MUSEUM BRITANNICUM, BEING AN EXHIBITION of a great variety of Antiquities and Natural Curiosities, BELONGING TO That NOBLE and MAGNIFICENT CABINET, BRITISH MUSEUM. ILLUSTRATED WITH CURIOUS PRINTS, Engraved after the Original Designs, from Nature, other Objects ; AND WITH DISTINCT Explanations of each Figure, By JOHN and ANDREW VAN RYMSDYK, Pictors. When Cicero went to confult the Oracle about his future Condua in Life, he received for Anfwer, Follow Nature! " No more you learned Fops, your Knowledge hoaft, " Pretending all to know, by reading mojl, " True Witi by Infpiration, we obtain, " Nature, not Art, Apollo', Wreath nujl gc.n. .^^Mr^Llfe^nhPla.e. LONDON: Printed by I. MOORE, for the A U T H O R S, Charles-Street, St. James's-Square. 1778. .MUDiMMATma Muaa ui/: ,;'.:aTi20i ;OiTnA ;2TD3i.aO lorlJo ..lauTAM mo. ' \u-/;ioi5iO ••,:!! -isfij; h^-zCTgnrL .^■aOTOl'-I ,>IYa2l7lY5I '/AY v.- :-IIO{ y'l ,KH.ia .A .-:t.:!'l ([j^.-nU. , # ••4' '4"- ••' I — ■ TO THE Honourable and Honourable THE TRUSTEES, OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; THE FOLLOWING Antiquities, and Natural Curiofities, Are Mojl Humbly Injcnbed By the Author. TO THE Rt. Hon. Fred. (North) Lord North, LL.D. Firft Lord of the Treafury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Lieut, and Cuft. Rotulorum of Somcrfetjhm, Chanc. of the UiiiverJ. oi Oxford, Recorder of Gloucejler and Taunton, One of the Elder Breth. of the Tnn. Ho. Gov. of the Turkey Comfi. Pref. of the Foundling Hojp. and of the Afylum, And a Governor of the Charter-Hoiife, K. G. &c. Wilham Legge, Earl of Dartmouth, Vifcount Lewllharn, Lord Privy-Seal, Prefident of the London Difpenjary, and Vice-Prefident of the Foundling and Lock-Hofpitals, Recorder of Litchfield, LL.D. and F. R. S. Francis Godolphin Oiborn, Lord Olborn, (Marq. of Carmarthen), of Kiveton in Yorklhire, And Lord Chamberlain to the Queen, &c. Geo. Tames Cholmondeley, Earl Cholmondeley, Vifcount Malpas, Lord Lieut, and Cuft. Rot. of the County of Chfier, (Vifc. Cholmondeley of Kells in Ireland.) &c. Sir John Boyd, Bart. John Peachy, Efq. Robert Udny, Efq. Rev. S. Harper, F. R. S. And to the remaining Subscribers, Thefe Antuiuiiies and Natural Cunojitics, feleded from ihcBntifih Mufieum, Are moft humbly prefented, As a greatful Acknowledgment for their Noble Encouragement, Conferred, by them, upon The Authors,- J.& A.VanRymfdyk TO THE R E A D E R. R O M the uni\'erfal Tafte, Encouragement, and Improvements, which prevail in this prefent Age, I cannot doubt but th.efe Antiquities, and Natural Curiosities, collefted from the British Museum, will meet with a cheaiful Acceptance amongft all ingenious Perfons, and Maisnato, * who love to cultivate and improve the Produa of the Arts.— E\'cry rational Being fhould, nay, is obliged to bequeath fomething to Pofterily, that it ma)- be kno^vn there was' once fuch a perfon who intended to prevent the deftruaion of Human Knozu- Mgc, from the Sithe of Time ; and to Eternize the Memoiy, or Adlwns of all fuch Men as ha\'e fignalizcd themfeh es in Merit.— Thefe various Produaions, or Legacies, are generally entitled the Lajl Will and Tejlament amongft Painters, or Authors, and have in all polite Nations been carefully prefer\'ed m Repofitories, or fuch a noble Cabinet as the British Museum. + * M.cca-aaUi.'] rroni Mecxnas, a certain Koblenian of Rome, in the time of Auguftus, Patron to Virgil, Horace, &c. liom whom all BenefaRors to Learning, and Friends to Scholars are called Mecaenaics. t The Brilipi This great Hoiife was built by Ralimi Duke of Mmtague, in the French Man- ner; the Apartments are very Noble, and richly adorned. Here lirverai Artifti have exprefTcd the Ex- cellence of their Art. The ArchiteBure was invented and condufted by Monfieur Pouget, Anno 1678. The Extent of the whole 270 Feet. The Siaircafe and fome of the Ciclings, as the Dome of the Saloon, are painted in Frelco, the Hiflorical Figures hy La Foje-, the Architefture and Landfcapes, by RouJJeau, and the Flowers by Baptift. " This John Baptiji Mon- noyir, commonly Riled Baptift the Flower- Painter, was Born at LiOe in Flanders, and brought up at Antwerp. His Grace the Duke of Montague being Amhnjfador in France, invited him over to England, to adorn his Magnificent Houfe in Great RufTel- Street, Bloomfbury, where a great Variety of Flowers and Fruit of this Mailer are to be feen, and lliofe the belt of his Per- formance. " Jama [ ii ] When firfl the Mufeum opened for the good of the Public, it elevated my Mind with great Conceptions; nothing would have made me more happy than Draw- ing and Studying thefe CuriofitieSj having always had a great Veneration and Tafte from my Youth, for all manner of Learning, being like a Luxurious Banquet, to me indeed the moH voluptuous Entertainment. I had long before made a Sketch, and Lift of curious Objecls, which, when I fhould be admitted, I " Jama RovJJeau, was a French Landftape, Archi- tefturc, and Ptrfpcctive Painter, X^orn at Paris ; who came from SwitzerlLind for Holland, from whence he was likewife invited over to England. He had all due Encouragement from that nublc Peer, who allowed bim a Pen/ion during Life. " Alfo La FoJJt, who in conjunBlon with Meffr. Roufleau and Baptifl, painted the Hiflorical Staircafc, and many other part.s of that Magnificent Fabrick." Set De Pile's Livei o/lhe Pdinitn, p. 401, 460. Bcfidcs thcfc there was one " Louii Ckeron, who, on account of his Reiigcon, being a Calviiiill, was com- pelled to quit his Tsativc Country, and fettled in Lon- don, the happy retreat of all diib'effed Artifts; and there he found many Patrons aniont; the Nobilty and Gentry; particularly the Duke of Montague, for whom he painted the Council of the Gods, and fome other Compofitions, taken from Poetic, or Fabulous Hlllory." See Pilkinglon's Die. of Painiers, p. 132. The BiiUding is well lituated, entirely infulated, and not contigucdis to any Habitation ; no Petfon is fuffered to inhabit it, for the Principal Librarian, and other Officers, have all their Apartments in the Wings of the faid Building, and if we add to this the wife Orders, and Rules for the Managevicnt of the Mufeum in cafe of any Accident by Fire, &c. we may look on it almolt as equally (afe with an incombujlihlt Edifice. Sir Hans Sloane, Bart, (who died In 1753.} may not improperly be called tlie Founder of the Brltlfh Mufeum : for its being eUablilhed by Parliavient, was only In con- fcqucnce of liis leaving by Will his Noble Colleftion of Natural Hijlory, his large Library, and his numerous CiirieifUies, (which it Is faid coft him 50,000!.} to the Ufe of the Public, on condition that the Parliament would pay 2o,oool. to bis Executors. — Accordingly Moniagiie- Iloufe ^\'BiS purchafed with an extenfive Garden of near eight Acres by the Britlfti Parliament for 10,5001. as was alfo Sir Hans Sloane's Curlofitles for 20,000!. In the Year 1753, and was reimburfed by a Guinea Lottery the fame Year. And In 1756 the valuable Legacy of Egyptian Antiquities of the late Colonel LethieulUer, and the Antiquities of his Nephew have been joined to it : — And in the Year 1771, Sir William Hamilton's Awli- quitles were purchafed with other additional Expences, for goool. To this CoUeftion were added the Coitonian Librarv, the Harkian Manujcripls, collecled by the Oxford Family, and purchafed llkewlfe by the Parlia- ment for io,oooI. Alfo a Colieftion of Books given, and7oool. In Cafli left, by the late Major Edwards, And as an Addition to the Cottonlan Library, Mis. Maddox, RellB. to the late Mr. Maddox, Hijloriographer Royal, left by her Will, her Hulband's large and valuable Col- leflion of M.5'.5'. wiiich had engaged his Attention for many Years; affording Materials for a complete Hlf- tory of Tenures, whlcli is much wanted. His late Majsjly, George II. in the Year ij^^j, in confideration of its great utility, was gracloully pleafed to add thereto ihc Royal Libraries of Books, about ten thoufand ; and Manufcripts to about eighteen hundred, all collefted by the different Kings of England.. It is impoffible to give the exaft Names and Numbers of the feveral things contained in theBrltifh Mufeum at prefent, on account of the generous embelllfiiments which have been made from Time to Time. — See for the Catalogue of Sir H. Sloane's Bart, and Sir W. I-Iamilton, K. B. after the End of the Preface. The Public are under very great Obligations to His late Majejiy. for a valuable prefent of Manufcripts, and Royal Library, and to the Brltltli Parliament, for the purchafe of the Building and Curiofitles; alfo to Sir II. Sloane, Bart, for his knowledge asaColleftor ; and likewife to the Hon. Sir. Wm. Hamilton, K.B. to many other Private Gentlevicn for their Donations and Benc/ac- tions, by which the Mufeum is continually increafmg, to their Honour and Credit during Life, or after Death. Alfo to the Right Honourable and Honourable the Trvjlees, for their careful Conduct, Management, and Prefervation of the Mufeum ; and to the Principal Librarian, the late Matt. Matty, M.D. F.R.S. and Sub- ordinate Officers, who are all known to be learned Men, in their Various Departments, from all whom I have re- ceived great Civility and Indulgence, and who on Application are always very ready to gratify any Per- fon's Curlofity, with a fatlsfaftory Information. What Improvements in Arts, Sciences, MamfaBaries, &c, every Indiv-idual may reap from this Harveft of Learn- ing, muft ftrlke every one at firft View! O Happy Nation ! where there is fuch Liberty granted, and fuch Generous BenefaBon, whofe Names will be convey 'd with Honour to fucceeding Generations ; nay, be made intended to draw. In refpefl of my Choice, my principal and chief Aim, was at a Variety of Pi6lurefque, Curious, and Scarce ObjeBs, and to make them inftrudivc, entertaining, and ufcful. — Now, in a Work of this kind, fome Objefts will always be found more pleafag than others, according to the different Tajies, Studies, and Geniufes of particular Men This I was foon made fenfible of, for when I began to fhew my Defigns to the Ladies and Gentlemen ; fome wifhed made Immortal; and as Herodotus fays, " Things pad ought not to be extinguifhed by lengdi of time, nor great and admirable Aflions, remain deftitutc of glory." In Fine, if one confiders the Building, and its various Contenh with their Arrangement, and the Liberty People enjov, it is Matchlefs ! There is certainly no Mine, or Treafurc like this in Europe, from what I have heard of Foreign Gentlemen ; nor can fuch a one ever be compiled again uiiiefs by a Miracle, t If I may be allowed, with humble Submiffion, to give my opinion, which is; that every Curiofity, &c. fhould have a Tiilt, iike thofe on Books, and be exa£lly lahel'd, by which it would do fllli more Service, for the Intention of the Britijh Parliament and Benefactors being fuch as to ren- der it of the utmoft Benefit to Mankind. Many inge- nious perfons perhaps would be glad to be informed how to get admitted as a Student in the Britifh Mufeum ; — this is done by applying for leave to the Truflces, the Principal Librarian, or in his Abfence to tbe Under Librririan, who will gel liim an Order of Admiffion till fuch time he be admitted; the Officer of the Reading Room, my Friend, tlic Rev. Mr. Penneck, will provide him with fuch Books as he intends to periife. This Leave is only for half a Year, uiilcfs a frefh Applica- tion is made. " If any perfon engaged in a Work " of Learning, or in tlie profecution of any vfe/ul De- " Jign, has occalion to examine any Part of the Col- " leclion, vji/k more Attention than can he done either in " the ordinary Way of viewing the Mufeum, or in the " Reading Room, without carrying into it a great " Number of Specimens or Books that can con- " veniently be done; to give leave iojach Perfon lo vietu " the /aid Colk£lion at thofe Hours, when the Officers of " the refpcftive departments are not engaged in their " Attendance upon the Comp.niy admitted by Tickets, " and during the time when the Mufeum is open." rid. General Orders and Rules of the Mufeum, p. 5. I have wondered many limes at the fmall number of Gentlemen I ufed to fee in the Readin^t Room, which certainly mud be owing to the want of knowing how to apply for leave, I have faid many times, if it was a dif- ficult Matter to be admitted, more people, and all the "World would be eager to come to improve themfelves, and make a better ufe of this advantage. Before it flips out of my Memory, here I muft not omit to obferve for the Student, and particularly to fuch who apply for Tickets to fee the Curiofities of the Britifli Mufeum ; that it opens at Nine o'clock and ftiuts at Three every Day, except Saturdays and Sundays, and during the Chridmafs, Eartcr, and Whitfun Holydays, and on Thankfgiving and Fatt Days ; but in the Four Summer Months, May, June, July, and Augutl, it is open only on Mondays and Fridays in the Afternoon from Four till Eight, the other Days as ufual. Now in refpe6t of knowing the Method of applying to fee the Britifh Mufeum, it is by delivering in a lift of the Chriflian and Surnames of each Perfon, with their titles, rank, Profeflion, and places of abode, to the Porter's Lodge, at the left Entry within the Gate, who will enter them in the Book ; the Principal Li- brarian orders the Day and Hour for the Tickets to be fi\ed upon, which when font for are delivered. No more than fifteen Perfons are permitted at one Time, and two hours allowed for viewing, and as moft Company's love to go together, the fewer the Number, the lift is, the eafier, they will ferve to compleat the Number of Fifteen, and the fooner they dand a chance of being admitted. " Such as have obtained Ticketsand cannot come, are carnediy dcfired to return them to the Porter as early as they can, that others may be admitted in their Stead. After a lift has been entered in the Book, if the Tickets are not fetched away, at the lated by Ten in the Morning, the Day before the Time of AdmifTion, they will be otherwife difpofed of; and no Regard will be paid to fuch Lifts as require the Tickets to be (ent to any of the Parties. " If any one comes with another Perfon's Ticket, it is cxpeded that they acijuaint the Oflicers with it. Anno 1774. The Report fVom the Committee appointed to confider of proper Regulations to be nblerved fur the Future, by Perfons admitted lo fee the Britifh Mufeum, was brought up. and a fmall Debate enfued on one of the Refolulions, which was fur Money to be paid by every Perfon admitted to fee the Curiofities ; the principal Sp^abrs in which, were General Conway, Capt. Phipps, and Mr. Harris, but I am very glad for the Public, on a Divifion there were for Money being paid 56, againft it 59. [ J my Work had confifted of Botany, others of Birds, Butterflies, or Quadru- peds, feme again of Fisii Shells and Fossils, a few wanted them all Artifi- cial, fiJc. I leave my fcnfible Reader to judge whether it is poffible to plcafe every Body. Nature herfelf is not equally fatisfaflor)', nor all different Diflres alike palitable. Therefore I came to a Rcfolution to chufe an Intermixture, which I fuppofe will confift of fome Things fine, others middling, and a few Jo Jo, or perhaps but indifferent. Now Concerning Mine and my Son's Drawings, all the Objefts we have truly imitated without adding or diminijhing, an eflablifhed folemn Law, I had formed from my Cradle, for my future Condufl: as a Painter, Profeffing it to be the Principal and favourite Article of my Pictorial Creed, and declaring myfelf an Enemy to Nature-Menders, Mannerifts, or Antiques, &c. I don't mean by this that Nature alone is fuffrcient; .■_*************** *. The fame Choice and Method I have purfued in the Artificial Objefls, which like the Natural, are in fine Prefervation, both ^vc!l difpofed with a clear large Mafs of Light and Shade ; they liave their true Charafter, different Subftances, and peculiar Colours of every Object. Many of the Drawings, or Prints, are as big as Nature, or the ObjeEls they reprefent ; and if they are Icjs, or larger, it is mentioned with each Explanation. On fuch a Plan as this, if a Painter, &c. chufes to be bound, to fail for the Harbour of Nature, he will find his Piftorial Veffel loaded with ntw Theorkal and Pradical Treafures, which on comparifon, he will only find among a few Men of Merit; but in a low Degree, like the Shade of a Figure, or a bad Echo. This new Doftrine is quite difierent from that Fafhionable way of Dra\ving. and Painting, ilill fo much in vogue in Europe, and likewife at prefent fo little known among thofe Gentlemen, who encourage the Arts : for moft of the Encouragers, and Painters liave this m com- mon with each other, and with every Individual in General ; to know a Good Performance, but few can tell why or wherefore. Nature J to be fure, efpecially ill order to have the Name changed; and the Officers may turn away any one that fhall prefume to get Ad- mittance under a fiClious Name or Charafler. " N.B, In going through the ieveral Departments, no one is to tal;e any Thing from its Place ; but if he wants to examine any Thing more particularly, he is to ap- ply to one of the Officers for it ; efpecially in going through the Departments of printed Books, he is ftrictly required not to take any of them down from their Shelves, but to apply to one of the Oftieers, who will reach hini anv Book he is defirous of feeing." VhL Dira. to fee the Miijemn. " Leave is granted to any Foreigner of diftitiguiflied Eminence, or who, upon account of his fudden Depar- ture, cannot obtain Tickets in the common courfc; to fee the Mufeum at any Time, when it is open for the common Infpeclion, attended by the Principal Li- brarian, ((Z) " It is hereby intended and declared, that none ol the Particular Reftraints herein contained, are to be conflrucd to extend to the Royal Family, when they fhall do the Mufeum the Honour of vifiting it in . Pcrfon," (S.) Vid. General Orders aid Rides of the Mujam, {a.) Page i-- (*■) Page 24. Leave of Athniffion is likewife given to any proper Pcrfon or Perfons for to Air or walk into the Garden upon their Application. X Nature.'