Water Supply of London in the Middle Ages.—The first enterprising Londoner who introduced conduit water to his premises was a tradesman of Fleet-street. In a record of 1478, it is mentioned that “a wax-chandler in Flete-strete had by crafte perced a pipe of the condit withynne the ground, and so conveied the water into his selar: wherefore he was judged to ride through the citie with a condit uppon his hedde,” and the City Crier was to walk before him proclaiming his offence.—Builder.
A Story of Stourton and other Wiltshire Tales: told in Verse.ByW. G. Benham. Simpkin, Marshall & Co.
A Story of Stourton and other Wiltshire Tales: told in Verse.ByW. G. Benham. Simpkin, Marshall & Co.
Thislittle work is an ingenious attempt to tell in lively verse several popular Wiltshire traditions of considerable antiquarian interest. The writer seems to have taken pains to present the traditions in as accurate a form as possible, and assures us that “all available manuscripts and other authorities have been carefully consulted.” There is much in the versification to remind us of the “Ingoldsby Legends.”
Histoire de l’Art dans l’Antiquité.ParGeorges Perrot, Membre de l’Institut, etCharles Chipiez, Architecte du Gouvernement. 8vo. Vol. II. Chaldée et Assyrie. Paris et Londres: L. Hachette et Cie.
Histoire de l’Art dans l’Antiquité.ParGeorges Perrot, Membre de l’Institut, etCharles Chipiez, Architecte du Gouvernement. 8vo. Vol. II. Chaldée et Assyrie. Paris et Londres: L. Hachette et Cie.
Thestudy of archæology has lately made signal progress in France as well as in England. A great many works have been published bearing upon the subject, and the volumes issued annually by Messrs. Perrot and Chipiez deserve to be especially mentioned as excellent specimens of what that class of literature ought to be. They are not intended forsavantsproperly so called, and therefore they do not bristle with erudite quotations, or hieroglyphic figures and cuneiform texts; neither are they, on the other hand, elementary manuals or abridgments for the use of beginners; the two authors have started their joint undertaking for the express purpose of giving a somewhat detailed account of the progress of art amongst the different nations of antiquity, calling to their assistance the resources furnished by wood and steel engraving, chromo-lithography, &c.; and the improvements which during the last half-century have been introduced into the several departments of pictorial illustration have rendered their work, in that respect, comparatively easy.
The publication we are now reviewing will be terminated in five or six volumes. Messrs. Perrot and Chipiez had, last year, introduced us to Egypt; their second instalment is devoted to Chaldæa and Assyria; it marks, therefore, a signal development in æsthetic culture, and in the various expressions of architecture, painting, and sculpture. From the civilisation which Messrs. Champollion, Mariette, Maspéro, Young, and de Rougé have unfolded before us, we are now invited to pass on to that with which the names of Sir A. Layard, Sir H. Rawlinson, Messrs. Jules Oppert, and Fr. Lenormant have made us tolerably familiar.
The first chapter of this volume treats of the general characteristics of Chaldæo-Assyrian society, and naturally opens with geographical and ethnological details. M. Perrot, we are happy to see, pays a well-deserved tribute of praise to Professor Rawlinson’s celebrated work, “The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World,” making, at the same time, long quotations from it, as well as from the researches of Sir A. Layard, M. Hormuzd Rassam, &c. Whilst enumerating the various elements which have contributed to make up the population of Assyria and Chaldæa, our author notices the hypothesis recently put forth by some antiquarians who would number amongst those elements the Aryan one. He maintains that if it did exist it was only in a very small proportion—so small, indeed, that it is scarcely worth taking it into account; on the other hand, if we admit the theories of Messrs. J. Oppert and Fr. Lenormant, we have to register a fact of the most interesting and unlooked for nature. It was hitherto believed that we could not go beyond thefamilies of Sem and of Kusch, which occupied Chaldæa at the time when history is supposed to commence. From certain inscriptions, however, it seems perfectly clear that the oldest idiom spoken, or at any rate written, there, belonged neither to the Aryan nor to the Semitic families, nor yet to any of the groups of languages which are considered as including the old Egyptian. It was essentially an agglutinative idiom, and by its grammatical system, as well as by some of the elements of its vocabulary, it may be assimilated to the Finnish, the Turkish, and other cognate languages. M. Perrot then goes on to discuss the questions connected with writing, religion, and government, and to describe the form of government which prevailed on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris. The reader will remark that this first chapter is a kind of introduction to the book; for art, which is the outcome of civilisation, cannot be well understood till we are acquainted with the elements from which it originated. Architecture, sculpture, painting, and the industrial arts constitute the subjects of the next seven chapters; and here, again, the eschatological ideas of the Chaldæo-Assyrians give us a clue to the character of the monuments which they raised to the dead. When we say raised to the dead we are guilty of a slight error; for all the researches of Sir A. Layard, Messrs. Hormuzd Rassam, de Sarzec, Botta, and Place have failed to bring to light a singledébris, whether inscription or sculpture, from which we might know what the Assyrians believed about the destiny of man after this life. In Lower Chaldæa a few monuments have indeed been discovered, but they are extremely simple, and the contrast between Egyptian and Chaldæo-Assyrian art in this respect is wonderfully striking. As M. Perrot remarks, we know a great deal more about the sepulchral rites, the tombs and the funereal remains of the Egyptians than about the palaces of their princes. It is just the reverse in Assyria: “We have never seen represented the fall, the death, or the burial of an Assyrian warrior; one might almost suppose that a feeling of national pride has prevented the artist from admitting that an Assyrian warrior could die; all the corpses we see portrayed on the battlefield are those of enemies; we recognise them because they are frequently mutilated and decapitated.” If, however, Chaldæa has only a few sepulchral monuments to boast of, it abounds in burial-grounds, and between Niffar and Mougheir, more particularly, every mound is a necropolis. Combining this fact with the no less striking one that there are no cemeteries in Assyria, M. Loftus has put forth the opinion that the inhabitants of this last-named country, being Chaldæan by origin, regarded Chaldæa as a kind of holy land where they systematically buried their dead, and all persons rich enough to pay the somewhat heavy expenses connected with the removal of the body, the religious ceremonies, &c., &c., made a point of committing their departed relations and friends to their eternal rest in the nationalcampo-santofrom which they had in the first place emigrated. As for the poor and the slaves, those who were reckoned as nothing when alive, they were cast unceremoniously after their death into the first hole or ditch available for the purpose.
