the following papers: (1) "An Account of the Arrest of Lord Edward FitzGerald," by Lord Frederick FitzGerald, which, if hardly archæological in subject, is at least almost antiquarian in interest; (2) the second part of "John Lye, of Clonaugh, County Kildare," by Rev. E. O'Leary; and (3)" Castletown and its Owners," by Lord Walter FitzGerald, with several excellent illustrations. There are also various notes and queries of interest. Specially worthy of note is a full-page plate figuring a tomb slab in the Franciscan Abbey at Castledermot, which has on it, cut in low relief, a handsome eightarmed cross, with a male skeleton on one side of the shaft, and on the other the skeleton of a woman in a shroud.

PROCEEDINGS OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES.

"

At a meeting of the HAWICK ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, held on November 15, papers were read by Mr. Robert Murray on Nannie Cumming," Mr. John W. Kennedy on "St. Mary's Steeple," and Rev. Mr. Johnman on "Shetland Brochs and the Dwarfie Stone." Mr. Johnman described his recent visit to Orkney and Shetland, with special reference to the brochs, those rugged and robust unhammered rural towers which claimed to be the

patriarchs of native architecture. He specified Clikimin Broch and the Broch of Mousa, both near Lerwick, the latter being probably the most perfect broch in existence. It is situated on the Island of Mousa, and is 45 feet high, built of dry undressed stone. The circular wall is 15 feet thick, and there are three irregular vaulted chambers. Some hold that these brochs, of which there are over 400 in Scotland, are of Scandinavian origin, others date them as far back as the Ice Age. The Dwarfie Stone of Hoy, referred to by Sir Walter Scott in connection with Norna of the Fitful Head, is a mass of sandstone 30 feet long, 15 feet broad, and 5 feet high. It has been scooped out in the remote past, and is supposed to be the residence of a dwarf and his wife. Mr. Kennedy's paper dealt with the popular belief that the steeple of St. Mary's Parish Church belonged to the burgh. He showed that although the town had repaired the steeple and put in the bell, the steeple belonged to the heritors, and had always been treated as part of the church.

The annual meeting of the HENRY BRADSHAW SOCIETY was held on November 16, the Bishop of Salisbury in the chair. A report from the council was read by the hon. secretary, announcing that the two volumes of the Irish Liber Hymnorum had been distributed during the past year to members, and that the Rosslyn Missal, edited by Dr. Lawlor, would soon be ready for distribution. Unexpected difficulties in preparing the coloured reproductions of the miniatures accompanying the edition of the Coronation Service of Charles V. of France had arisen, delaying the issue of this volume. The greater part of the reprint of the first edition of the Roman

Missal (1474) was in type. The finances of the society and the roll of members were in a satisfactory state.-Athenæum, November 26.

BRITISH ARCHEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. The second meeting of the session was held at the rooms in Sackville Street, Piccadilly, on Wednesday. November 16, Dr. Winstone in the chair. Mr. Andrew Oliver exhibited the remains of a sword and a small knife, which, together with the boss of a shield, were found with three skeletons at Portslade, near Brighton, in July last, in the formation of a new road. The skeletons faced the east. After the removal of the antiquities, the human remains were examined, and carefully interred in the churchyard at Portslade. The opinion of the meeting was that the exhibits belonged to the Romano - British period. Mr. Gould exhibited another photograph of the Roman pavement at Leicester, which has already been illustrated in the Journal of the association, and read some additional details regarding it, bringing out the interesting fact that the houses recently demolished, under which the pavement was found, occupied the site of a house once the residence of John Bunyan. A paper on "Wool Church, Dorset," by Dr. Fryer, was read in the author's absence by the Rev. H. J. D. Astley, Hon. Sec. One of the principal features of this church is the chancel arch, of thirteenth-century date, which is perhaps unique for that period. The unusual and effective appearance of this arch is produced by the filling up of the large arch and piercing the wall with three arches of equal width, each 10 feet 6 inches high, and 3 feet 6 inches wide. These three subarches rest upon shafts of octagonal form, 32 inches in circumference, without capitals, and with base moulds near the floor. The tympanum is quite plain, with no trace of decoration, although it is The quite likely this was originally intended. church also possesses a font of the fifteenth century. of special interest, as it was evidently purposely designed for its present position, against the westernmost pier of the north arcade of the nave. Fragments of cresset stones have occasionally been discovered in England, but Wool Church possesses one in almost as good a condition as when it left the hand of the medieval mason. There is a tradition that the bells of Wool Church were stolen from Bindon Abbey at the dissolution, but this is contradicted by the bells themselves, as all of them are dated, the oldest being of the year 1606. The first portion of a paper upon the Welsh Marches, by Mr. C. H. Compton, V.P., was read by the author. In the middle of the eighth century the Saxons made many encroachments in the territory of the Welsh beyond the Severn, so they took up arms, and made many successful incursions upon the Saxon territory in order to arrest these predatory attacks of the Welsh. Offa, King of Mercia, united himself with the Saxons, with the result that the Welsh, being unable to resist these combined forces, retired to their natural strongholds among the rocks and mountains, and from thence continued their inroads against their enemy. Offa

