Mr. URBAN, Aug. 16. HAVING been much interested by the perusal of the "Correspondence of Walter Moyle, Esq." in your number for May last, I resolved to trouble you with a few remarks thereon at my first leisure. These remarks are suggested principally by an examination of the coins of Carausius, to which I have paid some attention; and I shall, by an appeal to these monuments alone, justify your observation that " Mr. Kendall's extravagant hypothesis would be unworthy attention, but for the learned illustrations it elicits from Mr. Moyle." With respect to the name of Carausius there cannot be a doubt; for, although the Roman historians spell it in various ways, it is always found to be CARAVSIVS on his money. I know of no deviation from this orthography on his numerous coins. The idea that he was a Christian, is also refuted by his coins, which bear no Christian symbol, but, on the contrary, representations of the Roman deities, closely imitated from those on the money of the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. Dr. Heylin's notion that Carausius lived in the reign of Caracalla, is shown to be erroneous by the same evidence; the style and fabric of his coins being in accordance with those of his masters the emperors, as every numismatist will assure you. Mr. Moyle's observation that more coins of Carausius are found in England than of any other emperor is not borne out by fact, as they are generally regarded as in some degree scarce (some types are particularly rare), though found in England almost exclusively. Mr. Moyle's argument as to the birth and parentage of the bold usurper is most satisfactory and conclusive; his deductions are learned and sagacious; and must convince every reasoning antiquary that Carausius was not of English origin. As regards the seizure of the island by Carausius, I am inclined to differ from Mr. Moyle. I do not consider that "he won and maintained it by the sword, and not by any interest he had in the affections of the people, or by any faction formed there in his favour." On the contrary, he appears to have arrived among the Britons when the grinding taxation of their conquerors had provoked them to a state of revolt, and when indeed they would have welcomed any one who could for one moment have relieved them from the burdens so mercilessly laid upon all who were tributary_to that mercenary and cruel people. Besides, there are coins with a most singular legend, differing from any other in the Roman series, which strongly support the opinion that Carausius was welcomed: I refer to those on which the usurper is joining hands with a female figure holding a trident,* with the legend EXPECTATE VENI. The singularity of this legend and device is sufficient to shew that the observations of the learned Canon as to the means by which Carausius obtained possession of the island, are not conclusive, however lucid he appears on the other points which he illustrates. These hasty remarks are written without references, and I regret that time will not allow of my appeal to other authorities in support of the opinion I have long entertained that the Britons received the runaway admiral with open arms. Yours, &c. J. Y. AKERMAN. Mr. URBAN, Manchester, July 14. Taking up accidentally the other day a book of no great apparent promise from its title, I was much struck by the first paragraph which presented itself, which forcibly reminded me of an author with whose peculiarities of style long acquaintance has rendered me pretty familiar. Further examination was sufficient to satisfy me of the existence of another work by Defoe on the Plague, which seems totally to have escaped his biographers and the writers on that subject, and which, if not, as a whole, equal to his celebrated "Journal of the Plague Year," yet is not unworthy of republication as a companion to it, and contains some sketches of dialogues fully equal to any in that wonderful performance. The style and manner of treating the subject are so perfectly Defoe's, that * The figure is without doubt the genius of Britain. The execution of the coin is rude, but it is sufficiently correct wearing a Grecian helmet, as in our preto shew that the figure is bare headed (not sent coin) and clad in long robes. [See the woodcut in Gent. Mag. for April 1836, p. 408, extracted from Akerman's RomanBritish Coins. EDIT.] there is no possible room left for scepticism, and a feeling of surprise is naturally produced that the work should have been so completely overlooked. Mr. Wilson, in his "Life and Times of Defoe," has no reference to it; and Mr. Brayley, in his recent edition of the "Journal of the Plague Year," in The Family Library,' though he seems to have examined most of the contemporary publications on the Plague, is evidently in ignorance of the existence of this. The title of the book is, "Due Preparations for the Plague, as well for soul as body; being some seasonable Thoughts upon the visible approach of the present dreadful Contagion in France; the