} All pretend, both Painters, Statuaries, &c. to have been long acquainted with Her, but where was [ V ] at prefent is in the mouth of every individual. I guefs, nay I hear fome fay. was fhe thirty-two Years ago? Examine the Pro- duftions of the Italians, Enghfh, French, Sec. within the above time, (in order to prove their being an old Acquaintance with her) and you'll find no Imitation of Naf^urc ; but you'll fee a great deal of Manner, and what is termed a free Grandeur of Slile, Touch, and Spirit of the Mailer, likewifc a bad Imitation of the Antiques ; and as to'ihcir Figures, they feem to be only done after one particular Manner of Proportion ; — In fhort, all their Figures of Men, Women, and Childt-en, appear as if they were call out of one Mould, add to this, the Phrafes of Enthufiafm, Exquifite Taftc, Loofe, Eafy Manner of handling Paintings in Varnilh, (for it was the Falliion in thofe Days to encourage plcafing and fiiining Piflurcs) to all which Nature, if flic could fpcak, would fay,—/ KNOW YOU NOT. And although Nature may fomctimcs be found in their Performances, which they had copied (for Improvemet) after Ancient Majlcrs, yet in their own Originals fhc is loft again, hereby making the old true Proverb good, * The Dog is turned to his own vomit again.' — Nowif fome Portraits, &-C. fhould be fljcwn, which have a few faint Traces of Nature, this is only becaufe they are obliged to make a Rcjcniblance of Perfons, and by which they reprcfcnt her as it were by chance ; for do but caft your eyes on their Hands, Draperies. Back-grounds, &c. in the fame Piflure, and that will convince you. Thus we find that this Imaginary Being or Nature, is the Touch-Stone and Tell, with which the Prodticlionj of all Arts arc compared. Once more, in RefpeSl of the Time above mentioned, I remember very well that her Name was not fo much as thought on by the Nature- Me7iders ; &c. but now the Hair-DrcQcrs, Taylors, Coblcrs, Shoe-blacks, Chim- nev-Swecpers, Dentifts, and Apothecaries ; they all have Her upon their Tongues even with a Vengeance. But to return to our Ariilt; there are fome Painters however, that begin to fmell Nature, as may be feen from their Landfcapes, &c. behind their Portraits, which formerly ul'ed to be dctcftable : Some will, nay you may hear it from every Body's Mouth, that we have at prefent as great a Number of excellent Artifts than were ever known before at one Period, in this Nation. I hardly think it worth my time to anfwer this, how- ever, as we are in the humour for Writing, we will confute it thus : There is an Index of tlie Painters Names in the Mjfdy towards an Englifli School. Vid. , .. * But Hogarth, that -eKelaifned Painter, and the glifh Artifts, are Dot to be ranked among this Clafs of performances. De Pile's Tranjlation, in which there are no lefs than an Hundred in Number. Among thcfc you will find the Firjl-rate Artijli in the World, Planets of the firlt Magnitude, cfpecially thofe in the time of King Henry the Vlllth. and Charles the Firft. If (his Report is to be underftood only of the great Number, or Bulk, I am forry for it, becaufe in time this will occafion an incrcafe of an additional Parifh-Rate, and fecondly of Beggary: But if it is to be underllood, that the prefent ones are more Excellent than were ever known in this Nation, we really cannot put our Seal to this, but muft proteft, againft fuch Flattery with all our might, and the only way to fettle this Controverfy, according to my Opinion would be : for the prefent Englifii and Foreign Hiftorical, Landfcape, Portrait, Sea, Flower- Painters, &c. &c. to place their Performances next to thofe Artifts, who lived in the Reign of King Charles the Ift. which would certainly occafion a very fevere Eclipfe. "Moft Gentlemen and the very bcjl Artijli, all feem to agree Nem. Con. that Whoever was the Inventor cf this Compliment, intended only to fpcak one good word for his Brother Artift, and two for Himfelf. It is not a bad thing to have a great opinion of one's- felf. Terence; Prcximm Jam egomet mihi, or as we fay, Charity begins at home ; neither do I think their prefent proceeding Right, for if we do not unlearn a great many things in t!ic drawing and painting way, which may be feen from a great many cracked Pic- tures painted in Varnifli, &c. Sec. By fuch kind of Mo- dern Italian Tricks, I am afraid we fhall be found too light in the Balance of merit, for any of thefe Anci- ent Painters. I could enlarge my Paragraphs on thefe different fubjefts, but Time and Tide waits for no Man, and I am obliged to give an anfwer why this Country has not been fo happy in producing fuch good Painters as Poeii: the laft of whom ftand in Competition with the firft in the World, and furpafting all others? To which we anfwer, that thefe Men followed Nature ; and the Pain- ters not, but were only Nature Menders. And this is what they generally bring with them in their Return from Italy, where they Learn I know not what * from the Modern Italians, a certain Mode of Drawing and Painting, which they are glad enough to quit again for to pleafe the good Judgment of a few Encouragers in this Country. The tolal of the whole fum of our Doc- trine is this ; that the Art of Painting is nothing elfc, but a true Rcprefcntation of Nature. But it was not her defire, firft in this Country, and many more immortal En- Naturc-Menders, which appear very vifiblc in their beft b [ vi ] defircj that Men (hould know evCiy thing, and there- fore only fijffers herfeif to be looked at, tlirough dark Crevices, by the moft wife and learned Men, nay its imponible to fathom or unravel the Obfcure Enigma, of Nature. However, diough we cannot be deep, he that comes the nearcft is the beft Artift. Nature like Truth, doth lie in a Well, and is not recoverable but by Exantlation. I am likewife as much difpteafed as others, with the eflablilhment of the Royal Academy, which will do more Jlarm than Good: For I have known in my Time, Academies quite full of Members, but emp- ty of good Drauglits-Men.- -What occafion was there for one, when there were a great many Artifts of fuffi- cient Merit, why fhould thcfe be negiefcled, and make a Seminary for more Beggars and Fools, as I have faid ? How many people have you not Ruined and diflio- nmired b) refiifing to accept of their Performances ? which were belter than the beft of Yours,— if you dil- coiirage thofe that arc doomed by die wifdom of God to be Excellent Artifts, and will encourage them tliat were never dcfigned to be fuch ; do you not hinder the one from becoming great ; and will not tlic other difappoint Ids Kncouragers ; and become a difhonour to himfelf and his profeffion ? Nor will all the beft Aca- deviies, and all ilome, or the grealeji Revenue of die Riclieft Prince in Europe, be able to make a Sublime Artift, if his natural genius Is not deftined for it. — I fliould be glad to offer my opinion concerning the re-cllabliflimenis of the Arts, but it goes againft the grain, for I find a kind of pain and unhappinefs which runs through my Nei'ves, for it was not our intention to befprinkle this Work with anything of the kind, on account of the ill ufuage I have received as a Pain- ter from a particular fet of Men; there is no Crime equal to filching a good Name /rom a Man, according to Shakcfpearc, and efpecially if he has got a Family to maintain, either old poor Parents, or innocent Babies, fome artifls nf which I know, have been obliged to drop the painting Bufinefs, and enter into another way of Life. From this Mekncholy PiHure we may form an Idea of what is to be cxpeficd from this New Academy, and the Triumphal-formed Parties, or Principal Mem- bers and Conncftions. Aiid now I am in the humour, we will give a Saiyrical Sketch of CharaHen in General, which we have met with in our Pilgrimage in this prcfcnt gloomy Age; for Honefly in former times, was not quite fo fcarce as at prefent which may be fecn from Diogenes and his Lanthorn.-^ There feems to me, a Malignant Cunning which runs like Hell-fire through moft Ranks of Men ; fome of their deep Stratagems require Years to fee and to know them from end to end ; But among the lower Clafs and others, their Cages, Traps, and fnares are eafily perceived from the mean- ncfs of their Craft, or for want of being an ingenious Dog, which is very often betrayed by their own Eyes, Speech, and unfkiU'd Poftures, Sec. among them it proceeds from the Diabolical Proverb, ;'. e. thai it is impojfihk to live at prefent by Honefly. This occafions all thofe variety of flowing fcenes we meet with every Day, perpetually coming and going like the Flux and Re- flux.^ Now in all different ftages in life, or pro- feffions, there is a Rogue's part of the Bufinefs, (as it is called) of which fome people according to their Incli- nation, make a bad praftice, or are more or lefs ac- quainted with. Moft Men at their firft introduttion, fecm to be PolUe attended with fome degree of fear; the fecond Time O^fi/imi or Indifferent, (hut this de- pends on various Circumftances.) laftly, very impudent, in cafe he cannot catch, the Perfon underftanding Trap, or if lie is too knowing for him : Such it the gene- ral Charafler, or what moll men have in common with each other ; and fiicii is the prefent Pi£lure of a diftio- neft and corrupt heart. There is no other Coun- try in the World, where people with little Merit, and a good deal of Impudence, can accumulate fueh large For- tunes as Here, all owing to forming parties, accompa- nied with deep cunning -ind Politic Contrivances — and that is the reafon why foroe excellent Men of real Merit are often obliged to Walk a Foot, while others role in their Carriages, and live as it were in Obfcurity, loft- like — allowing perhaps to an Honeft and Religious Edu- cation, or that he will not Lie depending entirely upon his Merit, (as if every body was a judge); or adhering too clofe to the Old true Proverb — that, Honefly is the heft Policy — his errors in judgment are innumerable, for he imagines that no body can Lye or Chcct but the Poor PtopJe. In ftiort his dependences on the better fort of Men are all fruftrated by a fet of Crafty beings, who niifreprefent his Abilities and undermine all his inge- nious Undertakings in a Villainous manner; till his affairs come to be very ferious, and is obliged at laft to fubmit ; and has no other comfort left, but to upbraid his Stars, and bitterly complain of the Vices of the Times. Moreover his private Charailer, which is Spollefs, is vilified and branded by a group of Viper.s and Afps, or Scum of the Devil; who bear the Name of Humane Men. The next various Charac- ters that are in our Notes are innumerable, and would make fine Examplary Pi6tures, of which wc will only give the Outlines, for we have no Time to Shade them, fuch as the Stiff Clergyman, Double-Fee Lawyers, Dr. Laft, the Phyfician, Dr. Grooper, the Man-Midwije, the Church-Yard Shark, or Anaiomifl, who will make a Skel- eton of your deceafed Wife, &c. after you have been at the c-vpence of tool, or 200I. in keeping her alive, and beftowing a decent burial on the Corps. — The next upon our Stage is Dr. Chalk, or Mr. Glifier-pipe the Apothecary, who for Modefty, beats the four preceding Neceffary Evils. — As to the Hrft and third Charafter, wc have been careful not to group them with the above, becaufe we have found by general Experiments not to contain fuch quantity of Alloy or bafer 'Vices. Nei- ther [ Vli ] (my Drawings are too Minute, a great many little Parts, || Sec.) It mufl be ob- ferved that there are three different ways of imitating an Obje£l: ; the firtl is to difpofe Nature at a tollerable Diftance, * fuppofe that of Fifteen Feet, where all the Minutia is loft, and only the Form, and grand MafTes are to be feen ; this Diftance is in general approved of large Works, which are to be feen on high, as the PiQures on the Cieling at White-Hall, Britifli Mufeum, &c. The fecond or medium Diftance, is where the fmall Parts are more vifible, as at Five Feet, or thereabouts ; Painters never, or feldom exceed this : but the third is, where the Different Subftances, and every minute Part is difcoverd by being brought fo near the Eye. This Difiance I was obliged to make ufc of, for to reprefent Nature in its greateft Beauty; the other two diftances arc what I \vould call only repre- fenting the Effe6l of Nature, as fhe appears at the Diftance ; or the Diftance for an Artift to get a good deal of Money, and ufe much Art, but fhew little of Nature. tlicr havewc been fo happy in findingtliat requifite or pro- per Relief from the Magiftrates, &c. fomcof wliicliare only aparce! of ignorant Tradefmen, and their Bufinefs is no- thing clfe Imta Trade alfrefcnt; many of whom, commit Youn^ Women, which they firll of all debauched, and Young Men for pitiful crimes, to hard labour, which according to [nlticc and Equit)-, they are Compara- tively more guilty and dclcrving of. Men of the mean- eft Occupation, give their Daughters a genteel Edu- cation, Bon Ton like ; but as there is no fortune, fhe is only fitfora keptMiftrefs, after all, (i.e. if fhe turns out Handfome) and would make a vcrv bad Pcwr-Mam Wife. As to viiiiic, :ilid /•nrily of Manners, fuch as Mode fly awd Chajlity, to which wc will add Houfewijcry ; the Females Teem to be afhamcd of them : And when they have deceived Men in the Matrimonial Cage, then MaTriage by them is only looked on as an Um- brella, for intrigues, and to keep off Hot Scandal. The many bad Examples we daily fee dif- encourage many Young Feoplt from bearing t!ic Yoke, or being Linki together ; befides the fpuri- ous, or iliigitimate and unknown IJues, that arc got hereby, who in time unlawfully tnjov Titles, and Riches; his Right, even unknown to the very Mother — de- barring hereby the Real-begotten Son, till when grown up a Man, puts it out of all Doubt, He being tlie law- ful Heir. Thefc Proceedings among the Nobility, well dcferve to be ferioufly confidered : — The Proof of all this Incontinency is a — Divorce, tJc. Vrcnn ihcnce we will give an Exhibition of Luxury and Dijjipaiion of this famoui Metropolis; — and firft if you pleafe, with the Maccaroni Fa/Iiions, grouped along with the Places of Entertainments, gaining Houjes, tricking Sharpers, immdeft Strumpets and Bawds, 6?c. all of which there is too great a Number, and the whole of wljom is to be looked on as Baits, by which the Wild aTid Idle Young Men, Spendthrifts, Wc. are enfnared. — Thefe are the various Banes of all our Misfortunes, thefc arc the caufcs of all lliofc unhappinefTes in Families, as Divorces, changing of Teftaments, Diftrefii^s, Separa- tions, Bankruptcies, Poverty, Difgrace and ArrcRs, &c. The fruits of which may be feen by the enlarging of Prifons, additional PariJJi Rates, and Multiplicity of Beggars. The young people therefore, well dcferve lo be pitied, not having experience fufficient : — As to the Yomg Women, and Servants, whole wages are not adequate for to pay for thcfe frothy Fqfiions. have re- courfc to^ro/^^'/Hiion, or what they gently Term, /cflrn- ing to he Married ; and the Young, and other Men to the Highway, &c. which occafions that incrcafe of fo many unhappy Individuals being made an Example of at Tyburn, and thus we fliut the Door, and finifli with a fincere Repentance. In fhort, the National Syfteni feems to be very much out of Repair, and requires a deal of White -waf king. Now if a fpeedy Roformation does not take place, I am afraid we fhall Overturn and fall to Pieces, and never make the old proverb good, that All is well that ends well. This is one of our hafty Notes, we are obliged to fend /'!^m^-Aoi to the Compo- fitor, and the Reader is defircdnot to look on this as a finiflied Eafel-piece, but only as a Bold Reprefenta- tion, which requires a proper diftance to fee its efFeci and lake a good example by. I Little Paris.] Perhaps ihefe grand Guflo Artiftj, would not be ill placed, to fee Homers Iliad couched within a Nut-flicll, according to Cicero ; or a Man of War ♦ This diftance cannot for a certainty be afccrtairied, as it depcndi on the Magnitude of the Obica and the fight of the Fainter. [ viii ] I am obliged to reprefent her thus, if I was to do otherwife it ^vould be Affec- tation, Manner, and of no Service to Naturalijls, &c. How far Nature exceeds all Arts and Human Skill, is well known ; let it be fufficient to fay, that through a Microfcope flie appears more and more wonderful ; all artificial things, though ever fo high finilhed, more and more rude, and difadvantageous : Therefore the Imitation°of Nature I would recommend to all Profejfions, none excluded,, and to every Perfon as an Encourager to judge thereby, Now that all ufeful and excellent Inventions of Machines, &c. have m all Ages been taken from Nature, nobody will difpute, and that thofe who apply themfelves to the Invention of New ones, fhould confult with her, is advifable ; and examine whether Nature does not produce an Example, or Effeds fimilar to thofe things they intend to perform. And if all Machine?, Arts, &c. be obliged to undergo any Additions or Improvements, it is all owing to their being Un- natural, or becaufe the Original of which is not to be found in Nature.— I dare not fay'anjy more on this interefting Subjeft, for fear of wearying my Readers with too much of one thing, and therefore muft now fay fomething of the Engravers. I have employed thofe who I thought were Men of Merit, and able to execute the Prints in the Manner and Tafte of the Original Drawings; they are not En- graved with Strokes, or Hatches, as I thought them not Natural, that me- chanical Manner of Engraving, or cutting the Copper with large broad Hatches, Grate-like Work, § I deleft. 1 encouraged them with fufficient Generofity, fixed my own Price, and kept nothing fecret from them in refpea of Art, &c. that their Performance might give full Satisfaaion : and on their Side they have taken the utmoft Pains, and every Nerve has been ftretched to fhow their Art, and crood Judgment ; I venture to fay all this in their Commendation, and that my Drawings were as intricate to them as Nature was to me. I defired of the En- gravers ** to be very exaa in imitating the Drawings, for what is all the fineft EnTravin.ings and Illuminated Books. 3516 Volumes of Maniifcripts, together with the Books of Prints, con- fifts of about 50,000 ^'ulumes. Medals and Coins, Antient and Modern, about 3Z0OO. — Antiquities, viz. Urns, Infirumcnts, &.c. 1125. — Seals, Sec. 268. Cameo's and Intaglio's, &c. about 700. Precious Stones, Agates, Jafpers, &c. 2256. Veirds, Sec. of Agates, Jafpers, &c. 542. Chryftals, Sparrs, &c. 1864. FoETils, Flints, Stones, &c. 1275. Metals, Mineral-Ores, &c. 2725. Earths, Sands, Salts, &c. 1035. Bitumens, Sulphurs, Am- bers, Ambcrgrecle, &c. 399. Talcs, Mies, &c. 388. Tellacea, or Shells, 5843. Corals, Sponges, &c. 1421. Echini, Echinites, &c. 659. Aliens, Trochi, Entrochi, &:c. 241. Crutlacea. or Crabs, &c. 363. Stellje Marine, &c. 173. Fiflies, and their Parts, 1555. Birds, and their Parts, Eggs and Nells of dit- fcrent Species, 1172. Vipers, Serpents, &ic. 521. Quadrupeds, Sec. 1886. Infe£ls, 5439. Humana, as Calculi, Anatomical Preparations. &c. 756. Ve- getables, as Seeds. Gums, Woods, Roots, &c. 12506. Hortus Siccus, or Volumes of dried Plants, 334. Mif- celtaneous Things, Katural, Sec. 2098. Piftures and Drawings, Sec. fraoi'd, 3 1 o. Mathematical Inllru- ments, 55. All the above Particulars, are entered and numbered, with Ibort accounts of them, and Referen- ces of feveral Writers, who have heretofore wrote about them, in Thirty-eight Volmnes in Folio and Eight in Quarto. An Abflracl of Sir Willia7?i Hcimiltons COLLECTION 0/ ANTI O U I T I E S. 730"^ TASES, found in the Sepulchres in thofe Parts V of the Kingdom of Naples which came imder the Denomination of Magna Gracr'a, and were in Ufe for facred and domeftic Purpofcs : Many were evidendy Votive; and the greater part is ornamented with Fi- gures, the Compofuion of which is truly elegant. Their Forms are fniiple, beautiful, and varied beyond Defcription. The Whole compofes a Series in this Branch of antiquity far fuperior to any that has ever been colle£ted. — go Specimens of ancient Stucco and Terra Cotta, curious in the Subjetts, and well exe- cuted : among thefe are fomc Specimens of ancient Painting. — 85 Lamp.s in Terra Cotta; many with Fi- gures on them relative to the Cult of the Deities to whom they were dedicated. — 300 Specimens of the an- cient Glafs and Fade ; among which arc three of the largeft and moflperfeO: Cinerary Urns ever found ; one with the Lead Covering, by which it was preferved ; another contains the afiies, with the Afbellos Ciotb, whicli prevented them mixing with thofe of the Fune- ral Pile. — 300 Bronzes relative to the Armour of the ancients ; amongft which many may be reckoned unique. The Br e a ft and Back Armour ; two Grecian Helmets Compleat; two /?o?««'! Helmets ; the Standard of the Legio ViBrix of a Boar ; two of Carthage ; feveral Swords, Horfe-Bells, Heads of Spears, javelins and Points of Arrows; Glandcs, Uc. This Collcftion is very Compleat. — 67 l.ares. Idols relative to Armour, many very line and mounted on Pedeftals. — 141 on o Pedeftals ; Lares and Penates in very fine Prefcrvation and and good Sculpture ; extremely rare for the variety of Ivory. 25 — of Bronze or Stone. 18 OfTelets of attributes by which each is charafterifed. — 95 Without Pedeitals. many of which are curious, though of in- ferior Workmanfhip. — i24Vota; vows to different Deities. — 327 Bronzes; including Fragments, among which are the different Hinges ufcd by the ancients. The air-condu£lors to the Aquedufls, the Difcus, Cro- tulus. &c. — 44 Inftruments; ufed in Sacrifice, Lamps, Paters Simpulx ; the Siftriim. Prcfericulum, &c. moil of which are marked with the Symbols of the Deity to whom they were lacred. The Stri^il and bathing Ap- paratus arc included. g8 Various Inftruments — A Foot Rule, CompaOes, Nippers. Needles, Probes, Stila, Spatulla;. Handles of Knives, Fifli-hooks, &c.^ — ■ 4 Bronze Veffcis ; one fcrved as a Cinerary Urn, the others remarkable for their Size or Elegance. — 75 Spe- cimens of the Locks and Keys ufed by the Ancients. 40 Marks or Stamps, all with Ir-fcriptions. 3 Antique Mirrors, one Convex. — 3 Candelabra ; with their Lamps, four fma!! and four large ; one is the largeft yet found, and all arc of different Cunflruftions. — 2 Weights and Scales ; Statera: in very fine Prefer- vation, — 3 Pair of Scales; two with Indexes. — 176 Weights of difl'erent Kinds, from the Solidum to ma- ny Pounds. — 3 Plummets. — 152 Fibulae; of various Shapes and Sizes, and of different Materials. — 70 Pieces of Antique Ivory. Great Variety of Stila. Bodkins. Fragments of Flutes, ^3c. — 40 Ivory Tcfferae. chiefly for the Theatre.?, fome being marked with the Poet's Name. Seven belong to the Combats of tlie Gladia- tors in the Amphidieatre. Two TeiferEe Hofpitalitatis. 