the purpose, though its scanty index is rather prejudicial to its utility.

Wiltshire Tales, illustrative of the Dialect and Manners of the Rustic Popu lation of that County. By John Yonge Akerman. 12mo. These tales, which have already appeared in a fugitive form, are written by one who has been conversant from his boyhood with the rural population of Wiltshire, and has, we believe, from that period made its language his study. A Wiltshire Glossary was published by Mr. Akerman a few years ago; in these tales he not only exemplifies the use of the ancient dialect still there prevalent, but he has interwoven its dialogue with equally characteristic traits of the manners, the sentiments, and superstitions of the peasantry. His pages will often raise a smile, and not less frequently in the reflective mind a sigh; for Mr. Akerman does not conceal the innate vices of his compatriots; but he will have performed a useful part if he directs the schoolmaster to their eradication.

Electoral Facts, from 1832 to 1853. By Charles R. Dod, Esq. 12mo.-We described the nature of this very useful manual in our Magazine for June, 1852. The book has received in this second edition a thorough revision throughout, whereby it is brought up to the recognition of the latest changes, including the results of the Election Petitions as well as the polls of the last Election. It may now be regarded as a complete political Gazetteer.

The Days of Battle; or, Quatre Bras and Waterloo. By an Englishwoman resident in Brussels in June, 1815; author of Rome in the Nineteenth Century. -This is, as far as the narrative goes, we think, by much the most spirited, life-like record of the memorable days it chronicles which we possess. Of course we mean as to the impression produced on the residents at Brussels, Antwerp, &c. by the Battle and its consequences. In no other contemporary account do we remember to have seen such a picture of the hurry, the panic, the anguish, the despair, and the sudden overwhelming return to hope and certainty of conquest, which may be found in these most graphic pages. In no other record of any battle do we remember to have been so impressed by the awfully rapid transition from feasting and splendour and the pride of warlike beauty to carnage, to havoc, blood, and dust, and

tears.

Few, few shall part where many meet. Even at this distance of time the heart

sickens and turns faint at the thought of the sufferings of the wounded after Waterloo. For four days and nights some of these unhappy men were exposed to the tortures of a fierce sun by day and heavy dews at night. Many lay under heaps of slain. Many were tortured with thirst nearly all that time; and yet there was no want of benevolent desire to mitigate their pains. The peasantry made long journeys to bring them drink, and every effort was made to remove them as speedily as possible.

In the midst of all these, which are but a small portion of the horrors recorded, it is impossible not to smile at the first announcement of the victory by five Highlanders to the inhabitants of Antwerp. One of the old Flemish women, more eager than the rest, says our Author, "seized a Highlander by his coat, pulling at it, and making the most ludicrous gestures imaginable, to induce him to attend to her, while he, quite forgetting, in his transport, that the old woman did not understand Scotch, kept vociferating that 'Boney was beat, and rinning awa' till his ain country as fast as he could gang.' Again, Hout, ye auld gowk, dinna ye ken that Boney's beat? What, ar ye deef? Daresay the wife-I say Boney's beat, woman." Another curious scene presented itself. "At the door of our hotel an English lady, who had apparently attained the full meridian of life, with a night-cap on the top of her head, discovering her hair in papillotes beneath, attired in a long white flannel dressing. gown with the sleeves tucked up above the elbows, was flying about in a distracted manner, loudly proclaiming the glorious tidings, continually repeating the same thing, and rejoicing, lamenting, wondering, pitying, and exclaiming, all in the same breath. In vain did her maid pursue her with a great shawl, which occasionally she succeeded in putting upon her shoulders, but which invariably fell off again the next moment. In vain did another lady, whose dress and mind were rather more composed, endeavour to entice her away. She could not be brought to pay the smallest attention, and I left her still talking as fast as ever, and standing in this curious dishabille among gentlemen and footmen, and officers and soldiers, and valets-de-place, and in full view of the multitudes who thronged the great Place de Maire."

But perhaps the most extraordinary part is the overpowering impulse of curiosity which led many delicate women, even, to visit the awful and dreadful field of death within a very few days of the Battle, not instigated by personal anxiety,

not even, we fear, by general feelings of humanity. What it was to go there, the Lady herself must tell: to read of it is enough, and too much.