We must say a word or two on the concluding chapter before bringing this notice to an end: it consists of an ingenious parallel between the civilisations of Egypt and of Chaldæa, thus recapitulating the principal facts given in the first volume as well as those contained in the one which has formed the subject of the present article.
The illustrations, amounting to nearly five hundred, are of two different kinds; some occupy a whole page (temples, palaces, statues, &c.), othersare inserted in the text; nor must we forget an excellent alphabetical index, and an appendix of additions and corrections.
Quads within Quads, for Authors, Editors, and Devils.Edited byAndrew W. Tuer. Field & Tuer. 1884.
Quads within Quads, for Authors, Editors, and Devils.Edited byAndrew W. Tuer. Field & Tuer. 1884.
Underthe above quaint title Messrs. Field & Tuer have issued from “Ye Leadenhalle Presse” a little volume—or rather, two volumes in one—which is likely in future ages to rank high amongst the treasures of the book collector. The work consists of an amusing collection of stories andbon motsrelating to authors, editors, and “devils,” which we suppose is another name for the men of Paternoster-row; and there is an innocent raciness about them—the jokes, not the publishers—which cannot fail to entertain the reader. For the benefit of the uninitiated the editor, in his introductory remarks, states that “quads” are “little metal blanks used by the printer for filling up gaps,” and that they “are not of much account, although he cannot get along without them; hence the application of the word to printers’ jokes.” The book is baulked out at the end with extra leaves of paper fastened together and hollowed out in the centre, and in the little nest so formed reposes a copy of the miniature or midget-folio “Quad,” another equally quaint volume, containing some 160 pages, and measuring but one inch in width by one and a half inches in length.
TheArchæological Journalfor July contains papers on “The Gallo-Roman Monuments of Reims,” by Mr. Bunnell Lewis; “On the Methods Used by the Romans for Extinguishing Conflagrations,” by the Rev. Joseph Hirst; “Jewish Seal found at Woodbridge,” by C. W. King, M.A.; “Roman Pottery found at Worthing,” by Mr. A. J. Fenton; “Roman Inscriptions discovered in Britain in 1883,” by Mr. W. Thompson Watkin; “The Battle of Lewes,” by Rev. W. R. W. Stephens, M.A.; and “Some Remarks on the Pfahlgraben and Swalburg Camp in Germany, in Relation to the Roman Wall and Camps in Northumberland,” by Mr. James Hilton, F.S.A.
METROPOLITAN.
Society of Antiquaries.—June 26, Dr. E. Freshfield, V.P., in the chair. Mr. W. H. Richardson exhibited some fragments of heraldic tiles which had been found under the floor of Fenny Compton Church, Warwickshire, and a drawing of a tile bearing the same inscription from Wormleighton Church. The arms on the tiles appear to be those of Butler and Beauchamp respectively. Mr. R. S. Ferguson communicated some notes on the tomb of Margaret, Countess Dowager of Cumberland, which had recently been moved from its original position in the church of St. Lawrence, Appleby, to a spot more convenient for the performance of divine service. He also reported on recent discoveries in Cumberland, and exhibited some of the early Rolls of the City Court of Carlisle. In connection with this paper Mr. Leveson-Gower exhibited an interesting portrait of his ancestress, the Countess of Cumberland. The Rev. W. F. Creeney exhibited a third instalment of rubbings of foreign brasses, thirty-four in number, which he had executed during a summer trip last year, in which he had traversed over five thousand miles.
Royal Archæological Institute.—July 3, the Rev. F. Spurrell in the chair. The Secretary read a communication from the Rev. Precentor Venables, describing the discovery of an intramural Roman family burial-place in Lincoln, and of a Roman well in the same city. Professor B. Lewis read a paper on “Roman Antiquities in Switzerland.” A number of Roman gems and coins, together with copies of inscriptions, engravings of mosaics, and other objects, collected by Professor Lewis and the Rev. S. S. Lewis, were exhibited in illustration of this paper. Mr. F. Helmore then read some remarks on stone coffins lately found in Hertfordshire. The paper was illustrated by diagrams and drawings of two fine examples, probably of the thirteenth century, discovered at Tring and at Berkhampstead.
