WILLIAM EMPSON, son-in-law of Jeffrey, and editor of the Edinburgh Review, died recently at the East India College, Haileyburg. He filled the chair of Professor of Civil Law at Haileyburg, formerly occupied by Malthus and Mackintosh. He is said to have written some

sixty articles for the Edinburgh Review. The gentleman who is to replace Mr. Empson in the editorship of the Review is Mr. George Cornewall Lewis, a member of the late Parliament.

Among the curiosities of the Berlin Library is the Bible of Charles I., which he bore with him to the scaffold. It is a small volume, bound in black leather, and bears evident signs of having been much used. By the side of this interesting relic lies Luther's original manuscript translation of the Holy Scriptures. Some of the chapters present a tangled mass of additions, erasures, and amendments. Another interesting MS. is Goethe's Faust, which is very clear and legible.

A manuscript catalogue of music, in the library of the British Museum, has been completed, and fills fifty-seven folio volumes.

The speeches in Parliament of the late Duke of Wellington are about to be collected and published, with the far-famed Wellington dispatches.

The Journal du Havre says that Uncle Tom's Cabin, after having filled the feuilletons, is to be given in most of the theaters in Paris. There are to be three melo-dramas, two vaudevilles, and an opera drawn from this fertile mine. The music for the libretto of "La Cabine de l'oncle Tom," is to be by Adolphe Adam; and next year, no doubt, the walls of the Exposition will be covered by paintings, the subjects furnished by Mrs. Stowe.

talist, at the recommendation of the Berlin Royal Academy, as the custom is in this literary and scientific order of knighthood.

It is stated that the Atharva Veda, one of the sacred books of the Hindoos, exists only in manuscript, and that the edition in preparation by Professor Roth, of the University of Tubingen, and Mr. Whitney, of Northampton, Mass., will be its first appearance in print. The large collections of Indian manuscripts in the great libraries of Berlin and the British Museum are to be examined, and the various copies of the Atharva to be collected before the work goes to press.

The Burman Dictionary, the last great task of Dr. Judson, is now in the hands of the Rev. E. A. Stevens, who hopes to complete it shortly. Three hundred quarto pages are already printed, and the work is steadily progressing.

John Hamilton Reynolds, the brother-in-law of Hood, and a contributor to the London Magazine, Edinburgh Review, and the Westminster, died recently on the Isle of Wight.

One of the latest seizures under the Prussian press law is a translation of Thomas Paine's 'Rights of Man," found on the premises of a Berlin bookseller.

46

The son of Niebuhr, the historian, has published in Berlin a constitution for the Netherlands, drawn up by his father in 1844, at the request of King William I.

We learn from the Tribune that there are at present twelve Americans pursuing their studies at the University of Göttingen," eight of whom are engaged in chemistry. "One-third of the students in the laboratory are Americans."

An Encyclopædia of Protestant Theology and Church History," announced five years since, is now being issued in Germany. Dr. Herzog, Professor of Theology at Halle, is the editor, assisted by a numerous and able corps of coadjutors, among whom Gieseler, Hagenbach, Lucke, Nitzsch, Tholuck, Twesten, Ullman, Umbrest, &c., are named. It is to contain, in articles alphabetically arranged, the results of scientific investigation in all parts of theology, and will be issued in numbers, ten of which

will make a volume. Five or six years will probably be occupied in completing the work.

M. Michaud is engaged in publishing a new edition of his uncle's celebrated Biographie Universelle, which will contain the first series and supplement of that valuable work, with additions and corrections. It will be published in fifty-two volumes, octavo; the tenth volume Diab-Dhya) is published.

A vacancy having occurred in the Prussian "Order of Merit" by the death of the poet Moore, the cross has been given by Frederick William to Colonel Rawlinson, the eminent orien

France.

Mr. Bogue, of London, has published a reprint of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, as revised and enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich, Professor in Yale College,-including the "Introductory Dissertation on the Origin, History, and Connection of the Languages of Western Asia and Europe," and the "Preliminary Explanation of the Principles on which Languages are formed."

The series of letters written by Burns to George Thomson were recently purchased at the sale of Mr. C. B. Tait's library, in Edinburgh, for two hundred and sixty guineas.

A proposition was recently made in London to raise a monument to Caxton-the first of English printers, and one of the greatest illustrations of Westminster-in the form of a free library for all classes in that ancient city.

It is stated in the Athenæum that a Russian literary man, of much taste and accomplishment, has completed a translation into Russian of "The House of the Seven Gables," and pub lished the same in a Muscovite journal.

The American Baptist Publication Society has prepared an edition of "The Works of John Bunyan, Practical and Allegorical," in eleven volumes.