5:c. — j8 TeOeiEe of Chrj'ftal. — Games; 27 Dice of (j, of its Contents Bronze, Chryftat, or Agate. Fragments; 1 very fine Bronze Hand. 1 Very fine Foot. Cameo's; 1 Head of Bacchus, i A Bacchanalian ; four Figures, 1 Fragment; all of the mofl perfefl Greek Sculpture. Marbles ; 1 Has Relievo ; two Men on Horfcback. 4 Small Bulls. 1 Bas Relievo ; a Head. i Tragic Mafk. 1 Comic Mafli. i Sepulchral Mafk. 3 Ta- bles with Infcriptions. 1 Magnificent Trophy of Arms, a Province flibdued ; from an ancient Sarcophagus. 1 Statue of Venus. 143 Gold Ornaments; Necklaces, Ear-rings, Armillje, Bracelets, Rings, and other Wo- men's Ornaments, enriched with precious Stones. A large Gold Patera dedicated to the God Api%. This Collection is very fingular and compleat. i Large Difh of oriental Jafper. 2 Cups of Rock-chryttal, or- namented with Figures, one the fineft known. 149 A- mulets : chiefly Scarabcei, and the greater part of them fet in Gold. This CoUefliun is compleat as it is rare. 6000 Medals, and upwards. They are well prefcrved. The CoUeftion of Weights or As, and its Divifions, is verv compleat. Many large and middle-Czed Im.perial ofBronzc. Many filver Imperial, and fome of Gold. But the moft valuable Part of this CollcRion confift in Medals of the Towns in Alagna Gracia, among which are many iiiedita. N. B. Theverj' great Number of Monuments of An- tiquities in this Collection, does not permit the enume- rating each Article with its particular Merit, as in the Catalogue which remains with the Colletiinn. and from whence this is ahftra£tcd, merely to give a general Idea ' And. GiFFORn, D.D. INDEX. Page. ^=S»«S.«S»g?Chate, Natural Hiflory of 57 ^fT'lf Agate Ring - - - 20 |SA|^ Eclipfe of the Sun ^ ******* v ig^j^Vial on an ^ 57 May be Stained artificially ibid. vElurus — — 74 Alchymifl — — 24 Amianthus, Natural Hiftory of the 55 Amphibious Animals, their Multipli- city of Eggs - 17 Amulets, or Charms - 35, 45 Amulets, Medicinal - 46 Anatomical Studies, the reafon of the Author's Diflike to - 83 Angling, Anecdote upon Fifhing, or 69 Animals, the Sagacity of 3 Animals, all the Gods in their Re- treat to Egypt, changed themfelves into various — 80 Antiquitates Jigyptiaca; Sec. 10, 11, 20, 27. 32, 36. 42, 45' 51. 53. 58' 60, 64, 73. 78 Anubis, from nhence their origin 34 Annuli, Rings — 20 Apothecaiy, Piflurc of an 49 Apis — — 62 Architeflonic Skill of Birds 3 Arrow Heads • — 13, 14 Of Flint &c. — 14 . Poifoned - tbid. Art and Nature compared, Preface (viii) Page. Afbeftos — 55 Purfe made of the ibid. Paper — 55 Cloath &c. - Ibid. Author, Apology of the 84 Aves, Birds - 80 Preferved with Camphire, Brim- ftone — 81 With oil of Afpic, or Spikenard on — Ibid. Migration - 4I) 78 B. Babel, Tower of - 32 Baptift the Painter — (i) Bark Papyrus, or Paper Leaves of the River Nile, Parchment &c. 28 Baftinados — 23 Beautiful Colours on Coals, Glafs&c. 52 Bermuda, Spider's Web remarkably Strong at — 30 Bezoar, Eaft India - 48, 49 Nut — 48 Monkey — Ibid. Birds, Stuffing of 81. requires a Bird- Painter's Genius ibid. Blackbird's Egg — 19 Bladder, &c. cure of the Stone in the 48 Blood-letting, invented by the Hip- popotamus — 49 Blue Eggs from \'irginia — 15 d Bonnarez [ xiv ] Bonnarez, or the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary — 38 Bows and Arrows — 14 Brafs Roman Ring with a Key to it 20 Brafs of the Ancients, has Elafticity and Polarity — 28, 29 Breakfaft cup of the Romans 64 Brick of Babel ■ — 32 Brutes Senfes furpafs Men's 3 Britifh Mufeum, an Account of the (i) Bulla;, Golden 35. Of Infants, Youth, Tiiumphal 35, 36. C- dike, Sea., or Echi?ii Marini 6j, 68 Calculi, various 74. One with a Silver Bodkin, one a Stocking Needle Ibid. Canary Bird's Egg — 16 Candles, anew Invention — 54 Canopus with Oliris-head — 33 — Of Mercury — 34 Caftor, Pollux, and Diana, an Amu- let Ring - - 22 Calls in Metal, of Gov. Pitt's Diamond 70 Cat, or yElurus the great Egyptian God 74, 75. Charms — 45 Chaucer's Head on an Egyptian Peble 7 1 — ■ — Father of the Englilh Poets 71,72 Chefs-Board — - 44 China Pheafant's Egg, from Buenos Ayres - — 16 Chinefe the firft who made Silk, from the Web of the Silk-Worm 30 Church Owl's Egg — ig Cicero's Daughter, BurialAccount of 54 Claffing of Shell-Fifh, into Univalves, Bivalves, and Multivahes 69 Cochineal, a fmall Fly that feeds and breeds on the Leaf of the Indian Fig, ufed in dying Scarlet Cock's Egg — Colours on Shells, — Birds — On Bottles and on Coals Concliifion of the Work — Copper, Natural Hiflory of Copper Hoife-fhoe — Coral Hand — Coral, Natural Hiftory of Cornelian Ring Corytos, or Bow-Cafe Cotton-tree, the Mahot or Crocodile's Egg, its form Eliptic 17, an- other Remarkable fhaped Egg, or Monftrofity _ _ jfo'^. Crotales, a kind of Cymbal gg Chryftal Ticket — . - 63 — Balls often found in Sepulchres 46 Daimond, Gov. Pitt's 69. Brilliant 70. Role, Table, Natural Hiftory of, ibid. Duke of Burgundy's, Emprefs of Ruf- fia's 71. GreatMpgul's 70. doGrow 71 67 16 81 52 82 26 24 50 Ibid. 20 14 Dice, Difpofition of their Numbers 42 Dog, a learned Monkey, Horfe and 4 Drawings, the Author's Son's (ix) Druid Stones, or Amulets 45 Druids, Priefts and Philofophers of the Ancient Britons and Gauls ibid. . . E. Echini Marini, without its Spines 67 Natural Hiftory of this beau- tiful Shell - - 68 Eggs, variety of beautiful 15, 18. away to preferve, & Curious Piflure of, ibid. On bad 17. Within another ig. A monftrous double Jay's 16. Ditto, Hen's 17. The Sea-cake, or Sea 68 Egypt famous for Arts and Learning 77 Egyptian Antiquities, &c. 73. Ofiris 76. Ifis ibid. Orus 76. Ibis 78. Mendes, or Pan 79. Siftrum 73. Canopus 33. Ring, the Seal a Sphinx 34. Embalming of all mannner of birds and animals, born among the Egy p- tians, efteemed as Sacred — jg Endive Shell, or Puipurcc — 67 Emblematical Ring of Symmetry 2 2 Englilh Oyfters, the beft in the World 6 Enhgns, Roman, of the Eagle, Wolf, Minotaur, or Horfe 1 1. & the Boar 13 Excellence of the Creator's Works, nothing can be added or diminiflied 3 Everv body, it is impoflible to pleafe (iv) F- Feathers, Ladies Heads with — 12 Fern, little Scythian Lamb, nothing but a Plant like Fibuloe, Roman Buckles — 27 FiHi, natural obfervations on 68 Fiflr fwimming in boiling hotWater lb. Fillring, the feafon for Pearl 6 Flagello 22 Fly birds 80 Flowers, how to embalm — . 16 Funeral Rites of the Grecians, and Romans c2 Gafcoin's Powder, the famous Cor- dial Medicine or 49 Glafs Tumbler, an incruftated 5 1 Gold Finch's Egg — ^ — 1 6 Games or Plays of the Ancients 42, 43 Gamefter, ftricking likenefs of a Mo- dern 44 Glafs made Pliable and Flexible, in the Reign of Tiberius . — 61 Glazing, or varnifhing of the Roman Earthen Ware 64 Gold Patera, dedicated to Bacchus 65 Gold, defpifed and laughed at by Philofophers — 25 Gold Powder for the Roman Ladies their Hair — , 12 Grap- [ XV ] Graptolithi, or figured Stones 56. A beautiful Landfcape on one ibid. A- poUo &the nineMufes 57. AnEclipfe on the Sun z'^zrf. Chaucer's Head 71 Grecian Rings — 21,22 H. Habitation of Animals in diflerent fubftances — 3 Hair-ball, found in an Ox's Stomach 18 HamiJton, K.B. Sir W. — (ii) Hanging Nefl — — 1 Harp^ocrates, God of filence — 77 Head of a Spear, from Scotland 13 Hen's Egg, witli two Yollis 1 7 Hedge Sparrow's Egg — ig He!lmont's Experiment, to prove the jgrowth of Vegetables by Water 37 Heirmes Trifmegiftus, or Mercury inventor of Hieroglyphics 36 Hieroglyphics, Egyptian 33, 36. Gre- cian, Roman, 34,35. American 37 -.- AH the Symbols, Fables, and Emblems, are inventions from the ibid. Hipp opotamus, an Amphibious Ani- m al. Enemy to tlie Crocodile 1 7 im'ented Phlebotomy - 43 Hornn.the Ancients ufed todrinkoutof 65 Horns: growing on aWoman'sHead, and a Plfture of one with two Horns on each fide 58. Humair Species, traced into fire 39, 40 Humming birds 80. their Eggs, about the bignefs of a Pea 81, 82. Peculiar to America 82. I- Jack Daiv's Egg ig. Jay's Egg 16 ibis preferved in an Egyptian Urn 78 inventor of the Clyfter ibid. Ibis, Doflor 83. Idols, Egyptian 76 Imitation of Nature commended (iv) Incubation, a Hen remarkable fond of hatching — — 15 Incruftations 10. of a ScuIl&Sword, Inftintt, on — — 3 Invention of Machines, to confult . with Nature — — (viiij Iron Horfe-flioe chang'd into copper 25 Nail converted into Gold ibid. Ifis or lo, the great God of the Egyp- tians - - 76, 77 Every tiling, the Mother of Nat'jrc, likewifc the Moon ibid. Ithyphallus, or Charms — 45 Ivory, Democritus could foften 60 Some of the Ancients Bone, Stone, Flint, Glafs &c. — ibid. K- Key, Ring — — 20 King's Bird of Amboyna, or King of the birds of Paradife - 8i Knife, with a Gold Point, pretended to be made fo by Tranfmutation 24 Lacrymatories, or Tear- vials — 51 Some pointed at bottom ibid. La Foffe the Painter — (ii) Lamps, Pei-petual & Sepulchral 5354 Languages of beafts, its great Variety 3 Lappis de Goa, or Goa Stone — 18 Lark's Egg, Linnet's ditto — 16 Little Parts, or the Minutia of Nature — • Providence wonderful in them (viiij Lotus, botannical Relation of the 62,75 The Symbol of Serapis 62 M- Maccaw's Egg iS. Mahot Tree 1 Mendes, or Pan — jg Migration of birds &c. — 41, 87 Monkey, Military Exercife done by a 4 Mummy's of birds — 75 Mufcle, fix Pearls found in a Bohe- mian River Horfe - 5 Mufhroom Stone — 38 Mutton bones, or dice - 42 Various Games with bones 42, 43 N- Nature, The Nobleft of all Studies 3 Nail, one half converted into Gold 25 Nautilus, Shell & Fifli 66. T^vo diftina Genera ibid. Men firft took the hint of Sailing & ro\\ ing from them ibid. Needle, aHumanStone, in theCenter of which was found a Stocking 47 Nidi A\ ium, nefts of Birds 1, 39, 40, 80 — ■ — Infeflorum, neft of InfeiSs 1,29 Nile, the greatefl increafe of the 33, 75 Oak Leaves, turned into copper 26 Objefls imitated, without adding or diminifhing — — (iv) O£lagon Ring 22. Oculus Mundi 5 Oil, Pearl divers make ufe of 6 Oil of Afpic, to preferve birds with 8 1 Oifean Mouche, 'or Fly birds 80 Onyx 57. Oyfters, Englifh 6 Ores, or Metals, Natural Hiftory of Gold, 25. Copper, 26. Iron 51 Tutenag, a Compofition, ■ — 21 Orus, orHarpocrates, the Apollo of the Egyptians and God of Silence, alfo the created World 76, 77. Ofirus, the Sun and Nile, likewife cal- led Apis and Serapis — 76 Ova, Eggs, form of 15, Owl's Egg 18 Ovum Centeninum — 17 P; Paintings of the Staircafe andCielings of the Britifh Mufeum (i) Pan, figniOes all, or Nature — ^ 78 Papyrus bark, 28. — Parts, there is in all fpecies a fvmetrical refemblance of 50 Parchment, Invention of — 28 Parrot's Egg, iS. Patera, Roman, a large Gold one dedicated to Bacchus 64 Pearls [ ] Pearls, purple and rore-coloured, &c, refembling a bunch of Grapes 5, 9 Pearl Oyfters - — t> Pearl Shell, or Horfe Mufcle 5 Pearls, Formation of 7, S, 9. Dyvers, and Fifheries of 6, 7. Pearls, when large valuable. How to know good, 7, 8. Valuation of 9 Penknife with a Gold point 24 Perukes and Tetes, Antiquity of u, 12 Petrifaflions — io> 51 Pheafant's Egg, iC. Pinna Marina, & a pair of Gloves made of the beard 31 Pink pearl, 5. Pitt's brilliant Diamond, a true account of his purchafmg it 69,74. Plant Animal, 38. Poifon'd Arrows &c. ufed by the Indians 14,19 Pregnant Egg 1 g. printing how ufeful(ix) Preferve, Flefh, Fifh, Liquors and Ve- getables, how to — ■ (51, 16 Purple pearl — — 5 Purpuras and its fine purple Juice C7 O. Oueen, progreffion of the chicken, in a Hen's egg, painted by the Author, in the pofleliion of our inoft Gra- cious ■ — ■ 15 Quivers, or Arrows cafe — 1 4. R. Reafon and Inftintl 3. Relifls, old 46 Ribbon, Spiders Silk wove into a 29 Rings, Iron 20. Rufh Ring 21 Ring Key 20. Thumb piece, their ufe 22 ■ The wearing of Rings 20, 21 Robin red breafl's Egg — 16 Roman Antiquities 10, 11, 13, 20, 27, 35' 42, 5I' 53. 60, 64. Burying Grounds, 52. Arrowheads, 13, 14. Corytos, or Bow Cafe 1 4. Enfigns, II. Patera, 64. Quivers, 14 Roufeau, the Painter, — (ii) Royal Staircafe Shell — 67 S. Sa lad. Earthen Veffel — 37 Sailor Shells, or Paper Nautilus 66 Sand, various thing preferved with 16 ScaraboEus, or Beetle an Egyptian Amu- let, Symbol of the Sun andEternity 36 Screw Shell, 67. Seed, that the whole form of the Plant be aflually in the 38, 39, 40. Scythian Lamb 37 Serapis, Ofiris, an Apis, are names of the fame God 62 Seals, Cerographi 21. Senfes, the five 3 Serpent (lone, 49. Shells, the claffing of 6g. their Formation ibid. Silk, invention of woven — 29 Siftrum, ornamented with ^lurus, Perfea and Lotus — 73, 74 Skylark's Egg — — 16 Sloane, Bart. Sir Hans — (ii) Soup Neft 39, 40 Sparrow Hawk's Egg — ig Spar Neft, an incruftated — 40 Spar, natural hiftory of. Spar Mine lately difcovered in Ireland 41 Spear, a curious 13 Sphinx, Obfcure riddle of 34 A remarkable account of the 34 Spider neft, with the Valve & Silk 30 Stilletto, a fmall fliort dagger 23 Stilus, 07. Stili, Bone 2g. Stinging of Infefts, how cured — 2 Stones do grow, 70. Storks, common in Holland, 78. Swallow's egg 19 Swallows, the Migration of 41. Neft 40 T. Tali and Teffera, or Dice 42 Talk, natural Hiftory of 56 Taylor Birds's neft, I. Tear bottles 51 Telfera Militaris, &c. Dice and Tickets, 42, 60. For the diftribution of corn, money, &c. Hofpitalis, Theatres, 60 Teftudinis ovum Ter, or Tortoife I'^gg, jy. Thrufhes Egg 19. Tetotum 42 Tickets, Greek and Roman — 60 Tora-Tit's Egg — 18 Tower of Babel — — 32 Tragedy of Polynices 63 Tulliola, Cicero's beloved daughter 54 Tumbler, an incruftated Glafs 5 1 Turbines or fcrew fhells, nautilus, one of the 67. Turtle, lays near 300 eggs 17. Tutenag, is a compofition, a dangerous Metal — 21 Waters, different Virtue of fomc — lo Wax Tables for to write on 27 U. Urchin, Echini Marini or Sea — 67 Urn of Ibis 78. Amulets found in an ,j6. Egyptian 33. Roman 45 V. Van Helmont, a curious Experiment of 37' Vegetables, on 38. Vegetation, caufe of 37. Small falad produced in 48 hours 38. From flower roots on chimneys, 37. Promoted by the feeds being infufed in feveral Men- ftruums — — ■ 38 W. Wafp's 44. Walp-neft, Hexagonal form and fubftance 2. Its fting veiy pernicious 4. And its cure — 2 Water Wagtail's Egg — 18 Weepers, Trade of — ■ 51 Wendel Trap Shell fiy. Four of which fold for 76I. 13s. - 67 Writing, ancient manner of oy^ og Y. Yew-trees, Englifh Bows of — common in moft Church- Yards — 14 Z. Zoology, Humming-birds, called Guai- numbi, in - - 80 THE BRITISH MUSEUM. TAB. I. Taylor- Bird's Nejl. Fig. T U^E TAYLOR-BIRD's NEST, brought from a River in the Bay of Bengal, (the animal a fpecie of fmall Hmmung-BirU, neither of which are any where properly defcribed) is contrived in a Mahot'leaf, (a.) * near the edges of which are little holes, made, I fuppofe, with his beak, being its needle, through which they draw fome (lender wool, and fo like a Woman's ft ay, "lace, or few + the leaf together; frorn whence they have the name of Taylor-Birds. (a.) * The Mahot is a large fpecie of white Cotton-tree, from Bengal, a Kingdom of the Mogul's country, in the Indies, from whence this Oi/eau-mouche takes the down to few the leaf together,- as I fuppofe, like a good Architeft, who is a going to build, would prefer fuch a fituation ■where he could have a quarry, or clay and fand to make bricks of; cliffts, or lofty rocks and catarafts to make lime of for mortar; and where a fore ft was near to fcrve for timber, furroundcd with pafture and arable land, refrelhcd with fcrpentine canals, terrace walks, fome leagues diftant from the fea, for filh, a few miles from various towns, villages, and other gentlemen's enchanting feats, for company fake : When I view in Nature fuch a piflorefque fituation, or delineate in my mind fuch an eligible fpot on a delightful eminence, it puts me in mind of the fituation and ingenious con- trivance of the Taylor-Bird's Nejl, here defcribed. And if we add to this, their beautiful Birds, Animals, all manner of odoriferous Spices, piclorcfque Trees, deli- cious Fruits, Herbs, and all forts of Drugs, by which ihc air is impregnated, and the Inhabitants breath in. — Ifour enlightened Europe was fituated in fuch a Climate, what fublime Vcrfcs, Pi8.urcs, and Statues, our Artifls, &c. would make ! in comparifon to the various pro- du6lions of Art, which have been made in fome of our barren and frozen Climes. t Sew the leaf together. — Some will have that it picks up a dead leaf, (nay others fay two) and fews it to the fide of a living one ; but I never could meet with fuch. They have two Nefts of this Bird, pre- ferved in The Britism Museum, from whence I made my Drawing and Explanation ; but there is only one leaf in each. Their Eggs arc white, and the colour of the little Bird light yellow. Bcfidcs this, they have in The British Museum, fome other various-formed hanging Nefls, made of a fort of grafs without, and woven fomewhat like a net, fuch as the Guira Tangeima, the IBcrui Minor, and the Jiipitjuha. Tiiey have alfo fome hanging Nells of Siberia, which, for their neat mechanifm, wcUdefcrvc to be admired; befides, their wonderful difpofition to pre- farve their eggs, (3c. They are called hanging Kelts from their being faitencd to a fmall twig of a Tree. B The 2 r/^g BRITISH MUSEUM. The Neft is open at top, not unlikely is made afterwards in the leaf, conftrufted of Spider and down Webs, lined with Stratum, Siiper-Jlratum, or different forts of foft fubftances within, and fmall filaments without, and hangs only by a flender twig to preferve its eggs, or young from being deftroyed by the Apes, Squirrels, Rats, Snakes, &c. Vefpetum. A Wafps Neft. Fig. 2. — The Seaion of a Waffs Neft, given by John Fothergill, M. D. found in America, Penfilvania, Spanilh Weft-Indies, &c. The hole (b.) at top, as the infefl: difpofes its neft, fhould be at bottom, I believe, but on account of the light and fhade, the cells and various ftories could not fo well be feen, and therefore I was obliged to turn it upfide down. It has changed its colour and form a little, by being expofed a long while to the injuries of the air. The fubftance is very much like ftrong and white Carton-paper, the particles cohering altogether like paper ; from whence, by fome, not injuftly called Bee- Paper, faftcned to a Vine branch (c. c.) conftru£fed with furprifing art ; flrape, like the breaft of a Woman, the interior part being divided into five ftories, each apartment or nurfery has an aperture or door leading to the different cells, which are Hexagon, (d.d.) * or fix Angles. It is faid that among thefe Wafps (d.d.) * Hexagon. — Now the realbn why Wafps The Wafp is a brifk rtinging Infe£l; " and thofe chufe the Hexagon form, is bccaufe their eggs are oval, " perfons who are flung by a Wafp or Spider, may and lie more compaa than in a fquarc or angle. " cure themfelves prefenlly, by the repeated applica- ■' tion of freftt fagc-leaves to the afRifted parts, an Wafps do not make any provifion for winter, neither ■■ herb much abounding with alcaly." do they think for the next day, (luggard like. In the vid. Germaji £ji'/iemer;(^fs, An. 8, g, lo. winter they are generally benumbed, or deftroyed by the froll, and luckily not more than two or three furvive When I look with attention on the Tdyhr-iird and out of nine thoufand, nay fometimcs more ; but one Waff's Nefis, coiifidering who made them, I think man- female Wafp is fufficicnt to produce a whole fwarm the kind need not hoaft of their architeaure in building next year. of houfes and fine palaces, when we behold the inge- nuity The BRITISH MUSEUM. 