therefore annexed the country between the Wye and Severn, and planted it with Saxons, and, for additional security, caused a great ditch to be made, anno 776, which was called Claneth Offa, or Offa's Dyke. In the discussion which followed the paper, Mr. Gould observed, with reference to this dyke, that he had traced it throughout himself, and felt able to affirm that it was never intended as a line of fortification, a misunderstanding which was very common with respect to it. It was merely intended as a boundary line between England and Wales. The Rev. H. J. D. Astley, the chairman, and others, also spoke upon the paper, which was a most interesting summary of the history of the Marches.-Communicated by Mr. George Patrick, Hon. Sec.

NUMISMATIC SOCIETY. - November 17.
Sir J.
Evans, president, in the chair. Mr. W. J. Davis,
Mr. W. J. Hocking, and Mr. Maurice Jonas, were
elected members. Mr. C. R. Peers read a paper

on

Swiss Bracteates in the British Museum Collection." He divided these bracteates into two classes (1) those of Swiss fabric, and (2) those of Swabian fabric-and enumerated the mints at which these different classes were struck, pointing out that in some instances bracteates of both classes were issued from the same mint. He selected the following coins as being of special interest: (1) the Austrian series of Zofingen; (2) the round bracteates of Schaffhausen and Zurich, in connection with which he incidentally referred to a coin, not a bracteate, which was clearly dated 1424 in Arabic numerals, a date earlier by forty-five years than the earliest example of Arabic numerals on any other medieval coin known to him; and (3) the alliance coinage of Zofingen with Zurich in the thirteenth century.-Athenæum, November 26.

SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES.-November 24.-Viscount Dillon, president, in the chair. Lord Iveagh and the Hon. R. B. Brett were elected Fellows under the Statutes, chap. i 5-By permission of the Inspector-General of Artillery, the president exhibited a gunner's quadrant of the year 1585. It is in the form of an axe, the blade serving as a plate, on which a small pendulum marks the angles of depression or elevation of the cannon, into the bore of which the staff is inserted. On the staff are scales of the diameters of shot of different weights of the four materials, iron, lead, stone, and slaggen. This last material is puzzling. The axe bears an inscription stating it to have belonged to Prince Julius, Duke of Brunswick and Luneburg, although these two houses do not seem to have been united until a later date than that shown on the axe. Ward's "Animadversions of Warre," published in 1639, was quoted as giving the rules for the use of the gunner's quadrant, but his example only allows for elevation of the cannon, whereas this axe serves also for depression. This weapon, which combines a professional instrument and means of defence, is in the Tower collection, and Lord Dillon stated that he did not know of any

