Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

of unskilful moneyers in the Spanish colonies. On those of better fabric the portrait is good, the hair rises on the forehead as described by the historian, who says it curled naturally, and there is in the countenance an expression which accords with our received notions of this great man.

Of the portrait of Lepidus, which is found on his denarii, little can be said, except that it is badly executed, but still highly characteristic, being very inexpressive and unintelligent. His treatment by Cæsar's successor, and his tamely submitting to such treatment, excites our surprise, after reading that he formed one of the Triumvirate with Augustus and Antony; but, perhaps, the subtle policy of the former discovered the advantage of having in his interest one who was so readily moulded to his will.

The account which Suetonius gives of Julius Cæsar is verified by his medals, which represent him without beard, bald, with an arched neck, and with a wreath of laurel round his head; a portrait which it would be impossible to confound with any other. The personal beauty of Cæsar has been extolled by the ancient historians. Among others, Vellius Paterculus describes him as "formâ omnium civium excellentissimus ; there is nothing in the portraits of the Dictator which have come down to us, to warrant such extravagant praises.

but

The next portrait is that of Augustus, the boyish countenance of Octavius being destitute of expression, and unworthy of notice as a likeness. The large brass coins of this Emperor, with the head of Julius Cæsar on the reverse, bear a portrait answering in every respect to the description of Suetonius, who tells us that Augustus was very careless with his hair, frequently permitting several persons to cut it at the same time, while he read or wrote; and sometimes clipped, at others, shaved his beard. The portrait on the coin in question has ragged hair, and an untrimmed beard. But the heads on his denarii differ materially from those just described. We learn from the same author, that Augustus piqued himself upon his fancied likeness to Apollo; and it would appear from these coins, that flattery took advantage of this abomi

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

There is little variation in the heads on the coins of Claudius. The contemplation of the portrait of this Emperor by the physiognomist or phre nologist, would throw either into raptures. The expression of the face is vacant and unintellectual; and the head would be said by phrenologists to want energy. Two busts of Claudius in the Musée Royal at Paris are remarkable for the same want of intellectual expression.

Many of the coins of Nero, struck when he was Cæsar, have a youthful head, in which may be traced a strong likeness to his predecessor. It would be difficult to ascertain if this was in consequence of the prince's then personal resemblance to Claudius, or whether the artists employed in the Roman mint were desirous of paying him a compliment by giving him the features of the Emperor. Small brass coins of Nero, struck in some of the Greek cities, bear very well executed portraits of him when Cæsar; and in these may be traced the same resem. blance to Claudius. It is, however, on the coins of Nero struck during his reign, that we find a portrait answering to the description of that given by Suetonius. This author says that Nero at one time followed the effemi,

nate fashion of having his hair cut in rings "Comam semper in gradus formatum." This style of hair-dressing is, however, not observable on his Latin coins; but on those of colonial fabric struck at Corinth before his accession to the empire, we have a portrait with the hair cut in that

manner.

The countenance of Galba is minutely described by the biographer of the Caesars, who observes that his forehead was bald and that his nose was hooked, traits most distinctly marked in the portraits on his money. A bust of this Emperor, preserved in the Musée Royal, may be recognized by its resemblance to that impressed on his coins.

Suetonius remarks, that the countenance and person of Otho did not indicate the resolution with which he performed in the last scene of his struggle for the empire. He was a man of effeminate habits and appearance, says the historian; beardless, and bald; the first he encouraged in his youth, the latter he concealed by wearing a peruke. The portraits on his Latin coins agree with this description, and are of a totally different character to those of the other Casars. The peruke, with which he is always represented, appears to have been formed in circles, a mark of effenancy and dandyism in those days.

Vitellius follows; and it would be difficult to find a bust so characteristic as that which his coins bear. The huge face, small head, short neck, and bloated features, are expressive of the sensuality and cruelty which marked the brief reign of the imperial glutton. Few persons can be unacquainted with the strongly marked countenance of Vespasian, whose features were well calculated for representation in profile. The coarse joke of a jester on his peculiarity of visage is preserved by Suetonius, but will not bear repetition here. His coins testify the general accuracy of the historian.

