The stoup is of the same material, and probably of the same date as the font. It is deeply set into the south wall, near the western end, and is of semi-ovoid form, but small diameter, without any ornament except a few plain mouldings, as a finish to its lower part. In the same part of the church, but nearer to the central line of the nave, and therefore more convenient for the congregation, is another stoup, modern; a shallow basin, excavated in the flat top or abacus of an isolated small rectangular pillar. The altar, which is two steps above the chancel floor,—the ambo of deal, the pulpit and its sounding board of oak,-the confessionals, which are at the west end, their proper situation,-the stalls of carved oak, and plain deal benches,are all of various modern dates, but not worthy of further observation. A statue of the Virgin, as large as life, holding in her hand a bunch of artificial flowers, is, with the too common had taste of devotees, fully dressed in robes of white, and painted to resemble nature. Among five or six pictures, in mouldering condition, may be noticed a very good crucifixion, the gift of a parishioner, who on this occasion sacrificed his taste for the fine arts to a praiseworthy piety, in not sending it to the museum at Caen, where it would have been more carefully preserved. The chief merit of this painting is the natural depending position of the Christ, without the inappropriate dancing-master grace displayed in many representations on this subject. The churchyard is spacious, but irregular, and surrounded by the chateau, a large farm-house, and many cottages. Its principal sculptured monuments are those of a succession of the village priests and the lords of the manor; among the last of which is one to the memory of Baron Lair, who was a naval officer of Napoleon, and brother of M. Lair, the senior counsel of the prefecture of Caen, a worthy character, and an intelligent and zealous antiquary. Yours, &c. PLANTAGENET. EARLY GAULISH COINS. MR. URBAN, Camberwell, Sept. 2, 1833. I send you, herewith, a few drawings of some supposed Gaulish Coins which have recently come into my possession, and which perhaps you will deem worthy the attention of your readers. They are, I believe, unpublished types, and it is on that account that I am desirous of placing them on record in the never-dying pages of Sylvanus Urban. The general absence of legends on these pieces, and, when legends do occur, their being for the most part barbarous and unintelligible, has caused this class of coins to be much neglected; but a learned foreigner is at this time engaged in an examination of the ancient coins of Gaul and Britain, and we may, perhaps, at some future period, be favoured with the result of his researches. Nothing tends to embarrass us in our enquiries respecting these coins so much as their difference in weight; for, although many of them resemble each other in type and fabric, their weight varies considerably. In a former communication, I alluded to the great similarity of the ancient British and Gaulish coins to those of the Greeks, and mentioned that I had seen some barbarous coins which might remind the Numismatist of the parts of the Roman As, and which had obviously been cast in moulds. I have, perhaps, erred in ascribing them to the Gauls; they may possibly belong to some other nation. No. 1. is an accurate representation of one of these coins which, in type, strongly resembles some pieces discovered in St. James's Park a few years since, and which it is said were of iron; but the coin here given, though of mixed metal and of extreme hardness, does not contain iron, as I have ascertained by the magnet, yet the mixture of which it is formed includes small portions of gold and silver; a circumstance attributable rather to a want of skill in the refining of the metal than to design on the part of the moneyer. Several of these coins were dug up last summer in the neighbourhood of GENT. MAG. VOL. I. 2 M Boulogne; but, as I have not heard of the discovery of similar pieces in the interior of France, I am led to conjecture that they were the money of some more northern nation. They are not unlike the rude lumps called Danish Amulets. It is not a little singular that most barbaric coins are struck, whilst these are certainly cast in moulds, and that, too, in the rudest manner. The obverse bears a figure intended to represent a human head; the reverse that of some animal the class and order of which it would puzzle a Linnæus to determine. It is worthy of mention, that in the face of the head, on the obverse, the lips are formed of two dots, after the manner of the early Greek coins. Are these barbarous coins, too, uncouth imitations of the types of a more civilized people? No. 2. is of silver, and of tolerable purity,* weighing 664 