similar object in the Vienna, Madrid, or Paris collections. Mr. P. Norman, treasurer, read an account of the discovery, at Millfield, Keston, Kent, of a shallow, circular pit containing nearly a thousand chips, flakes, and cores of flint. The site had evidently been a factory of neolithic implements, as the fragments of flint were such as would have resulted from the manufacture of chipped implements. -In the discussion which followed, to which the President, the Secretary, and Sir Henry Howorth contributed, it was mentioned that a very much larger find of a somewhat similar character had been made at Grovehurst, near Sittingbourne, in 1871 by Mr. George Payne.-Mr. W. H. St. John Hope read some observations on the walls of Southampton, and recent proceedings relating thereto. By the aid of a large plan Mr. Hope showed that the ancient part of the town had formed an oblong about 1,000 feet wide and 2,200 feet long, and containing about fifty acres, enclosed by a lofty stone wall pierced by several gates and defended by a number of mural towers. The walls were substantially Norman throughout, with additions of the Edwardian period and down to the reign of Richard II., in whose time the keep of the castle was also rebuilt. The castle stood within its own enclosure in the north-east part of the town, where its lofty mound and other remains still exist. The water-gate and the east gate were unfortunately destroyed about a century ago, and nearly all the eastern line of the walls has also disappeared, together with an important section on the south-west. The line is otherwise more or less complete, and exhibits many interesting and unusual features. The existing north, or Bar, gate is well known, and the west gate also remains. North of the latter is a remarkable section of the wall, with an external arcade, added for greater strength, and to secure a wider fighting platform, in Edwardian times. This arrangement is believed to be unique in this country. South of the west gate is an interesting length of the wall which has lately passed into the possession of the Corporation. A portion of it has for a century and a half been hidden within a house. This has just been demolished, and it can now be seen that along this part of the town there was a further section of the singular external arcade, like that remaining further north. Beyond this point the wall has been in great part destroyed. The section south of the west gate has just escaped destruction through the refusal of the Town Council, by a large majority, to confirm a recommendation of the Estates Committee that the site be utilized for building purposes. The Council has further ordered the wall itself to be repaired where necessary, both north and south of the west gate, and freed from various excrescences, vegetable and structural. The fate of one structure of exceptional interest is, unfortunately, still undecided. This is a building of the fifteenth century, now known as the Guardhouse, built against the wall close to and south of the west gate. It is abou 60 feet long and 20 feet wide, and is two stories high. The upper story, which is wholly of timber, with a good open roof of five bays, partly oversails

the wall. The framing is of good construction, and in perfect preservation, as is most of the roof-covering. The wattle-and-daub filling of the framework has, however, perished, and the defect been made good from time to time by nailing rough boards on the outside. Some of these have been removed, and a few of the roof-tiles have lately been displaced. The building therefore looks dilapidated; but really it is not so, and it has been resolved not to spend any money on it, even to replace the missing tiles and boarding. As the site of the building is not required for any purpose, and the structure itself is of great interest, it is earnestly to be hoped that wiser counsels may prevail, and a strong effort be made to preserve so valuable a feature in the history of the town walls and of ancient Southampton. Mr. Hope's remarks were illustrated by a number of lantern slides and drawings of different sections of the walls and the gates.-Athenæum, December 3.

もの

The annual general meeting of the SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND was held at Edinburgh on November 30, Reginald Macleod, C.B., in the chair. Sir Arthur Mitchell paid a warm tribute to the memory of the late Mr. J. R. Findlay, in which the chairman concurred. Among other business, the election of office-bearers for the ensuing year was made as follows: President, the Marquis of Lothian; vice-presidents, Major - General Sir Robert Murdoch Smith, the Hon. John Abercromby, and the Hon. Hew Hamilton Dalrymple; Councillors, Sir George Reid and Sir Arthur Mitchell, representing the Board of Trustees; Gilbert Goudie, Reginald Macleod, Sir Herbert Maxwell, John Horne Stevenson, Alexander J. S. Brook, J. Balfour Paul, and John Findlay; secretaries, D. Christison, M.D., and Robert Munro, M.D.; foreign secretaries, Thomas Graves Law, LL.D., and James Macdonald, LL.D.; treasurer, James Henry Cunningham; curators of the museum, Robert Carfrae and Professor Duns; curator of coins, Adam B. Richardson; and librarian, James Curle, junr.

A meeting of the NEWCASTLE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES was held on November 30, Mr. Richard Welford presiding -Mr. William Smith, of Gunnerton, exhibited a small amphora, found upon the site now occupied by Mr. James Cooper's mart in Westgate Road. Mr. Blair (secretary) said the vessel was, beyond question, Roman. -Mr. Welford exhibited a lease, dated March 20, 1520 or 1521, from John Brandling, merchant, Newcastle, to the nuns of St. Bartholomew, of a meadow in the Magdalene Dene, Newcastle. The ground was alongside the Magdalene Burn, which appeared to have begun at the top of Northumberland Street, close to Vine Lane, and to have ended where now was the chancel of St. Thomas's Church, where it clearly went into the Pandon Burn.-Mr. Welford read an obituary notice of the late Rev. E. H. Adamson.— Dr. Hodgkin read "Notes on the Carvoran Tablet

in Praise of the Syrian Goddess," and Mr. W. H Knowles read "Notes on Doddington Castle House, Northumberland." Erected in 1584, Doddington Castle House was typical of the stormy life of the Borders, where raids, theft, and robbery were frequent occurrences, roads were well-nigh impassable, many castles were in ruins, and the country generally in a deplorable condition. While retaining some of the distinctive features, it had improvement in the way of domestic arrangements as compared with the square peel towers. Only a portion of the Castle was extant, the remainder having, on account of inferior workmanship, been destroyed by a gale in 1896.