[ocr errors]

The portraits on the coins of Titus, and on those of Domitian, when he succeeded to the empire, resemble that of their father; but it is somewhat remarkable, that later coins of Domitian have a bust of much nobler character, with a long and graceful neck. Suetonius says that his person was

comely. He says the same of Titus, whom, however, he describes as somewhat short of stature and inclined to corpulency, while Domitian, on the contrary, was tall and stately. This discrepancy in the portraits of Domitian may be attributed to the desire of the artists of the period to represent him as like as possible to his brother, a prince whose virtues had endeared him to the people. This was a description of flattery very frequently practised in the Roman mint; but Domitian, we are told, was exceedingly vain of his personal appearance; and it is probable that this depraved Emperor preferred stamping on his coins a portrait of more graceful appearance than that which his subjects had perhaps learned to regard with veneration, on account of its resemblance to one whose amiable qualities appeared to advantage, in an age when the rapine, sensuality, and cruelty of the Roman Emperors had, from their frequency, ceased to excite the disgust and horror of their subjects.

Should the foregoing brief remarks on the imagines of" the Twelve Cæsars," prove at all interesting to your numerous readers, I shall, at a future opportunity, proceed to a review of the portraits on the coins of their J. Y. AKERMAN.

successors.

Yours, &c.

THE HON. BAND OF GENTLEMEN PENSIONERS.

MR. URBAN,

THE designation of this once splendid appendage of royalty, has recently undergone a change, on the ground of there being something derogatory in their former appellation.

I will, with your permission, give a slight sketch of the formation* and original constitution of this corps, by which it will appear that its, members have been known as the "Pensioners," or " Gentlemen Pensioners,' ever since the reign of King Henry the Eighth, and that their title was never considered derogatory, although

"An Historical Account of the Hon. Band of Gentlemen Pensioners," forms the Second Part of Curialia, by Samuel Pegge, Esq. 4to. 1784.

the band long consisted of members of the first families in England.

This band, known at first by the appellation of "The King's Spears,' owes its origin to the magnificent taste of King Henry the Eighth, who, in making this addition to the splendour of his Court, seems to have taken the idea from the institution of the Yeomen of the Guard, by his father, although the motives of the two monarchs differed widely.*

[ocr errors]

The characteristic magnificence of their founder was conspicuous in their organization. They consisted at first of fifty noblemen and gentlemen, called the King's Spears;" each of whom was attended by a demilauncer, (who was a gentleman,) an archer, and a custrel, or horse-boy; they had, besides, three led destriers, or warhorses. The following account of their institution and appointments is taken from Hall's Chronicle, vol. ii. fol. 6.

"Also this yere, [viz. 1509, 1 Hen. VIII.] the kyng ordeined fiftie gentlemenne to bee speres, euery of them to haue an archer, a demilaunce, and a custrell; and euery

"These thynges thus passed," [viz. the appointment of a Privy Council, and other arrangements of affairs of state, by Henry VII. in the 1st year of his reign.]

[ocr errors]

Albeyt, that apparauntly all thynges semed to be reduced to a good poynte, and set in a sure steye: Kynge Henry beyng made wyse and expert with troubles and myschiefes before past, remembred that yt was wisdome to feare & prouide for the crafty wyles and lurkyng trappes of his secret enemyes, remembryng all me' for the moost parte embrued & exercysed in plantyng of diuision and sowynge dissencion, can not lightely leaue their pestiferous appetite & sedicious occupacion. Wherefore, for the saueguard and preseruation of his owne bodye, he co'stituted & ordeyned a certayn numbre as well of good archers as of diuerse other persons beinge hardy, stronge, and of agilitie, to geue dailye attendaunce on his person, whom he named Yomen of his Garde, whiche president men thought that he learned of the Frenche king when he was in Frau'ce: for men remembre not any Kyng of England before that tyme whiche vsed svch a furnyture of daily souldyours."

Hall's Chron. 1542, vol. 2. fo. iii. 1 Hen. VII.

GENT. MAG. VOL. III.

[ocr errors]

spere to haue three greate horses, to bee attendaunt on his persone, of the which bande the Erle of Essex was Lieuetenant, and Sir John Pechie Capitain; who endured but awhile, the apparell and charges were greate; for there were none of theam but thei and their horses were apparelled and trapped in clothe of golde, silver, and goldesmithes worke, and their servaunts richely appareled also."

