THE two-hundredth anniversary of Watteau’s birth will be celebrated at Valenciennes on October 10, when a monument by Hiolle and a statue by Carpeaux will be inaugurated. A FUND is being raised to preserve the Saxon tower of Earl’s Barton Church, near Northampton, under the direction of Mr. T. L. Pearson, R.A. MR. E. A. FREEMAN intends to inaugurate his professorship at Oxford next term with a course of lectures on “The Method of Historical Study.” He will also lecture on “Gregory of Tours.” DR. PHENÈ, F.S.A., is engaged in investigating the museums and private collections of antiquities in Scandinavia, and also the Mounds of Norway, and the stone monuments of Denmark and Sweden, in continuation of his researches in Iceland and the North American continent. THE Abbot Pietro Pressutti has completed the first volume of the “Regesta” (_i.e._, the letter-books) of Pope Honorius III., dating from 1216 to 1227, compiled by order of the Pope from the Codices in the Vatican archives. THE “History of the Church of Manchester,” compiled from ancient documents and authentic records, by the Rev. Ernest F. Letts, M.A., Precentor and Minor Canon, is announced for publication, by Mr. Henry Gray, of Cathedral-yard, Manchester. THE suggestion of the Mayor of Lichfield that Dr. Johnson’s centenary should be celebrated in December next, was anticipated by a letter from Mr. Walford, the editor of this magazine, which was published in the _Athenæum_ several months ago. AN order has been made by Mr. Justice Chitty, authorising the Trustees of the Marlborough Estates and Heirlooms to sell to the Trustees of the National Gallery the Madonna Ansidei, by Raphael, for £70,000; and the equestrian picture of Charles I., by Van Dyck, for £17,500. The Trustees were also authorised to sell two pictures in the Blenheim Collection by Rubens, namely, one of that artist and his second wife and another of that lady and her page, for £50,000. THE extensive collection of coins and medals, and also of antiquities, belonging to the family of the late Dr. Jacob Amiet, ex-Attorney-General of the Swiss Confederation at Solothurn, Switzerland, is announced for sale. The coins and medals include Greek, Roman, Swiss, French, English, and Italian; and among the antiquities are Egyptian idols and Babylonian cylinders; also weapons, tools, ornaments, &c., of the stone, bronze, and iron ages; potteries and implements of earthenware, stone, and glass, &c. Full particulars of the collection can be obtained from Mr. F. Schulthess, 16, Cantlowes-road, Camden-square, N.W.