and afternoon. Princess Helena rode on horseback, attended by the Hon, Emily CAtheart. *- SOUTHAMPTON, Wednesday.—His Royal ness Prince Alfred, attended by Major Cowell, Earl Grey and Lieut. Haig, embarked Nei the docks at half -past 5 this atternoon on board the Royal yacht Fairy, Master. Commander Welch, en route for Osborne. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge had a dinner party last evening at Gloucester House, Park. lane. Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cambridge' the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg' Strelilz, the Princess Mary, and a distinguished circleviere present. The Duke of Newcastle was enabled to take 6 carriage airing yesterday with the Countess of Lincoln. 111 : grace's health has wonderfully improved during th e 188 ten days. The Duchess of Marlborough has issued cards far an assembly on the 12th of May, at her grace's residenc° in St. James's-square. His Excellency the Count Kleczkoweki, French Ambassador at Pekin, with the Countess Kleczkowski (flio Tudor) and family, have left the Brunswick Hotel, Jerrn street, for Paris. His Excellency M. Armand L. de Balan, Ple ui : potentiary at the Conference, has arrived at MaurigY" Hotel, accompanied by his suite, from Berlin. Viscount and Viscountess Doueraile have arrived for the season at 20, Hertford-street, from Lincolnshire. The marriage of Prince Augustus or Sweden AP Norway, Duke of Dalecarlia, with the Princess of 581 e; Altenburg, took place on the evening of the 16th inst. 8 ' the Altenburg Palace. ONE OF MR. AUGUSTUS BOUVIER'S Charming picturee, in the collection now on view at 53, Pall4 ol (" The Caryan Slave "), bas recently been purchased by her most gracious Majesty the Queen. Rondeau sur Shakspere, 23 AVAIL, 1861. Cat un devoir de celebrer Shakspere, De presenter et I'encens et la myrrhe Au noble auteur qui nous dota d'Hamlet, De Romeo, d'un theatre complet Que i'univers depuis longtemps admire. C'eBt un devoir—qui peut me contredire Pour qui du beau se soumet a l'empire, De rendre hommage a talent si parfait. C'est un devoir Voila pourquoi je m'empreme de dire: Au deini-dieu qui fit vibrer la lyre Si cranement, avec si grand effet, Honneur et gloiro . . . et j'incruste le fait Leans ce rondeau que pour lui viens d'ecrire. C'est un dvoir ! LE CHEVALIER DE CHATELAIN' The fifth number of the Autographic Mirror,j ll9t published, is peculiarly interesting, as it contains an exa ct copy of Shakspera's will and fac similes of all his autograP taken from official documents. The Tereententary number of Punch is amongst the best literary productions in honour of the Shaksperi ali Festival now in progress of celebration. • SITE FOR THE SHAKSPERE MEMORTAL.—We are glad to hear it rumoured that the Beuchers centew' plate the erection of a commemorative broEzo statue t ° Shakspere on that part of the Thames Embankment which will abut upon the present river frontage of the gardens' A more appropriate site could not be fixed upon in London . The Gardens are the scene o f th e assumpt i on o f the dls tinctive badges of the "White and Red Rose of York 504 Lancaster in the first part of " H enr y VI , " (Act i i ., Scene 4)— " This brawl to-day, Grown to this faction in the Temple Gardens, Shall send, between the red rose and the white, A thousand souls to death and deadly night ;" to remind one of which, now that the smoke nuisance i 5 abated, there the white an I red roses flourish again as of yore in the days of the Plantagenets. It is within little more than a stone's throw of Playhouse-yard, close to Apothecaries' Halt, which marks the site of the friars Theatre, of which Shakspere was, according t o thf , Ellesmere papers, if wo receive them as genuine, part pro^ prietor, and, at all events, for which he wrote some of hie plays, in which he himself acted. At Bankside, on the , other side of the river, stood the Globe Theatre, at which most of bis plays were performed, under his own manage ment, the site of which adjoined Globe Alley, which has been swallowed up by the ample range of buildings forming the celebrated brewhouse of Messrs. Barclay, Perkins, and Co.— the Reader. PUBLIC MEMORIALS TO SHAKSPERE.