Ettington in the time of the Confessor, cour- artifex fecit." Another, of less perfect finish, reteously pointed out the remains of the past in his neighbourhood.

A DISCOVERY of considerable interest to antiquaries has been made in Iona, where an ancient burying-ground, supposed by some to be the place where St. Columba was interred, has been found.

presents Jupiter Tridens. A large number of tumulary stones have also been discovered, the inscriptions on which are in a good state of preservation. One of them commemorates the death of a prefect of Legion at the age of 110, having fought during forty years, another, that of a pious priestess at 100. A third tablet has the names of fifteen members of the Municipal Council: Seniores Municipii.

A ROMAN BASILICA IN KENT.-The recent discovery of the wall of a Roman basilica in the very ancient village of Lyminge, in Kent, is announced. A PRE-ADAMITE MAN.-A (very) strange disThe discovery is the result of excavations under-covery, interesting to geologists, is reported by the taken by Canon Jenkins, a well-known local anti- Osage Mission (Kansas) Fournal. A human skull quary. The wall is of great solidity, and, if possible, was recently found near that place imbedded in a the concrete (which is compounded of lime and chalk) is harder and more massive than the stone in which it is embedded. The remains have been brought to light a short distance from the church in which St. Ethelburga, a Northumbrian princess, took the veil in the seventh century. The church itself is built on a Roman foundation.

BONE CAVERN DISCOVERED IN KIRKCUDBRIGHT. -A bone cavern, presenting traces of human occupation, has been discovered in Silurian rocks on the coast south-west of the Bay of Kirkcudbright. The stalagmitic breccia and the cave-earth have yielded numerous bones of animals, including those of the ox, red-deer, goat, horse, pig, and several rodents, together with fragments of bronze and objects in bone, evidently of human workmanship. The exploration of this seemingly interesting cave is in the hands of Mr. A. J. Corrie and Mr. W.

Bruce-Clarke.

solid rock which was broken open by blasting. Dr. Weirley, of Osage Mission, compared it with a modern skull which he had in his office, and found that, though it resembled the latter in the general shape, it was an inch and a quarter larger in greatest diameter, and much better developed in some other particulars. He says of the relic:-"It is that of the cranium of the human species, of large size, imbedded in conglomerate rock of the tertiary class, and found several feet beneath the surface. Parts

of the frontal, parietal, and occipital bones were carried away by explosion. The piece of rock holding the remains weighs some forty or fifty pounds, with many impressions of marine shells, and through it runs a vein of quartz, or within the cranium crystalised organic matter, and by the aid of a microscope presents a beautiful appearance. Neither Lyell nor Hugh Miller, it is stated, nor any of the rest of the subterranean explorers, re

A PAPYRUS MANUSCRIPT found in an Egyptian ports anything so remarkable as this discovery at Osage Mission. The Neander man comes the tomb has lately been translated by a scholar of nearest to it, but the Neanderthal bones were found Heidelberg. It is pronounced by the Heidelberger, in a loam only two or three feet below the surface, says the Jewish World, to be an address of whereas this Kansas skull was discovered in solid Rameses III. to all the nations of the earth, in rock. which the king details minutely all the causes which led to the exodus of the Jews from the land of the Pharaohs.

A FINE specimen of ancient stone carving has been discovered at Sheffield. It had been in use in a cottage as a sinkstone, and all the crevices were filled with mortar. It is 28 inches long and with a representation of three cross daggers, sur25 inches wide. At the base is a shield, decorated mounted with the figure of a warrior in mail, apparently of the time of Richard II. Around these is a display of ornamental tracery, the whole being in a remarkably good state of preservation.