London and Middlesex Archæological Society.—June 16, Mr. J. G. Waller in the chair. Mr. F. C. Sachs read a paper written by his brother, Mr. John Sachs, on “Arms and Armour,” in which he described those worn by the ancient Egyptians and Assyrians. Greek, Roman, and Saxon armour was also described, with the assistance of sketches and engravings which were exhibited. While speaking of shields, Mr. Sachs described that used in the trophy of Henry V. in Westminster Abbey as made of oak, over the front of which was first a covering of coarse flax, over which are stretched four layers of stout linen, on which traces of painted colouring are still visible. The inside of the shield has been covered with white silk, embroidered with needlework, a portion of which remains. The Chairman offered a few remarks on armour generally, including chain armour, plate armour, and “banded mail.” Mr. Thomas Millbourne made some observations on Mediæval London at the Health Exhibition.—June 26, excursion to Rochester and Stroud. The proceedings commenced with a meeting in the Town Hall, Rochester, where, in the absence of the President, General Pitt-Rivers, F.R.S., the chair was taken by Mr. Charles Roach Smith, F.S.A., V.P., who delivered an address on the antiquities of Rochester, with special reference to the Roman wall, fragments of which are still visible. Mr. W. H. St. John Hope, F.S.A., gave a lecture on the maces and other regalia of the City of Rochester, and Mr. R. S. Ferguson, F.S.A., of Carlisle, followed with a few remarks on maces generally. The party afterwards paid a visit to the Castle and the Cathedral, the chief architectural features of each building being described by Mr. Hope, who traced the history of the Cathedral from its foundation in the time of Ethelbert, and, with the aid of diagrams, pointed out the work of successive architects from the time of Bishop Gundulph. Eastgate House, an interesting Elizabethan building in the High-street, now used as the Rochester Workmen’s Club, and Restoration House, the residence of Mr. Stephen Aveling, opposite the Vines, were next examined. The latter building, which dates from about 1580, was formerly called the Mansion or the Manor house, but its name was changed to Restoration House from having been the resting-place of Charles II., on his way from Dover to London on the eve of his restoration to the throne. The members next visited the museum belonging to Mr. Humphrey Wickham, at Stroud, among the contents of which are a large number of Anglo-Saxon objects which had been discovered in the neighbourhood. Several of these objects were described by Mr. Roach Smith, who also pointed out the site of the ancient cemetery where many of the articles had been found, and spoke of the frequent destruction at Strood caused by the Medway overflowing its banks.
Royal Society of Literature.—June 25, Sir P. Colquhoun in the chair. Dr. W. Knighton read a paper on the results of late excavations in Rome, considered in reference to the truth of its so-called legendary history. Some notes from Mr. W. S. W. Vaux on the subject were also read, and a discussion followed.
New Shakspere.—May 30, Mr. F. J. Furnivall in the chair. Mr. T. Tyler, M.A., read the first of two papers on “Shakspere’s Sonnets.” With regard to the date, Mr. Tyler came to the conclusion that the Sonnets 1 to 126 were written in 1598-1601. Taking the Sonnets 100 to 126 as forming a single poem, he found several allusions therein to the rebellion of Essex. This was alluded to in the “eclipse of the mortal moon” (107), an expression which could not, as alleged by Massey, refer to the death of Queen Elizabeth, since the point is that “the mortal moon” had “endured” her eclipse, in accordance with the general drift of the sonnet. Sonnet 55, Mr. Tyler maintained, was written after the publication of Meres’s “Palladis Tamia” in 1598. “Mr. W. H.,” mentioned in the dedication of the 4to. edition of 1609, was, in his opinion, William Herbert, who in 1601 became Lord Pembroke. In support of this view some new evidence was adduced from documents in the Record Office, the British Museum, and in the Marquis of Salisbury’s collection at Hatfield, relating especially to an amour of Lord Pembroke with Mrs. Fytton, a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth, an amour for which Lord Pembroke was imprisoned in the Fleet, in March, 1601. On his release from prison, Sonnets 100 to 126 were addressed to him. Three years backwards from this time, according to Sonnet 104, give the initial date of 1598.—June 13, Mr. F. J. Furnivall, Director, in the chair. The Rev. W. A. Harrison read copies of letters from the Earl and Countess of Pembroke and the Earl of Oxford to Lord Burghley, showing that in 1579, when William Herbert was only seventeen, his parents had in hand a scheme for his marriage forthwith to Bridget, granddaughter to Lord Burghley. Mr. Tyler read his second paper “On Shakspere’s Sonnets.” After alluding to the theory, recently put forth, that the rival poet of the sonnets was Dante, Mr. Tyler maintained that the poet intended was George Chapman. The dark lady of Sonnets 127 to 152 was probably Mrs. Fytton, maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth. The relations of this lady with William Herbert would not unreasonably, in view of several of the sonnets, as 40 and 144, suggest the identification. So far as there were materials for comparison, the character of Mrs. Fytton showed a remarkable agreement with that of the dark lady. A difficulty had been felt as to Shakspere’s writing of himself at thirty-five as though in declining age. But this difficulty was removed by comparing Sonnet 73, its “yellow leaves,” “bare boughs,” &c., with Byron’s poem written when he attained his thirty-sixth year, where the imagery was remarkably similar.
Folk-lore.—June 14, annual meeting. Earl Beauchamp in the chair. In the annual report for the past year a strong plea was made for more aid to carry on the work already in hand. The Bishop of St. John’s, Kaffraria, has presented to the Society several copies of his “Zulu Nursery Literature,” and of his “Religious System of the Amazulu.” The work selected for the 1884 issue is a collection of Magyar folk-tales, by the Rev. W. H. Jones and Mr. L. Kropf.
Asiatic.—May 19, anniversary meeting. Sir H. C. Rawlinson in the chair. The following were elected as the officers of next year: President,Sir W. Muir; Director, Sir H. C. Rawlinson; Vice-Presidents, Sir T. E. Colebrooke, Sir B. H. Ellis, J. Fergusson, and A. Grote; Council, E. Arnold, C. Bendall, E. L. Brandreth, Dr. O. Codrington, F. V. Dickins, Major-General Sir F. Goldsmid, Major-General M. R. Haig, H. C. Kay, Major-General Keatinge, Lieut.-General Sir L. Pelly, Major-General Sir A. Phayre, Sir W. R. Robinson, T. H. Thornton, M. J. Walhouse, and Col. Yule; Treasurer, E. Thomas; Secretaries, W. S. W. Vaux and H. F. W. Holt; Hon. Secretary, R. N. Cust. Prof. Monier Williams gave an account of his recent visit to India and to the Jain and Buddhist temples there, and added that the Supreme Government at Calcutta had assented to his proposal to found six scholarships for deserving natives in the Indian Institute at Oxford.—June 16, Sir W. Muir, President, in the chair. Professor de Lacouperie read a paper “On Three Embassies from Indo-China to the Middle Kingdom, and on the Trade Routes thither 3,000 Years Ago.” During the reign of Tch’ing, the second king of the Tchen dynasty (aboutB.C.1100), three embassies came to him from Indo-China, before his power was firmly established to the south of the Yangtze Kiang. These were really travelling parties of merchants, who had heard of the wealth of the new dynasty from the tribes of West and South China, who had helped the Tchen to overthrow the preceding dynasty. Only a few fragments of information about them have survived, and these in a much altered state. At the close of his paper the Professor passed in review six annual trade-routes between India, Cochin-China, and China, previously to the Christian era. Of these two are important, viz., the one through Assam to India, and the other to Tung-King by the Red River. It was by the latter that the sea-traders of Kattigara (Hanoi) heard of the important trading state of Tsen (in Yunnan), this name being, in fact, the antecedent of that of China. Dr. T. Tuka exhibited forty pieces of Tibetan printed books and MSS. which the late A. C. de Koros gave in 1839 to the Rev. Dr. S. C. Malan, then secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and which this gentleman has presented to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences at Buda-Pesth.
