the soldiers had been neglected by their officers.
"Now (he said), I beg most distinctly to state to you—
and remember I had an opportunity of seeing everything
that was going on in the different divisions of that army
—that there never yet were men more anxious, more
zealous, and more desirous to perform their duty, than
the regimental officers of the British army. If you wish
to hear a real and true opinion upon the subject, I
fearlessly ask you to appeal to the soldiers of that army; for
I am persuaded that they will be the first to declare
that their officers not only cannot be surpassed, but
cannot be equalled. Whether in the time of fell disease,
when the army was encamped in and round Varna
—whether on the battle-field, or on the heights of
Sebastopol, where, alas! they have now been suffering for
a great many months—the officers of the British army
have nobly performed their duty by their men, and
have set that example to them which has enabled the
army to perform those acts of valour and undaunted
courage, which I am gratified to see have been duly
appreciated by the country." He added, that "there
never were men who bore their sufferings with more
patience and enduring fortitude than the non-commissioned
officers and private soldiers of the British army.
Every one of those men, when he comes home—and,
please God, we shall see many of them come home—
deserves well of his country; and I doubt not that the
country will accord to those gallant soldiers a hearty
welcome."  Major Powys, the hon. secretary, read the report.
The total subscriptions collected amounted to £104,835;
of this sum, £34,000 had been expended in relief, and
£6000 in expenses; leaving upwards of £64,000 still in
hand. Of the men who had fallen, only 15 per cent left
widows. The number of soldiers' wives receiving relief
exceeded 5000, the number of children 8000. There
were ninety-five local committees; including those at
Constantinople, Malta, Gibraltar, Montreal, Quebec,
Halifax in Nova Scotia, &c. Lord Shaftesbury, Mr.
Stafford, M.P., Mr. Napier, M.P., Viscount Ingestre,
Mr. Kinnaird, M.P., Lord Feversham, and Lord Lilford,
took part in the proceedings. In acknowledging the
usual vote of thanks to the chairman, the Duke of
Cambridge spoke with much feeling. "As regards myself,"
he said, pointing to the wounded soldiers in the room,
"I must say that those are the men—those gallant
Highlanders, those gallant Guards, those noble
Artillerymen—those are the men who have made me a
soldier. It is to them that any thanks are due for the
high position in which I have the honour to stand
before you as a soldier of the British army. I expected
much from those men; and afterwards, when it was
their lot to be suffering in the manner in which I have
seen them suffer, it would have been a disgrace to me if
I had not endeavoured to assuage their anguish, and to
palliate the pangs which they must have endured.
What, therefore, has been lauded as a mark of friendly
feeling upon my part, I regard only as an act of duty
towards those whom I have had the honour to
command.'' These sentiments were received with the
warmest applause.

The annual general meeting of the Royal Literary
Fund Society was held on the 14th inst., in the society's
rooms, Great Russell-street, Sir Robert Inglis in the
chair. When the usual vote of thanks to the auditors
was moved, Mr. Dilke made some remarks on the
management of the society, which he contrasted with
that of the Artists' General Benevolent Fund. The
charge in ten years for relieving 429 applicants by the
Literary Fund was £5094 0s. 1d.; or £11 17s. for every
draught drawn by the society for the benefit of an
applicant. The charge for relieving 559 applicants
by the Artists' fund was £904 17s. 1d. He therefore
moved, as an amendment to the vote of thanks, that
"the expenses of managing the Literary Fund are
unreasonable and enormous, and a great change must
be made in the administration of its affairs." Dr.
Russell said that the exertions of the secretary greatly
contributed to swell the subscriptions; and, considering
his labours, he did not think he was overpaid at £200 a
year—one of the items complained of. On a division,
the amendment was negatived by 32 to 28. Mr.
Wentworth Dilke then expressed an opinion, that the
offices of the society should be filled by distinguished
literary men; and he moved that Mr. Hallam should be
selected to fill the office of president, now filled by the
Marquis of Lansdowne. Dr. Milman argued, that the
administration of the society should not be limited to
those who have actually published books, but should
include those who are the munificent, consistent, and
honourable patrons of literature. A ballot was then
taken; and while the officers were counting the votes
for the president, Mr. Charles Dickens moved that a
committee should be appointed to consider the
desirableness of applying for a new charter, or act of
parliament. He described the charter as defective and
rotten; taking as an illustration the council of the
society, which is appointed never to meet, and is the
only thing in creation that has no purpose, end, or
object in existence. "What would the public say of a
board of directors that did not direct, of a bench of
judges who did not judge, of a jury that did not
deliberate or find a verdict, of a physician appointed
never to prescribe, of a surgeon directed never to set a
bone, of a fireman enjoined never to go within fifty
miles of a fire, or of picked officers of the Humane
Society being tied up not to approach the water? Such
was the case of the council at this moment." Mr. John
Forster seconded the motion; it was carried unanimously,
and the following were appointed members of
the committee: The President, the Very Rev. the Dean
of St. Paul's, Mr. B. W. Proctor, Sir E. Bulwer
Lytton, Mr. J. Forster, Mr. W. M. Thackeray, Mr. C.
Dickens, Mr. R. Bell, the Rev. E. R. Gleig, Mr. C. W.
Dilke, Mr. W. Tooke, Sir. H. Ellis, Sir. J. Forbes, and
Mr. J. Auldjo. Mr. Dilke withdrew his motion, and
the meeting separated.

The Statistical Society held its twenty-first annual
meeting on the 15th inst., Mr. Thomas Tooke, Vice-
President in the chair. Among the members present
were Lord Harrowby, Lord Stanley, Mr. Farr, and Dr.
Waddilove. The report gave a very good account of
the society's progress. There was an increase of 65 per
cent in the sale of the Statistical Journal; the index by
Mr. Cheshire, the acting secretary, giving an abstract of
every paper in the journal, had sold largely and
profitably. A classified catalogue of the books had been
compiled by Mr. Wheatley: the library contained 2000
distinct works (2600 volumes), besides blue-books.
Among the members whom the society had lost by
death, the most distinguished were M. Léon Faucher
and Mr. Joseph Hume. The existing members of the
council were re-elected, with the addition of Mr. J. G.
Hubbard, Mr. Herman Merivale, Mr. T. H. Sutton
Sotheron, M.P.,Lord Stanley, M.P., Mr. John Walter,
M.P., and Lord Wharncliffe.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE.

THE QUEEN, Prince Albert, and two of the children,
accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge, went on the
3th inst. to Fort Pitt, and afterwards to the Invalid
Depôt, and there saw and conversed with the men who
have lately returned wounded from the Crimea: her
Majesty saw no fewer than 450 patients. On the 9th
the Queen and Prince Albert paid a visit to Woolwich:
after reviewing a troop of horse and a battery of foot
artillery, they proceeded to the hospital, and saw the
artillerymen who have returned wounded from the
Crimea. The Queen also went through the arsenal
and laboratory, and inspected the new ambulance-
wagons.

The Queen held the first levee of the season on the
7th inst. at St. James's Palace. There was a very full
attendance of foreign ministers and of naval and
military men.

Major Charles Nasmyth, one of the heroes of Silistria,
has been admitted a burgess and brother guild of the
city of Edinburgh. In his address on the occasion he
spoke in vindication of the patient endurance and
unsurpassed courage of the Turkish troops in moments
of danger.

Sir William Burnett, K.H., after serving thirty-three
years as chief of the naval medical department, has
placed his resignation in the hands of government.