—The Bri. tish Institution has on its front a large bas-relief by Thomas Banks, R.A., which cost 500 guineas, representing Shakspere between Poetry and Painting—Aoide, with the double mask of Tragedy and Comedy, instructing the peels whilst Painting, looking towards the spectator, introduce s him to more extended notice by the sister art. This, at present, is the only outdoor monument to Shakspere the metropolis, and owed its erection to a vate mercantile speculation. During this Terceir tentary week it may not be out of place mention that three other public memorials Shakspere are to be seen in London—the first of theat i being Roubiliac's statue of the poet, in the Hall of tba British Museum, on the left of the Britioh Museum, ° ll the left of the entrance to the Grenville .Library, which was executed for GArrick at a cost of three hundred guineas, and bequeathed by him to the nation ; the second/ the somewhat undignified st.tue by Kent in 'Westminster Abbey; and the third, the Chandos portrait of Shaksperet which had belonged to Davenant the poet, Betterton the actor, and Mrs. Barry the actress, and which was bought at the Stowe sale in 1848 by Lord Ellesmere .eor three hundred and fifty-five guineas, and has since been pre sented by him to the National Portrait Gallery, open every day during the present week.—The Reader. SHAKSPERE MEDAL.—A medal, whioh was de' signed by Mr. John Bell, end engraved by Mr. 1" C. Wyon, has been produced by Messrs. Hunt and Itoskoll, to commemorate the tercentenary of our great poet. 011 the obverse is a profile head of Shakspere, surrounded by 4 ' "glory" of his own works, the likeness being chiefly taken from the Stratford bust and Chandos portrait. a tee' simile of the autograph, beneath the head, is encircl , bi a wreath of wild flowers, such as primrose, cowslip, Wild rose (in which "a bee sucks"), honeysuckle, &c. ; th e larger bindweed twining round a magician's wa,ud of I laze+ or witch-elm. On the reverse is an apotheosis of the ter centenary. The last two centuries have already laid the wreaths on the scroll on the poet's knee, while the presen t century is in the act of crowning him. ELIZA COOK, after a long absence from litc +rature, comes before the public again this day with a n Ode written for the occasion of the " Working Men's Shalt" spere Celebration, and planting of an Oak on Primrose .hill to the Poet's Memory." Russell-square is the spot selected for the meeting of the Ancient Order of Foresters and other similar societies, accompanied by the Havelock _gill° Volunteers, under Colonel George Cruikshank, at one o'clock. The ceremonial itself will take place at two o'clo a , and the sapling, from Windsor, is to be planted, vicariorrs lYr by the hand of Mr. Phelps. In the evening the " wort Ong men" will attend a grand musical and dramatic enterh merit at the Islington Agricultural Hall.— The .Reader. LANDSEER'S NELSON'S LIONS.—Are we at I 7 nearer the final payment to the memory of Nelsc than in July last, when a spasmodic effort was made and ti fanfare announced that one lion had been modelled in cli Ay', ab an instalment towards completing the four that are wanted in bronze ? Has Sir Edwia Landseer compl ste 4 his studies in the Zoological Gardens, are all the lions in that establishment dissected and done with, and no Baths, factor), results expected ere the coming of a fresh batch or " I wide o lions," as the hunting-books have it. If the latzer• is the ease, let us send for a legion of lions; cur gallant a? ly, aid proprietor of that great lion-walk, Algeria, would lae °DIY too happy to supply the tardy sculptor with lions, an d Sir Edwin may taste the delight of the Assyrian kings , wh ° kept a Paradise wherein to enjoy lion battues before :ureak fast. Who would envy him the sports ? who begrudg a him the beasts ? Nobody envies Sir Elwin Landseer the pi 0 3, e 3- goo: of aught so much as the sole and unrestricted privi lege he enjoys of seeing in his mind's eye the gls rious statues that will 601110 day render Trafalgar-square toler able. Let it not be forgotten that we expect to have four distinct and original lions, wholly differing in design from each other; not a mere repetition of the same animal, with the position of his head and tail slightly altered, to null"' him look, to the thoughtless, another beast. Modern .Art deals too freely in machine repetitions for a man like Sir ±l - to omit the opportunity he has of entering a Pro test against the practice, and, at the same time, honouring Nelson ungrudgingly. The great Admiral gave to tou r original victories : let us give him—money not being all object for our consideration—four original lions. We are desired by Messrs. Herries, Farquhar, and Co., to give the most unqualified contradiction to the unjustifiable report inserted in this morning's papers, that an amalgamation is about to take place between them selves and the - Union Bank. There is not, and never has been, any such amalgamation in contemplation, nor lass ,here ever been ihe slightest communication between the pariies above named, nor any other which could afford the 'east foundation for sucb a report.