Statistical.—May 20, Mr. R. Lawson, V.P., in the chair. Mr. C. Walford read a paper entitled “A Statistical Review of Canada.”
Numismatic.—May15, Dr. J. Evans, President, in the chair. Mr. H. Montagu exhibited a half-halfpenny or farthing of Eadred, the original coin having been bisected for the purpose of creating two farthings, in the same way as pennies were frequently halved and quartered. Mr. J. G. Hall exhibited a hammered sovereign of Charles II.’s first coinage with the numeralsXXbehind the head of the king; weight, 138 grains. Mr. B. V. Head read a paper, by Mr. C. F. Keary, on a hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins found in Rome during some recent excavations on the site of the House of the Vestals at the foot of the Palatine. The “find” consisted of 830 Anglo-Saxon pennies, ranging fromA.D.871 to 947. It represented an instalment of the tribute money popularly known as Peter’s pence, a devotional gift instituted in the 8th or 9th century, consisting of a denarius a year, payable by the head of every family possessed of a certain quantity of land, at St. Peter’s mass, on pain of excommunication. Mr. Keary said that the hoard of coins was of considerable numismatic importance, as it yielded the names of many new moneyers and of some new towns. Mr. N. Heywood communicated a notice of the discovery of Anglo-Saxon coins beneath the foundations of Waterloo Bridge. Mr. Toplis sent a list of forty varieties of 17th century tradesmen’s tokens of Nottinghamshire not described in Boyne’s work.
Philological.—May 16, anniversary meeting. Dr. J. A. H. Murray President, in the chair. The President delivered his annual address. After noticing the members who had died since last anniversary, and reviewing the work of the Society during the last two years, he read reports by Mr. W. R. Morfill, on the Slavonic languages; by M. Paul Hunfalvy and Mr. Patterson on Hungarian since 1873; by Mr. E. G. Brown on Turkish; and by Mr. R. M. Cust, on the Hamitic languages of North Africa. Mr. H. Sweet read his own report “On the Practical Study of Language.” The President then gave an account of the progress of the Society’s Dictionary, and dwelt on the difficulty of settling the etymology of Middle English words and of making out the logical development of important words of long standing. The following Members were elected the Society’s officers for the ensuing year: President, Rev. Prof. W. W. Skeat; Vice-Presidents, the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. W. Stokes, A. J. Ellis, Rev. R. Morris, H. Sweet, Dr. J. A. H. Murray, and Prince Lucien Bonaparte; Ordinary Members of Council, Prof. A. G. Bell, H. Bradshaw, E. L. Brandreth, W. R. Browne, Prof. C. Cassal, R. N. Cust, Sir J. F. Davis, F. T. Elworthy, H. H. Gibbs, H. Jenner, Dr. E. L. Lushington, Prof. R. Martineau, A. J. Patterson, J. Peile, Prof. J. P. Postgate, Prof. C. Rieu, Rev. A. H. Sayce, Dr. E. B. Tylor, H. Wedgwood, and R. F. Weymouth; Treasurer, B. Dawson; Hon. Sec., F. J. Furnivall. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Gladstone for his grant of a pension of £250 a year to the editor of the Society’s Dictionary.
Anthropological.—May 13, Prof. Flower, President, in the chair. Dr. J. Stephens sent a drawing of a large pointed palæolithic implement, found near Reading. Mr. W. G. Smith exhibited two palæolithic implements lately found in North London: one was made of quartzite, and is the first example of this material met with in the London gravels; the other was a white implement from the “trail and warp.” He also exhibited two white porcellaneous palæolithic flakes replaced on their original blocks. A paper on “The Ethnology of the Andaman Islands,” by Mr. E. H. Man, was read. Prof. Flower read some “Additional Observations on the Osteology of the Natives of the Andaman Islands.” Since reading a paper before the Institute on the same subject in 1879 the author had had the opportunity of examining ten skeletons, two of which are in the University of Oxford, and eight in the Barnard Davis collection at the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons.—May 27, Prof. Flower, President, in the chair. Mr. H. O. Forbes read a paper “On the Kubus of Sumatra.” Dr. Garson read a paper “On the Osteology of the Kubus.” Mr. T. Bent read some “Notes on Prehistoric Remains in Antiparos,” and exhibited several specimens of pottery, some rudely carved marble figures, and a skull from cemeteries in that island.
PROVINCIAL.
Berkshire Archæological and Architectural Society.—On Tuesday, July 1, visits were paid to St. Helen’s Church, Abingdon, Cumnor Church, Appleton Church and Manor House, and also Fyfield Church and Manor, where they were entertained at luncheon by Mr. and Mrs. James Parker. At Cumnor the party inspected the site of Old Cumnor Hall, where Mr. Parker narrated its history since the sixteenth century, and examined the story of Amy Robsart’s life and supposed murder, as narrated by Sir Walter Scott in his novel of “Kenilworth.” At Fyfield Manor Mr. Parker conducted the party through the variousrooms, showing them, among other things of interest, a recently-discovered stone mantelpiece, with initials and date of the early part of the seventeenth century. At Abingdon, after inspecting St. Helen’s Church, the party examined the ancient deeds and charters in the Hall of Christ’s Hospital, the Corporation plate and pictures, the remains of the Abbey, and other objects of interest.
Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society.—June 19, Dr. Hollis, President, in the chair. Mr. F. E. Sawyer read a paper on “Sussex Dialect and Speech,” in which he referred to a branch of the subject which had not hitherto received sufficient attention, namely, the connection of dialect with the early spellings of place-names. Derivations of names, Mr. Sawyer observed, are too often based on modern forms of spelling, when a careful examination would show the older forms to be attempts of strange or foreign scribes to represent phonetically dialectal pronunciation of place-names. “The termination ‘ing,’ ” he continued, “is generally considered to be patronymic, and as it is a peculiarity of the Sussex dialect to drop the final ‘g,’ as Cockneys do, we may consider that many old names not mentioned by Kemble are patronymic,i.e., of tribal origin, and deriving their names from some tribal ancestor.” There is a close connection, Mr. Sawyer remarked in conclusion, between place-names and surnames, and in Sussex the Saxon element will be found very strongly marked amongst the surnames.
Essex Field Club.—June 21, the members and friends paid a visit to Epping Forest. On arriving at the ancient earthwork called Ambresbury Bank, Mr. J. E. Harting, F.L.S., delivered a discourse on “The Deer of Epping Forest,” in which he treated firstly of the antiquity of the forest as a hunting-ground of the Kings and Queens of England; and, secondly, of the nature of the deer which were hunted, and the present condition of the two kinds of deer which may be found there. The forest was in early times called the Forest of Essex, as being the only forest within that county, nearly the whole of which was anciently comprehended within it. As its extent became abridged it was called the Forest of Waltham, from the first village of importance which sprung up within its purlieus. According to Camden, the first mention occurs about the latter times of the Saxons, when Tovi, standard-bearer to King Canute, “induced by the abundance of deer, built a number of houses here, and peopled them with sixty-six inhabitants.” After his death, his son Athelstan squandered the estate, whereupon Edward the Confessor, into whose hands it had come, bestowed the village on his brother-in-law, Harold, son of Earl Godwin, who built Waltham Abbey. The Abbot was one of the few residents in the neighbourhood who, besides the King, was privileged to kill deer in this forest, although mediæval records contain notices of royal permission given at times to the citizens of London to use the Forest of Epping as a hunting-ground for their recreation. Henry III., in 1226, granted to the citizens the privilege of hunting once a year, at Easter, within a circuit of twenty miles of the city, and until within comparatively recent times the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Corporation continued annually to avail themselves of this privilege. At the conclusion of Mr. Hastings’ lecture the party moved on towards Loughton, passing on the way through the ancient earthwork known as Cowper’s Camp, which was explored by the Club in 1883.
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.—June 9, Sir William F. Douglas, P.R.S.A. (Scot.), in the chair. Mr. J. Romilly Allen, F.S.A. (Scot.), read a paper entitled “Notes on Early Christian Symbolism.”The author in dealing with that special branch of the subject which includes the representations sculptured on the fonts, tympana of doorways, and other carved stonework of the Norman period, showed what ample material there is to form a museum of Christian archæology, by having casts taken of these sculptured fonts, tympana, &c., so that they might be placed together in one gallery, and thus be made to yield whatever scientific results are attainable from them. Mr. Allen gave a list classified by subjects and localities of upwards of 120 tympana, 80 fonts, and 30 pieces of miscellaneous sculpture. The paper was illustrated by a series of drawings and photographs of the principal types of the symbolic representations on Norman fonts and tympana. The second paper was a notice by Mr. Charles Stewart of Tigh’n Duin, Killin, of several sepulchral mounds and cup-marked stones in the district of Fortingall, Glenylon, Perthshire; and the Rev. Hugh Macmillan, D.D., of Greenock, followed with a description of two boulders having rain-filled cavities on the shores of Loch Tay, formerly associated with the cure of disease. Mr. George Sim, Curator of Coins, gave an account of recent “finds” of coins in Scotland. Only two discoveries have occurred during the session—one of 177 silver pennies, chiefly of the Edwards, at Arkleton, Dumfriesshire; and one of 53 silver coins, chiefly of Mary and Elizabeth, at Woodend, in the Isle of Skye. The last paper was a descriptive notice of the stone circles of Strathnairn and neighbourhood of Inverness, by Mr. James Fraser, C.E. Twenty-five of the circles were described, and accurate plans of them, made to a uniform scale of ten feet to the inch, were exhibited, forming a body of materials for the comparative study of stone circles of unprecedented extent and value. Five old Communion flagons and a chalice and paten of pewter, from Old St. Paul’s Church, were exhibited by Rev. R. Mitchell-Innes. Two of the flagons show the Edinburgh Pewterers’ stamp, and one has the maker’s name—John Durand, 1688.