3 there is a fpecie called the Mule-Wafp, and this is the infea, either fingly, or with alfiftance, which labours the moft induftrious in forming this Carton- Nell fo admirably ; working from the top downwards. They make no honey, but only lay their eggs and bring up their young in the faid cells. ril life you for my laughter When you are Wafpifit, Shahfpcarcs JuUm Ccefar. Wafps are infeas pretty well known by remembrance, or hear-fay of thcfe who have been flung by them; I often have thought how much they relemble that kind of idle fpecie among mankind, where a little work goes a great way, nuity of the firft, and the various Stories, Concamera- tions, &c. of the laft. And here, I muft crave the Reader's leave to lay fomething on InftinB:, like a Moralift. JnJllnU and Reajon, how Jiiall tue divide ? Prior. Animals arc endued with InflinB, or the Will of Brutes ; by virtue whereof they are able to provide for themfelves, know what is good for them, fo as to pre- fcrve and propagate their Species. Of Animals Habitations : — Some make their neftsin houfes, others in trees, leaves, flirubs, &c. Some in the earth, in (tones, on rocks and crags, in flclli, in water, or on the water. Their architeftonic fkiU in the choice of different materials, viz'. Sticks, ftraws, mofs, dirt, clay, gums, fpumous matter, &c. of which they build them, fhew how curious and ingenioufly they are contrived for felf- prefervation, by lining them with Spider*s-web, wool, feathers, hair, &c. Some are of feveral ftories high, with various apartments, fome clofe, others open, thatched over, Sec. &c. Some with their little trea- furies and holes well llored with provifions, at certain times, feafons, and place. Add to this their fagacity to depofit their eggs, and young, their peculiar number of young, or ballance of Animals, their diligence and concern in nurfing and, feeding them equally, and with proper food ; their paf- fion in defending them, ftarving and reducing themfelves almoll to fkcletons, if they have any fufpicion of loofmg their eggs or young. Thus has the indulgent Creator finiflied the whole Animal World, " and made every thing beautiful in " his time : — nothing can be put to it, nor any thing '■ taken from it." £cclef. iii. ii- — 14. I am not going to preach, ail what is meant is, that men fhould not find fault with the wifdom of the Creation, for nothing is defeaive, nor nothing is loft; Nature is inchanting and the noblcfl: of all fludies, and how many things are there which furpafs our under- flanding ! Moft of the learned that I have confulted with, call them Irrational Animals vihh virions inftiuQs, equiva- lent to their wants. Becaufe, fay they, every fpecie doth naturally purfae, at all times, the fame methods and ways ; whereas, reafon, even without inftru8ion, would often vary, and do that by many methods, which inllin£l doth by one alone. This feems at firft to found well, but will be contra- difled by what follows; every pcrfon muft ailow the Animals to have five fenfes, and how near do fomc of them approach to the Human Body, by their in- ternal, as well as external parts ? nay, who will not own their furpafling us, not only in bulk, ftrenglh, and fwiftnefs, but likewife in the fenfes, as in feeing, in hearing, in fmelling others again in tafting and feel- ing, from whence that known verfe, Nos Aper auditii, Lynxvifa, Simiagujhi, Cards odoratu, nos vincit Aranea tacbi. Animals have the gift of calling, and giving warn- ing to each other, and if fome animals are filent, the wifdom of Providence is wonderful in their ways of un- derftanding each other, even in filence, by other fenfible motions, looks, &c. The languages of the beafts are unknown unto us, though pretended to by fome, and if the expreflion may be allowed, they may as much wonder how we underftand each other by fpeaking, as we admire how it is polTible they ftiould underftand one another by filence. I have often ob- fervcd wild animals, when kept in places for breeding, being very ill pleafed and angry when they make their nefts, if you ftand near and look at them, they will make and unmake their neft over, and over again. Now 4 B R I T I S H M U S E U M. for both fpecies will plunder and filch from the induftrious their cafh and honey, thouah in hazard of their lives; thefe fiuggifh Wafps arc perpetually at war with the induftrious Bees, near whom they fettle in Colonies, Vineyards, &c. Thofc little Wafp-nefts, of the tropical climates in the Weft-Indies, are every where feen in multitudes, hanging by the branches of trees like fruit ; their fting more fatal than the European Wafp, and if what is faid be true, that if a perfon is ftung in the vifage, it fo disfigures him the moment after, he is hardly known by his intimate friends, fo pernicious is their fting, though they are more delicate than the European Wafps. Now if you dcftroy their building, or take away tlie rubilance from them of which they make ilicir iieft, tliey will make it again of tome other matter, and will do fo divcrfe times if you continue it : Fray does not this plainly fhew, that they do not at all times purfuc the fame method ? The Female Birds in breed- ing cages, or aviaries, for want of filk or cotton, &c. will pick the plumes from the bread of the males, to which he very fubmiffively confents, knowing as well as we, that a fine good feather-bed is the chief arti- cle of furniture ; in iliort, nothing is diought good enough for the nourifhing of their young. They remember and will not omit to be grateful, as having a due fenfe of benefits received, thofe whicli approach die human body in refemblance, and others which accompany me;n for dieir ule, have been taught by mankind, to do furprifing things. I have fccn a Monkey dreft like a foldier, and with a iruftct, Sec. go through a regular courfe of Military Exercife with univerfal applaufe ; likewife a Horfe, and a Dog, which could read, write, and cypher; this could not be performed by them without tutorage and learning : ergo, thy muft have ideas, and compare terms or things, by imagination, cogitation, and judg- ment ; fo that it is manifeflly, not Inftinft only, but lil.ev.ir.j a little degree of reafon, by which they aEt when tutored. And as a great man very well obfervcs, " That there is nothing done by men worthy of Com- mendation, but God has imprinted fomc imitation of " it even in brutes." Vid. Grotiui. De Jure Belli ^ Pacii, Lib. ii. Cap. 19. Thofe kind of animals, and infcfls, which do not approach to the human refemblance, have perhaps no reafon, but only inllinft which guides them, The human body from its make, fitnefs, fpeech, &:c. is certainly better calculated for reafon and inftruflion, and chiefly from the fimilitude he bears to God, and from his excellence in arts, and wifdom, he becomes thereby a deity in refpefl of animals, who, though we arc furjirifcd, and pleafed with admiration at thofe excellent ends they purfue. and arts they exert in ihcir habitations, materials, felf-prefcrvation, and nurling of their young, and form of their governments, in comparifon to man, they only feem to aft by indinfl, or the call of Nature, neither was more required of them ; yet how wonderful is it to behold, the various laws that Nature has imprinted on the minds of diffe- rent fpecies; each following the impulfe of nature ac- cording to their various deflined fitnefs, which man with all his fupenor rauonality cannot fum up, owing to that infinitely fupreme Being, who has adorned us, with a fuperiority of reafon to guide all our deeds, and have dominion over every living thing upon the earth. TAB. II. m BRITISH MUSEUM. 5 TAB. II. Oculus Mimdi. Fig. 1. ' I ■'HIS little fuqDrifing Stone is not yet produced in any country A but China, its colour is of a pale whitifh grey, almoft entirely opake, and does not take a good polifh : When put into \\'ater for a few minutes time, it grows confiderably tranfparent, with an edge all round, and of a fine bright pale yellow, amber like ; with a whitifh fpeck in the center ; it retains this beauty only whillf in the water, when taken out and dry, it refumes its natural colour. This country affords ftones that in fome degree, refemble it in its qualities. Fig. 1. The natural colour. — 2. As it appears in water. — 3. An OncJJfa/ jPear/, refembling a bunch of grapes, fet in vine-leaves, (a.b.) Lord Donegall honoured me with a fight of his curious Pearl, modeled by nature in the fhape of a bunch of grapes ; embelliflied with the line of Beauty, poliflied to a great degree of fplendour, and in excellent prefervation, — in fhort, it is a perfefl; beauty. — 4. A purple Pearl, from the Wefl-Indies, of the purple furbelowed oyfter. — 5. A moft beautiful roje-coloured Pearl, of an oyal form, found in the pink-mouth Alalus, or in the Conch-Jhcll : — All thefe are yery rare and valuable fpecimens. — 6. A Bohemian River Horfe-miifcle, with fix Pearls, (c.) flicking to the fhell. — 5.1 fufpefted this, and the preceding Pearl, to be an impofition and ftained by art ; but I am glad to find it is effefled by nature, and that the Duchefs Dowager of Portland, Kingflon, the Honourable Mrs. Cavendifh, &c. have fome fcarce and incomparable pink Pearls, in their pofTefTion. Befides thefe, there are fome yellow, others of a lead colour, fome again very dark, a few intirely C black, a The BRITISH MUSEUM. black, &c. They are the riches of the fea, and their value confifts in thefe five qualities;' t'J.r. If they be oriental and white, great, round, fmooth, and ponderous. " It is certain that fome do grow in England, for Julius Cccfar does not diflfi- " mulate, that the Cuirafs, or Breaft-plate, which he dedicated to Venus Genitrix within her temple, was made of Briti/li Pearls." Vid. Plin. Nat. Hijl. B. 9. C. 35. The faid Author does not allow them of any great value, but the Englifli ov4lcrs he counts the beft of all others, and I could eafily prove that the Riches acquired by thefe, greatly fui pafs thofe of the Pearls. Femi Shell. " Errors like flrazvs upon the Jurjace jlovj, " He ziJio lOovM fearch for pearls miift dive below:' Pearls in Natural Hiftory. are a hard, white, filver-like, ftilning body, ufually orbicular, {oxmtA m Bivalves, another Shell-fifh, refembling an oyfter, and claffed in the number of gems, or precious ftones. They are caught by the Divers, in the fcas of the Eaft-Indies, in thofe of America, and fome parts of Europe, as the common oyfter, mufcle, &c. but the oriental pearls are fuperior to all, as I ha\'e faid ; the number found in each fliell is various. Thefe Divers, it is faid, continue fometimes tinder water above a quarter , of an hour. Pliny, in Book II. Chap. 103, fays, the Divers, under water, do fprinkle oil abroad ^v ith their mouths, becaufe " it dulceth'and allayeth the unpleafant nature thereof, and carrieth a light u ,,,;th it —moreover that all feas are made calm and ftiU with oil." Who can 'help fmiling at the thought of Dr. Franklyn, mentioned in the Philofophical Tranfaaions, for ftilling waves by means of oil being poured into the fea when we read this and the above account from Pliny ? And there are other new difcoveries of modern Doaors, I could mention, as excellent as this, and with what inveteracy their paper-wars have been carried on, to prove their claims of things long known before. From this we may fee how fome people with little merit do a great deal. The feafon of Pearl Fiftiing is in March and April, the fecond in Auguft and September; the more rain, the more fruitful and plentiful are the fiflieries. The 77i« B R I T I S H MUSEUM. 7 The fifli wherein the Pearls are found, is three or four times the magnitude of the common oyfter, and is called by Naturalifts, Pinna Marina. The Pearls are of different degrees of perfeflion, the moft perfeft ftill drop firft, the reft remaining at the bottom of the fhell : Sometimes it happens, that one or two adhere to the fides of tire matrix; thefe are fed by the oyfter againft its will, and become, according to the length of time. Pearls of different magnitudes, and imprefs a mark both on the fifli and flielL " Pearl Shells refemble, in fome meafure, a hen that has many eggs in her " belly, from whence the moft perfect drop firft, and the reft remain behind " till fuch time as they are mature. In like manner, when tliefe fhells open, " the moft perfeft Pearls always flart firft, and the others remain in the fiiell, " till they come to a fufficient maturity. It is to be feared, many Pearls, upon " dropping from the fhell, which they will do when they are ripe, ha\ e been " devoured by fifh." Vtd. Perier'j- Voyages, Chap. 21. The Pearl Fiflreries Irave always been counted unhealthy on thofe coafts where they are carried on, owing to the air and water from the banks and rocks in the Perfian Gulph, &c. nay the very peafants have fuch an ill opinion of the oyfters in which they are found, that they ne\'cr eat any. But I rather imagine it to be a diftemper, by ^vIlich the fifh is afflifted, as the gravel or ftone in the human body, or like a concretion of the gout, &c. but more refembling tire cornious excrefcences that grow on the fleftr, commonly called warts ; for there are fome Pearls which are foimd in the real body of the oyfter, but this happens \'er)' feldom. The Pearl oyfters grow faft to tlie rocks, and in each oyfter is commonly found one Pearl much larger, and which ripens much fafter than the reft, the true ftiape is a perfefl; circle, and are beautifully poliflred by nature, to a degree of excellence inimitable by art ; whereas the Diamonds receive their luftre from tlie induftry of man. Their perfeftion coufifts chiefly in the luftre and clearnefs of the colour, which they call the water. Pearls that are of unufual figures, i. e. neither round, nor in the pear or olive form, are called Baroguas,_ or Scotch-pearls, thofe of uncommon fizes are called Parangons ; as that of Cleopatra, valued by Pliny at Centics HS. or £".80,000 Sterling. That mentioned by Tavernier, in the hands of the Emperor of Perfia, in 1633, bought of an Arab for 32,000 tomans, which at 3/. gs. the toman, amounts to £".110,400 Sterling. That brought in 1574. to Philip II. of the fize of a pigeon's egg, valued at 14,400 ducats; and that of the Emperor Rodolph, 8 The BRITISH MUSEUM. Rodolph, mentioned by Boetius, called la Percgrina, or, the incomparable, of the fize of a Mufcade Pear, and weighing thirty carats. The largeft Pearls are found in the deepeft water, and the lefTer fort near the fhore. In Europe, Pearls are fold by the carat-weight, the carat containing fourgrains, in Afia : the weights ufed for Pearls are various, in different flates. Thofe called wens of Pearls, which are in facl nothing but roundifli excrefcences, and in form of half Pearls. The Lapidaries faw off thefe protu- berances, to join thein together, to make them pafs for real Pearls ; but a good judge may eafily find out the impofition.* Moft of the Cojinoifeurs that I have confulted with agree, that they are all liable to change with wearing; in eighty or a hundred years they ufually become of little value ; efpecially the white ones, which will change yellow, and fpoil in forty or fifty years time. Owing perhaps to the heat of the climate, fmoke, the evaporation of the perfon who wears them : but thofe of a yellowifh caft never alter. Vicl. Encydop. Nenjch. 1765. Now what relates to the diftemper of the fifli or the formation of Pearls, Mr. Reaumur, in the Memoirs of the French Academy, anno. 1717. obferves that they are apparently the effecl of a difeafe of the fifh, like other ftones in animals, in fhort, they are all formed of a juice extravafated out of fome broken veffels, and detained, and fixed among the membranes. And will like- wife that the fhells of fea fifties, as well as thofe of fnails, &c. are wholly formed of a glutmous ftony matter, ouzing out of the body of the animal. Vid. for the formation of fliells.TAB. XXVII. Perhaps if the juice deftined for the growth of the flrell fliould chance to overflow, and burft forth in any cavi- ty or pore of the body of the fhell, it forms the Pearls of the fame colour with the part of the flrell to which it correfponds ; therefore the difference of co- lours in Pearls doubtlefs arifes from the diff'erent parts of the oyfter wherein they are formed. When the feed happens to be thrown into the mefentery or liver, or the parts correfponding thereto, it is no wonder if the impurities of the blood, change the natural white. Thus we find that the Pearl and the fliell are always exaftly of the fame colour, for in the large fea-mufcles, they frequently find Pearls of * How io know good Pearls. — To difcover the hidden Defefts and Faults of a Pearl, and to know whether file is fpeckled, or broken, or has any other imper- feftion , the bed way is, to make trial of it by the Re- verberation of the Sun-beams ; for by this means your eye will penetrate into the very Center of the Pearl, and difcover the leaa dcfea it has ; you will then fee whether it be pure, or have any fpots or not, and con- fequenUy you may the better guefs at lis value. different The BRITISH MUSEUM. 9 different complexions, fome like the Another of Pearl, and others red ; the red ones were in that part of the mufcle where the red juices of her flefli had tainted the fhell with a red colour ; and thofe of the Mother of Pearl colour. \\ ere found in that part of the fhell which was died with the fame colour of the Pearl : this fliows without doubt that they are both fonned of the different colouredjuices, proceeding from the flefh of the fifh. Now what concerns the inimitable beauty.and changeable colours of the Mother of Pearl, that they proceed from the fmall furro^^•s or wrinkles of their plates, that are laid irregularly one over another, which is plainly fecn by the help of microfcopes. We will not difpute they are affiftant only in producing thefe tints, but there is a principal, and other fubfervients, which are fuperior to the irregularity of the furrows of this mother of pearl ; thefe fhould be firft well underftood, and then a perfon might with eafe judge of the fixed, changeable, polifhed, tranfparent colours, &c. for according to mv doftrine, there are no fuch colours as real white and black, it goes very much againft me to go on : Certain I am that more might be laid in one page, than what is found in moft of the volumes of Ihofe authors that ha\'e cultivated this fubjeft; the above principal and fubfervients, is the chief key that opens the door which leads into that apartment of the academy called Colouring. I don't doubt but fomc of the Painters mouths water, and with prick'd-up ears in expectation, would wifli to have a little entertainment this way : I muil own many flrould be welcome, but as this is a public affair, they muft be difappointed for once, and this fine difh of colouring, for which the Antients were fo re- markable ; the prefcription of which is loft, and ne\'er to be retrieved, but by looking at and ftud) ing of Nature, and their Paintings. — I have faid already more than I intended, and they muft be fatisfied with this. I have further to remark that, — " A woman put Pearls into a veffel of middling " ale, to fave them from plunder ; and fometime after, going to take them forth, " found them all run into a mafs." Vid. Weekly Mem. Jor the Ingenious, p. 66. Pearls were of fome ufe in medicine, but fcarce owned by any at prefent, except Quacks ; witncfs the once famous Gafcoin's Powder, likewife certain pre- parations of Pearls for the Ladies, and many more I could mention ; but thev are all apparently nothing but baits to trick the Fair Sex with. ^ h Before I take my leave of Pearls, I will add iheir valuation, Vid. C. Nexmiann's Cktmical Works, page 531. — The weight of round Pearls is expcditioufly judged of, by means of a fmall inflrument compofed of fcveral flips of brafs full of holes of different fizes ; The fmallcft liole receives a Pearl of one or two grains ; and the largeff , one of ten carats ; and thus the weight of any given round Pearl is known from the hole which it fits. Small irregular ones are valued from the number that goes to an ounce : If a hundred make an ounce, thev D are valued at an hundred rixdollars; if the number is lels, the price is greater j and if the number is greater, the price is lefs : Two hundred to an ounce coll but feventy rixdoUars ; three hundred, fifty; nine hundred, ten; two thoufand, three; four thoufand, two and a half: Of the very fmall fort called Seed-pearls, ufcd in medicine, an ounce contains ufually eight or ten thou- fand, and cofts, if the Pearls arc of the oriental kind, two rixdollars, if occidental one rixduUar and twelve groichen. — .\ rixdoilar 4i. &d. a grofchen about id. TAB. III. The BRITISH MUSEUM. TAB. III. Incrujiated Scull and Sword. pig^ ^* A ^ Incruftated* Scull and Sword, they were both found in the ■t\^ Tiber at Rome, on the right fide of the Scull (a.) is the bone or head of the humerus, and (b.) the firft rib adhering to it. Fig. 2.