SPES. THE TREDESCANTS AND ELIAS ASHMOLE. Dr. Hamel, of whose memoir of the elder Tredescant and his voyage to Russia I gave some account in Vol. iii., p. 391., being again in England last year, pursued with unremitting zeal his researches into the history of the Tredescants, and has given the results in a short Memoir read before the Imperial Academy of Sciences at Petersburg on the 5th of December last. Having been favoured with a copy of the memoir, and a flattering letter from the writer, I think it incumbent upon me to add to my former communication a brief abstract of this interesting paper. Dr. Hamel first directed his researches toward an endeavour to develope the means by which Elias Ashmole became the possessor of the Tredescant collection; and naturally expected that he should be able to trace the document of 1659, upon which Ashmole rested his claim to the ownership; but he could not find any such deed. He was, however, fortunate enough to trace out the original Will of John Tredescant the younger, bearing his seal and signature, made at a subsequent date, and formally proved, after his death in 1662, by his widow Hester. This important document throws much light upon the transaction respecting the Museum, and its destination. Dr. Hamel was naturally much pleased with this discovery, and rejoiced to see for the first time the autograph of a man about whom he had so much interested himself, but was somewhat surprised to find that the name which has been usually written Tr_a_descant was uniformly spelt Tr_e_descant in the body of the Will, as well as in the signature; the seal, bearing the same coat of arms given on a plate in the Catalogue of the Museum, being placed between the syllable _Tre_ and _descant_. This document runs thus: "THE LAST WILL AND TESTMANENT OF ME JOHN TREDESCANT. "In the name of God, Amen.