Haileybury Antiquarian Society.—May 19.The Secretary gave a short account of the village of Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, famous chiefly as the birthplace of Admiral Nelson. Mr. C. F. Gisborne spoke of Wichnor Church, Derbyshire, as Anglo-Saxon, but with a Norman tower. He also spoke of the parish of Langley Marish, near Slough, which is a corruption of Langley Maries, the church there being dedicated to the Three Maries; he mentioned that there were some old half-timbered almshouses in the parish. W. Kennedy, Esq., gave a description of Morton Villa, near Brading, where extensive excavations have recently taken place. This villa is the largest in England. Most of the walls seem to have been built of wood filled up with rubble, and are consequently very strong. There is a great deal of very fine Roman glass in the house. The villa was probably burnt down when the Romans left England,A.D.410. The speaker then went on to describe Carisbrook Castle, which was built by William of Osborne, in 1066A.D., and is chiefly famous for the recollections of Charles I. The President then spoke very briefly of Tantallon Castle and the Collegiate Church of Haddington.—June 2, Mr. C. F. Gisborne read a short paper on Christ Church, Bournemouth, Hants, and the President gave a short account of the most interesting features of St. Albans Abbey.—On Saturday, June 14, an excursion was made to Greenwich Hospital.—June 16, Mr. W. Kennedy gave a short lecture on Rome, in which he spoke of the ruins of the gigantic houses built by the Emperors for themselves on the Palatine, and of the palace of Augustus, of which but few traces remain. The lecturerdescribed the private house of the father of Tiberius, on the Palatine, and then passed on to speak of the palace of Vespasian. Mr. Kennedy also mentioned the discovery of a Pedagogium, or school for the slaves of the Imperial household; and spoke of the curious caricatures and paintings on the walls, done apparently by the students.—July 1, Mr. E. Walford gave a lecture on the “Watering Places of Old,” in which he treated of Brighton, Bath, Seaford, Hythe, &c. His account of Seaford may probably appear in the pages of this Magazine.
Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society.—June 28, about 50 members, accompanied by a few ladies, visited Lancaster. The party first inspected the castle, where they were shown the ancient dungeons, the gateway tower built by Henry V., &c., and afterwards ascended to the top of the Norman keep, or “John O’Gaunt’s chair,” whence a splendid view of the Lake Mountains was obtained. The parish church of St. Mary, a fine specimen of the Perpendicular period, was next visited, and its details described by Mr. Paley, F.R.I.B.A. After luncheon the excursion was continued to Heysham, where the rector, the Rev. C. T. Royds, showed the party over the ancient Norman church at that place. On returning to Lancaster in the evening, an adjournment was made to the Amicable Library, where several old charters of the town, the municipal regalia, and a few Roman antiquities found in the neighbourhood, were displayed.
Mr. D. Boguewill issue shortly an etching, by Percy Thomas, of the old London street at the Health Exhibition.
Mr. Murrayannounces a translation by Professor A. S. Wilkins and Mr. E. B. England of the “Principles of Greek Etymology,” by Professor Curtius.
TheRev. R. H. Clutterbuck has discovered among the Corporation records of Andover some interesting early Guild-rolls, which will probably be publishedin extenso.
TheBerks Archæological and Architectural Society is offering prizes for historical essays on subjects having reference to Berkshire, and for architectural drawings, illustrating ancient buildings in the county.
Anantiquarian column is about to be started in theEssex Standard and West Suffolk Gazette, published at Colchester. It will contain notes and queries on local antiquities, and a special series of gleanings from old local newspapers.
Mr. Murray’slatest list of recent publications contains,inter alia, Professor Brewer’s “Reign of Henry VIII., from his accession till the death of Wolsey;” Dr. Schliemann’s works, “Troja,” “Ilios,” and “Mycenæ and Argos;” Mr. A. S. Murray’s “History of Greek Sculpture.”
TheSchools of the Christian Brothers of France have sent to the Health Exhibition at South Kensington, a collection of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew inscriptions, with representations of the Provençal people and buildings of the fifteenth century, modelled and arranged by the pupils.
Mr. Cornelius Walford, F.S.S., Barrister-at-Law, has been awarded the first “Samuel Brown Prize” of Fifty Guineas, offered by the Institute of Actuaries for the best Essay on the “History of Life Insurance.” The essay will be published.
Mr. J. Taylor, of Northampton, has announced for sale the uniquecollection of historical MSS., &c., of John Cole, of Northampton, (1792-1840), embracing brief notices of his family and literary contemporaries, together with the history and antiquities of several parishes in Northamptonshire, &c.
Thefollowing articles, more or less of an antiquarian character, appear among the contents of the magazines for July:Cornhill, “Embalmers;”Cassell’s Magazine, “Derby China;”Blackwood, “Venice;”Century Magazine, “A Greek Play at Cambridge;”Atlantic Monthly, “The Haunts of Galileo,” and “Peter the Great;”Magazine of Art, “Walks in Surrey,” and “The Austrian Museum;”Home Chimes, “Old Gold;”Clergyman’s Magazine, “Biblical Notices of Egypt, illustrated from Profane Sources.”
Plansand drawings for the reconstruction of the west side of Westminster Hall, and the preservation of the Norman work lately laid bare by the pulling down of the Law Courts, have been prepared by Mr. Pearson, R.A., and the estimated cost of the work is about £37,000. During the restoration of the north front, some years ago, considerable portions of the ancient work of the Hall were for a short time visible, and again at a later period the whole of the Norman walls were laid bare, to be re-cased by Sir Robert Smirke. It has remained for the removal of the Law Courts to uncover permanently the earlier Norman walls, fortunately in a fairly perfect state of preservation.
Cataloguesof rare and curious books, all of which contain the names of works of antiquarian interest, have reached us from Messrs. Farrar & Fenton, 8, John-street, Adelphi, W.C.; Messrs. Reeves & Turner, 196, Strand, W.C.; Mr. J. Hitchman, 51, Cherry-street, Birmingham; Messrs. Quaritch, 15, Piccadilly (including the major portion of the Hamilton Palace Library); Mr. W. J. Withers, Leicester; Mr. F. Edwards, 83, High-street, Marylebone; Mr. Edward Howell, 28, Church-street, Liverpool; Mr. G. P. Johnston, 33, George-street, Edinburgh; Mr. W. P. Bennett, 3, Bull-street, Birmingham; Messrs. Sutton & Son, 91, Oxford-street, Manchester; Mr. J. Coleman, Tottenham, N. (consisting entirely of royal and noble deeds and documents, and containing upwards of 500 articles, alphabetically arranged under the titles of the respective families); Mr. Albert Cohn, 53, Mohrenstrasse, Berlin; Messrs. Robson & Kerslake, 43, Cranbourne-street, W.C. (includes a fine copy of the Nuremberg Bible of 1477, and Albert Durer’s “Life of the Virgin, &c.); Mr. U. Maggs, 159, Church-street, Paddington-green, W.; Mr. H. Edwardes, 20, Drury-court, W.C.