The Bostonians have chosen to place themselves somewhat in contrast with New-York in their treatment of Thackeray. The Boston Courier thus notices his last lecture in that city:

"Mr. Thackeray delivered the last of his series of lectures at the Melodeon last evening, to a very full company, who sat through the entertainment with exemplary martyrdom. If we should say that in our humble opinion the lecturer was a humbug-a mere retailer of old anecdotes and of fragments relating to the history of the life and times of the men upon

whom he has advertised to speak-without original

ity, and without any kind of sense of judgment or impartiality-we might provoke the anger of the admirers of Vanity Fair and Pendennis. Nevertheless it is so. People who have had the opportunity of hearing Hilliard, Giles, and others like them-ripe scholars, overflowing with pathos and passion-when speaking of such subjects as have been presented by the English lecturer, could not help being astonished at the meagerness and poverty of language which he displayed, in comparison with their brilliant and striking illustrations. Anybody, with a file of old newspapers or magazines at his hand, must be a poor speaker indeed if he could not have enlightened his audience as fully and as profitably as Mr. Thackeray delighted the audience which sat before him last night."

We learn that Benjamin Pierce, LL. D., Professor of Astronomy and Mathematics in Harvard College, has been chosen a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. It is stated that Dr. Franklin and Dr. Bowditch are the only citizens of the United States who have before received the distinction of membership of this ancient society.

George R. Gliddon, the archæologist, in conjunction with Professor Nott, is engaged in New-Orleans in an ethnographical work of profound interest, to be entitled Types of Mankind, or ethnological researches, based upon ancient monuments, paintings, sculptures, and crania of races, and upon their natural, geographical, philological, and biblical history.

Miss Pennell, a niece of the Hon. Horace Mann, of Massachusetts, has been elected to the professorship of the Latin Language and Literature in Antioch College, Ohio.

Rev. F. W. Shelton, author of Salander and the Dragon, has in press a new work, called "The Rector of Saint Bardolph."

The writings of A. J. Downing, the former editor of the Horticulturist, are to be collected and published, under the editorial supervision of G. W. Curtis. Mr. Downing lost his life on the occasion of the burning of the Henry Clay on the Hudson river.

The largest library in the United States is that of Harvard University, numbering in all about ninety-two thousand volumes. Next to it ranks the Philadelphia Library, founded by Benjamin Franklin, and numbering sixty thousand volumes.

The Boston Post regards Longfellow's "Warden of the Cinque Ports" by far the best poem on the death of Wellington that has yet been written.

ment of the arts and manufactures among the Chickasaws and other civilized tribes of the red race, as well as the news of the day.

At the annual meeting of the Mercantile Library Association, held at Clinton Hall in this city, the Treasurer's Report showed the amount of receipts for the past year to be $10,127 25, of which $1,592 67 remains in the treasury. The increase of receipts over the previous year was $1,545 46. Mr. George Peckham, President of the Association, stated the expenditure for books at $664 73 over last year. There have been added to the library during the past year four thousand three hundred and forty-six volumes, of which number four thousand one hundred and thirty-six were purchased, and one hundred and ninety were donated, which addition is unprecedented by any previous year. It exceeds the previous year by one thousand three hundred and eighty-nine volumes. The number of volumes in the library January 1st, 1853, was thirty-seven thousand four hundred and eighty-six, including works of theological, scientific, political, historical, geographical, mathematical, and technological character, beside some works on fiction. The library ranks as the fifth in this country, being exceeded only by those at Harvard College, Boston Athenæum, Philadelphia Library Company, and the Astor Library. Among the libraries of this city, this library is exceeded only by the Astor Library. Mr. J. Terry Bates announced that the Astor-Place Opera House had been purchased for the Mercantile Library Association.

At a recent meeting of the National Historical Society of this city, the special committee, to whom was referred the subject of a proposition at a former meeting for a general historical and analytical index of American newspapers, reported that the importance of the proposed Index is admitted by thinking men of all classes; and merchants, bankers, lawyers, physicians, clergymen, scholars, and those engaged in the busy pursuits of industry and commerce, to whom the subject has been mentioned, have promised their countenance and support to the undertaking. It was recommended by this committee that an Index Association be formed of those persons who will subscribe $50 each, amounting in all to two hundred shares, and the books issued, in a similar shape to "Holmes' American Annals," to the number of one thousand copies, in two volumes, octavo, to belong to the subscribers; leaving the Society free from pecuniary responsibility.

It is proposed to establish a female college at Huntsville, to be under the care of the Texas Conference of the Methodist Church, South. $4,000 have already been subscribed to erect the building.

Societies.