properest measures to prevent it; and the great work of submitting to it. Psal. xci. 10. There shall no evil befal thee, neither shall the Plague come nigh thy dwelling.' London: printed for E. Matthews at the Bible, and J. Batley at the Dove, in Paternoster Row, 1722, 12mo." The introduction is comprised in ten pages; the work itself in 272 pages. Matthews, it must be observed, was the publisher of "Defoe's Family Instructor," and "Memoirs of the Church of Scotland." The Plague Journal," which was published in the same year, is an 8vo, and was printed for Nutt, Roberts, Dodd and Graves; and the circumstance of the two works being published in different sizes and by different publishers has, no doubt, contributed to the neglect shewn to the smaller one. It appears to me that the "Due Preparations" was written after the "Journal;" as, though the author still follows up the same topic, the Plague of 1665, he confines himself principally to those points which are either altogether passed over or briefly noticed in the "Journal." In that work he shortly mentions the citizen's shutting himself up with his family in his house, after having first laid in provisions as for a regular siege, till the virulence of the Plague had subsided. In the "Due Preparations," he expands this idea into a most striking picture, and works it up with an accumulation of minute details and embellishments in his happiest manner, from page 61 to 107. In the Journal, he notices, by way of narration, that many went on board the ships in the river, and by that means preserved themselves from contagion. In the “Due Preparations" this circumstance is individualised, in the form of a story with dramatic accompaniments, from page 246 to 272. In my next I shall proceed to give some extracts from the work. In the mean time, I feel assured that the admirers of Defoe-and who is not an admirer of that charming writer?— will consider the new claim I have now put in for him as no unimportant discovery. JAMES CROSSLEY, Yours, &c. ROMAN ANTIQUITIES FOUND NEAR WINCHESTER, (With a Plate.) Mr. URBAN, Lothbury, Sept. 10. THE deep excavations in the chalk hill on the north-west of the city of Winchester, made for the London and Southampton Railway, have enriched the collections of the antiquaries residing there, with many elegant specimens of Roman art; sketches of some of which, by the kind permission of the proprietors and the assistance of a young artist (Mr. Bracewell), I am enabled herewith to send you. (See the plate.) The bronze head (fig. 1, 2, reduced to one-third of the original size) is of the best workmanship, and extremely well preserved; and, together with its mutilated companion (fig. 3, size of original), was found about 40 yards north of the Romsey turnpike, 3 feet beneath the surface, near a foundation or substratum of pavement, and adjoining some sepultured remains. Both must be assigned, I think, to Hercules. The smaller image has evidently been disfigured by the action of fire, which has so distorted the limbs as to render its identity almost questionable, did not the back view of the original figure present the club and lion's skin very clearly defined. My friend Mr. W. B. Bradfield informs me that on the east bank of the Railroad, the substratum com posed of flints and hard mortar, and three feet thick, extended full 30 feet westward, but was broken up, together with the pavements which it had supported. Close to the remains yet visible on the eastern bank, were found three stones standing in the chalk N. S. and W. about 2 feet in height, and two others on the top of these, cramped firmly together with iron. On removing these stones were discovered four large brass coins, of Trajan, M. Aurelius, Faustina the younger, and a middle brass of Vespasian. Touching the stone standing on the north side was a widemouth urn of a coarse reddish pottery, and in the vicinity of the spot from time to time were found fibulæ, fragments of pottery, and Roman Imperial coins, extending, with intermissions, from Claudius to Honorius and Arcadius. From the specimens of tessellæ which have been preserved, and the extent of the pavement, there can be but little doubt of a suburban building of some considerable dimensions having stood on this site, and we can only regret that opportunities had not been earlier afforded to such as would have been able and willing to notice and record discoveries contributing so essentially towards a knowledge of the ancient topography of the country. The stones were doubtless erected to preserve some funeral remains, and it is by no means improbable that the little sepulchre had been previously opened and its contents pillaged. In "Guthrie's Tour through the Taurida" is an engraving of a Roman sepulchre constructed in a similar manner, which contained human skeletons, &c. Throughout the line of excavation, at Winchester, particularly opposite the barracks, were many pits, sunk in the chalk to a very considerable depth, varying from 30 to 40 feet. The