'A Descriptive Calendar of the Ancient Manuscripts and Records in the possession of the Corporation of Stratford-uponAvon.' Folio. It will be seen that the magnum opus of Mr. Halliwell is his large folio edition of Shakespere's works, of which eleven are published, and four more are in preparation. This magnificent production is quite a marvel in literature, but it does not surpass in grandeur of conception the plan which Mr. Halliwell has formed for the preservation of the Poet's historical remains. - In the spring of 1861, the site of New Place, the last residence of Shakespere, and the small garden attached to it, were put up for sale. No public interest was excited at the time, and the estate was bought in; but, on the occasion of its being put up for re-sale in the following autumn, Mr. Halliwell ventured to appeal to the press, with the view of securing it for the public, and the idea was so kindly and vigorously supported by the leading papers, the object proposed was attained readily and successfully. The old proverb says that it never rains but it pours. New Place, which had for some months gone begging, now became a public favourite, and no fewer than three persons came forward to rescue the property from the hands of speculative builders. The liberality of the public, however, rendered it unnecessary to have recourse to the purse of any one individual for the accomplishment of the object in view. Through the ardent personal exertions of Mr. Halliwell, the success of this movement led in October, 1861, to the establishment of the Shakespere Fund, for the promotion of the following objects: -1. The purchase of the gardens of Shakespere at New Place. 2. The purchase of the remainder of the birthplace estate. 3. The purchase of Anne Hathaway's cottage, with an endowment for a custodian. 4. The purchase of Getley's copyhold, Stratford-on-Avon. 5. The purchase of any other properties at or near Stratford-onAvon, that either formerly belonged to Shakespere, or are intimately connected with the memories of his life. The calendaring and preservation of those records at Stratford-on-Avon which illustrate the Poet's life, or the social life and history of Stratford-on-Avon in his time; and, 7. The erection and endowment of a Shakespere Library and Museum at Stratford-on-Avon. About four thousand pounds have already been subscribed, but much more is of course required to effect these objects. The Shakespere Fund is at present in abeyance, that its working may not interfere with the collection of public subscriptions in aid of the approaching tercentenary celebration; but after the latter has passed and gone, the claims of the Fund will, it is hoped, receive that public attention which is now temporarily interrupted. Mr. Halliwell, who is a member of several foreign literary and scientific societies, has long been an enthusiastic collector of old and rare books, and curious typographical fragments. In 1851 he presented to the Chetham Library, of Manchester, a valuable collection of proclamations, ballads, poems, bills, and other broadsheet literature, comprising upwards of 3000 pieces of more or less historical importance, all industriously indexed. THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY, F.R.S., PH.D. (Breslau), PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY, ROYAL SCHOOL OF MINES, AND HUNTERIAN PROFESSOR OF COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY TO THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS. THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY was born on the 4th of May, 1825, at the village of Ealing, near London, and received part of his education at Ealing School, in which his father was a master. For the rest, apart from a large appetite for miscellaneous reading, he is indebted to the works of Mr. Carlyle and of Mr. Mill; to the diligent study of German scientific literature; and to the training and example of a distinguished English anatomist and physiologist, Mr. Wharton Jones. Prevented by circumstances from devoting himself to the profession of his choice,-that of an engineer,-Mr. Huxley, while still a mere boy, commenced the study of medicine under the tutelage of a physician, his brother-in-law; but a too prolonged and inquisitive devotion to his first anatomical inquiry wellnigh put an end to his career at once, by inducing a painful and lingering disease, under which his unformed constitution nearly sank. Between 1842 and 1845 Mr. Huxley went through his curriculum as a student of medicine, attending one or two courses of lectures at Sydenham College, but owing the rest of his instruction to the Charing Cross Hospital Medical School. Attracted by the admirable teaching of the Lecturer on Physiology at the latter institution, Mr. Wharton Jones, he devoted himself, with much zeal, to the study of Physiology and Histology; and, in 1845, published his first paper, containing an account of the discovery of a new structure in the sheath of the human hair. Mr. Huxley completed his medical studies, and passed the first examination for the |