DISCOVERY OF COINS, &c.—A communication from Bougia (Algeria), states that excavations effected near the Col de Takrieda has produced discoveries of great interest. Twenty silver coins, and forty-six in bronze, belonging to various periods of the Roman domination, were found in a vase of red pottery under the flagstones of the triclinium (or upper room) of a villa. The walls of that apartment were in stucco covered with THE discovery has been made at Rome, on the frescoes of an extremely loose character, similar to Esquiline-hill, of some ancient vessels in pottery those kept in the secret museum at Naples. A ware, the largest ever found, and of such a size that bronze bust, richly gilt, of a youth, exquisitely a man could easily live in one. The fact is, thereworked, wears the synthesina, a garment which the fore, clear that the famous tub of Diogenes was not effeminate Romans only put on when at home, re- made of wood, but of earthenware, as is implied by clining before the festive table. The base bears Juvenal. the name of the sculptor, "Marius Cascavero,

Restorations.

ROWNER CHURCH, near Fareham, Hants, probably one of the oldest sacred edifices in the diocese of Winchester, is about to be restored at a cost of nearly £900. It undoubtedly formed, at some remote period, the chapel to a monastery or convent, and was, it is believed, although there is not sufficient evidence on this point, erected shortly subsequent to the date of the signing of Magna Charta, 1215, in which year Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, was excommunicated.

tive repair, and that it is in contemplation to reconstruct the two Norman apartments above "the Dark Entry," which formed the dining and drawing-rooms of the house as a Cathedral Library. Part of the original pavement of these rooms remains, and some interesting wall decorations of Norman date have been discovered under the whitewash. We believe that this is almost, if not quite, the only instance of a Norman refectory existing in England in so perfect a state. It deserves notice that the stones in many places have been reddened by fire, a memorial of the great conflagration of the cathedral and its buildings in 1272, arising out of a quarrel between the prior and the citizens.

Meetings of Societies.

NORWICH CATHEDRAL.-The demolition of one of the canonical houses attached to the Cathedral of Norwich, lately occupied by the Master of Catherine Hall, has exposed to view the remains of the Norman refectory of the Benedictine con- WILTSHIRE ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. - The vent, discovering many features of great interest to annual gathering of this Society commenced on the archeologist hitherto concealed from sight. the 16th ult. and concluded on the 18th, inThe house now destroyed was formed most cluding several interesting excursions. Among awkwardly out of a long narrow gallery running the papers read was one by the Rev. A. C. Smith, over the south walk of the cloisters, together with one of the Honorary Secretaries, on "Certain two large Norman apartments, above what is known Wiltshire Traditions, Charms, and Superstitions." as "the Dark Entry," at the south-east corner of Mr. Smith showed the great extent to which the cloister area. It had, therefore, no ground floor, and was in most respects as ill-contrived and inconvenient a residence as possible. The refectory at Norwich lay, as usual, along the side of the cloister furthest from the church, extending its whole length. It was a grand Norman hall, 150 feet long, lighted by a row of small round-headed windows high up in the wall. These windows were pierced in the alternate spaces of a continuous arcade running from end to end of the room, both on the exterior and the interior. Within there was a second arcade, a short distance beyond the first, forming a triforium" or wall passage. The lower part of the wall was also decorated with an arcade, but the whole of this has been cut away to gain space, and it is only traceable through the arrangement of the masonry. Every feature of the upper arcade is recoverable, and a large portion of it remains in situ. This owes its preservations to having served as the south wall of the prebendal house now demolished, its outside face (to the north) forming the interior wall of the house. The opposite wall was provided by the decorated upper story which runs round the cloisters. Till the change caused by the Reformation necessitated the patching up of a number of residences for the newly-created Dean and Prebendaries out of the monastic buildings, the space between this wall and the refectory over the cloister walk remained roofless, as it does still on the opposite, or north, side. The whole north wall now lies bare, and forms a most valuable addition to the architectural interest of the cathedral precinct. We believe that orders have been given by the Dean and Chapter for its substantial conserva