Reviews and Notices
of New Books.

[Publishers are requested to be so good as always to mark clearly the prices of books sent for review, as these notices are intended to be a practical aid to book-buying readers.]

THE RECORDS OF MERTON PRIORY, SURREY. By Major Alfred Heales. Cloth, 4to., pp. clvi, 370. London: Henry Frowde.

Merton was a priory of Austin Canons, founded, as so many others were, in the twelfth century. It had the distinction at one time of sheltering within its walls St. Thomas à Becket, and at another of nurturing Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester, and better known as the founder of Merton College, Oxford. Its buildings were once fairly extensive, and within them Parliament met and passed the Acts known as the "Statutes of Merton." Such a house ought to have a history, and its records, if preserved, should be of more than usual interest. Of the monastic buildings (which were fairly perfect in the seventeenth century) not a trace now remains, and of its records not more than is usual. The Records which have been transcribed by the late Major Heales (whose lamented death was announced almost at the same time as the publication of the volume) are very much of the normal character, but the publication of such monastic chartularies is a matter of much historical interest and importance, and many pieces of significant information are enshrined within them. Our neighbours across the Channel have recognised this more readily than we have, but the tide seems now to have turned in England, and although it must be mainly the work of individuals and local societies to print such records, we do not despair that eventually some day most of them will be printed.

Major Heales' death disarms criticism, otherwise we might have pointed out some obvious errors in transcribing some of the deeds. Mr. Mill Stephenson has prefixed a very useful and appropriate preface. Of the excellent printing and general turn-out of the volume it is needless to speak.

LINCOLN, THE CATHEDRAL AND SEE. By A. F.

Kendrick (with forty-six illustrations). WELLS, THE CATHEDRAL AND SEE. By the Rev. Percy Dearmer (with forty-six illustrations). SOUTHWELL, THE CATHEDRAL AND SEE. By the Rev. Arthur Dimock (with thirty-eight illustrations). Price Is. 6d. each, being three volumes of Bell's Cathedral Series.

In these volumes we are glad to welcome three more of the capital series of cathedral guide-books which Messrs. Bell are issuing. We should like, in passing, to suggest to the publishers that many persons would be glad to possess these books bound together in four or five volumes. Although

Kendrick in the book on Lincoln, and Mr. Dearmer in that on Wells, have produced two capital handbooks to those churches.

Southwell (of which Mr. Dimock has a hereditary right to treat) is also a secular church of a peculiarly interesting character, and one which has suffered in every way most grievously in our own day. First, in the ruthless treatment which it received in the Act of Parliament which decreed the dissolution of its most ancient chapter some sixtyfive years ago. Secondly, in the utterly reckless manner in which it has been "restored " under the direction of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, into whose coffers its revenues have passed. What with

primarily intended as pocket guides for use on the spot, they are also handy books of reference, and, if collected together, they would quite merit a place on the library shelves beside other books dealing with our English cathedrals.

Lincoln and Wells are two typical churches of secular canons, both essentially English in all that concerns them, the one the vast and stately pile which represented the central life of the widespreading diocese of Lincoln, and the other the charming little Somerset minster which, of all our English secular churches, retains at the present day most of its ancient accessory buildings. Both books seem well done, and although it might be possible to pick holes here and there, yet Mr.

the disfigurement of its exterior by the addition of the hideous spires on the west towers, which we earnestly hope to see soon removed, and the scuttling of the choir, the church has indeed suffered. Mr. Dimock speaks feelingly of the first of these acts of vandalism, which dealt with the ecclesiastical corporation of the church, but he tries to condone the second, which played havoc with the fabric. We have no toleration of either, and now that Southwell has become an episcopal see, we hope to see both deeds gradually undone. The Act of Parliament expressly "suspended" the canonries at Southwell, instead of "suppressing" them, so that they might hereafter be re-endowed, should any benefactor be found who would do this.

As to the fabric itself, let the spires be taken down, and the choir properly filled as before with stalls. At present it is bare and empty, as if intended only as an architectural show-place. Even if the George III. seats were bad in detail their general effect was pleasing and gave a feeling of repose to the choir which it utterly lacks at the present day. Swept and garnished as it is, the effect is cold, comfortless, and undevotional in the extreme.