grains. The obverse presents nothing remarkable: the reverse has a palpable imitation of the Pegasus of Corinth, and bears the letters гO... r. There is little doubt but that this coin is of Gaulish origin. No. 3. is also of silver, and weighs 30 grains. It is a coin of better execution than the preceding; but evidently struck in Gaul. The female head on the obverse is covered by the lion's skin, and there is a collar round the neck. The reverse has the common badge of the horse at full gallop, and some letters, which, from their ends terminating in dots, are evidently copied from a Greek coin.t No. 4. is of silver, the size of the Greek tetradrachm, and weighs 100 grains. The obverse appears to bear a human head, although the metal seems to have been too small to receive the whole impression of the die. The hair is arranged in a curious manner. The reverse of this coin is common. No. 5. is of gold, weighing 884 grains; and presents, besides the figures of a horse and a human eye, the rude representation of a crab or some other marine animal, from which it may be inferred that this coin was struck by people living on the sea coast, near to which it was found. I have seen no other British or Gaulish coin with this emblem. The piece is cracked at the edges by the force of the punch with which it was struck. No. 6. is of gold, weighing 59 grains; and a very remarkable coin. The obverse bears a well-executed head; the reverse has the figure of a horse with a wheel beneath, as in the common types, but the reins are held by an eagle : probably a poetical representation of Jupiter, who was one of the Celtic deities. Nos. 7. and 8. differ from any coins of presumed British or Gaulish fabric that I have yet seen, particularly in weight; the pieces here represented being very thin, and weighing from 7 to 74 grains only. The obverse presents a fullfaced head, strongly resembling that on the early coins of Abydos; but here the resemblance ends: the Greek coins alluded to are very thick, whilst these are almost as thin as a spangle. The reverse bears the common badge of the boar with its bristles raised. Nos. 9. and 10. are of the same fabric, though of different type to the preceding. The only object upon them worthy of remark is what appears to be a rude representation of a Caduceus. It is possible that these pieces were not issued in Gaul. No. 11. Of this coin I can give no explanation, for I am ignorant of the place of its discovery, and forget how it came into my hands. I know not whether to attribute it to the Saxons, the French kings of the first race, or to the Danes. It bears a strong resemblance to the well-known Skeattæ, but the metal is of a baser quality. The head is imitated from those on the coins of Pliny mentions the skill of the Gauls in plating on copper. Some specimens of this art have descended to us in forged Gallic coins of copper, plated with silver and tin. I have one of these pieces now lying before me. + Some of the silver coins of the time of J. Cæsar and Augustus bear letters of this description; but the money of the Gauls, as I have before said, is imitated from that of the Greeks. From the style of the first imperial denarii, it is evident that they were the work of Greek artists. the Lower Empire, and the letters XPIΣ (1 take the cross as intended for the Greek X.) may probably form a part of the name of Christ, which occurs so often on the barbarous coins of the Byzantine tyrants. A reference to the plates in Banduri will justify this opinion. Its weight is 15 grains. J. Y. A. QUÆSTIONES VENUSINE. No. I. Romæ nutriri mihi contigit, atque doceri, Atque inter sylvas Academi querere verum.-2 E. ii. 41-45. It has been disputed whether, in the 44th verse, Horace might not intend geometrical science, rather than moral philosopy. Much may be said on both sides ; and, amidst conflicting probabilities and plausible objections, it might seem difficult to demonstrate the truth of either position. “Rectum,” says Sanadon against Dacier, “is always understood in a moral sense. But where, it may be replied, do you find in the Augustan age curvum so signifying? Pravum is always the opposite to rectum, in Tully especially. Again, Horace could not enter the school of Plato without geometry: μηδεὶς ἀγεωμέτρητος εἰσίτω.” But he had learned that, amongst other branches of knowledge, in his boyhood at Rome. And the authority of Quintilian assigns teneris ætatibus instruction in the elements of geometry. Then, too, "Horace declares that Homer gave better lessons in moral wisdom than the professed teachers of it :— Qui, quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non, Plenius ac melius Chrysippo et Crautore dicit.