12 MARCH 1859, Page 9

At the Royal Institution last evening, Mr. William Odling, M.B.,

de- livered a lecture "On the Metals obtained from Lime and Magnesia, and their congeners." These metals—Calcium, Magnesium, Lithium, &c., were stated to be remarkable for their extreme lightness—Lithium es- pecially, exceeding every other solid body, and coming nearest to gases in that quality.

Dean Swift and his Critics, was the subject arm " oration " delivered by Mr. T. Mason Jones, of Trinity College, Dublin, at Willis's Rooms on Thursday evening. With a good voice but coarse utterance, a co- pious flow of words, and some imagination Mr. Jones vindicated the "Prince of satirists," the "great enigma," f

from much calumny ; praised Sir Walter Scott's biography of him, and treated Mr. Thackeray and others of the Dean's critics with no little irony and invective. The " oration " which occupied nearly two hours, displayed some real elo- quence, and much redundancy.