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1

superstition and tradition lingered amongst the
peasantry, despite every effort to point out their
absurdity. He quoted a number of instances in
which abominable compounds were administered
by "wise men" to cure ailments, observing that
if ever the specifics failed to effect a cure the
"wise man" made himself safe by attributing
the non-effect to the evil influence of the relatives
of his "patient" or the non-observance of the
rules laid down by him. He stated it was a
common practice among the Wiltshire peasantry
in many places to twist three pieces of cotton
round a garden gate at the full moon for curing
fits in children. Placing roasted apples, with
many fetish rites and ceremonies, was a remedy
for driving away evil spirits which haunted pre-
mises. He had seen, when a boy, a labourer
pass the body of a crippled child into that of a
cleft ash-tree, believing that to be a cure. The
man first selected a well-grown, healthy young
ash, and then, with many rites and ceremonies,
and at early dawn, split the tree at the point
where the stem broke into branches, passed the
body of the suffering infant through the cleft,
and then bound up the wounded tree, not without
a large lump of moistened clay; the cure of the
child depended solely upon the recovery of the
tree, for should the tree perish under the some-
what severe treatment it had undergone, the child
must infallibly perish too; whereas if the tree
survived, the cure of the child was certain.
added that he had reason to believe this super-
stitious practice still existed in some parts of
Wiltshire, and was probably the remnant of a

He

cation appeared a few days later from the owner of the land, contradicting both statements, and declaring that the cromlech is still standing !”

DR. ARNE.-A memorial tablet is about to be

placed in the house in King-street, Covent-garden, in which Dr. Arne, the composer of "Rule Britannia," was born.

more ancient custom, dating back to the period when, in the Teutonic mythology, the ash was sacred to the gods. Mr. Smith quoted a number of other superstitions which he said were believed in, such as enclosing a shrew-mouse in the hole of an ash tree as a cure against cramp or lameness in cattle. He noted the numerous portents which prevailed as to the foretelling of A LETTER OF "PRINCE CHARLIE."-The Queen, death in households. Many Wiltshire peasants on her visit to Glenfinnan, where Prince Charles believed in the omen of a shroud in the candle, Edward first unfurled his standard in 1745, was when the tallow guttered off in a portentous shown a letter which has never before been published, manner, and more than one candle had been set in the handwriting of Prince Charlie. It is as folapart in a cottage, and reserved for his (the lows:-"Kinloch, August ye 14, 1745-Being come speaker's) particular inspection. The sound of to this country with a few resolutions to assist the the timber-loving beetle, commonly known as King my father's right, I think it proper to inform the death-watch, was considered as a presage of you of it, having always heard such an account of death, as was also the cry of the "death's hawk your loyalty and principles that I think I have just moth" or the "hooting tawny owl." reason to depend on them. I intend to set up the speaker narrated many other instances of kinds King's standard at Glenfinnan on Monday ye 19th of medicines administered by "wise men,' instant. Since the time is so short I cannot expect alluding to earthworms being taken, and ticks from the fleece of sheep being used for the cure join me as soon as possible. your presence there, but I hope you will not fail to You need not doubt to my being always ready to acknowledge so important a service and give you proofs of my sincere friendship.-Charles, P. R."

of rheumatism.

Items.

The

SALE OF OLD PORTRAITS.-At the sale last month at Clapton-house, near Stratford, many pictures possessing considerable historic interest were disposed of. Among the portraits was the original painting of George Carew, Earl Totneys, famous for his dealings with the Spaniards during Elizabeth's reign. There was also a fine portrait of Shakespeare, who was a frequent visitor at Clapton-house, and one of the mother of Oliver Cromwell, reading her Bible. The other portraits were a half-length of James II., by Lily; William III., by Kneller ; General Ireton, two of Queen Elizabeth, Henry IV., and a full-length of Arabella Stuart.