The City of Rome, ils Edifices and its People. 12mo. pp. viii. 252.—Juvenal's notable question, Quid Romæ faciam? abstractedly considered, is of some importance to those persons who cannot spare the time or afford the expense of the journey. To such persons this volume is a kind of substitute; but whether it will console them for the loss, by the informa. tion it contains, or aggravate the disappointment, must be left for individual cases to decide.

A Manual for Godfathers and Godmothers. By G. Hill, M.A. Fep. 8vo. Pp. 110.-This volume is as comprehensive as its size admits of, on the antiquity, design, and duty of the office of sponsor. At p. 73, the words of response" I will " are well explained to mean willingness, rather than self-sufficiency. In some other cases the explanations appear more forced, and consequently less acceptable.

Palmoni, an Essay on the Chronological

and Numerical Systems among the Ancient Jews. 8vo. pp. xii. 681.-The title of this volume, which is taken from the margin of Daniel viii. 13, means "the numberer of secrets." We cannot enter into its arguments, neither do we distinctly comprehend its design. It contains much erudition, and much speculation of a hazardous kind. One of its hypotheses is, that the books which bear the name of Josephus were not written by him, but by a Christian, who thought he would serve the cause of Christianity, "by assuming the name of a celebrated Jewish commander." (p. 572.) We wish there were no such instances of early forgeries to accredit this conjecture, but unfortunately there are too many.

Ten Sermons of Religion. By T. Parker. Post 8vo. pp. 361. The author professes to believe that there are great truths in this book, and admits that there must also be errors. As it issues from a school with which we do not sympathise, we are in a position better suited to espy the latter, than to appreciate the former. Some practical hints may be gathered from it, but its doctrinal views must be regarded with caution at least.

SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES.

June 2. Lord Viscount Mahon, Pres. Patrick Macintyre, esq. F.R.G.S. Secretary of the United Kingdom Life Assurance Company, and Henry H. Breen, esq. of St. Lucia, and author of a work on its History and Statistics, were elected Fellows of the Society.

Dr. Roots exhibited an iron swordblade, with a portion of the wo den handle adhering to it, found in the bed of the Thames at Kingston, near the spot where so many Roman weapons have been previously recovered.

Mr. Figg exhibited the figure of a knight on horseback in pottery, adapted as a drinking vessel, found at Lewes in 1846. By the pryck spur on the heel of the knight, the figure is concluded to be as old as the reign of Henry III.

Lord Londesborough exhibited a spearhead found in a grave at Treves.

John Burder, esq. F.S.A. exhibited, by the hands of Mr. J. G. Nichols, a brass seal, found last year within the timber of a tree at Crondale common, near Farnham. It is one of the seals made for the office of Sheriff, representing the castle or prison of the county, with the shield of the

From the accom

Sheriff's arms in front. panying initials 1. g. and the aims, which are ten pellets, 4, 3, 2, 1, Mr. Nichols was disposed to assign it to John Gifford, who was Sheriff of the conjoint counties of Bedford and Buckingham in 1417, one of the coats of Gifford being ten torteaux.

Mr. Akerman, as Secretary, in a letter to the President, reported the result of a visit to the church of the Holy Trinity in the Minories, on the invitation of Mr. Hill the perpetual curate of that church, to inspect a stone coffin which had just been discovered on the site of the religious house of the Nuns of St. Clare, or Nuns Minoresses, which gave the name to that neighbourhood. Instead of a stone coffin of the usual mediæval character, Mr. Akerman found a sarcophagus of stone, ornamented with sculptures, a profile of a male head being carved in a medallion in the centre of one side, and baskets of fruit represented at either end. The sarcophagus contained a leaden coffin, in which lay the remains of a child about eight years of age. The leaden coffin was ornamented with escallop-shells, and a kind of beaded ornament, like that found at Colchester, and others discovered in England, and

noticed by Mr. Roach Smith in the Journal of the Archæological Association. This coffin was engraved in Mr. Akerman's Archæological Index, as a type of this description of Roman or Romano-British interment. Weever, in his Funeral Monuments, had noticed the discovery of a coffin at Stepney, similarly ornamented. Mr. Akerman observed that, although these ornaments of the escallop-shell were not the usually recognised symbols of Christianity, he yet thought that the basket of fruit (or loaves, for they are thus represented in the ca acombs of Rome), the circumstance of the sarcophagus being carved on one side only, as if to fit it to a wall, and the occurrence of the escallop-shell on several specimens-the same object differently disposed-would almost favour the belief that the interment was of the early Christian period; and that the escallop-shell, whatever might be the popular origin assigned to it, is in reality a primitive Christian symbol. He did not venture to assert that such was the fact, but he considered the subject well worthy of investigation.