-1 E. ii. 3, 4. "Now, we know that he had read the Iliad before he left Rome and went to Athens." But it is Horace the man, who says that of himself a long time after at Præneste: Horace, the boy, had read Homer for the Greek and the poetry, just as other boys did. Lastly, "Horace had well learned the distinctions of right and wrong from his father. Sic me Formabat puerum dictis."-1 S. iv. 120-1. True, for practical purposes sufficiently: but his father referred him to philosophy for the rationale of it all. Sapiens, vitatu quidque petitu Sit melius, caussas reddet tibi. U.S. vv. 115, 6. Thus, to and fro, the ball of controversy might be kept up, without victory declaring for either side. Luckily enough, however, a single line from Persius supplies the desideratum, which, to my mind, settles the question at once. The imitation, indeed, of Horace's diction by that Satirist is one of the most curious facts in critical literature; although Casaubon, perhaps, as Koenig remarks, has pursued it with too minute a severity. The following verse, then, even without the context, abundantly suffices to prove the one point necessary: the application of the epithet curvus to morality, in the very sense which Horace (in that a novator, be it added), had himself affixed to the word. Haud tibi inexpertum curvos deprendere mores.-Sat. iii. 52. The dispute, I think, may now be considered as decided finally. Sanadon, therefore, on the whole, was right against Dacier; and yet the judicious Gesner might truly say: "Non absurde putat Dacerius, geometriæ elementa hìc intelligi, sine quibus nemo tum apud Academicos philosophabatur." But, when he adds, “ Sanadonus his jam Romæ Flaccum esse imbutum existimat,” his oversight deserves to be corrected. It was Lambinus who made that observation, and not Sanadon. Lambinus's very able note shall be given here in his own words it is now demonstrably just. SCILICET UT POSSEM] hæc quidam ad geometriæ studium referunt, quæ curvarum et rectarum linearum doctrinam continet: ego translate curvum pro pravo accipio, et totum hunc locum ad philosophiæ studium referendum puto. Verisimilius est enim Horatium geometriam et mathematicas artes Romæ didicisse, utpote artes pueriles, et sine quibus ad philosophiam accedere non oportet. Who could the quidam be, here alluded to, with whom the ingenious idea of geometry, in V. 44. U. S, originated? Ingenious one may still call it, though it be now abandoned. Not a vestige of that interpretation can I perceive given by any of the XL commentators of Horace, in that edition which Henricus Petri published at Basil in 1580. Then too, Cruquius, with his old commentator, concurs in the general opinion; and Torrentius has nothing to say on the subject. H. R. FAMILY OF wheeler, OF BALLYWIRE, CO. TIPPERARY. Mr. URBAN,-An imperfect account of the family of Mrs. Edward Lytton Bulwer, the lady of the highly talented author of "Pelham," &c. &c. having appeared in Burke's Commoners, perhaps the following particulars, which are perfectly accurate as far as they go, may be acceptable to your readers. Francis Wheeler, Esq. of Ballywire, co. Tipperary, great-grandfather of Mrs. Edward Lytton-Bulwer, married Elizabeth, second daughter of Hugh Massey, Esq. of Duntvileague, co. Tipperary, by Elizabeth Evans, sister to George the first Lord Carbery, and had issue Francis Wheeler, Esq. of Ballywire, who married, Sept. 1767, Elizabeth, only daughter of John Arthur, Esq. of Seafield, co. Dublin, by the honourable Elizabeth Massey, only daughter of Hugh Lord Massey (by his first lady, Mary, daughter and heiress of Colonel James Dawson, of Newforest, co. Tipperary), and had issue by her, who married secondly the Rev. Sir Michael Cox, Bart. of Dunmanway, co. Cork. Francis Massey Wheeler, Esq. of Lizard Connell, born in 1776, married Anne daughter of the Rev. Nicholas Milley Doyle (elder brother of General Sir John Doyle, Bart. G.C.B. and uncle of Major-General Welbore Ellis Doyle, father of Sir Francis Hastings Doyle, Bart.) and sister of Sir John Milley Doyle, Lieut.-Col. and K.T.S. and died leaving issue an only surviving daughter, Rosina Wheeler, married Aug. 29, 1827, to Edward Lytton-Bulwer, Esq. M.P. &c. FITZ ROSE. HEIRS OF THE PLAYTERS FAMILY. MR. URBAN,-As the account published in the Gentleman's Magazine of February and March, 1833, respecting the family of Playters, is in several parts erroneous, I send you a more correct detail, avoiding all extraneous matter; for the Herberts, Lemprieres, and Deacons have no connection with the Playters'. Sir William John Playters, Baronet, died in September, 1832, aged seventy-three, at Hellesden, near Norwich. He was the son by a second marriage, of John Playters, Esq., who held some honourable office in the King's Household. John married first, Caroline, daughter and heiress of John Turner, Esq., by whom he had two sons, John and Charles, The said John dying in the lifetime of his father, the title descended