Thus it appears the enormous expense attending this office, (for which I do not find that they received any remuneration,) caused the dissolution of the band, as originally constituted. They were soon remodelled, however, and though still consisting of nobles and knights of the leading families of the kingdom, they received a pension towards defraying the necessary expenses. I am unable to affix the exact date to this change, but in a contemporary MS. account of the coronation of Edw. VI. I find frequent mention of the "Pensioners" in the processions and other ceremonies, without any remark or explanation, which would argue that the name and office were not very recent.

Under Queen Mary there are frebut I have not met with any partiquent notices of this body collectively,

cular account of them.

Under Queen Elizabeth they were in high estimation, and consisted entirely of nobility and gentry of the best families. Indeed, serving the Queen as a Pensioner, was an object of ambition to the young men of the highest distinction. Sir John Hol

les, of Houghton, co. Notts. Knt, afterwards Earl of Clare, used to say, that while he was a Pensioner of " he did not know a Queen Elizabeth, worse man than himself in the whole band," and he was then in possession of £4,000 per annum.

Under King James I. and his son Charles I. the Gentlemen Pensioners do not seem to have numbered so many men of high rank in their band, as under the virgin Queen, who is well known to have taken the greatest pains to fill all, even the subordinate places in her household, from the flower of the gentry.

They still, however, continued in

E

high repute, and that they were jealous of the honour of their station, as belonging to pure gentry, will appear from the subjoined award of the Earl Marshall in 1632.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

By this it appears that the band took exceptions to the appointment of Master George Baker, on the ground that he was no gentleman. It need hardly be explained that this charge did not then imply the censure understood by such an expression at the present day. It had no reference to the personal qualifications of the individual, but merely implied that he was not a gentleman of blood and coat armour; or, as the French heralds express it, un ancien gentelhomme," or gentleman of ancient descent. It is quite evident that Master George Baker was (in the phrase of the present day) "moving in good society," for I find that he was at this time married to Jane, daughter of Sir Robert Hutton, Knt. one of the Justices of the Common Pleas, which, in times when fashion had not supplanted rank, would have been considered a rather high connection. It will be seen that the result of this solemn investigation was favourable to Mr. Baker, and that he established his gentry.

[ocr errors]

Lansdowne MSS. 873. fo. 69. "Whereas exceptions hath lately been taken by some of his Majesty's Gentlemen Pensioners, that Mr. George Baker, newly admitted of that Band, was no gentleman, and therefore unfit to serve his Majesty in that place of that nearness, being of that eminence and that credit, upon his Majesty's speciall co'mand given in that behalf, I have, calling unto me, as assistants, the Right Honourable the Lord Chamberlaine of his Majesty's Household, and other Lords, (and certain Officers of Armes being likewise present,) convented the said George Baker before me, who for justification of his gentry, produced several certificates, under the hands and seals of Thomas Baker, of Battle; Thomas Baker, of Mayfield, in the county of Sussex; and John Baker, of Groom-bridge, in the county of Kent, whereby the said parties do testify and acknowlege that the said George Baker is lineally discended from Richard Baker, younger son of Thomas, common auncestor of their family; and that they do and have

always heretofore taken and held the said George Baker to be their kinsman, and a younger branch of their house; which family of the Bakers, and their coat of armes, by the testimony of the officers then present, are found entred in severall books of visitations and funeralls, remaining in the Office of Armes, whereby it appeareth that they are ancient Gen

tlemen of Descent and Coat Armour. In consideration of which premisses, I have thought fit to certify that the said George Baker hath sufficiently proved himself to be a gentleman; and that of right, he ought of all men to be so reputed and esteemed.

(Signed) "ARUNDELL & SURREY,” "Dated at Arundel House, the Eighth day of June, 1632.

Appended to this award, is the pedigree by which George Baker proved his descent from the common ancestor.

Since the Revolution, this band has been neglected, and has not been entirely composed of gentlemen (heraldically so called).

or

The office of" Gentleman Pensioner," "Gentleman at Arms," is, I am informed, worth £100 per annum, and is usually purchased for £1,000.