J. Payne Collier, esq. V.P. communicated some further remarks on the career of Sir Walter Raleigh, embracing an account of his brief government of Jersey, his arrest and imprisonment at Winchester, his subsequent removal to the Tower, and, finally, his illegal trial and execution. The notice was illustrated by some letters of Raleigh hitherto unpublished.

June 9. John Bruce, esq. Treas. in the chair.

A letter from Robert Lemon, esq. F.S.A. announced the further donation to the Society's collection, from himself, of twentyone Proclamations and five Broadsides, three of the former, of the reign of Charles the First, having the indorsement of Archbishop Laud; and from Arthur Taylor, esq. of twelve or fourteen Broadsides.

George Scharf, esq. exhibited several drawings of the crypt lately removed from Gerard's Hall, London, which he has made for the Society.

Henry Bowden, esq. exhibited the sealring of Sampson Erdeswick, the Staffordshire antiquary, set with his arms, cut in crystal. Mr. Bowden is a descendant of Erdeswick.

Edmund Waterton, esq. exhibited a gilt

ring bearing the monogram Christos,&,

found in the Catacombs at Rome, and now belonging to J. W. Amherst, esq.

Capt. Sir Everard Home, Bart. communicated a description, written by Charles Forbes, M.D. Assistant Surgeon of H.M.S. Calliope, of a visit to the interior of Tonga

taboo, one of the South Sea islands, in which were found barrows, reminding him of those in the counties of Wilts and Dorset, and a monument of coral-rock, bearing a striking resemblance to the larger gatewaylooking stones at Stonehenge, with this difference, that the cross-piece is let in upon its edge into the side-posts. It is called by the natives Mani's burden, its erection being attributed to their god Mani.

The Rev. John Webb, F.S.A. of Tretire, exhibited a miniature which came into his possession with many papers relative to the Cromwell family, and which he had some reason to conjecture to be the portrait of Henry Cromwell, the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.

H. Claude Hamilton, esq. read an account of the origin of the Chapelle de Bourgoyne at Antwerp, translated from the account of that structure written by Baron Jolly. In this chapel the marriage of Philip le Bel was solemnized; and it is still decorated with heraldic paintings which are very perfect and remarkable.

June 16. Sir R. H. Inglis, Bart. V.P.

Lewis Powell, M.D. of John-street, Berkeley-square, John Loughborough Pearson, esq. of Delahay-st. architect, and the Rev. Ralph Lindsay Loughborough, Vicar of Pirton, Herts. were elected Fellows of the Society.

John Britton, esq. exhibited to the Society two MS. volumes, a Diary and a Commonplace Book, of Dr. William Stukeley, with several of the Doctor's drawings; three autograph letters from Bertram to Stukeley; and a portfolio of sketches and drawings by Mr. John Carter, formerly draughtsman to the Society of Antiquaries.

Octavius Morgan, esq. exhibited various objects of antiquity in silver, brass, and pottery; Mr. Forrest exhibited an Egyptian signet-ring of gold, containing a scarabæus inscribed with hieroglyphs; and W. W. E. Wynn, esq. a silver chalice belonging to the private chapel at Reig, in Monmouthshire.

Professor Willis, of Cambridge, read a paper on the Architectural History of the Monastic Buildings attached to the Cathedral of Canterbury. A detailed plan, from an original survey by the author, was exhibited, shewing the whole of the existing remains of these buildings, and their connection with the houses of the dean, canons, and other residents within the close, together with the almonry and the site of the archbishop's palace. This was accompanied by a large fac-simile of the well-known plan of the monastery made in the twelfth century, and contained in a manuscript at Trinity college, Cambridge, attributed to the monk Eadwin. plan was published in the Vetusta Monu

This

ready assent of all parties interested in the discovery, the sarcophagus and coffin had been presented to the British Museum, as the most appropriate place for their preservation, in the rooms now devoted to British antiquities. The human remains had been forthwith interred by Mr. Hill's permission.