IN Rangoon, India, the Baptist mission has two hundred and fifty pupils in one school, and thirty-one of them are young men preparing to preach the gospel to their countrymen. Preaching is sustained in three languages-Burman, Karen, and English.

The Episcopalians in this country have twentynine dioceses, one thousand six hundred and fifty clergymen, one thousand six hundred and fifty parishes, and one hundred thousand communicants.

Of one hundred and fifty male missionaries who have gone to China, eighty-eight were from this country, forty-seven from England, and fifteen from the continent of Europe.

In the churches connected with the Baptist Western Union, Jamaica, are eighteen thousand three hundred and eighty members. In thirtyfour of these churches, one thousand and fiftysix baptisms are reported for last year.

The last General Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection, convened at Syracuse, in this state, was composed of thirty-two clergymen and thirty-two laymen, representing twelve annual conferences.

The income of the Church Missionary Society, England, the last year amounted to $600,000, of which more than $50,000 were raised in the various missions, chiefly in India, being an increase of at least $30,000 on the year before.

We learn that, during the past year, there has been a net increase of one thousand five hun

dred persons in the German Methodist Episcopal

Church in the United States. The whole German Methodist membership is now about ten thousand.

The receipts in full of the British and Foreign Bible Society, during the past year, amounted to $542,245, being an increase, as compared with the former year, of $25,590. The expenditure of the year amounted to $519,650, being $1,930 more than in the preceding year. The donations amounted to $33,970, and the legacies to $64,185. The issues of the year reached one million one hundred and fifty-four thousand six hundred and forty-two copies, showing an increase of seventeen thousand one hundred and eight copies over the preceding year. The total issues have now amounted to twenty-five million four hundred and two thousand three hundred and nine copies.

An effort is being made, in the bounds of the Virginia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to raise a fund of $22,000, for the education of the daughters of the traveling preachers of that body.

The Pope has resolved to send an apostolic delegate to the Haytien Government, and has chosen for the purpose Padre Spaccapietra, & Neapolitan.

An eminent clergyman at Wurtemburg has come into possession of a part of a scroll of the law, which had been found in Pompeii. It was discovered in an Egyptian temple in that city, and it is presumed that it was brought thither

from Jerusalem, since the Romans looked upon Judaism as originating with the Egyptians. It is hoped the missing parts will yet be added. This newly-discovered treasure will prove interesting to the student of the Bible.

We learn that the American Board of Foreign Missions has under its care 26 missions, with 109 stations and 45 out-stations, at which are employed 163 ordained missionaries, (seven of whom are physicians,) two licentiates, 6 physi cians not ordained, 24 male assistants, and 222 females. There are 39 native preachers and 214 native helpers, making a total of 670 laborers connected with the missions. There are 94 churches, with 22,061 members, 1,595 of whom were added last year. There are ten seminaries, 17 other boarding schools, and 783 free schools; 441 of which are supported by the Hawaiian Government. The seminaries have 485 pupils, the boarding schools 484, and the free schools 22,595, making a total of young persons under instruction of 23,564. There are eleven printing establishments which issued in different forms last year 55,225,203 pages, and which have sent out since the commencement 921,595,924 pages.

We learn that the Sunday-school connected with the Methodist Episcopal Mission at Buenos Ayres, South America, consists of twenty-eight officers and teachers, and two hundred scholars in regular attendance. The superintendent of the mission, the Rev. D. D. Lore, reports twenty conversions in the school during the past year, this department of the mission are still seen. and that the most encouraging indications in

The number of Jews in Jerusalem has greatly increased of late, and they are supported by Jews in other parts of the world, particularly

those in America and Holland. These Jews reside chiefly on the rugged slope of Mount Zion, over against the temple, and still anticipate the speedy coming of the Messiah.

At a late meeting of the Managers of the American Bible Society, a grant of $1,000 was made for preparing the Arabic Scriptures for the Syrian mission. Grants of Bibles and Testaments were also made for distribution among the Jews of New-York and vicinity, and for the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians.

At the last session of the Georgia Conference, the secretaries reported an increase of nine hundred and twenty-five in the white membership, and of five hundred and sixty-seven in the colored. $17,000 were contributed during the year for missionary purposes, and $4,000 for the Bible cause.

It is stated that there are one hundred and twenty-five thousand Europeans, chiefly French and Spaniards, among the three millions of people inhabiting Algiers, now under the rule of the French. Of these about six thousand are Protestants. Protestant worship is sus tained in the city of Algiers, and in six other places. Protestant preachers and colporteurs have free access to Europeans; and by preaching the gospel to the Spaniards they are

virtually giving the gospel to Spain, while Spain is shutting it out. A door of access is open also to the Jews and to the Mohammedans; and one of the missionaries has preached the gospel in a mosque to a mingled assembly of Arabs, Protestants, and Papists.