One useful feature of these guide-books is the reproduction of views of the buildings before the "restorer" came on the scene. The accompanying view of Southwell, taken from the west, shows the minster as it was in 1850, without the disfigurement of the spires, and before the "restorer had supplanted the pretty Decorated window in the south-west tower with a sham Norman one of his own devising. In the December number of the Antiquary we placed on record a photograph showing the west end of the choir before it was dismantled. In both cases, by comparing what the church was a few years ago, both within and without, much may be usefully learnt to the disparagement of "restoration," as that word is commonly understood.

THE HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH OF EAST SUTTON, KENT. With which is incorporated an Account of the Manors of Sutton Valence and East Sutton. By the Rev. J. Cave-Brown. Cloth, demy 8vo., pp. iv, 58. Maidstone:

W. P. Dickinson.

A painful interest attaches itself to this work, and it is one which would disarm adverse criticism (were such called for, which it is not), in the fact that the book was not completed when his last illness overtook the author. On p. 54 he expresses his regret that, owing to his illness, he has been obliged to abandon the idea of giving extracts from the parish registers of Sutton Valence and East Sutton. That illness a little later ended a useful life. The little book, which gives a careful account of the manors and parishes and the two churches, is freely illustrated. The tracery of some of the windows of East Sutton Church, of which excellent photographs are given, are exceptionally beautiful, and it is quite a surprise to meet with such beautiful designs in an out-of-the-way little Kentish church.

We have much pleasure in recording a very favourable opinion of this little book, which many who knew the author will no doubt be glad to possess as a memento of him.

THE SHAKESPeare ReferenCE-BOOK. By J. Stenson Webb. Cloth, 8vo., pp. 177. London: Elliot Stock.

The object and intention of this little book is best explained by the following quotation from the preface: "In reading through Shakespeare's plays from time to time, it occurred to the author to jot down those passages which for one reason or another particularly struck him. Later, the idea followed of arranging these quotations under headlines, so as to be convenient for reference. A great many

of the passages selected will be recognised as old friends by everybody; for this no apology is offered -no one can be too familiar with Shakespeare' writings. At the same time, it is wished to disclaim at once and entirely any idea of attempting to give a complete compendium of Shakespearian quotations-if, indeed, such a thing were possible. This little book only professes to contain those passages which struck the author as suitable to be included in such a compilation, and which may be of service to others." The book is, we need scarcely say. tastefully printed and got-up, and will be welcomed by many as a handy book of reference.

George St. Clair. Cloth, 8vo., pp. ix, 492.
London: David Nutt. Price 10s. 6d.

This is a thoroughly painstaking book, which will afford much material for serious consideration by the student of Egyptology and comparative mythology. The keynote to Mr. St. Clair's work seems to be struck in a quotation from Canon Cheyne, who says that he fears that "exegesis is in danger of being led away by a misplaced modern repugnance to mythology." Fifteen years ago, as Mr. St. Clair tells the reader, he began the systematic study of mythology on an inductive principle. The results as regards Egyptian mythology gained in this way from the Book of the Dead and briefly summed up by the author are: (1) That the myths of Egypt are related to each other, and are not merely separate fables or idle fancies; (2) that they reveal an astro-religious system, and tell a true story of astronomical progress, calendar correction, etc.; and (3) that an era not far from the traditional date of Creation was an important era in this history, but not the beginning. The narratives of Creation, the Fall of Angels, the Fall of Man, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, are all told in their earliest form. Mr. St. Clair's book is one which calls for really deep study, and although it is permissible to dispute some of his deductions, he has, on the whole, produced a very interesting and useful book. Into details we have not room here to enter.

NOTES ON MEDIEVAL SERVICES IN ENGLAND, with an Index of Lincoln Ceremonies. By Chr. Wordsworth. Buckram, 8vo., pp. xiii, 312. London: Thomas Baker.

Some months ago one of the ecclesiastical newspapers contained a series of anonymous papers on the medieval services in English cathedrals. These papers were marked by an exceptionally scholarly character. They have now been reprinted with additions, and the whole acknowledged to be the work of Mr. Christopher Wordsworth, one of the prebendaries of Lincoln. In their present form the papers have a more distinctly local Lincoln character given to them. Indeed, from p. 103 to p. 308 the subject-matter deals almost wholly with Lincoln and Lincoln customs. To those who wish to learn what the services and customs in a secular English cathedral church were in the Middle Ages,