ALLEGED VANDALISM IN WALES.-Mr. F. R. Hist, writes to the Times from Llanfairfechan, under date Sept. 10., "When walking last week along the old coach road from Carnarvon to Pwlheli, I turned aside shortly before reaching the village of Clynnog to inspect a cromlech which was marked on the Ordnance Map to the left-hand side of the road after crossing the Aberdusoch. If its position is accurately marked on the map, there can be no doubt that I discovered its site; but, alas! the monument itself no longer exists. The field in which it had stood was partially levelled, but the deep holes in the peaty soil from which the massive uprights had been removed, still remained, as well INTERESTING DISCOVERY IN THE SAVOY.-Many as several large fragments of recently broken blocks of our readers will be glad to hear that one of the of stone. Some of these fragments were partially most interesting of the monuments formerly in the wrought and the masons' tools on the grass by their Chapel Royal, Savoy, has been discovered after a side. In an adjacent field a farmhouse was being long disappearance, and is about to be restored to enlarged, and the tracks clearly showed the desti- its place on the floor of the chancel. It consists nation of the removed material. I regret my igno- only of a small brass plate, on which is the following rance of the Welsh language rendered futile my inscription:-" Hic jacet Thomas Halsey, Leslinennumerous local inquiries as to the owner of the land, cis Episcopus, in Basilica Sancti Stephani Romæ and the nature of the monument before it was pulled nationis Anglicana penitenciarius, summæ probitatis down. It must, however, have been of considerable vir, qui hoc solum post se reliquit, vixit dum vixit size and probable interest. On the other side of bene. Cui lævus conditur Gavan Dolkglas, natione the village of Clynnog, close to the sea shore, is a Scotus, Dunkellensis Presul, patria sua exul. Anno perfect dolmen of striking proportions. Fresh Xti. 1522." This "Gavan Dolkglas," thus almost building is going on in its immediate vicinity, and parenthetically commemorated, was the celebrated it will probably share the fate of its neighbour unless poet and statesman, Gawain Douglas, Bishop of there is timely intervention. Another correspondent, Dunkeld, who died in London of the plague early following up the enquiry, states that the work of in 1522. He was the third son of Archibald "Bell destruction has been openly carried on by the the Cat," Earl of Angus, and was born in 1475. farmers of the neighbourhood. A third communi- At the instigation of Albany, whom he had opposed

on behalf of his nephew, the second husband of west corner of the Palentine-hill, just in the situation Queen Margaret (Tudor), he was summoned to where we ought to find it, according to legendary Rome, and obtained, in the autumn of 1521, a safe history. It has also found the principal subterranean conduct through England from Lord Dacre, as chamber of the great prison of the kings of Rome, appears from letters summarised in Dr. Brewer's built by Ancus Martius, and added to by Servius "Calendar of State Papers." From the same work Tullius. They have also discovered the remains of we are able to trace his journey to London, his the great Agger of the latter. The arx or citadel of name being mentioned in several letters to Wolsey each of the seven hills, as a separate fortress, has from December, 1521, when he set out, until February, also been traced. Another important gain has been 1522, when he arrived. Early in the following year the discovery of the falseness of what are called the Bishopric of Dunkeld is spoken of as vacant. the Roman traditions, which were only the conIt seems, therefore, that if, as most of his biogra- jectures of learned men, living in the last three phers assert, he came to the Court of Henry VIII. centuries, who had often much less chance of formin 1513, he must have returned to Scotland and ing a correct opinion than we have. It seems no paid a second visit to London in 1522, just before time is to be lost, as the work of reconstruction and his death, the exact date of which may perhaps be rebuilding in Rome proceeds apace, and the price found in the Scottish records. He is said to have of ground has gone up fourfold within the last two been well received by the king, and to have been years. As it is, the excavations are now suspended allowed a lodging in the Savoy.-Times. for the want of funds. Mr. John Henry Parker, C.B., who appeals for help, especially notes, as to be purchased and preserved, The Lupercal; The Tarpeian Rock; the Great Prison; the site of the Fountain of Egeria; part of the Golden House of Nero and Thermæ of Titus; the site of the Temple of Pallas or Minerva, &c., &c.

WE HEAR that a German scholar has ready for press an edition of our early English version of the "Gospel of Nichodemus," with an exhaustive preface on the legends it contains.-Athenæum.