mould in these was of a rich black kind, and impregnated largely with bones and other animal matter, intermixed with fragments of pottery, and occasionally a perfect vase. Very little, however, of the Samian has been observed. The bronze figures, together with the Fibula (which has been silvered), are in the possession of W. B. Bradfield, Esq. of Winchester. The earthen pot (see sketch) is in the possession of J. Newington Hughes, Esq. of Winchester. It is of a dark red or brown colour; the ornaments are raised, and being painted white, present a pleasing contrast to the ground-work. Mr. URBAN, March 18. THE plagiarism of which I send you an account, committed as it has been by so conspicuous a party, and unnoticed in public as it has continued for now seven years, may, I think, be considered a "literary curiosity." When the present Bishop of London, then the Rev. Charles James Blomfield, edited the translation made by his brother the late Edward Valentine Blomfield, of Matthia's Greek Grammar, he prefixed to his edition a Preface, which Preface bears date" April, 1819." In the Edinburgh Review for January 1831, No. 104, is an article (the 10th of the number) on Sir D. K. Sandford's translation of Thiesch's Greek Grammar. How far the writer of this article (which contains not a hint of its being other than perfectly original) was indebted to the Preface above mentioned, will be best understood by a comparison of certain passages subjoined, taken from the two pieces respectively. And, as it may be said that he who wrote the Preface may also have written the article, it may be well here to state, that the Bishop of London has, on the article being on a certain occasion brought under his notice, distinctly denied having written it. The article consists of six pages, of which about two and a half are given below. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, THE PREFACE. "We are still obliged to have recourse, in the way of explanation, to many gra tuitous suppositions and unphilosophical shifts, for which grammarians have invented fine names, that serve as circumlocutions to express our ignorance of the real cause and reasons of the peculiarities which we would explain. "We meet with a dative case where the laws of construction require a genitive; and it is considered to be a sufficient account of the matter, if we say that it is per schema colophonium. A word is used in a way which violates the analogy of language; we satisfy ourselves with remarking a catachresis. For unaccountable changes in the forms of words, metaplasmus is the panacea. "But afterwards they (technical terms) have a natural tendency to stop the progress of research and improvement; because men are generally disposed to acquiesce in an established nomenclature, without considering the principles upon which it was originally formed. "In this respect, however, a great improvement has taken place during the last hundred years. Philosophy, in that period, has taken rapid strides. The operations of the human mind have been examined with an accuracy as great, perhaps, as the present state of our faculties permits. And consequently the principles of language, which are intimately connected with metaphysical researches, have been laid down with a degree of precision altogether unknown to the ancients. "As to the grammarians, the further L. THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. "Fine names have been invented, arbitrary rules accumulated, exceptions laboriously arrayed, gratuitous suppositions made, and unphilosophical shifts resorted to; while analogies have been overlooked, and the real causes and reasons of the peculiarities to be met with in language have remained unexplored. Nor has it often occurred to grammarians, that ignorance might lie concealed under a circumlocution, &c. "If, for example, we meet with a dative case, where the laws of construction require a genitive; or a word used in a way which seems to violate the analogy of language; or certain unaccountable changes in the forms of words; our knowledge will not be much increased by merely telling us that the first is per schema colophonium, the second a catachresis, and the third a metaplasmus. "Men are too apt to delude themselves into a belief that they have discovered an explanation, when they have found only a name; to acquiesce in an established nomenclature, without considering the principles upon which it was originally formed; and thus to stop short in their enquiries at the very point where the real difficulty begins. "But this tendency, which so long obstructed the progress of grammatical investigation, has been at length overcome; the operations of the human mind have been anxiously examined and carefully classified; while the principles of language, which are intimately connected with, and indeed vividly reflect, many of the most interesting mental phenomena, have been laid down with a precision and accuracy altogether unknown to the ancients. With respect to the older