There are in the United States eight thousand seven hundred and ninety-one Baptist churches, valued at $10,931,000, and capable of seating three million one hundred and thirty thousand people.

At the late session of the Southern Illinois Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was resolved, "That each member of the annual conference be and is requested to write a sketch of his life, conversion, and such other

facts as he may think proper, to be deposited with the secretary of the conference."

Princeton Theological Seminary has one hundred and nineteen students this year, who represent nineteen States, besides Germany, Scotland, and Ireland.

Upon the application of the Committee of the Wesleyan Missionary Society to the British and Foreign Bible Society, ten thousand copies of

the Tongese New Testament have been ordered to be printed, and also an edition of five thousand copies of the New Testament, in Feejee.

The London Jews' Society, by their missionaries, have distributed fifty thousand copies of the New Testament, in Hebrew, and one hundred thousand copies of the Old Testament, besides thousands in other languages read and spoken by the Jews.

At the last session of the Alabama Conference, twenty-three missions were recognized within the bounds of the conference. This conference has increased its membership one thousand six hundred and eighty whites, and two hundred and three colored, during the past year. It has raised $20,329 for the cause of missions.

At the last Mormon Conference, at Salt Lake, a large number of elders were appointed to missions in various parts of the globe. They have missionary establishments in Europe, parts of Asia and Africa, and the islands of the sea.

The Church missionaries from England are aiming to form a line of stations across Central Africa. Two are already formed--Badagry and Abbeokuta; for a third, they have their eye on Ibadan, a city of fifty thousand inhabitants, a day's journey farther northeast, on the road to the Niger. Ilorin may constitute a fourth, and the fifth bring them to this great river. As many more will bring them to the Lake Tehad, where they expect to greet their brethren from the eastern coast.

The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions have sent out the Rev. William Speer, lately from the China Mission, as a missionary to the

Chinese of California.

The famous Countess Hahn Hahn-authoress of "Jerusalem and Babylon," and other workswhose recent conversion to Catholicism made some noise, has just entered the convent of the Order of the Good Shepherd, at Angers, in France; and will, after due probation, found a similar convent in Coblentz or Cologne.

During the period of about twenty years that the American Baptist Home Mission Society has been in operation, it has been instrumental in gathering and organizing seven hundred and eighty-five Churches, besides many hundreds of other Churches aided from its funds.

The Methodist Tract Society has commenced effective operations. It starts with a catalogue of more than four hundred tracts, well classified, and a volume series, the first book of which is a very neatly bound edition of Carvosso's Life-one of the best illustrations of "the life of faith" in our language. One of the main designs of the Society is to furnish translations

of volumes and tracts for the German and Scandinavian missions of the Church. This demand

is very urgent, and affords a great opportunity of usefulness. Funds are needed immediately to begin the translations. J. B. Edwards, Methodist Book Concern, New-York, is treasurer.

At a late meeting of the New-York Bible Society, it was stated in the report that the agent, in the course of his regular distribution, had furnished a Bible in the Italian language Palermo, Sicily, at his earnest request. A few to Agostino Francis, mate of the brig Anna, of brig, the agent learned from the mate of the weeks since, while visiting another Sicilian latter vessel that Agostino Francis had been discovered after his return to Palermo to be the possessor of the Bible which had been procured by him at New-York, and for this crime had been arrested and sentenced to imprisonment for ten months, and a fine of sixty dollars.

Mark H. Newman, Esq., has left by his will twenty-five thousand dollars to the American Home Missionary Society. He gave also ten thousand dollars to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; and then made the American Home Missionary Society his residuary-legatee, from which it is expected a large amount will be realized by the society.

It is said that a gentleman, who attended the Madiai meeting recently held at the Metropoli tan Hall, in this city, sent to the American Bible Society a check for $1,000, to aid in cir culating the Bible.

The number of regular Baptists in Wisconsin is four thousand and eleven; of Free-Will, one thousand and nineteen; and of Campbellite Baptists, five hundred; total, five thousand five hundred and thirty. The population of the State is four hundred thousand, making almost one Baptist to every eighty persons in the State.

The Mormons report that they have in the London Conference, England, one hundred and sixty elders, one hundred and twenty-one priests, ninety-eight teachers, sixty-seven deacous, and two thousand three hundred and fifty-two members.

It is said that from seven to ten thousand

Christian pilgrims, besides Jews and Mohammedans, annually flock to Jerusalem.

The American and Foreign Christian Union has one hundred and fourteen missionaries, of which eighty-five are employed in the home field, and additions to this number are made as fast as the Society's means permit.