-^The Sword half as big, the blade of which was iron, rufted into a hard kind of ochre, (c.) the fcabbard was wood, but I could not percieve any covering either in or out-fide ; fome part of the fword was folid and no ways injured. * Incrullations, vulgarly called Pctrifaftions, are coverings like a glove on ones hand, or additional ftony coats adhering to the internal matter. The Antients were well acquainted with incruftations and petrifac- tions, as may be feen from Lot's wife, and " Like Niobe we marble grow, " And petrify withgricf." D a Y D E N . There is fcarce any water that does not contain falinc and ftony particles, which may be feparated from it by evaporation ; and the generality of petrifying fprings, when examined by this procefs, arc found to be very full of calcarious, or other ftony matter, and frequently of ferruginous and vitriolic kinds. Thofe which contain calcarious matter, when they drop upon fticks, mofles, or other vegetable bodies, aft on them by incruftation ; their calcarious particles being left behind while the water goes off, and forming by this means, fucceffive crufts fome times to a great num- ber, which adhere clofely to one another, and form a ftony coat to the wood, &c. If thefe be broken at difie;rent periods of time from their formation, fome of them wilt be found with the fubftance found within them, others rotten, according to the folidity of the lubtlance within. Perhaps the incruftations of the above Scull and Sword, are owing to the water of certain fprings or wells, (impregnated as above) that run down into the Tiber, which petrify the clay that covers any fubftance; and the force of the water often ftirring and turning the Scull, &c. being the caufe of its hardening all over. But petrifying waters, which contain particles of genuine hard ftone, and pethaps with them fome ferruginous or other metalic ones, do not a£l: in this manner by incruf- tadon, but always leave the fubftance naked and pene- trate into the inner fubftance of the wood, &c. filling every pore with the hard matter theydepofit; which without altering their texture or fize, adds gready to their gravity, and gives them the hardncfs of a ftone. It is faid that in fome places the fandy earth effefts the fame thing on whatever is buried in it, though there be no petrifying fpring near it. The harder or more ftony parts of thefe petrifaftions always give fire with fteel. Lough Ncagh, in Ireland, Lochmond, in Scot- land, and Knarefborough, in Yorkftiire, are the moft noted places for pctrifatlions in our dominion. It is a common opinion, that thefe ftones are ge- nerally ufed for hones in England ; but this is an error, their fubftance is a real ftone, and not found here, but at Drogheda. Vid. TAB. XVI. Fig. 2. for an in- cruftated Sparyhird's Nejl, and for an account of Lei Caves Gcmiieres, &c. which are all matters conneEled with the above. The antient Naturalift mention a river whofe waters turned bodies into marble, by mere conta£t; nay, which being drunk, petrified the vifcera or bowels of the drinker. I remember I The BRITISH MUSEUM. 11 TAB. IV. Enfigns, &c. Fig, 1. ' I I S unknown Subje£l I drew chiefly to fet the Antiquarians to work, for I muft own it is Hke many other pieces whofe ufe is not eafily underftood, unlefs perhaps it is that ornament which we find on the bottom of their Quivers, or part of the Decorations we fee on the Roman Signals, 8cc. The three pillars are hollow within, with a hole in each at bottom, to fallen by. Its fubilance is brafs and the fame fize. 2. Enfign of the Eagle, Caius Marius was the firft, as Pliny relates, who ap- pointed the Eagle as the firfl Military Enfign of the Roman Legions, among four others, viz. The Wolf, the Minotaur, the Horfe, and the Boar. He fays a I remember in my time, not many years ago, of a baftard child being found all over incruftated with ftone. And a friend of mine had once an incruftation of a peruke ; in fhort, whatfoevcr is thrown into thefe waters will be covered with a (tony coat, or in others lurn to ftone, which is an operation of Nature, either on animal or vegitable bodies, and which preferve always the form which they had before. There are fome perfons who will not admit any real petrifaElions; though they may be convinced, and the incredulous may have their mouths ftoped, if they chufe to examine the Ipecimens of real imbibed wood, fhells, the ma- drepores, the bones of fifh, &c. preferved in the British Museum. A great many Naturalifls have been very curious to know how much time Nature takes for petrifaftion ; they believed from thence a pof- fibility of knowing the age or antiquity of our Globe. But herein they may be liable to miftakes, for fome fubflances and waters might be more proper and fit for lapidification, or petrification, than others. It was my intention to have added a Draught of the incruftated peruke ; but after much enquiry, I find it is loft. Many gentlemen in this country feem not to be fond of thefe kind of fubjetls, bccaul'e they are eafy to be had ; we fliould be glad to put them in mind that things far fetched are generally dear bought, and much admired; fecondly what is common in one country, is not fo in another. Perhaps I may give a drawing of this incruftated peruke, in the courfe of this work if it ftiould be found, and for the prefent the reader is de- fired to accept of the following explanation on the Antiquity of Perukes. — But ftop, before we proceed, it is proper to acknowledge our juft efteem to the follow- ing author, who has taken fo much pains to make it pubhc : The perfon I mean is the late M. C. F. Ran- gonis. Gym. BeroUn. ReH. de Capillamentis feu vulgo Pa- ruquen, Liber Jinpilaris, in 12° . Magdeburgi. This way of writing is the more agreeable, becaufe more peculiar, though of a fubjett common to many nations which is of i'er?i((^!;c3. The author at firft fhews, after an ample definition of the word Capillamentuvi, that the hair has been always eftecmed as man's great orna- ment, and a mark ofliberty; hence it is that all Nations have continually had fo great care thereof ; but as there are feveral accidents which may deprive us of it, hu- mane induftry has endeavoured by falfe hair to repair vhathas been loft, and alfo to change the colour there- of, when the natural one did not pleafe. 'Tis no eafy matter to determine what nation lirft invented this addi- tional ornament of the head. But 'tis certain that it was 12 The BRITISH M U S E U' M. few years before Marius, it was carried a but Marius at laft laid them all afide for i^ery well with the CoinSj on which n( not unknown to the Romans, imd that long before them it was in Ufe among the Greeks and Perfians. Atlcaft, Hillory ought to have prcferved the Name of its In- ventor, as it gives Medea the glory of having firft con- trived the dying of hair. This our Author fliews how to do with feverat colours. — Laflly, The different man- ners after which feveral nations have ordered their Hair, do furnifli this author with many pretty Remarks. He fays, that the Priellsin al! nations are always diftinguiflied in this point by fomcihing particular ; and hence he would have it believed, that the Horiis of Mofis were nothing elfe but two little curled Locks of Hairftickijig out at each fide of his Head, after the fame manner as the Armenian Priefls at this day do wear them. From the Journal des Scavamjkl forlh July 21, 1681. We refer thofe who wear perukes, or tliat may have occafion for them one day or other, to the Author him- felf; at ihe fame lime we hope that the above, and the following will not prove unwelcome. Now as all diings in Nature arc linked together in a bewitching manner, our bufinefs is to go on gradually, i. e. ftep by ftep, and here I fliould be very much blamed not to mention Hkewife the Antiquity of Teta, the mofl rcfpeftful authors that have treated on this fubjeEl is that eafy and excellent poet Ovid, in his ArL of Love, c. 1. and juvcnal, Sec. Much has been faid and written, (as Ignohilii obferves) againfl. the Lady's heads, and their ufmg a multiplicity of falfe hair. The prefent modes are trifles to what the ancients did, and the extravagance of the Rovian Ladies, as recorded by CapUolius Verm, is fcarce credible : his words arc, " Dkitur tantam hahuijje curam, capillorum " Jlavonim, ut capiti auri ramenta injpergerent, quo, magii " coma illuminata Jlavefceret." — As this may be perufed by the Ladies, I fhali put the foregoing into Englilh, — " It is reported, fo great attention the Ladies paid to " the colour of their hair, that they fprinkled gold diifl: " on it, to add to its yellow lullre." — Yellow hair among them wasthei^on; and even the Ladies wore wigs, called capillamentum. But let not thefe fnarlers go on railing at the height of the head-drefs now, when formerly it wasufed much higher. Indeed, the Primitive Fathers railed againft that and every other apparent innovation ; but their preachings then, were as little regarded as their writings are now. In an antique, which I have feen of Julia, the daughter o( Titus Vefpafian, and miftrefs of her uncie Domitian, her head is combed up behind ; on die fides are curls ; before, it is combed up, and on it is fixed a coronet, enriched with jewels, which I fuppofe lone, and the refl were left in the camp ; the Eagle. Thefe words of Pliny agree i other animals are found among the was tied behind under the hair combed up : above this are three rows one above another, like turrets, fo that it looks like an ancient fortification : on the top, the hair feems to be fapported with pins, or a bodkin, like the Spanifh Ladies formerly : on this building a profufion of precious (lones appear; pearls alfo in great abundance. This beats any thing we fee now ; and therefore as the Ladies have fogood a copy to follow, and are fo moderate, I think no one has a right to criticifc their particular fancy in thefe ornaments. — It has often been objeEled to the prefent mode, that the modeftyofthe ancients did not admit men to drefs their hair. Tlie inconveniencv of a jealous hufband might prevent it; but even in Nero's time, hair dreffers were as public in Rome, as now here. They were called C(?i//7t)ni; ; the v.'umen who performed this, Ornalriccs. Many curs have bark'd at our Ladies ornamenting their heads with feathers ; certainly this cuflom is an- cient, and formerly it required a knowledge in light and fhade, to arrange them properly ; and to fo great a perfeftion had they attained, that it was difficult, as Varro fays, to diflinguifli between a compofition of feathers, and a fine panting, at a fmall diftance. Niilhis, qui non didicit pingere non potejl judicare, quod fit bene piBwtn, a jfj/iimaiio.-^Thcfe arlifts were called Phimarii, and, no doubt, adorned animated beauty, as well as inanimate ; indeed Juvenal, (who was a fnarler) proves the height of the Ladies heads, in his time. He fays, Totadhuc, compagibus altuni eedijicant caput. That is, " That the " Ladies ttill continued to buiid up their lofty heads by additional llories ;" — but the excefs in the davs of Tertullian, was as much fuperlor to what is praftifed now, as any fafiiion can be. His words are, Adjigitque, ntjcio, quas emrmitaies futihum capilloram nunc in galeriforinam, nunc in cervicem retro Juggefiam. — That is, " Ye affix (I know how) fuch enormous quantities " of falfe hair, fomctimes made into the form of a helmet; fometimes carried backwards, towards your necks, and " turned up." Thus, (I think) no one can accufe the Ladies of being fingular, as they have the Roman Ladies as inftances, how moderate their conftruftions are to the fame, in the umes of Tertullian. — Tho'we haveplayedthe part of an Advocate for the Ladies Tdes and Feathers, yet we can't help pitying this Man's misfortune, married to a certain modern fine Lady. An E P I G R A M. Falfe mmps— falfe teeth— falfe hair—falfc faces Alas ! poor man ! hozu hard thy cafe is : Inflcad of woman, heav'nly umnan's charms, To clafp Cork — Gums — Wool — Varnipi in thy arms ! Military The BRITISH MUSEUM. 13 Military Enfigns. Thefe Legions, or Regiments of Soldiers, confifted of tin companies, troops, or cohorts ; the number of men uncertain, fometimcs more or lefs, as appeareth from Livy. And this Eagle was the Enfign of the Legions or Foot, and the Standard with the four-fquare Flag that of the Ca\'alry. The ufe of thefe Enfigns was this, from a paffage of Vegctius : " That the Antients having found by experience, that the ranks in the heat of battle were often put into diforder; to prevent that niifchief for the future, di\'idcd their Cohorts into Centuries, and gave to each Century its proper Enfign, upon which was written the name of the Cohort, and number of the Centvuy, that by this means the Soldiers might at leaft keep in with their proper Cohorts, how great foeverthe diforder was." — Our Enfign is as big as the original, and the fubftance brafs ; but from its fizc it is looked upon as a votive, being too little for an Enfign, and therefore muft pafs for one in miniature. Notwithftanding I have Lipfius, who judges it to be but fmall. 3. Enfign of the Boar, though I mentioned juft now that the Eagle ^vas the firft Enfign of the whole Legion. Yet I met with a paffage in Jofcphus, con- cerning the march of Vitellius, through the Jcas territories, to Arabia ; where the Governors of the Jews begged he would not cany his Military Enfign of the Boar through their Country ; (I nead not repeat v. hat abhorrence the Jews have to pork) and it fcems from thence that the laid Enfign was ufed for a long while afterwards. The workmanfhip of this Boar, is vciy fine, and the fize half as big, the fubftance brafs, both taken from Sir William Hamilton's Collection. From the comparitive bulk, I take this to be a real Enfign, fome of which were of gold, others of filver, but moft of thefe I have feen are of brafs or iron, fixed to a lance, and were kept in the Temple of Mars, and from thence taken out when they had occafion for them. 4. The Head of a Spear, irom Scotland, found at Bonnoci-Eurii, upon the Field of Battle, between the Scots and Entilifti. in Robert Bruce's reign, and that of Edward II. of England; its fubftance is brafs, fize half as big, and is of the fame form as the Roman ones, the infide is hollow from the bottom to the very' point, and part of the wooden lance broke off ^vithin, which is deal. They ufed fliort and long ones, either for thrufting or throwing, pulling it towards them, or backwards, fideways, keeping, and continually thrufting it in the wound- ed body, for to tear and inlarge the wound of their enem^-. Which I have feen finely reprefented by Raphael Urhino. 5. An Arrow-head * of Brafs, with two beards on each fide, the center had one beard at bottom, and two prot\iberances or broken beards, the pofterior * From the contlruftion of liiefe Arrow-licads. cither with fockets, necks, or tails ; it ttruck mc, and feems as if it bati been the intention of the Ancients that the Arrow-heacis niould remain in the body when the Arrow fhould be taken away ; the (lender reed or woody part eafily difcharging itfelf from the Arrow- E head, whic'ii has a (harp point and fwlftly enters ; hut the under part being quite rcvcrfe from its bigncfs and many points makes it therefore hard to releare. The Arrows, without doubt, are of the earheft antiquitv, and were ufed by almoft every Nation : However, it docs not appear that the Romans had them in the beginning of their 14 B R I T I S H M U S E U M. part had none, with a hole or focket in the center, fame fize. I have feen many Arrows of various kinds of fubftances, and fome that had a dozen or more beards of different magnitudes, all of a triangular form. Some again where the beards were longer on one fide than the other, firft ufed by the Scythians, who were famous for handling the bow and arrow ; nay, when any author takes notice of bows, they mention thofe of the Scythians. Arrows are poifoned + by fome nations, either by being dipt or varniihcd, and very dangerous and difficult to be extrafted. Vid. Ciirtius, I. 9. where he fpeaks of Alexander, when wounded. It is ftill in ufe among the Tartars, &c. 6. Ofbrafs, with two beards or points, and a protuberance in the center, fame the other fide ; the woody part of the arrow mull ha^'e had a focket for the neck or tail to enter into, which is quite different. 7. A large arrow head, the fubftance of flint, and faid to be ufed before the brafs or iron ones, but I think more likely perhaps from thofe countries where they have no iron. This arrow had a tail quite reverfe from F^g. 5. and muft have been faftened into a reed or in a focket of the wood; like Fig. 6. perhaps the antients knew the art of dilfolving or foftening flints. 8. Of brafs, with three beards, and a focket, but the points don't terminate fo low as the next figure. 9. Of brafs with three beards, its form triangular, the points below the focket. their Republic ; though they made ufe of them after- wards, and had Mafters at Rome, to teach the ufe of Bows and Arrows. " Among whom was T. Flavius " Expeditus, X'id. for his Image a fepulchral Bafs- " Rehef, where he is called DoHor Sagittarionm."— Montfoucon. vol. IV. And if we fee on the column of Antony's Archers engaging with others: The fe are not Romans, but were Auxiliaries, which the Emperor had taken into his fervice.- Moll of thofe Nations that had no iron in their country, pointed their Arrows with bone, ftones of hard quality, and ivory. The Perfians had very great Bows and Arrows of Reeds, according to Herodotus. The Indians of Reeds and Canes of their country. The Ethiopians made theirs of Palm-tree, according to Strabo, of four Cubits long. The Lycian Bows of Cornel-tree, and the firing of ihefc oriental Nations of Camels pizzels, according to p|jj,y,_The Sarmatians, Paufanias fays, made their Bows and Arrows of the CorncUtree, and pointed their Arrows with, bone ; likewife their Spears. The Ger- mans, alfo the Huns, according to Tacitus. Now what concerns the Bows and Arrows, they are generally proportionable with each other. The Ame- rican Savages have Bows five and fix feet long. The Bows were likewife made of the Horns from different Animals; [Vid. Ovid, i. i and 2.) and as to their cha- raflcr are pretty uniform, as may be feen in the Monuments Hill remaining ; but the Grecian Bows, according to Atheneus is of this fhape ^ And what refpefts England, we will add to this the rcafon of Yew-trees being planted in Church-yards. Our fore- fadiers, fays an ancient Author, fo famous for their fkill in the Bow, ufed the Yew-tree; and that Yew- trees might never be wanting, they ordered one at Icaft to be planted in every Church-yard in England. The reafon of their prefering this Tree was on account of its wood being very tough. — As to the Quivers or Cafe, in which tliey kept their Arrows; there forms were generally round, and fome of a narrow oblong fquare, as may be feen from the Grecian and Roman Trophies, and antient Monuments. Some are lined within with [kins of animals, &c. others with covers at the top, fomewhat like the Fifers cafes of our Infantry. — They had likewife one for their Bows, called Corytos, or Bow- cafe, found on Medals. Great number of thefe curious Cafes, Bows, and Arrows are to be feen in the British M u s t u m . t Arrows are poifoned.'] " The Indians compofe a poifon of certain odoriferous apples, ants, fcorpions, and other venemous infefts, pounded together ; of all which they make a kind of black pitch with which they rub their Arrows when they go out to fight. Thofe who The B R I T 1 S H MUSEUM, 15 TAB. V. Ova, Eggs. fiir, 1, \ Remarkable blue Egg, from Virginia, form * very beau- ^ tiful. who are wounded with thefc Arrows immediately die from me, in a mean and contemptible manner, that it mad. They throw themfelves on the ground, bite their was intended for our Mofl: Gracious Queen, and this is flefti, and tear it to pieces, without its being pofTible to the reafon I could and would not draw any more. — If cure them. — They have likewife a kind of fmall green this is the way that Painters are to be encouraged, ferpents, which are full of poifon, and much in requefl; Adieu to all Arts, and all fuch profeflions which have a becaufe with their poifon they envenom their Arrows." connexion with, and dependency on it; muft he not dc- Vid. Pcncr's Voyages, p. 195 and 284. teft the Art ? will not opprellion make* a fenfible man mad — The above Piclure was dpne in the befl: part of • Form.] Of which there is great variety among my hfe — who will do a better? I would have done Eggs, owing to the diverfity of the Uterus, or mould miracles in the art (If the exprelTinn may be allowed) which is of an oval