gramma we go back the more unreasonable and absurd we find them to be. They had no fixed principles to guide them; and they are in consequence perpetually differing from one another, and from themselves. "The oldest complete Grammar is that of Dionysius, called the Thracian; and that is contained in twenty-five short sections, occupying no more than fourteen octavo pages, &c. "Small as it is, however, it abounds with minute and perplexing distinctions. The Scholia upon this treatise occupy more than 300 pages; and are a precious specimen of grammatical trifling, &c. "The remains which we have of Apollonius Dyscolus, the most subtle and learned of the old grammarians, of Choeroboscus, Joannes Philoponus, Moscophulus, and others, are all, in a greater or less degree, of the same character. "The Grammar of Constantinus Lascaris is a collection of bare rules. The first persons who made any material improvement in the mode of treating the subject, were Henry Stephens, and his pupil F. Sylburgius, whose remarks on the Greek Grammar of Clenardus are full of learning, especially his Syntaxecos Compendium. But although Sylburgius did much towards the classification of the language, he did not materially simplify the Grammar. Angelus Caninius, in his Hellenismus, A. 1555, gave the first accurate account of the dialects. It was Laurentius Rhodomannus who first reduced all Greek nouns under three declensions. This improvement, which is mentioned, says Morhof, in the Philomusus of Rhodomannus, was afterwards claimed by Weller, who introduced it in his Grammar, first published in 1630, as also the reduction of all the conjugations into one. The merit of having first simplified the declensions was likewise arrogated by Claude Lancelot, the author of the Greek Grammar commonly called the Port Royal. He borrowed it, no doubt, from Weller's book, which had been published but a few years before. The Port Royal Grammar is divided into nine books, and these books into a multiplicity of detached rules, abounding in mistakes, and illustrated by examples taken from writers of inferior authority. Weller and Verwey made considerable progress towards simplification; but much remained to be done. A great accession was made to grammatical knowledge in the remarks of Fischer upon Weller's treatise, in three volumes octavo; in which the author has collected, with great industry, a vast variety of examples, adding many new observations of his own, Much light was thrown upon the structure and origin of the language by the rians, the farther back we go, the more absurd and unreasonable do we find them. Having no fixed principles to guide their researches, they are perpetually differing from one another and from themselves, &c. "The oldest complete grammar, that of Dionysius the Thracian, is contained in twenty-five short sections, occupying only fourteen octavo pages. "Yet, small as it is, it abounds with minute and vexatious distinctions, which have been overlaid with more than 300 pages of scholia, filled with that miserable trifling peculiar to grammatical annotators. "The remains of Apollonius Dyscolus, of Choroboscus, Joannes Philoponus, Moscophulus, and others, are all, in a greater or less degree, of the same character with the short sectional treatise of Dionysius the Thracian. "The Grammar of Constantinus Lascaris, though curious as being the first entire work printed with the Greek type, is a collection of bare rules, without illustrative expositions. A step in advance, however, was made by Henry Stephens, and his pupil Sylburgius, who introduced some improvements in the mode of treating the subject. The remarks of the latter on the Greek Grammar of Clenardus are full of learning, especially his Compend of Syntax; but, although he did much towards the classification of the language, he left its grammar nearly as involved as he found it. Angelus Caninius gave the first accurate account of the dialects, and Laurentius Rhodomannus reduced all the Greek nouns to three declensions; an improvement which was successively claimed by Weller, who introduced it in his Grammar, published in 1630, and by Claude Lancelot, the author of the Port Royal Greek Grammar; although the truth seems to be that Weller borrowed it from Rhodomannus, who mentions it in his Philomusus, and Lancelot borrowed it from Weller. The Port Royal Grammar is too well known to require almost any observation. Its nine books are subdivided into a multiplicity of detached rules, abounding in mistakes, and illustrated by examples taken from inferior writers. At the same time Weller and Verwey made considerable progress towards simplification; and a great addition was also made to grammatical knowledge by Fischer's remarks upon Weller's treatise, which display much industry, and abound with new observations. "But Hemsterhuys far outstripped his predecessors by the boldness and originality of his views, no less than by the learning and sagacity with which he sup ported them. Availing himself of some |