Latterly, the designation of Pensioners having proved displeasing to the aristocratic ears of the honourable band, they (more fastidious than their noble predecessors) made interest to obtain a change of title, and now, by his Majesty's gracious permission, they have become "The Honourable Band of his Majesty's Gentlemen at Arms."

Yours, &c.

MR. URBAN,

H. N.C.

June 12.

In the course of a correspondence which took place in your Magazine between certain anonymous and very virulent opponents of mine, and myself, touching the state of Saxon philology in England, a good deal of stress was laid upon the question of accents. I now redeem the pledge given by me, to explain the system upon which I act, in common with the profoundest philologists in Europe. I do this, not because I have any hope of convincing the persons who have done me the honour to select me as the mark for their abuse, or because I think that it can

[graphic]

ever signify whether they are convinced or not, but for the purpose of giving information to those who desire and deserve it. The facts of the case are few and simple. It is quite certain that in all Saxon, Norse, and German MSS., some marks are placed over the vowels for some purpose or other. Some MSS. have more, some fewer of these marks; and the MSS. even of one period are not always consistent in their use of them. In what I am about to write 1 shall confine myself to the Saxon MSS., and to a few remarks upon the Norse in connexion with the Saxon. My reason for omitting the German MSS. here, is that they have a double system, one part of which appears to have to do with quantity, the other with tone.

Taking all Saxon MSS. without distinction of time and period, the accentuation seems to denote one of three things:

1o. That the accented vowel is long, i. e. ee, but én, oo, and ów. 2°, and very rarely, that the vowel is emphatically marked out for the purpose of particular distinction; and this is equivalent to italics with us; thus the Cott. MSS. of Elfric's grammar speaks of a word which ends with a short e, þæt ge-endia on sceortne é. 3. Some words are accented for the same purpose of peculiar distinction, as under similar circumstances we use either a capital initial or capitals as in speaking of the Almighty or the Saviour by the third personal pronoun, where we should print He, or HE, the Saxon sometimes wrote Hé; but it is quite clear that in these cases it is the word and not the vowel that is accented.

The first case, which indeed is the only case concerning which any dispute has arisen (for the anonymous railers, who talk so much of the authority of MSS., were never aware of the practice of MSS. in the other two

Gothic.

Guth.

Gods.

Máins.

Old High Dutch. O. Saxon.

Kot.

Guot.

Mein.

Man.

points, at all), is the one to which I shall confine myself. Generally speaking, the older a MS. is, the fewer of these marks are to be found in it: they are then principally used as a distinction between words which, were it not for the difference in the length of their vowels, would be spelled alike. Take, for example, a few such words; ac, sed, ác, quercus; ful, plenus, fûl, sordidus; is, est, ís, glacies; man, homo, mán, nefas; god, deus, gód, bonus; ne, non, né, nec; hof, atrium, hóf, extuli; heoru, ensis, heóru (nom. fem.) mitis; wid, contra, wid, liga; galan, canere, gálan (acc def.) lascivum, &c. &c. &c.

In all these cases the marks in the MSS. correspond accurately to the relations borne by these vowels to one another in all the Teutonic languages; and these relations I shall take leave to look at a little more closely by and by, because one of your bungling men without a name has ven

tured to fall foul of James Grimm for establishing and denoting them.

There is some little use, Mr. Urban, in maintaining these distinctions; although it is no doubt a bitter annoyance to your idle and ignorant friends, to be compelled either to give up the point as hopeless for Saxon, or else to study the Teutonic tongues, en masse : but we shall still feel obliged to require this of them, if it be only for the sake of forcing them to spare us the twaddle which they sometimes favour us with, from their ignorance of these distinctions-for example, it has been gravely asserted, that the Saxons were deeply impressed with the goodness of God, and the wickedness of man's nature, (in spite of the Teutonic God, and probable Demiurgus, Mannus) as to have but one word for God and good, and one for man and evil. This is pretty and plausible, and has indeed but one fault, viz., the not having a word of truth in it. Mark!

[blocks in formation]

God.

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

SO

Manna. So much for the theosophic and psychological views of the Saxons, respecting God and man, and good and evil. Those who do not like the

Man. trouble of studying till they can set themselves right, may stick to the apparent coincidence between the Saxon forms, and reject not only the

« AnteriorContinuar »