The Rev. W. Hastings Kelke gave an account of three monumental statues at Clifton Reynes, Bucks, with an endeavour to ascertain their date, and the persons whom they were intended to commemorate. They consist of the effigies of a knight and lady, of the time of Edward II., or very early in the following reign, carved in oak, and well preserved; and those of another knight and his lady, sculptured in fine white stone, bearing some resemblance to alabaster. The former Mr. Kelke is disposed to assign to Sir Ralph de Reynes, the first of his family who possessed the manor and advowson of Clifton, and who died about 1310. The other statues may represent his great-grandson Sir John, with his first wife, heiress of Sir Peter Scudamore of Wiltshire. He died in 1428. At the feet of the knight lies his favourite dog; and here Mr. Kelke pointed out an interesting evidence of the feeling and care with which these sepulchral portraitures were designed. On the collar the name of the dog is recorded, Bo, in letters in high relief. This monument, it may be observed, was in all probability erected in the lifetime of the knight. Two similar instances occur in other parts of England where the name of the faithful dog is thus commemorated on the tomb on one, at the feet of a lady, in a church near Tewkesbury, the name is TIRI.

Mr. Edward Godwin, of Bristol, com municated notices of ancient ecclesiastical buildings in Cornwall, illustrated by a series of beautiful drawings and plans, exhibiting the peculiar architectural features of the Cornish churches.

The Rev. John Webb gave an account of a massive iron ring which he exhibited: it had been found near Goodrich Castle last winter, deposited between two human skeletons. It is formed in two pieces, adjusted together by tenons and sockets, and appears undeniably intended to be worn as a collar, most probably, from its massive proportions and the absence of all ornament, by a slave. The mode of uniting the parts admits of their being so readily separated, that this curious relic cannot be regarded as having served for the constraint of a prisoner. Several bronze collars, adjusted in precisely similar manner, and highly ornamented, have been found in England, attributed to the Saxon age; and the most probable opinion

seems to be that Mr. Webb's singular collar had been that of a serf, in the same period, with whose body, possibly in remembrance of his manumission, it had been deposited.

Mr. W. W. Wynne, M.P., gave an account of the discovery of four bronze vessels, near Llanbeder, Merionethshire, placed upon a flat stone in a kind of cairn. They were laid before the meeting, and are of the Roman period; in one of them were found several hundreds of coins, now at Mostyn. Mr. Wynne produced also some documents under the Great Seal of Elizabeth, and bearing her sign-manual: they relate to certain transactions in the Low Countries in which Sir Thomas Gresham was engaged. Also a remarkable document, with the seal and signature of Francis I., being the counterpart of the treaty between Henry VIII. and that sovereign, regarding the projected war with the Grand Turk in 1532.

The Rev. Edward Trollope sent an impression from a seal of Henry Earl of Lancaster, found in Lincolnshire; and drawings of two richly sculptured Norman door-ways at the church of Quenington, Gloucestershire, and of two singular sculptured figures, apparently representing pilgrims, lately found at Lincoln cathedral, on the eastern gable of the Consistory Court. They are of the time of Edward I.

Mr. Octavius Morgan exhibited a tableclock, of singular form, date about 1550, a richly coloured pitcher of enamelled Nuremburg ware, and a collection of weapons and arrow-heads of flint and obsidian, from North America, identical in their forms with the primeval stone weapons of Europe.

Mr.

Amongst other antiquities exhibited was the brass offertory dish, bearing an inscription in runes, as explained by Mr. Kemble, found in the ruins of Chertsey Abbey it was produced by Mr. Franks, as also drawings by Mr. Scharf of some remarkable Roman urns found at Oundle, one of them unique in the artistic beauty of the designs moulded upon it. Arthur Trollope sent a bronze fibula from Lincoln, of a very rare form in England; and Mr. Way produced an inscribed hunting-pot or caldron of bell-metal, from Cambridgeshire. Mr. Figg communicated the discovery of a very curious bronze ornament, enamelled, and similar to those from Stanwick, presented by the Duke of Northumberland to the British Museum. It was found on the Sussex downs, near Wilmington. Mr. Desborough Bedford brought two miniature portraits, one of them considered to be Sir Edward Hoby, in the reign of Elizabeth; and a fine ring, set with a diamond, once worn by Bishop