ST. MAURICE. The modern passion for pilgrimages serves in certain cases to lend a new life to forgotten facts of history. There is scarcely a town in France, Italy, or Germany which does not lay claim to the possession of some holy relic of St. Maurice, and on Monday next a pilgrimage is to be

MR. GARDNER, of Paisley, has in the press a new edition of Motherwell's "Minstrelsy; Ancient and Modern," a book which is held in regard by ballad collectors, and which has long been scarce. THE HUNTERIAN CLUB's handsome reprint of the last part of Alexander Craig's poems will contain a prefatory notice from the pen of Mr. David Laing. Lord Ellesmere has generously lent the made to the shrine erected in his honour in the Club some unique copies of Craig's pieces to reneighbourhood of Lucerne. According to a conprint. temporary, St. Maurice was first captain of the TheTHE TWENTY-FIFTH VOLUME of the Sussex bean Legion raised by Maximian, under the comArchæological Society has just been published. It mand of Diocletian, in order to punish the insursupplies documents relating to the Lewes Priory rectionary peasants of Gaul. After a weary march which have not hitherto been printed, and a memoir across the St. Bernard the legion reached Octoduof the late Rev. E. Turner, one of the vice-presi- rum, a considerable city on the Rhone. Maximian dents of the society. A movement has been set on here gave orders for a sacrifice to the gods, but the foot by the society to lay bare to the chalk the whole force was Christian, and accordingly refused, gigantic figure, 240 feet in height, known as the and withdrew three leagues distant to Agaunum, Wilmington Giant," once a prominent object of now named St. Maurice. To repeated commands the Downs, facing the line of the South Coast Rail- for their return there came but one answer—“We way, near Polegate Station. The Duke of Devonare your soldiers, but are servants of the true God." shire sanctions and gives support to the proposed For this resistance to authority the entire legion work. was put to death. The massacre of "the happy THE ROMAN EXPLORATION FUND appears to be legion," as it was called by Fortunatus, took place in need of help. Last year it spent £417 12s. 6d. A.D. 286, while the abbey of St. Maurice was not in the prosecution of its important work. Amongst erected till A.D. 515. The relics of the saint are the contributors to the fund are the Prince of Wales, variously distributed, according to different authorithe University of Oxford, the Society of Anti- ties. Vienna is said to have his head, Mirepoix quaries of London, and the Société Archéologique his right and Angurs his left arm. By the Treaty of France, the Marquises of Westminster and of Peace ratified with the House of Savoy by Salisbury, and others. The society has discovered Francis I., half of what remained of the sacred body a very ancient wall of tufa, of the character in use was conveyed to Turin. In January, 1851, two at the time of the foundation of Rome. It has also silver shrines containing these relics were deposited discovered the Lupercal, a cave under the north- in the Cathedral.—Globe.

66

M. HENRI TAINE is engaged on an elaborate servant." The window bears the following inscripHistory of the French Revolution, which will be tion, "To the memory of the Knight of Ellerslie, in mainly founded on an examination of State Papers this parish, Erected by the Glasgow St. Andrew's and other contemporary documents which have not Society." been published.

MICHAEL ANGELO.-The family papers of the THE Somersetshire Archæological and Natural House of Buonacotte preserved down to our days History Society's Museum at Taunton has just been have become, within the course of the last forty favoured with two gifts. Mr. F. Lake, of Taunton, years, on account of the extinction of the family, has presented a large medal of the Duke of Mon- the property of the state. The announcement is mouth, on the obverse side of which is a raised now made that they will form the subject of a book portrait of the Duke, and on the reverse a man to be edited by Professor Milanesi. This work, falling from a rock into the sea, descriptive of the containing interesting particulars as to the life and Duke's unfortunate life. Mr. W. A. Sanford, of paintings of Michael Angelo, will be published on Nynehead-court, has given a valuable fossil Saurian, the day of the 400 anniversary of the birth of the of large dimensions, taken from the lias at Street, great master, 6th March, 1875. near Glastonbury.