form, wherein they are caft or had I been properly encouraged. — My Printer is waiting modeled. The Egg-lhell is conftruftcd in the womb, for this, and therefore fhall proceed with my Notes. — ■ from a thick Sediment, or Plaifler-of-Paris-likc Sub- When firft I began to draw, and infpefted more clofely ftance, great quantity of which paffes from them with thofe various progrefEons of the chick in the Eggs, it their excrements. Some of thele Egg-fliells are thinner ftruck me very much, that the Egg is a true Microcofm, than others; — all the ftale or addled Eggs float on the from the great rcfemblance it has to our Globe, for the water, and the freOi or found ones fink ; as do like- Shell is the Heavens ; the Yolk, with its Treddle, or wife thofe which are termed Hype7iemia, or Wind-eggs, Chalaze, the Earth, with its Poles ; and the White, is which a hen layeth without a cock, and will never prove the air and raoifture that furrounds the World. The a chicken. There are hens that lay two Eggs a day, Aniients therefore in fome Ceremonies of Bacchus, ufed and I have feen Eggs that had no fhells. The Hen- to adore the Egg, as being a figure of the World, ac- Eggs have in all ages been prefered, and thofe that are cording to Plutarch and Macrob. Eggs may be frefh and large, are the bed for old and fick people, preferved fredi for a long while, to make thc-m very being both meat and drink, provided they are not ufeful in the winter months, for fick people, poor failors boiled too much. And therefore Eggs are well called on long voyages, Hofpitals, &c. Viz. The Eggs muft by Arbuihnot on Diet, " perhaps the highell, mofl be frefh or newly laid, and with very little cxpence may nourifhing, and exalted of all animal food, and mofl be dipt in melted mutton fat, or varnifh them over with indigeftible." All the Birds lay a certain number of any fpirit varnifh, in which you mufl mix a little poppy, Eggs, fometimes more or lefs, and then take to their or nut oil ; or if you will boil them a little firft before incubation; but if the Eggs be withdrawn, they will lay you put the lay on, they will keep for a confiderable more, or if you fupply them with others they will fit time. When you ufe them afterwards for food, the to hatch till they are almoft dead : as I have feen of a hot water dilfolves the mutton fat, or both the fpirits and Hen, when I made a piflure in Crayons of the Pro- gums, and will talle as frefh as a new-laid Egg, or as if greflion of the Chicken in a Hen's Egg; which, it is nothing had been done to it. The cafe is obvious, for but lately I have been infcirmed the Bep. of Women has the varni/li or imtion fat becomes folid and ftops the in her pofTefiion, the moft entertaining Picture I ever pores of the Ihell, which hinders the liquors from evapo- have done, though it was cunningly kept as a fecret radng, or the hot air from penetrating. The chief confift i6 77;« B R I T I S H M U S E U M. 2. A Cock's Egg. '' form circular, broke at top, rough, colour redifh w hite. 3. The fame, form broad in the center, colour greenifh white, faid to be laid in Sir H. Sloane's Garden. 4. Skylark's Egg. it was given mc as fuch, I doubt it; colour grcyifir red, with n.umerous miniature pvirple bro\\'n fpots. She builds her Nefl on the ground, or in a hole made by the foot of a horfe, the wheel of a cart, or any other cavity. 5. Humming-Bird's Egg, the fmalleft of all the feathered animals; form roundifh oval, colour very white ; the Hen lays two or three Eggs. 6. Linnet's Egg. colour bluifh ^vhite, tinged at the lai-geft end with purple red, Hen lays fom- or five Eggs ; builds its Neft among the furz-bufhes, &c. has young ones by the end of April, or in the beginning of May. 7. Goldfinch's Egg, colour bluifli white, with light brown red fpots ; Hen lavs fi.x or feven Eggs, builds its Nefl; pretty high upon the branches of fruit-trees when in blolfora, generally in the apple, lometimes in pear, plumb- trees, &c. builds in April. Thefe mild and gentle birds, make exceeding pretty Nefl;s, the outfide of very fine mofs, the infide of curious foft bedding, fuch as down, w'ool, &c. 8. Pheafant's Egg, from Buenos Ayres, one of the moft confiderable Spanifii Ports, in the Province of La Plata, on die Coaft of South America ; its form broad in the center, colour purple brown, very fmooth, and beautifully pohfhed by Nature. g. Robin-Red-Breafl:'s Egg, colour a darkifli brown white, ornamented with yellowifli brown fpots ; Hen lays generally five or iix Eggs, never lefs than four ; builds in an outhoufe or barn, in a bank or hedge, likewife in the woods; has )-oung ones by the end of April, or beginning of May. 10. Canary-Bird's Egg, colour dufliy white, befprinkled all over with purple brown fpots, chiefly at the top ; Hen lays ufually four or five Eggs, they breed cominonly three times a year ; beginning in April, and breed in May and June; fits fourteen days. 11. A monftrous Jay's Egg, or twin Egg, from Kenfington-Gardens ; the Eggs are of an afs colour, fpotted all over with brown yellow, fcarce vifible. confift in giving tlieln a dry place, or to bury them in Urn Jlmicu ; and many loft travellers have been found dry hard fait ; "this fait, or bnnc, will likcwire preferve in the hot Sands of Egypt, and in the Dcfirls of Arabia, nc'fh, fith, liquors, fruit, vegetables, from froft, heat in entirely uncorrupted without either falination or em- the fummer, and from air at all times. And Wine in balming. glafs bottles, buried in faltpetrc, will keep them fredl all the year; a little quantity of faltpetre wiU likewife t Cock'iEgg,oM of which, as isfaid, the Bafililk corn- make the wine fo extremely cold in fummer, that it will monly called Cockatrice proceeds, when hatched under a make ones teeth chatter like a pie or monkey, when Toad or Serpent, confirmed by fomc, doubted by others, held in the mouth. The chief art depends intirely, that but denied in this our prefent age, as being a chimerical all air be excluded from it. I would venture likewife Fable of the, Antients, or from a mifunderftanding of to recommend fand, firft well warmed to have it dry, the Egyptian Hicngfyphical Fancki, which have been for to preferve wims. fru-.t. tggs, Sec. for it will rai- tranfcribed from age to age with additions. That there The BRITISH MUSEUM. 17 12. Tejtudinis OviiviTer, or Land-Tortoife Egg, form broadeft in the center, upper and under part equal, the form of an ellipfis ; colour dufky brown white, and rattles within. 13. Hen's Egg, which had two yolks, or twin Egg, broke at top, colour of a darkifii white. My Father, in 1 75 7, had a large white Hen, which frequently ufed to lay Eggs with two yolks in each. 14. Crocodile's Egg, X form like the Tortoife, but not peaked, more blunt, very remarkable, and not like the Eggs of the winged animals ; colour bluifh white, with a few faint dufky yellow fpots, full of little pores, though poliflied. The crocodile lays Eggs no bigger than thofe of a Goofe ; yet no living creature extends to fo exceeding a magnitude, from fo fmall an Origine ; from whence the common conceit, that it hath no period of incrcafe, but grows as long as it lives. 15. A monftrous Hen's Egg, with a protuberance at the bottom, upper part very white. was once, or at prefent cxift, a Bafilifl';, or little King of Serpents, wc won't deny, ncitiier is it impoffiblLi when a Cock growing oid, from fome feminal matter, &c. within, hereafter a fperical formed Egg may be produced. Yet would it be unreafonable to c.xpcfl; a Balibdi liereout as being unfruitful. — Ovuvi CenLcnimm, or the lail Egg, which is a very little one, and are all of them addle, are laid by hens when old, or have done laying; I have feen feveral of them of a Globular form like a large marble, others oval-like ; and I take thofe of Fig. 2 and 3, to be fnch, what the old women call Cock's-Eggs, or perhaps the firll Egg, laid by a very fmall Bantam Hen, of which I have two, one without a fhcll, the other witli one. t Crocodiks (as Calvici a(Brms) lay their Eggs, re- fcmbling thofe of a Goofc,and(as I have faid) fometimcs amounting to fixty, on the fand near the watcr-fidc, covering them with fand, that the heat of the Sun may contribute to hatch them. The Ichneumon, or Indian Rat, which is as large as a tame Cat, is faid to break the Crocodile's Egg, whenever it finds them ; and aifo, (but this I do not believe) that it goes into the very belly of this creature, while it is afleep with its throat open, gnaws its entrails, and kills it. — The Hippopolaynm, or Sea-horfe, a very large amphibious animal, is likewife a great enemy to the Crocodile, with which he is per- petually at War. — I have been told by a perfon of great veracity, that a traveller who !iad found a Crocodile's Egg on the Nile, opened it willi his knife, the Croco- dile bit a piece out of it, being juft fit 10 enter, for to fliew its great voraciiy even before birth. As 10 the report of many Authors, that the Barbarians, who in- habit that Country, eat the Crocodile Eggs, is like many other (lories, chiefly invented for Amufcment with which they fdlthcirBooks. (this I deteft) and if it is really fo, they muft'have been ignorant travellers half llarvcd, or not knowing what it was; or perhaps thofe inhabitants have better ftomachsthan wc.— To diis we will add the fecundity of fome Animals: There are fpccics called Turtle, and the Carrct, the firfl: lays near three hundred F,ggs, which are very large, and will keep for a con- fiderable time, covered with fand near the Sea ; not only thefe, but the (lefii is an excellent rcfrcflimcnt, and an infallible cure for particular Dilbrdcrs in long Voyages. The (lefh, as lame will ha\-e, may weigh two hundred pounds, and in fine, is very much co\'ite{:l by Navigators. They lay their Eggs tlirice at the ex- piration of fifteen days, and in about twenty five days the ymmg Tortoifes are feen to rife out of the fand, crawling to the water, but not having ftrength fufficicnt againftthewaves.are often call on fliore,and thus become a prey for Birds, fo that out of three hundred Eggs, hardlv ten cfcapc. In page 15 we mentioned good Eggs, here we'll treat on bad ones ; — Now when the yolks of Eggs look red and blood-iike, this is always a fign Hens have fed on coarfe flefli, carrion, &c. commonly called offals : — For to prove this we had an account from Smyrna, a city and port town of Afiatic Turky. No longer than |une 25, 1778, the calamities which diftrcfrcd that country exceedingly, were the fwarms ofLocufisthat devoured all their fiimmer corn and garden ftulT; the fiuarms of thefe vermin were fo numerous that they perfeftly darkened the air, and the poultry did eat them fo voratioufly that the yolks of their Eggs were turned to the colour of blood, and had a very bad tajle. TAB. VI. i8 The BRITISH MUSEUM. T A B. VI. Ova, Eggs. V-nr 1 A Maccaws Egg, form rather more peaked than commonly they ■ /\ are; colour reddilh white and poUllied. She laid feveral of them in which was a yolk as well as white. 2. Lapu de Goa, * Goa Stone, a Compofition ; the pafte is formed into long or oval balls, and of various fliapes, and polifhed. 3. The Brown, or Ivy Owl's Egg, a beautiful round oval; colour bluifh ^^-hite. A Tom-tit's Egg, very whit? with a few purple brown fpots. !' Water-wacT-tail's Egg, form oblong oval, colour dulky white, ornamented all over wtih daA brown Irregular fpots, but more fo at the biggeft end It is by this bird and the Hedge-Sparrow that the Cuckoo is hatched, and brought up. ' 6 Parrot's E^cr, form beautiful oval, colour reddilh wliite, laid m September 17.;, after the'parrot had been nine years in England, and never trod.- r4 for an entertaimng Account like this, in the incomparable Dr. Harvey on Generation. Exer. V. p. 24. _ , , 7 \ Hair Ball, + found in an Ox's ftomach, from Jamaica ; colour brown ochre, the hair proceeding as it were from the center, the fame at the poftenor part ; the infide folid of a hard glpwey fubftance. • * Goa Ston, f„ called from Goa, a g.oa. town and a plcafan. llavou,- . but a .rll much fooncr luddlc, and r , „r Hither India in Afia, fituated on the be longer e'er its tnlluence wears oft aga.n. ulZ tX in ;t k!::!;. of De;a„. orVTrapon.-, V., S..../. Z,,/>.». P.r. HI. 530. t::^::!^:::^^'^;^^^:. t The, are a.a,sd,e^. c.o„rt.t the Pa I Prieas, or Jefuits ; as I have been infornred the hair ,s of, which grows frotn the (k.n of . c Ox c r ieln Eib-" It is generally brought to ,^-hereof tt is formed, by the Annrtal eont.nually hck,ng I^^trS^tt^ BelLebcLes ^ a. '^'^ ^>''->- ^fl^;; ^ is ^ contpofttion bears fuch a price here that there is nothing he grows lean, ptnes away, and the only ct rc s, to o ft d by Lking i' It paffes for an c.traordi- give ht. h,s Uberty in a good paanre for a lew ours nary Cordial.'and is alfo given in Fevers as an Alexi- every day, till be grows fat and f. o "1=^ ^ co"ld p arntick; but fuch qualit.es can proceed only fron, the never be proved by any examp e that ttoccaftons the.r which herein are in large quantit.es. The death. The Hair be.ng a fttbllance^ whtch canno be dor omgr.v. to3i. or 3 fs. Sonte grate a litde into digefted, is covered over tn fonre Balls w.th a glan- p ,t lib the r«ets ..ake very ra.eful, and of dulous or n,ucous ..a.ter of the S.o.ach = under h. I The BRITISH MUSEUM. 19 8. The White-Church Owl's Egg, form round oval, colour bluifh white. 9. Black-Bird's Egg, form broad at top ; colour a faint bluifh green, fpotted all over with a multitude of miniature tints of a faint dufky brown \ ellow, more fo at the top ; the Hen lays four or five Eggs ; builds in hedges, near the ground, the neft made of twigs and mofs, infide all ftrongly cemented and plaiftered over with clay, lined over again with fmall ftraw, hair, and other foft fubftances ; has Young ones by the end of March or fooner. 10. A Sparrow Hawk's Egg, from Dr. Richardfon, though fome fay it is a Crow's Egg. 11. Hedge-Sparrow's Egg, colour pale blue or pale fea-green ; Flen lays commonly five Eggs, builds in Hedges, low and open ; has Young ones at the end of April, or beginning of May. 12. One Egg within another, | or pregnant Egg; it was laid by a Hen be- longing to Mr. Taylor. 13. A Swallow's Egg, colour reddifli white ; there is ver\' little difference between the Houfe-Martin, and this, as to form, fizc, and colour. 14. A Jackdaws Egg, form oblong oval; colour light green, Ipotted all over with dark and light irregular dulky green, principally at top; Hen lays five, or fix Eggs, builds in Churches, ancient Caftles, and ruinous Buildings. 15. Thrufhes Egg, form beautiful ; colour bluifii green, fpeckled at top with a few black fpots; Hen lays five or fix Eggs, builds near the ground in Orchards, in a thick Hedge, or in Woods. The infide of this Bird's Neft is artfully lined with cow-dung, from whence the Plaifterers took the hint ; has young ones by the end of March, or beginning of April. furfacc you will find the Hairy Contexture, wliicii will burn in the fire, and (link as hair does. Many of thefe are not only found in Oxen, and Cows, but in wild Goats, &c. called Bezoar Germanoruni. Vid. Velf- chius, De Rupkapra. — And now we mention Hair rather doing harm than good, I muft not forget to take notice of the infamous poifon ufcd by the Indians; the defign of which is a long lingring death ; occafioned by minced Hair, given by the Black Women when they intend to revenge themfelves on the European Men, — Calculi, Stones as well as Balls are found in Ani- mals, as in the Stomach, or other parts of the inteftine. The largefl are found in Horfes, and fome of an oval fiiapc in the maws of Camels, the Rhinoceros, and in the India Goat, Monkeys, Hogs, Dogs, &c. fome of which are called Bezoars. Vid. TAB. XIX. for more curious Stones, &c. — " Schrockius tells us, that Anno i66g, an Ox was killed, whofe brain was found to be wholly petrified, and that for liardnefs it rather refem- blcd Iron than a Hone : It was prcfented to a gentleman at Padua who ftill preferves it." 17;^. Weekly Manor, for the Ingenious, p. 68. ;|; " This Egg was laid by a Hen belonging to Mr. Ta\'lor, a Baker at Dunftable, about Michaelmas 1775. Between the outer and inner fliell there was found the white of an Egg without any yolk. Upon pouring it out, the inner Egg adhered to the fhell, but at firft was quite feperate. The Hen that laid it was of a very large kind, and M^as always accuftomed to lay Eggs of a large fizc. It fometime before laid an Egg of the fame fize as this, but only covered with a foft fhell, containing another Egg within it. Many of the Eggs this Hen laid were found to have two yolks in them. This Egg was at firft of the colour of common Eggs, but was changed to this dark fhade by being placed in a fmoaky room." Lord Charles Cavendifli, f. R. S. and Trullee of the Britifh Miifeum, prcfentcd this Egg, and the above is a copy ahcr my Lord's writing. TAB. VII. 20 The BRITISH MUSEUM. TAB. VII. Annuli, Rings. AN In that > sron Ring, * the Rings anciently were made of Iron ; fuch was that of Prometheus who is fuppofed the firft that brought them in ufe, fo as Phny affirmeth. 2 Of At^at, prefered before others, for wax will not flick to it. 3'. A Cornelian, this and Fig. 2, are of an unufual form though piaurefque, and th'-s liiecie of Flint is now m great efteem for engraving feals, &c. 4 A Brafs Roman Ring, ^vith a Key to it, found at Verulam, called the Rm^-Key which for greater fecurity was worn on the finger, that the Haves mi4t not read their writings, &c. Thouglr fome will have it to be a Spanilh Invention' ok R i n r. s. • Anmdi, Rings, a little moveable, put on the finger either for ilk, by way of Ceremony, or as an Ornament. The firft among whom we find the Ring in ufe, are the Hebrews, Gm. xxxviii. where Judak, Jacob's Ion, gives Tamar his Ring or Signet, as a Pledge of his promife : But the Ring appears to have been in ufe at the fitmc time among the Egyptians, from Gin. xli. where Pharmk put his Ring on Jofeph's hand as a mark of the power he gave him. And in the firft Book of Kings, Chap. xxi. Jezebel feals the warrant file fent for the killing of Naboth with the Kings Ring. Pliny obfcrves that we are in the dark as to the perfon who firft in- vented, or wore the Ring ; for what is faid of Prome- theus, as alfo of Midas's Ring, are Fables. Plin. lib. xxxvii. caf. i.- The Greeks, He thinks, knew no- thing of the Ring in the time of the Trojan War ; Tiie reafon he gives is, that we find no mention thereof in Homer; but that when Letters, were to be fent away, they were tied up, and the ftrings knotted. What concerns the matter of Rings, there were fome ol one fingle metal, others of a mixture, and of all the metals, andlikewife of ftones. Sometimes the liing was Iron, and the Seal Gold ; or fome particular ilone engraved, fometimes plain in relievo, and others in creux or hollow, — Now in refpeft of the Iron Rings, for many Years the Senators of Ronie did not wear any Rings of Gold ; but the Slaves wore generally Iron Rings until their manumiffion or preferment to fome dignity ; and that the Laeedeiuonians ctmtinued their Iron Rings unto his days.— fo Pliny afllrmcth. As to the wearing of their Rings, the Hebrews wore dieiu on their right hand from Jerm. Chap. xxii. v. 24.— It is obfcrved by Plini-, that ill the Portraits of their Gtids, tbcfe Rings were worn on die finger next the thumb. They were at firft wore on the fourth finger, then on the fecond or index ; and then on the litde -finger ; at laft on all the fingers, excepting the middle one — The Greeks wore them altogether on the fourth finger of the left hand, from the little Nerve, or Artery that proceeds from the Heart, riiey eftecmcd it the moft honourable.— That the Romans wore them alfo upon their litde finger, as Nero is defcrlbed in Petronius. Some wore theiri on the middle finger as the Ancient Gaulcs and Britains ; and fome on the fore finger as deducible from Julius Pullox, who names that Ring Coriraoi.— When precious gems and rich enfculptures were added, the cuftom of wear, ing them on the right hand was tranftated unto the left ; for that hand being lets employed, thereby they were bell prefcrved. Macrobius. As to the left hand, and fourth finger, might rather be ufed by tlic Ancients and Moderns, for dieir convenieney and prefcrvation, than any cordial relation, being leaft ufed of any, and guarded on either fide. The BRITISH MUSEUM. 