It appears in the Swan-rolls, exhibited by the Right Honourable Sir Joseph Banks, that the King's Swans were doubly marked, and had, what was called two nicks, or notches. The term, in process of time, not being understood, a double animal was invented, unknown to the Egyptians and Greeks, with the name of the Swan with two Necks : but this is not the only ludicrous mistake that has arisen out of the subject, since Swan-upping, or the taking up of Swans, performed annually by the swan-companies, with the Lord Mayor of London at their head, for the purpose of marking them, has been changed by an unlucky asperite, into Swan hopping, which is not to the purpose, and perfectly unintelligible.

The wisdom of our ancestors is in few circumstances more conspicuous than in the jealousy with which they guarded the integrity of the Coins, and in the expedients which they adopted for that purpose. Their utmost care was exerted to preserve the standard inviolate, by assays made, within the Mint, in the presence of officers who were mutually checks upon each other: and before the monies were allowed to be issued, they were submitted to the public trial of a jury, composed of men who, by their professional knowledge, were well qualified to decide upon their purity, and who were bound by a solemn oath to return a true verdict.

I have the honor of returning to you the Roll of Egyptian Papyrus, belonging to the Society of Antiquaries; which I have succeeded, not without some difficulty, in unrolling in its whole extent. The circumstance of its having been for some months in salt water occasioned the folds, in many parts of it, to adhere so closely together, that they could only be separated by dipping in boiling water.

The Coin I have the honour to exhibit to your Lordship, and the Society, has never yet been published; and, from its extreme rarity, well deserves to be shown, as I have good reason to think it does not exist in any cabinet, in this country, except my Lord Northwick's.

Trusty and right welbeloved we grete you well. Lating you wit that being advertised by Mastre Paulus de Cassalis lately sent unto us as Nuncio from the Pope nowe the Cardinall Farnesius encountring the said Nuncio in his Journey httherward made overture unto the same that he the said Cardinall Farnesius aftir knowleage had of or mynde in that behalf were as of hymself to doo unto us gratuitie and pleasure aftre the best sorte and facōn and wt the most vehiment and pregnant reasons he coulde excogitate nowe at this meting of themperor and the Pope at Bonery attempte and enterprise to perswade the Emperor to be content and agreable to set forthe wt the Pope divises and wayes for the aeheving of or purpose in or greate mater and likewise to write unto the Quene to be content at their instance for cessing of all Sutes and Contencõns to be content to eutre Religion so as wt the Contentement of all parties or matur raaye ateyne wtout delaye of Tyme brief spedy effectuall and sure ende to the quyete of or Conscience the Confirmacōn and contynuance of or olde and depe roted amytie betwen us and the Emperor the satisfaccon of the Worlde and assured repose of all Christendom.

During a tour I have lately made to collect drawings of curious specimens of old timber-houses, which I shall hope very soon to have the honour of submitting to the Society of Antiquaries, I was led to examine the Date at Colchester, which had engaged the attention of the two ingenious Antiquaries, Messrs. Morant and Gough, and which, from the character of the figures being Church Text, is evidently 1490, and not 1090.

En parcourant les Mémoires secrets pour servir à la Republique des lettres, j'y rencontrai une anecdote me concernant à raison de la découverte d'un Aquéduc Romain à Antibes. Voici cette anecdote insérée page 141 du 25me volume de cet ouvrage.

On the eleventh of March, in the year 1802, the Society of Antiquaries received a letter from Granville Penn, Esq. informing them that, by the desire of Lord Hobart, he had forwarded two cases for the inspection of the Society, and to remain in their custody till further directions for the removal of them to the British Museum.

The annexed drawing exhibits a representation of one of the most curious monuments of many similar structures, which are scattered over that part of the County Kilkenny, described by the name of the Walch Mountains, towering over the river Suir, situated between Carrick and Waterford. It is formed of a huge, unhewn block of rock, whose enormous weight is supported, in the highest part, by three large flat stones, placed perpendicularly, two of which, (the outermost) are parallel to each other, and the inner one at right angles to them: the other end of the shelving stone rests on a large horizontal flat stone, which is itself supported beyond its center, by an upright one; so that if the pressure of the higher stone was taken away, the horizontal flat one must fall to the ground. A proof of the resources, if not of the mathematical skill, of our rude ancestors, for with all the assistance of the improved machinery of the moderns, it is not probable that such ponderous masses could be raised now, and placed in similar positions, with such geometrical accuracy. The top of the shelving stone is 15 feet in elevation above the surface of the ground, by which the proportions of the profile may be known, with tolerable accuracy, and if we make due allowance for the consequent accumulation of earth around it, and the natural tendency of the materials which compose it, to assist by compression the swelling power of the earth, in the lapse of ages since its erection, we must presume, that its altitude was originally more elevated than it is at this day.

I exhibit to your Lordship and the Society, a Coin never yet published, and not mentioned by any numismatic writer, of Gadir, in silver, weighing one hundred and twelve grains nearly, and in good preservation, and of fine workmanship. On the right side is a head of Hercules, such as we recognise easily to be the Gaditane, or Hercules of Gadir, now Cadix, or Cadiz. On the reverse is a lion passant, of great spirit, and under it ΛΙΒϒΩΝ, and over it the Phœnician Ghimel, or initial letter of Gadir. From all which it may be safely concluded, that this Coin was struck at Gades, by a colony from Africa, which Pliny tells us the Greeks called Lybia, in the beginning of his fifth book; ‘Africam Græci Libyam appellavere;’ and at Cadix, we well know, from a number of copper coins with Phœnician characters, that the Punic language was in use at that place. See an explanation of certain Phœnician coins in the cabinet of Mr. Duane, by L. Dutens, 4to. 1774.