Somedoubts having arisen as to whether authorities which act under the Public Libraries Act have powers to fulfil the conditions required for a Parliamentary grant in aid of the establishment of a school of science and art, the Lord President has brought in a Bill, which declares that where an authority accepts a grant of this kind from the Education Committee of the Privy Council, it shall have power to do so on the conditions prescribed by the Committee, and it is to be, as also are its successors, bound to fulfil them. An interpretation is also placed on the 8th section of the Public Libraries Act of 1855, which enables the Council of a borough and the Board of a district to erect buildings for the purposes of the Act. It is declared that under this and the corresponding Scotch and Irish provisions buildings may be erected in any of the three Kingdoms “for public libraries, public museums, schools for science, art galleries, and schools for art, or for any one or more of those objects.” Where one of these institutions is established under the Public Libraries Acts,any other may (it is here provided) be established at any time in connection therewith without further proceedings being taken under the Acts.—The Times.
Inthe first week of July the City of Winchester commemorated the 700th anniversary of its incorporation by a series of festivities, in which the Bishop of the Diocese, the Lord Mayor of London, and a number of provincial chief magistrates took part. The proceedings included a procession to the Cathedral, where the Dean delivered an address, in which he traced the gradual growth of freedom under municipal institutions. A public luncheon afterwards took place in the restored banqueting-hall of the Palace, and in the evening there was a torchlight procession, together with a series oftableaux vivants, which were witnessed by crowds of persons. The persons who appeared as actors in events affecting the fortunes of Winchester were habited in dresses designed from authentic records of the period. First came a representation of the granting of the charter of incorporation to the city by Henry II.; the second picture represented Richard II. giving the charter to William of Wykeham; the third, Henry VI. and Church dignitaries before the shrine of St. Swithin in Winchester Cathedral; the fourth, Charles I. brought a prisoner to the city on December 21, 1648; the fifth representing some Roundheads searching for Royalists, and looking in at the window of a forge, where a Royalist, disguised as a blacksmith, was talking to the owner of the forge; the sixth, Sir Christopher Wren presenting plans for a Royal Palace at Winchester to Charles II. The anniversary will be further perpetuated by the publication of a volume entitled “Memorials of the City of Winchester: a Collection of Charters and other Records Illustrating its Municipal History,” edited by Mr. F. J. Baigent, F.S.A.
Anantiquary writes to theAthenæumas follows regarding the lamentable destruction of documents belonging to the see of Durham and lodged in a building within the precincts of the episcopal palace at Bishop Auckland: “In a building adjoining the gateway of the episcopal palace of the Bishop of Durham a large number of documents—how valuable it is impossible to say—were preserved until a short time ago. It seems that this building was required for the holding of clerical meetings and other purposes; and, in order to make it more convenient for these, the documents, which had hitherto found a safe repository there, were removed, and without, apparently, any proper examination having been made, were destroyed. A few of them were, happily, rescued, and judging from these some reasonable conjecture may be arrived at with regard to the nature of the mass of the documents. Among those which have been preserved are a survey of Allertonshire—an ancient possession of the Church of Durham—made in the middle of the seventeenth century; an inventory of the contents of the episcopal castle at Durham in the middle of the eighteenth century; a complete list of Roman Catholics resident within the city of Durham in the year 1700; a report to the Bishop from Sir William Williamson, Sheriff of the County of Durham, and certain justices of the peace, about proceedings against Papists in 1743; and a list of the rolls and other muniments formerly kept in the auditor’s office at Durham, but now removed and placed somewhere among the enormous mass of valuable material, locked up and practically inaccessible, within the offices of the Ecclesiastical Commission or of some of its officials. Who is the person responsible for the unwarranted destruction I do not know, but it is most desirable that the public should be made acquainted with what has taken place, and that it should bemade known by whose authority these valuable records have been destroyed.”
Throughthe courtesy of Mr. Bosworth Smith, theAthenæumhas been enabled to print an interesting letter by Mr. H. A. Brown, regarding some explorations which he has been making in Minorca. He has visited a remarkable cave city which has not been properly explored:—“The locality is a wild-looking inlet between high cliffs. In these cliffs are a vast number of rock-hewn caves—possibly 300. Such tradition as there is concerning this most curious spot ascribes it to the Phœnicians; but we concur in thinking that it is the work of a much earlier people.... In some of the larger ones there are evidences of considerable development; for instance, in one of the largest are three recesses in the wall, some two feet from the ground, a sort of rock divan, while several have ante-chambers communicating with the main room; but, on the other hand, the smaller are mere holes in the rock, having, however, in some cases, a sill, or threshold, distinctly raised above the level of the floor. It seems to us that this disparity may be accounted for in three ways: either the people during a long occupation advanced in the construction of their dwellings, or the smaller caves are merely the tombs of the inhabitants of the larger, or possibly the chiefs inhabited the large and the people the small caves.... The small caves are all in a more or less inaccessible position, but having entered one near the ground we commenced to dig. At about nine or twelve inches down we came upon the bones of animals and two most remarkable skulls. Being compelled by pressure of time to move on, we went round the inlet and entered a cave on the other side, higher up the cliff than the former. Immediately after removing the loose sand, we came to thick, black earth, and the first stroke of the hatchet brought up some human bones, and by the time we were obliged to leave, the best part of a skeleton was unearthed, including several pieces of the skull. The majority of the bones were of a reddish colour, but all in one corner were perfectly black, either from extreme age or the action of fire.”