21 Ring Key of a Padlock ; i but Lipfius and other have thought that they ferved hkewife for feals or fignets. That they were defigned to wear on the finger nobody will deny. 5. Of 4 mixed metal, bad fdver, or Tutenag, X the feal a Grecian Spirit or Deity J the Grecian Charaflers round it were made ufe of in the time of Alexander. At firft tliey only wore a fing'e Ring; then one on each finger ; at lall feveral on each finger. MarLiaL lib. xi. Epig. 60. — They had their weekly Rings, Juvenal, Sat. vii. fpeaks of Annuli Scvujlrei ; alfo of Winter and Summer Rings : Hehogabalus never wore the fame Ring, or the fame Shoe twice. — Have been alfo wore in the Nofe, in the Ears, Lips, Cheeks, and Chin, by the Moors, and modern Orientals. — The Indians particularly the Guzzeraltcs, wore them on their Hands, Fingers, Feet, Toes, and one of their Kings of Pega, wore Rings fet with precious Stones on every toe. — Laftly, their ufe among the Ancients was firft to dif- tinguifh conditions or qualities. — The fecond were the Annuli SponfalUii, or Wedding-Rings on the authority of a text in Exodus xxxv. and from them the Greeks, Romans, and Chriftlans, took it up very early, as ap- pears from Teriullian, where we find the form of blcf- fing the Nuptial Ring. — The third kind were thofe ufi:d as Scais, called Ccrographi, ox Chirographi, where- on is engraven the Arms, Device, &c. of fome Prince, State Community, Magiftrate or private perfon, with a legend or infcription, the impreffion in wax, Inftruments, and Authentic, and are as Ancient as Rings themfelvcs. — It was likewife the cuRom in old times to wear their own Images on their Rings, which we endeavour to prove by SparLian, wiiere taking notice in the Life of the Emperor Hadrian, of the tokens of his approacli- ing death, he fays, " The Ring with his own Image on it, fell ofitfelffrom his finger." — This (I think) was a very good maxim for to feal Letters, better than figning them with ones own name, confidering how cafily that may be copied, and with what variety moll men write their names, which (hould at all times be wrote the fame liiic the imprcfijon of a Seal, &c. Thofe with Deities on ihem, are generally Amulets, &c. and ihey likewife ufed to have their neareft friends on their Rings, cither for memory, or when abfcnt. as the Ladies adorn their Bracelets, and the Gcndemcn their breafts in our days with Miniatures. De Brevil in his Antiquities ofParis, fays it was an ancient cuftom 10 ufe a Rufh^ring in the Marriage of fuch as had had an affair together before marriage. — But Richard Bifiiap of Saliftjury in his Conflitutions, anni. 1217. forbids the putting of Rufh-rings, or any the like matter, on womens fingers, his reafon was that there were fome people weak enough to believe, what was thus done in jcft was a real Marriage. t Padlock.'j I have been told of an tnglifii Gentle- man who had refided a great many years in Madrid, being of a jealous difpofition when married here In England, fcrving his wife in the fame manner as the Spaniards do theirs; but he being gone in the country on a long Journey, file fent for an ingenious Smith, who made a Key for her, that flie might lock or un- lock it at pleafure; not with an intent to difiionour her Hufband, but thefe things being rather difagreeable for a Woman to wear. There is not at prefent fuch jea- loufy among the better fort of People in Spain, where the Padlocks are out of faflnon, though Uiey ftill pre- vail among the lower clafs. — It is faid in old times, when they M'crc married,, the young couple ufed to pre- fent one another with a Ring-Key, as an emblem of Secrecy ; from whence fome will derive the Word Wedlock. X TiUenag, or White Copper of China and Japan, is a compofilion of Copper, " Equal parts of Arlenic and Nitre, pulverized and mixed together, are in- jefted into a red-hot Crucible, and kept in a moderate Fire, till they fubfide and flow like wax : One part of this mixture is injefted upon four parts of melted Copper, and the Metal, as Ibon as they appear throughly united together, immediately poured out." Vid. Neumanns Chemical Woih. p. 66. Gcoffroy relates, that on repeated Fufions it exhaled Arfenical Fumes, and became red Copper, lofintr with its whitenefs one fevcnth of its weight; I leave the Reader to judge how dangerous it is to make culinary or kitchen Furniture of this white Copper; picking ones teeth with Pins, to delicate conftitutions, ought to be avoided, for they arc whitened with Arfenic. I am obliged to my Father for the above information, other- wife I fiiould have engaged in Partnerftiip with a Coppcr-Smith many years ago. — As to the Furniture of this dangerous Metal for Ilorfes, Carriages, Grates, &c. tlierc it will do no great harm, unlefs the Bits in Horfes Moutlis. All the bad Money are a mixture of this Metal commonly melted with a conflderable pro- portion of Silver, by which its colour is both improved and rendered more permanent; likewife all thofe Trinkets, &c. that are not obliged to be ftamped, which pafs for good Silver, are made of this Tutcnag. 6. Of 22 m B R I T I S H M U S E U M. 6. Of Gold, with a Bafs Rehevo of Dmna, Cafior, and Pollux, \\ twice as big as the real Ring. 7. Of Sih-er, a Serpent with two heads, an emblem or idea of Symmetry, and fignifies the harmony of paffs tO: each other in refped of the Whole. : & 9. Of Gold, the feal a Garnet belonging to Fig. 9, the Figure is convex and extremely fine, confidering its minutenefs, being done by a Grecian Altift, ex- cellent m refpea of its fymmetry or harmonious parts. She feems to have a fcrol of mufic, or a book in her hand, Handing agamft an lonick Pillar ; perhaps the mfe Euterpe, or Uterpea, poCfibly a Lady coming out of a Eath, with a fquare fleet looking glafs in her hand. ■ ■ 10. A Brafs Oaagon, or eight angle Ring. , ; 11. A Small Thumb-piece of Jafpejv its a Ring to defend the Thumb againft being hurt by the Bow-ftring, and it is ufed or put on the right thumb, and not bn theleft as fome imagine; it is a Nephritic Stone, of a beautiful gfeenilh colour, counted very good agamft the Stone in the Bladder; a Cup made of this Stone was fold for 1600 Crowns in the time of the Emperor Rodolphus II. 12. Of Gold, with a Greek fuperfcription, the Explanation, viz. Virtue, Mode- ration, Wijdmn, Decent. ' 13. Of Gold, it reprefents Cupid God of Love, fitting on an Altar, has a Dove ty its wings ; it is an Emblem of Moderation in Love ; concave, and very well executed.— I am certain the above Rings are curious, as to their Antiquity, the dilTerent forms and feals are all done by great Artifts, and well preferved. y TAB. VIII. Flagello, BaJIinado, and Spanijli Dagger. Fia-. 1 A Flagello, or Flagella ; very ponderous, it refembles a Flail ; its fub- " " ' /\ ftance Guiacum, or Lign^mvitce, and confifts of two pieces joined together, with two Ihort ftraps of leather, (a.)— The Piece (e.) is halfway filled widi Lead, (c.) Is an Ivory Ornament, and the under part (d.) Iron, is for to II Cabr and Pollu., they are twin Brothers, fons of Stars, and Luna, lucky and profperous to them, and 7,'U/and Ledc: they lhared immovtahty between they as well as Voyagers-ufed to invoke thefe Deities for them and were made Conllellation Geviini ; when a fafc PalTage, for which reafon I think this httle Ring is one of them rifes the otlier fets. Sailors elleem thefe an Amulet wore by fome child, for its fize is very fmall. hang The BRITISH MUSEUM. 23 hang by; fize half as big. Spain, and Portugal, are the Places where they make the moft ufe of it : — An unlawful Inftrument, it is death to be ftruck with it, for it muft certainly fra£lure the Skull in a cruel manner : I have been informed for certain that they were pleafcd with the ufe of it in the bloody Irifli MafTacre in King Charles's time ; though far be it from me to advance any thing that is not true. — And I was likewife told by a very worthy Gentleman, that not an hundred miles from London, at a certain Eleflion, fuch a one was thought very proper, for when a firing is lied to the end on the Ring, three or four people may be knocked down with one Blow. 2. A Baflinadoj * Subftance Pear-tree or Brafile-woocl, faid to be an Inftru- ment of Punifhment, ufed by the Turks, for beating the foles of the Feet of Criminals, or when they catch young Men in their Seraglios, (ee.) being the fide for the left Hand, for both Hands are ufed. 3. One Ditto, fame fubftance, but larger and flat; but Fig. 2, by being fliorter, rounder at top, and with ornamental Engravmgs, one would naturally imagine upon all thefe accounts, that this was ufed for thofe who deferved a greater Punifhment, or to revenge panicular Faults, with pain next to death. They are both quarter as big ; Fig. 2, I fuppofe to be from Africa, the ornaments being like theirs, and likewife refembles very much the Otaheite Patoos, and other Fighting Clubs. 4. A Pugmnctdtis, or Stilktto, a fmall fhort Dagger, a Poinado, or Poinard ; the fubftance of the Blade and Handle is Steel ; length of the Handle 4 Inches 3-eights ; the Blade 5 Inches 5-eights ; the Workmanfhip is excellent, well pre- ferved.and its form beautiful ; but its Ufe inhuman, for it has three edges, which terminate in a very fmall point, the whole form refembling an Obelift^:, as [4-] ; though there are fome where the Blade is not edged, but round. * The Bajlinado, perhaps of the French Bajlon, a Stick, Staff, or Cudge! ; was ufed both among the ancient Greeks, Romans, Jews, &c. and is ftill in vogue among the Turks to this day. — The method there practifed is tlius : The Criminal being laid on his Belly, his Feet are raifed and tied to a ftake, held fall by officers for the purpofe ; in which pofture he is beaten by a Cudgel on the foles of his Feet, Back, Chin, Bcc. to the number of one or more hundred blows. Calm. DiR. Bibl. T. I. p. 260. In other Places they beat them with Straps of Leather on their Backs, &c. with Switches, Cat o' nine Tails, and Rods as with us, thefe arc the various punilhmenls in- (liclcd on Criminals, called Bajlinadi. A very refpe£table Gentleman told me that they have in ihofe Countries little Machines like very fmall Pijlols, that may be held in ones hand, loaded with a poifoned Needle, which they difcharge fecretiy in peo- ples Bodies. From thence we may fee that it is folely intended for private murder, to ftab flily in the dark. They fecret thefe Daggers in their boflbms, though it is not a lawful weapon; and if other fubjefts of diffe- rent Nations have been guilty of a murderous Stab, it has been generally done with fuch kind of Inftramcnts as were ufed for other purpofcs. Thefe Criminals have at all times endeavoured to deny the crime, or have wifhcd before their execution, it were in their power to bring the fubjeft of their pad revenge to life again; whereas the fubjefls of this Nation have gene- rally died contentedly with their grudge. — The Country in which the Stilleito is ftill in vogue, has been an enemy to tlie EngHfh, and the Hollanders for centuries paft, and where Alfaffms may be hired for fo fmall a fum as half a crown. For Revenge, how prodigioufy tranfacled by an Italian, Vid. Sir Thomas Brown, p. 467 : " I am heartily forry, and wifh it were not true, what to the difhonour of Chn'flianity is affirmed by the Italian; who after he had inveigled his enemy to difclaim his Faith for the redemption of his Life, did prefently poyniard 24 The BRITISH MUSEUM. TAB. IX. Penknife with a Gold Point, and Copper Horje-Shoe. flg^ 1. A Little Beautiful Penknife M^ith a white Agat-handle, the end of the Blade (b.) which is Gold pretended to be made byTranfmu- tation, and dipped fo into the Gj and EUxer ; the Handle ferril'd with Gold, (b.'j.'i iii. i ' f;"'! be an impofition on a Gentleman which hap- pened thus : — This pretended Alchymift * had two httle Knives, one of which had a Gold Point, the other plain, and were made fo as to refemble each other as much as poffible. The time being fixed on, and the Cant Elixer produced before the Gentleman ; die pretended Alchymift with a legerdemain trick, changing the plani Knife, after its dipping, deceived the Eyes by his nimble motion, and brought forth the other with the Gold Blade; then again the Great Elixer being fpilt on the ground, and pretended could never be made again : — thus happened the Impofition. poyniard him, to prevent Repcntcncc, and aniire liis Ettrnal death. The villany of this Chriflian exceeded the perfccution of Heathens, whofe malice was never fo longimanous as to reach the Soul of their enemies ; or to extend unto the exile of their Elyfums." It is Rill in every bodies memory, and " The Trial may be perufed of Peter Tolofa, a Spaniard, late cook to the Dutch Ambaffador, who was hanged and anatomized for the wilful murther of Maria Catha- rine Sophia Duarzey, a French woman, laft January i8th 1777. From the Trial it appears that the Pri- foiier and the deceafed had cohabited together fome time, and had had a quarrel, wherein he fhew'd fome diftant hints of jealoufy. and that the had robbed him of furiy Guineas ; called him an old Man, and herlelf a \'oung Woman, and therefore would not live with him, which put the prifoner into a violent paffion. The jullice liaving difchr-rgcd the Warrant Tolofa had obtained, the Prifoner followed the deceafed out, and overtaking her in a few yards, as he flood behind her, gave her a mortal Ilab with a Stillctto, crying Sacre Dicu: which fignifies Damnation, or the Cm-fe of God. In liis de- fence confefled giving her the blow, &c. and whencalled on to fay why judgment of Death Ihould not be palTed upon him, he faid, li is well done — / am contcnL I am fenfible that the above Hiftorica! fubjeBs muli be very difagreeahle to fome people, but I have inferted it to oblige feme of my Friends, who fuppolc it will do more good than harm; or like fome Religious people I haveknown,whodid advertifc in the Newfpapers, Anec- dotes how fome people were punilhed by Providence fur fwcaring, for no other purpofe than to deter fome Men from this ill cudom. * Alchymijl.'] The great objeft or ends purfued by Alchyni)', are, firft, the making of Gold, which is attempted three different ways ; by feparation, by ma- turation, and by tranfmutation, which hill is to be efFeftcd The BRITISH MUSEUM. 25 2. A Horfe Shoe, faid to have been taken out of the Water from feme Copper- Mines in Hungary.— This Iron Horfe, or Colt Shoe, changed into Copper, effecled by means of what they call the Philoropher's Stone. There arc ftill fome who do believe it, but the generality of Mankind look upon them as Impoftors. Certain preparation, or Grand Elixir, this which changes the Metals, into pure Gold, is called the Pbi- lofopher's Stone, and univerfal Medicine, adequate to all Difeafes. An univerfal Diffolvcnt, or Alkaheft. An univerfal . Ferment, which being applied to any Seed, fliall increafe its Fecundity to Infinity ; in fliort, all the Gold that I have feen, feemed to mc rather done by Impofition; there are a ihoufand ways of perform- ing this, by dropping in a piece of Gold by fiighl of band, by cafting in a little of the dull of Gold or Silver, difguifed into fome Elixir, or other matier; by a double bottom Crucible, and Gold put between the two, it may be convey 'd with what they ftir the Metal with, or with Charcoal, Alhes of the Furnace, Sec. Sec. The principal Authors in Alcbymy, are Geber, FriarBacon, Ripley, Lully, John and Kiiac Hollandus, Ba(il Valen- tine, Paracclfus, Van Zuchten, and Sendivngius: Great Complaints arc made all over the Wotld^ concerning the Obfciirily and Myfterioufnefs, frauds, and im- pofitions, Folly, Vanity, Mifery, &c. ofAlchymilh — The Italians have a Proverb, Non ti jidiare all Alche- mijla povero, 0 Medico amalatoj Never trull ihyfelf to a poor Alchymill, or an unhealthy Phyfician. The Experiment of ThurneifTcr, who in the prcfence of the Great Duke of Tufcany, converted one half of a common iron nail into Gold, by only dipping it, while hot, into a certain Liquor, has given great encourage- ment to the fearchers after that famous fecrct. The Nail is ftill preferved in the Repofitory of the Great Duke of Tufcany at Florence. Fachenius, however, has difcovcred the cheat of the Florentine Nail, and pro- bably the matter does not ftand much better, on examination with the above Englifh Knife, that I men- tioned before, which was purchafed by the late poffef- for, at a very confiderable price. Tachenii Hippocrat. Chan. Mr. Boyle, neverthclefs, thinks there is no impof- fibility in the nature of the thing, that one Metal Ihould be tranfmuted into another: and Monfr. Hombert was the cuftom to which may perhaps be blind, or the Dormous. was held have their Walls. Doors of their Temples, Obelitks, as a God, for they believed that Darknefs was older &c. cngrav-en and painted with fuch Figures. Firft m- than Light. troduecd into die Heathen Theology; from thence tranfplanted The BRITISH MUSEUM. 37 TAB. XV, The Sallad Earthen Vejfel^ and the Scythian Lamb. Fig, 1 , A Beautiful Shaped Earthen Vejfel, of a grey Colour with Furrows ^ and obhque Lines on its Surface, very porous, and covered with a perforated Mouth like a Cullender, by which it is filled with fan- Water. The Furrows (a.) being firft covered with any fmall Seeds of Sallad Herbs, this Water oozes through the pores of the Veffel, impregnates the Seeds to vegetate, * and the Sallad will be fit to cut for eating in fix days, as faidi Paul Lucas, who tranflplanted into the Jewifh and Chriftian, the fecrets of Nature, and the Myftcrics of Morahty, Hiftory, inwrap'd by a kind of cahbala ; communicated to none but their Kings, and Priefts for their inllruftion, and only amufed the reft of mankind. Laftly they fervcd like Veils, for they arc ufed not only to reprefent morals things by Natural, but even Natural by Natural. — All the Symbols, Fables, Allegories, Emblems, Para- bles, &c. are intirely inventions from the Hieroglyphics; and though many ingenious Explanations have been made by difFerent learned Men, yet they are only con- jeflures which no body can teftify, on account of their perplexities being like a Labyrinth formed with inextri- cable Riddles; and I don't doubt but they had other intricate means or ways to fecure their Learning un- known to us; what a Treafure here is loft! — may be feen from Mjop's Fables, Sec. who had his Learning from them. Now for a Magazine of this Egyptian Doctrine, I refer the Reader to the induftrious Kircherus, a man who, from his Invention, I very much rcfpeft. — Lll give a few, which feem not aliogether difmgenious ac- cording to Clemens Alexandrinus ; — A Lion is the Hieroglyphic of Strength and Fortitude; a Bullock of Agriculture; a Horfc, of Liberty ; a Sphinx, of Subti- liiy; a Lamp, of Life ; and the Pelican, of Paternal Love, &c. &c. An Oc(an of thefe may be met with in the Iconologia of the learned C^far Ripa. Before I quit this intricate Subjeft, I mufl rtmark an ingenious one: Supplying the default of Letters from the Americans of Virginia, concerning the arrival of the Europeans in that Country. On one of the Radius of the Wheels, that mark their Year, was painted a Swan, cafting forth Smoak and Fire at his Beak. The whitenefs of the Feathers of this Bird, and the water in which it always refides, denoted the whitenefs of the Countenance of the Europeans, and their arrival at Virginia by Sea ; and they put Smoak and Fire in the Bill of this Bird to fignify the Fire Arms which the Europeans made ufe of. Vid. Journal Dei Scavans, March 1681. Perhapsthe Egyptian Figures and Letters mufl be read lame how in this manner. And fee for fomc more Amulets TAB. XVIIL * Vegdale.'] That the heat of the Sun, Ah; and Sails, are the caufe of Vegetation of Plants, and the Earth is no more than a great Coat or Cloak to Vegetables, is certain; but how far the Fluids of Soils, Moulds, and efpecially Water, alTift, may be feen from the Flower- Roots, &c. put in water only, on Chimneys by way of Ornament, and the two following Experiments : " Mr. Van Helmont dried 200 lb. of Earth, and there- in planted a Willow weighing 51b. which he watered with Rain, or diftilledWater ; and to fecure it from any other Earth getting in, he covered it with a perforated Tin- Cover. After five Years, weighing the Tree with all the Leaves it had borne in that Time, he found it to weigh 38 77;6' B R I T I S H M U S E U M. brought it from Egypt, and gave it to the late Duke of Richmond, who pre- fented it to Sir H. Sloane. If the Pores are choked by the Roots, it may be burnt, and will ferve as before. Its Size half as big.