The Coin which I exhibit to your Lordship and the Society, is by favour of Lord Viscount Valentia, the fortunate possessor of this curious and unique rarity, who procured it at Lucknow, in exchange for the money of the country. The Coin is of gold, and weighs about eighty-one grains. On one side it has a head with a cap, or tiara like the one that Abgarus is always depicted with on the imperial money, and Ulysses on that of the Mamilia family, of which there are two drawings in Sigefrid Bayer's work on the History of Edessa, 1734, at Petropolis, 4to. The figure holds in his hand an arrow; round the head is an incription, which reads from right to left, of which two or three letters only are fair and legible. On the reverse is a whole-length figure of the sun, with a radiated head, worshipped at Edessa; to the left is date of two hundred and fifteen; and to the right the words MIPPO in Greek letters, signifying either the Sun of Edessa, or the Prince. Mihr, or Muhr, in Persian, means the Sun; and Meer, in the same, language, a Prince or Emperor. Roha is the old name of Edessa, formerly called Urhoi, the Sun's fire, light.

I have the honour to exhibit to your Lordship and the Society, a very rare unpublished Samaritan Coin, struck at Azoth Segol, by order of Antigonus, King of Judæa, on his advancement to the crown by the aid of the Parthians, whom he bribed with a thousand gold talents, and five hundred female slaves. Hyrcanus the Second had been some time Prince and High Priest of the Jewish nation; but during the unsettled state of the Roman empire, after the death of Julius Cæsar, Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, brother of Hyrcanus, made himself master of Jerusalem and all Judæa; and having thrown Hyrcanus into prison, gave him up to the Parthians. Herod, upon this, fled to Rome; and having engaged Marc Antony in this favour, was sent back to Judæa with the title of King, and in three years got possession of the whole country, took Antigonus prisoner, and sent him to his patron Antony, who ordered his head to be cut off; and he was accordingly decapitated, and became the first martyr of a Monarch to the Roman axe. See Josephus, p. 741, vol. i. ed. Hudson, and Havercamp.—Having said thus much of the history, I proceed to speak of the Coin.

The next Coin, which I lay before your Lordship and the Society, is also, like the last, unpublished. It is of middle brass, and one of those towns permitted by the Emperors to be autonomous, and live under their own laws. The coins of Cyparissia are mostly imperial, and Sestini says (the best authority for Greek cities) always so; but here is an exception. On the right side is probably a head of Bacchus, with a lock on the foreherd, disposed like a horn, with which that god is represented, ‘Accedant capiti cornua Bacchus eris.’ Behind the head is Roma, in Greek letters. On the reverse is a figure standing, with a branch in its right hand, and a quiver at its back.

I have the honour to transmit to you a copy of the Certificate of William Paulet, Marquis of Winchester, and Lord High Treasurer of England, and of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leycester, in the eleventh year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth; upon the contest between the Officers of Arms and the Dean and Prebendaries of the collegiate Church of Westminster, each party claiming the Hearse of the Lady Catherine Knowles, deceased, lately set up therein, and all such as should thereafter be erected in the collegiate Church aforesaid: Which contest being by her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council referred to those two Noblemen, and they having heard the allegations of both parties, found, that the said Dean and Prebendaries had no manner of right to any Hearses or their Furniture; but that the same did belong to the Officers of Arms, as their fees; and do accordingly certify the Earl Marshal thereof. It is dated the sixth day of April, A. D. 1569.

By the Gothic I mean the light style of Architecture which has been long known by that name, and was the mode of building most in use, all over Europe, during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries.

When it received this appellation, has been much disputed: Torré intimates that it was first so called by Cesare Cesariani, in his Commentary on Vitruvius. But it seems to have been the custom, upon the revival of antique architecture, and classical learning, to give the name of Gothic, by way of reproach, to every thing in the arts, as well as in literature, which differed from, or was not formed upon ancient models.

Having lately had occasion to make much use of Bishop Tanner's Notitia Monastica, I perceive that an observation or two may be made upon that valuable work, without prejudice to the learned Prelate, or his judicious annotator, The Rev. James Nasmith.

The following paper is transcribed from the original in the library of this College. It relates to the Yorkshire Insurrection in 1536, which obtained the appellation of “The Pilgrimage of Grace,” and which is rendered peculiarly memoráble by an instance of clemency, very rare indeed in the reign in which it occurred, for Henry the Eighth pardoned the malecontents without a single exception. Our histories afford general information enough on the subject to make any comments on the matter of this paper unnecessary here, at the same time they present us with so few distant facts, that any new accession of intelligence seems to be highly desirable. Impressed with that opinion, I take the liberty of requesting you to offer it to the notice of the Society of Antiquaries; and remain,

I have the honour to send you specimens of Fonts, collected from different Churches: and should you deem them sufficiently interesting to deserve the attention of the Society of Antiquaries, I hope you will have the goodness to communicate them.

I send you herewith five Maces, which were found in the Fort at Agra, when captured by the British army in the month of October, 1803: and which you will have the goodness to exhibit to the Society of Antiquaries.

These instruments were taken out of the Arsenal, together with some treasure, and are stated to have been carried before the native Princes on grand public processions.

In August, 1807, was discovered in the suburbs on the southern side of the city of York, a Roman Vault: it was broken into at one of the sides, in digging the foundation for a house. The dimensions in the inside are as follows: Length eight feet, height six feet, breadth five feet. The top arched with bricks, one foot square, and two inches and a half in thickness. The walls of stone.