TheTempsgives an account of the collection of objects found by Monsieur Nicaise in the tombs of the ancient Gauls, Département de la Marne, which he laid before the Academie des Inscriptions de Paris at their meeting, April 18. The collection is of great interest, and in some respects unique. It includes a great variety of implements of warfare, jewellery, enamels, and finely wrought bronze ornaments, and some articles of toilet throwing a light on the mode of shaving 2,000 years ago. The razors found are shaped like a sickle. With them was found a vessel supposed by Monsieur Bertholot, who was present at the meeting, to have contained soap, which he states was by no means unknown to the ancient Gaul. A coral necklace, bleached by its couple of thousand years’ sepulture, is remarkable. Between the beads of coral are various amulets or charms, such as a wild boar’s tooth, a shell, and a peculiar thin circular plate or disc of bone, ascertained beyond doubt to be part of the human vertebræ. There are also numerous bronze torques finely worked, and a fragment of a jewel similar in workmanship to the finest granulated or filigree jewellery so well known at Genoa and Venice at the present day. A skeleton of a female was found adorned with necklace, bracelets, and anklets. A bracelet, from its diminutive size, must have been retained on the arm during its growth from childhood to womanhood. Not the least curious is an ornament composed of a material which gave rise to many conjectures, but which carefulanalysis shows to consist of some argillaceous or ceramic compound, finely pulverised, then agglutinised and compressed until it formed a solid agglomerated substance of a texture capable of receiving the highest polish. The revelations of these ancient sepultures, and the high artistic merit of the articles they contain, justify the inference that the “barbarism” with which Julius Cæsar was so impressed in Gaul, was a barbarism strongly impregnated with civilisation.
Theannual summer congress of the Royal Archæological Institute will be held this year at Newcastle-on-Tyne, during the week from Tuesday, August 5, to Wednesday, August 13 inclusive, under the Presidentship of the Duke of Northumberland. Tuesday, the 5th, will be devoted to an inspection of the castle and cathedral of Newcastle, after the public reception of the Society by the Mayor and Corporation at the inaugural meeting. On Wednesday the Archæologists will visit Warkworth and Alnwick Castle, which will be described by Mr. Clark. On Thursday they will go by train to Beal, from which place Lindisfarne and Holy Island with its church and castle will be visited. Friday will be devoted to a visit by rail to Belford and to Bamburgh Castle. On Saturday the annual meeting of the Society will be held. At its conclusion the members will proceed to Jarrow, Monkwearmouth, and, by steamer down the river, to Tynemouth. On Sunday a special service will be held in the cathedral, when it is expected that the Bishop of Newcastle, Dr. Wilberforce, will preach. Monday will be devoted to an inspection of sundry parts of the Roman wall, and to a visit to Chesters, where the Roman remains will be explained by the Rev. J. C. Bruce. On Tuesday the Archæologists will go by train to Corbridge, from which they will visit Aydon Castle, Bywell, and Prudhoe Castle. Wednesday will be occupied by a visit to Durham, where the cathedral and castle, and probably Finchall Priory, will be inspected. There will be a meeting on the evening of Tuesday, at which papers will be read, and probably, also, at least one conversazione. A temporary local museum, under Mr. R. Blair, F.S.A., will be open during the week in the Black Gate, where also the sectional meetings will be held. Among those who have sent their names as patrons of the congress are the Duke of Portland, Lords Ravensworth and Scarbrough, the Bishops of Durham, Carlisle, Newcastle, and Hexham; Sir Charles Trevelyan, Sir Joseph Pease, Sir Edward Blackett, Sir Matthew White Ridley, and Sir Walter James, &c.
“Inthe early part of last winter,” writes a correspondent ofThe Times, “operations were begun in the bed of the Rhone, at Geneva, in connection with a scheme for utilising the power of the stream for mechanical purposes. During the work a part of the river bed, near the island on which stands Julius Cæsar’s Tower, and where Philibert Berthelier, the Genevan patriot, suffered death, was laid bare, and in view of the great antiquity of Geneva, and the fact that it was an Allobrogian town before it became a Roman station, sanguine expectations were entertained as to the likelihood of making important archæologic finds.” These hopes have not been disappointed; for there has been lately found, buried in gravel among a range of piles, relics of the lacustrine age, a block of white Jurassic rock, evidently dressed by the hand of man, and having in the centre a circular depression surrounded by a sort of crown. Further examination showed it to be the upper part of a Roman altar. It is in the ordinary form of a pilaster with capitals and a corresponding base terminating in a crown, in relief, cut in the stone. The height of the relic is 80 centimetres, the width 33. There is no other trace of ornamentationthan the mouldings and cornices of the upper and lower parts, but on the principal face there appears an inscription, in superb letters and an admirable state of preservation. It runs thus:DEO NEPTVN C. VITALINIV VICTORINVS MILES LEGI. XXII. ACVRIS V. S. L. M.Only two letters are lacking. At the end of the second word the engraver had not room for the finalO, and at the end of the fourth word anShas been effaced by time or worn away by water. The wordlegionishas been shortened intoLEGI, but the truncation of the I may be due to an accidental erasure. The inscription, which is easily read, is to the following effect:—Deo Neptuno, C. Vitalinius Victorinus, miles legionis XXII., a curis, votum solvit libens merito.The author, therefore, was a soldier of the twenty-second legion, Caius Vitalinius Victorinus, who, having without doubt escaped shipwreck on the lake, had vowed to raise an altar to Neptune, the god of the waves, and by a singular chance the whole stone of the Jura which testifies to the fulfilment of his vow has been preserved by falling into the very waters from which he was saved. Besides this altar stone, several other objects have lately been found in the bed of the river; among them are the upper part of a tin vase representing, in relief, Diana and Endymion, and a transparent stone cut in facets; the latter, if not false, will be highly interesting and valuable.