to the eldest son John upon the decease of the grandfather, and Charles succeeded his brother John, who died unmarried. John Playters, Esq. married secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Joshua Lewis, Esq., of Farringdon, Berks, and had issue, William-John, who succeeded his half-brother Charles, who died in 1806, unmarried. Sir William John Playters married in 1780 or 81, Miss Patena Clarke, and had no issue by her. He was for some years separated from her, and cohabited with a person by the name of Ann Wright (I believe), by whom he had an illegitimate daughter, Elizabeth Wright, who was married to Robert Moore, Esq., an officer in the army, in 1825. On the death of his wife Patena, in 1825, Sir William John immediately married the said Ann, and in 1826 he made his will, wherein he left all his personal property to her, and in lieu of dower, an annuity of 2501. clear of all deductions, for her natural life, payable out of the rents and profits of his estates in Norfolk, which he left to his daughter Elizabeth. After the decease of his daughter, the rents and profits are to be divided amongst her children (four of whom are now living) as tenants in common, and the heirs of the bodies of such children, and in case of the death of Elizabeth, and in failure of her issue not attaining the age of twenty-one, the rents and profits of the estates are assigned to dame Ann (should she survive) for her natural life. After the decease of same Ann, and in failure of all limitations, the rents and profits are assigned to William Hird, Commander of the Royal Navy and first cousin to Sir William John on his mother's side, for his natural life; next to Joshua Hird, D.D. and brother of the said William Hird, for his natural life; afterwards to the children of the said Joshua Hird, if they or either of them shall be living at the time of the death of William Hird, Joshua Hird, and Elizabeth Wright More, and to their heirs and assigns for ever. The title has become extinct in default of legitimate male issue on the Playters side. The Times Paper of February 1833, announced the name of George Charles Degen Lewis, Lieutenant of the Royal Engineers, great-grandson of the above mentioned Joshua Lewis, Esq., and second cousin to Sir William John Playters on the female side, to have been presented at the King's Levee, as heir at law to the said baronet, and as intending to petition his Majesty graciously to renew the baronetcy to him, as next of kin to Sir William John.} A caveat to the will was entered, but subsequently withdrawn, by the said George C. D. Lewis. The line of the Lewis family runs thus-George Charles Degen Lewis, and William his brother, sons of George Lewis, late Captain of the Royal Engineers, son of George Lewis, late Colonel of the Royal Artillery, son of Joshua Lewis, Esq., late of Farringdon. The Hird family-William Hird and Joshua his brother, sons of William Hird, and his wife, Sophia, daughter of Joshua Lewis, Esq., late of Farringdon. I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, VERAX. ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. SURVEY OF DOVER CASTLE, IN 1578. MR. URBAN,—It is remarkable how little has hitherto been published on Dover Castle, one of those national structures whose history might occupy volumes. There has always, however, been an obvious reason for not making its internal economy too public. An historical description of it, tower by tower, was written in Latin by the Rev. William Darell, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and published in 1786;* this appears to be the principal foundation for the insufficient History, published in 1814, by the Rev. John Lyon. The document I now send you has reference to an important repair which was made in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, of which Lambarde thus speaks in his "Perambulation of Kent," 1596: "It is yet fresh in the memorie of us all, that our gratious Queen Elizabeth hath beene at great charge in repairing the defects hereof:" and Seymour, in his “ Survey of Kent,” 1776, mentions that “Queen Elizabeth, concerned for the forsaken state of this venerable structure, concurred with the Legislature, reg. 23, in propping its ruinous bulwarks." Mr. Fludde, the Surveior of Kente, his Certificat of the decaies of Douer Castell, 30 Jul. 1578. (MS. Lansdowne, Brit. Mus. No. 26, Art. 26.) Accordinge to your honors l're of the vth of this Julye, I have repayred to Dovor Castle, and fynde the places there in the sayd l're mencyoned to be decayed as followeth. From the original MS. in the College of Arms. It was illustrated with views by Capt. Grose. The view which belonged to the MS. representing the Castle in the reign of Elizabeth, was not given; but had been previously engraved in Harris's History of Kent, p. 371. |