— N. B. A Machine fliould be contrived at the top for to fupply it with Water, for it empties itfelf very foon. 2 This Plant Animal + is called by the Mufco\'ite, Little Lamb. weigh iSglb. 3 ounces; but the Earth to be dimbiihcd only about 2 ounces in its Weight.". ^Another Expe- riment hke tliis, the great Mr. Boyle has given us : " He ordered his Gardener to dig up, ahd dry in an Oven, fome Earth fit for the purpofe. to weigh it and to fet therein fome SpmJIi Suis (a Kind of Indian Pom- pion) The Seeds when Town were watered with Rain of fpring-water only. But although a Plant was pro- duced in one Experiment of near 3 lb. and in another of above 1 4 lb. yet the Earth when dried, and weighed again, was fcarce diminiflied at all in its Weight." Vii. Boylc'j Sccpl. Cliyn. Pari. \\.p. 114. Small Ballad it is faid, may be produced alfo in Forty-eight hours, which is performed by fcattcring the feeds on a Woollen Cloath, by befprinkling them often, and by being expofed to the Sun, or near the chim- ney Fire.. It is but lately I found out by Accident that they have likewife at the British Museum, a MnJIiroom-Sttme, a kind of Fojfd, cx-tremely curious, for by laying it in the Earth, and a httle Earth on the top, then weting It with Water, Mti/Iirmns will grow upon it in a (liort time. As to the Germination and Fruaification, this is chiefly caufed by Salt, &c. which renders Land fertile, as may be feen of all manner of Fruits, &c. planted in tholi: fait Marlhcs, which prof- pcr excecdinglv, for thcfe Salts working with contrary Salts in the Seeds, Exalt the Principles of Motion and Vegetation. t Much Wonder is made of this llrangc Plant-Ani- mal, and the Defcription in its Voyaga de Jean Struys, is very fmgular and laughable, which runs thus:—" He fays that this furprizing f nii( has the figure of a Lamb, with the Ftd, Head, and Tail, of this Animal diftinffly formed : whence it is called in the Language of the Country Bmnanz, or Borancr ; each of which Mufco- vite names fignilies little Lavib. His fllin is covered with a down very white, and as fine as Silk : The Tarlars and Mufcovites ellcein it very much, and the greater part keep it carefully in their Houfes, where this Author has feen many. It grows on a Stalk of about three foot in height ; the place by which it holds is a fort of Navel, on which it turns and bows itfelf towards the Herbs which ferve it for nourifhment; it dying away and withering as foon as thefe Herbs fail him. Wolves love it, and greedily devour it, becaufe of us refemblance to a Lamb. All this defcription contains nothing hitherto incredible ; but Vhat the Author adds, that this Plant has really Bones, Blood, and Fkji, whence it is called in the Country a Zoophyte, that is a Plant- Animal" Vid. Journal Dei Scamm, July 24. 1681. From this account a great many were inclined to be- lieve there is no fuch thing in Nature, in fatl, it is nothing but the root of a Plant much like Fern; the Branches are covered over with a fort of Down or Mofs relcmbling Wool ; and there are feven Shoots, which ferve to reprefent the four Legs, Horns, and Tail of the Vegetable Animal. Thefe I imagine are cut by Art to make them proportionable, and allowing a litde for the impofition, it makes altogether as tollcrable a Lamb, as the Mandrake Roots reprefent the Shape of a Man or Woman ; or fome Forms we meet with of Bees, Fiys, Dogs, &c. in fome other Stalks : In filort, he that has faith to credit the Vegetable Lamb, may eafily believe any thing, and will certainly pafs for a good-nalur'd Man. — Now as moil People arc too apt to believe what Authors Write, and think to have fome authority when they can fliew it in Print ; I was glad as well for myfelf as for others, to meet with the real Plant, to confute the Fallacy. And now we'll return, and add this more on \''cgeta- tion. — The fruitfulnefs of feeds may likewife be promoted by previous Impregnations, or by being infus'd in feve- ral Menllruums. Vid Signer Malpliigi. That the whole Plant, like a Miniature or Bud of a Rofe, be aftually in the feed, folded and wonderfully locked up, though ever fo litde is without doubt. For Mr. Lewenhoek. my Countryman, after his minute Obfervations of an Orange Kernel, which he made to germinate in his Pocket, &c. concludes, " Thus we fee, how fmall a Parucle, no bigger than a courfe fand (as the Plant is reprefented) is increafed. Sec. A plain Demonftration, that the Plant,^ and all belonging to it, was aaually in the Seed, in the young Plant, its Body, Root, &c. Philof. TranfaS. No lij. Now if we allow foinc variauons in refpeft of Pro- portion and Matter, &c. I likewife verily believe the fame of Animals, Quadrupeds, Birds, Fiih, &c. and The B R I T 1 S U MUSEUM. 39 TAB. XVI. Nidus Gdatinus Cambodiejifis, or Soup-Nejl. Fia-ia.f^^, but ajfo (2x(TiXt'Js -King, Prince, or chief Commander at the Table ? This Cafl: was then thought to be thrown, when all four Cockle-bones appeared not one like the other, but all with different Faces, (a) Vams conjurgebat ex talis qualiior jaUatis, uhi diverfam ovincs ojlcndijfent fa- ciem: with whom accordeth (^'j TlnTze^ffs; Venus erat, cum nullus eodrm viikit Jlabat talus. Hercules was alfo a lucky throw, but whether the fame as f'enus, I have not yet learn- ed. The Games, with the Tejferce, I make no doubt, were many : One Game there may fecm to have been in ufe, where the jult Number of Eight fhewittohave been the chief Cafl , it was called Stejichorizis JaHiis, or Stejichorious Namerus. I'ld. Cc^t. Rhod. I. Xx. c. 27. The Game Euripides, as "I take it, much refcmbling that which is in ufe with us, called One and Thirty : — The Number of that Game was Forty, lid. Ctrl. Rhodigi. I. XX. c. 17. — They plaid not with a Tingle Die, but with three, as we ufe in Paffage, as I mentioned before, whchte their Chance . might have their Name, not from the number in each feveral Die, but from them all bcin^ caft. In their Common Game, the mofl fortunate Throw is thought to have been three Sices ; we call it in Paffage a Royal Pafs, whence it was commonly called (a) Cccl. Rhod. 2Q. c. zj. f^)Tumeb. adv. 1. 5. t. h.- Sniio; " Quid dexter fenio ferret Jcire erat invoiis, damiioja canicula quuntu Redderd, augujics col'o non fallier orccE." Perf. Sat. iii. Which one place of Per- fius gives light to this in three things ; — Firft, that the winning Call was called Senio ; and if you make Baji- licits, a term common both to Dice and Cockle-Bone, as Venus is, we may fitly render it a Royal Pafs.— Se- condly, the loofing Caft, Canis, or Caniada, in Englilh a Dog Chance. — Thirdly, the manner of their play, both in their /)ice and Cockle-bone, -was by calling their Dice and Cockle-Bones out of the Orca, a Machinery very much like the Dice-box, well known to our Gamfters. The chief Caft, as I faid, was thought to be when three Sices appeared; which opinion is ftrenthened by that common Proverb, " Aut tres fex, aut tres tejfcra." i. e. Either three Sices, or three Accs; and the firft of thefe being the befl, the other the worft Chance in the Dice ; the Proverb fignifie.s thus much, I will put all to the Hazard, I will win or lofe all. Erafnius remarks, that as often as an Ace happened to be thrown together with a Sice, fo that Senio and Canicula appeared to- gether at one throw, it was a loofing Caft. Erajm. a Dag. Chius ad Couvi. Suetonius is clear in the proof hereof, if for Aut we fubftitutc Et, which unlefs we do, it will be a matter of great difficulty, to make a Congruity ofSenfe, his words are, " Talis enim jaBatis, ut quef^ ■ Canem aut fenionan mifefat in Jingidos talos, finguhs denarios in Mediuvi conjerrcbat. quos tollebat uni- verfos qui Venerem jecerat." — Turn Aut into Et, the fenfc is obvious ; — Look, who threw an Ace and Sice together, for every Die he flaked and laid to ftake a Dinere : which he took up and fwooped all clean whofe luck it was 10 throw Venus. Before we have done with the game, it will not be amifs to revive the Memor)' of fome, that the word TtJJera has likewife four remarkable Significations; (f) i, Tejfera Militaris, or Watch-word among the Soldiers in the Camp, [d] 2. Tejfera Eru- mentaria, -ic) Alex, ab alex. 1. 3. c 2. — {d) Suet. Aug. c. 40. 44 The BRITISH M U S E U M. . 10. Of Ivory, perhaps belongs to Ufe is difficult to explain. I found r* might have ferved for a Tetotum. other two Concave. men/aria, a certain Ticket at the tendering whereof, the Poor received monthly Diftributions of Corn. 3. Tef- Jera Nwnuiiarw, Tickets on which they received money ; and 4. Tejfera Hofpitalis, tickets as ferved among Fripnds, to keep Friendfhip and to demand HofpitaHty; butthefe where ufually cut in two, and Mutually accepted, and for their Poilerity ; as for the Derivation of the Adage ; Tejferam Hofpilii confregit, i. e. he has broken the league of Hofpitalit)', was when Entertainment was craved and rcfufed. + Chefs-Board, or Latrunaihis.J a little Thief, or Robber; and fecondly in a borrowed Senfe, it fignifles the Table-men, or Chefs-men; bccaufe this Game hath the exprefs form and rcprefentation of a war, or battle, fought between two armies; infomuch that (/) Pyrrhui King of Epyre, being flcilful in platting Stratagems, firft taught his Soldiers that art of projefting, by Plays and Rcprefentations thereof in the Table-Men. Some are of opinion, that it was firfl: invented in the Siege of Troy, by Pahmcdcs, who that he might keep his Soldiers in a better order, allowed them this kind of Recreation, whence thefe Chefs-men are fometimes called Palame- diaei Calculi: they were made fometimes of Wax, fometimes of Glafs, fometimes of other Matter. The Game feemeth to be the very fame with that which we call Chefs. The ill ufe made of Dice and Gaming in our Days is fo dreadful a Vice, efpecially in thofe who are entrufted with the Liberties and Properties of their Fellow Subjefts, that it well deferves to be pub- licly expofed, and lafiied with the utmoft Horror and [t) Donat. in Teren. Fun, Aft. 4. fc. 7. ; heir Chefs-Board, + or a kind of Die ; its Hole in the Center, at the Bottom, and pper Part, the two fides Convex, the indignation: among my Notes I find in 1771, that a Noble Earl one Night threw only three Cafts at Hazard (landing, at a Houfe near St. James's, the firil for one Thoufand Guineas, which he loft, the fgcond double or quit, which he likewife loft, and the third for four Thou- fand or nothing, which he at lalt won, and left olF im- mediately. ■ — Another I have in 1772, on Card playing, which is made fo much the bufmefs of life amongil: all orders of Men, that a Clergyman, within a few Miles of Town, boafts that he annually pays his Curate with the Money got by playing at Quadrille in private Families. I do not mention this from having an Animofity againfl the Clergy, neither that they fliouM not Play, oiily above all things I would recom- mend to fome not to [wear when they lofe. " What Age fo large a Crop of Vices bore ? " Or when was Avarice extended more ? " When were the Dice with more profifion thrown? " The well-fill'd Fob not etnptyd now alone ; " But Gmnjlers for whole Patrimonies play ; " The Steward brings the Deeds, which viufl convey " The lojl EJlate : What more than Aladnefs reigns, " When one JJiorl fitting many Hundred drains ; " Atidnot enough is left them to fupply, " Board-Wages, or a Footman's Livery. Thus we fee a ftriking Likenefs, accompanied with a well-chofen Mafs of Light and Shade of a Gamefter, who is mad enough to commit his all to the chance of a Die, and who wantonly has reduced himfelf to a Morfel of Bread. d illud, Idem hec jam Pyrrhus faftavit. \m- B R IT I S H M[UIS>E;U M.. 45 aiti gnome ^r.iad iii h\ 5(r. ^ift ; TAB. XVIII. i-i!.' ltd dntorTT ■... Amulets, or Lliarms. A RE two Druid Amulets,* "their fubftance enamel'd Glafs, the whence flourifhing Parts refembhng a Flower in Crimfon ; the fecond, or Fig. 4. Black, with White Foliages circumvolcd like a Snake, or Volute, creafed from its Center in various Divifions ; thefe were prefented to the Britifh Mufeum, by Jacob Bell, a Quaker. ; : . i Fig. 2. and '2,' Are "I' Ithyphalliques, Fig. 2. a Shell with a Silver ^Eye/ap * ^j?w!/£/s.] So called fvom Amdictum, Amolimcn- tum ; of tu remove, or drive away. Some again diink from Amula, a fmall Veffel wich Luftral Water, in it, anciently carried in the Pocket by the Romans, for tlie fake of Pyrificalion and Expiation. All thefe Amulets are num-eroiis, iiiofl: ol tlretn in form of Beads, &c. tlieir fubftqnce vitnfyed Earth, a.s Glafs, fomc Ivory, oilicrs arc Deer Horns, Bones, *«lLJn-Uj(is ; and, 'the Druids, bcfidcs the ttudy of Nalure,appUqd tlicRifelves to Morality; They held-lhe Mijletoe In- fingular Vene- ration. Pliny relatci^tjie 'ceremony-wjicrqwidi. they ga; thered it every Year, -l, xvi. c.-^^. , Andn^ver ficriheci but under the Oak. They placed a wo.'iiJ of cojilidehce in Serpents Eggs, gathered aft^r a peci|li^i: qianncr, and; under a certain difpufiii^ p£vho;^epnv-;^tid-iaiagii>ed; them clfcflual means for die gaining of Law-fuits, and procuring the good Graces of Princes, &c. From hence fays Pliny, Mercury's wand or Caduceus, with the two Serpents interwove, has been alfumed as a Symbol of Peace. They facrificed Men to Mercury, accord- ing - to Suetonius, which cuftom was condemned by Auguifus; and punilhed, and aboliOied by Tiberius, and Claudius. Vid. Ccc/ar and Mela. Lib. iii. c. 2. I'his account will give my" Readei- the true Characlcr of the SuperJtitious follies of the Druids of this famous Illand. and France; and in their Knowledge and Confi- dence, (unto Ancient Records) they were fo com- pletely verfed ; that ihcy might have taught Pcrliav nay t!ie Globe itfelf in Amulets. From thefe Druids Inligna, as Pliny flilcs; them, we may lee how fuper- Hitious the Ruraanswerc according to his Account, we find ((or, I ,aRi>ablc- upoji my own knowledge to vouch fays Pliny,,); that the Emperor Claudius commanded a Rom^li Knight, defcendcd from the Vocontians, to be * killed fof no other Reafon in the whole world, but be- caufe he carried one of ihefe Serpent Eggs in his Bo- fom, at t!5e Time he pleaded his caufe before Him in Court. ^ Phil. L. 2g. p. 354, ■t lihypkaUica, OT-Uhypkalliqnes.'] By the French called Pitcillagi, zwdck wore by Young Men, &c. on dieir WatclM^s asa THnket; the Hand an Emblem ofFecun- dity, called Fiea; the Ladies in Italy wear them on their Hair as Ornaments, thefe formed Ivory ones are - ■ faid 46 The BRITISH MUSEUM. the third Fig, an Ivory Hand, with ; difpofed to ferve for Amulets. Fig.^. A Round Chriftal Ball, + Sepulchres, likewife an Amulet. faid to be wore by married Women, but when the Thumb is hit by the Fingers, it denotes Virgintity. Such a one was prefcntcd by a Nun to one of my Friends in his Travels through Italy. X Chnjlall Balls.'] Are often foimd in Sepulchres, with a variety of other Gems, &c. which they left witli the Deadj as Guardians of the Manes. (Spirits) Vid. Montfaucon, Mommens de La Monarchic Francoije. Tom. 1. Pag. 15. Where the Reader will find in the Men. ument of Childerick, a Globe of Chryftall, and in the Urne of another Sepulchre, was found no lefsthan twen- ty Baits of Chryftall. Sir Thomas Brown, in his Hydriotaphia, or Urne-burial. c. n.p.g. Takes notice of a Roman Urn preferved by Cardinal Farncfe, where- in was found, a Chryftall Ball, and fix Nuts of Chryf- tall, three Glaflcs, two Spoon.s ; befides a great num- ber of Gems with Heads of Gods and Goddefies, an Ape jn Agath, a Grafs-hopper, and an Elephant of Ambre. And in two other Urns, a kind of Opaie " in each, one yet maintaining a bluifh colour." Some of tkefe things are to be looked on, as Treafures dear to them, and in which they delighted, or as a Farewell by the Relations as not being defirous of feeing thofe things after Death, to prevent Grief, or to preferve them for future Ages; or for ufc into the other World, according to Antiquit)' and iheirSupcrftitioii. — Precious Gems were likewife ufed as Amulets, for according to Chiflet, the whole Fall, wore a kind of Jafper for tliis purpofe. Pitife Lex. Ant. t. i. p. 90. But the Medi- cinal Amulets which operate by Effluvia, Odours, &c, arc of another Clafs, fuch as Compounds of Poifons, ufed as Prefervatives againft the Plague, or Veffels of Eflence, worn , by Hyfterical Women on their Breaft, Medicinal, or other fubflances fixed to Men, Brutes, or even Plants, as a Prefervative from peculiar Difcafes, Dangers, &c. thefe are not properly Amulets of Magic Charms, but as having certain fecret Phyfical influence. Laftlv, Amulets are now very much fallen from the great cRablifiied Chara61er they had in Ancient Times ; and well they may, for in this cnlighted Time what Natural EffcHs can reafonably be expcRed, wiien to prevent tlie Ephiakes, or Night Mare, we hang up a hallow Stone in our Stables and Bed chambers, (as I have feen lately a hollow Flint Stone in a great Perfon's Houfe) when for Wans, we rub our Hands before die Moon, or commit maculated parts unto the touch of the Dead, which I faw about tliree Years ago at Tyburn; the wearing of a Silver Ribband, a Silk purple loop, both ingly Brilliant, very often found in little Mutton-bone for the Cramp, or laRly againft agues we ufc the Chips of a Gallows, and Places of Execu- tions, a croud of thefe are yet in being among the Credulous and Supcrftitious Chriftians. Vid. for Egyp- tian Roman Amulets, Tab. xiv. If wc take a Review or caft up, the fum total of the Magic Amulets, we look on them in no other light than a cloak of Impofition of the Ancient Crafty Druids. And to which the Old Rclifts now a days bear a great Refemblancc, a few of which along with the manner of living with the Monks I'll oblige the reader with : fuch as the paring of St. Edmund's Nails; St. Thomas of Canterbury's Penknife and Books ; and divers Sculls, (perhaps pick'd up under the Gallows) for the Head-ach; pieces of the Holy Crofs, able to make a whole Crofs : other Relicks, for Rain, for avoiding the Weeds growing in Corn, &c. The following is a fine Pi8urcfque Letter, copied fram the Original, written by Dr. R. Lay- ton, and other\'ifitors of the Religious Houfes ; to Lord Cromwell, about the Year 1537, preferved among Mr. Dodfworth's M. S. Colleflions, in the Bodleian Library. " Pleafielh it your \Vorniip to undcrftand that yeft^ernight we came fi'om Glaftonbury to Briftow. I here fend you for relicks two flowers, wrapped up ill black farcenet, that on Chrift:mas even — (bora ipfa qua Chrlftus natus fuerat) — will fpring, and burgen, and bear flowers. Ye fhall alfo re- ceive a bag of relicks, wherein ye fhall fee ftrange tilings ; as God's coat, our Lady's fraock, part of God's flipper m caina Domini, pars petrit fiiper quain natus erat Jffus in Bcthkhcni ; bclikc BeUilehem affords plenty of itonc. Thefe arc all of Maiden Bradley ; whereof is a Holy Father Priour, who hath but fix children, and but one daughter married yet of the goods of the Monartery, but trufting fliortlie to marrie the reft : His fons be tall men, waiting upon him. He thanks God he never meddled with married women, but all with maidens, faireft that could be gotten, and always married them right well. Th'e Pope, confidering his fragilitie, gave him his licence to keep a whore ; and he has good writing, fub plumho, to difchargc !iis con- fcience, and to chufe Mr. Underbill to be his ghoftly father, and he to give him pknam remijfionem. I fend you alfo our Lady's girdle of Bruton, red filke, a fo- leran relick, fent to women in travil ; Mary Magdalen's girdle, which Matilda, the Emprefs, Founder of Fair- ley, gave with them, as fayeth the Holy Father of Fairley. — I have crolfes of fdver and gold. Sir, which I fend you not now, becaufe I have more to be deliver- ed The BRITISH MUSEUM. 47 TAB. XIX. Calculi^ Stones. Fig, 1. A Calculus, * with a Silver Bodkin, (a. a.) its generally fuppofed that the Lady had an Obftruaion, or violent Itching in her Urinary PaiTage ; flie made ufe of the Bodkin, (to remove it by rubbing) which by fome Accident flipt and remained in the Bladder ; the Stony Subftance forming itfelf gradually Stratum Super-ftratum round it. The fame Cafe happened to a Woman, who made ufe of a large Nail ; the Stone and Nail may be feen at a Friend of mine. I have feen likewife a Bougee which by fome Accident broke in the Bladder, with a Calculus round it ; and I have drawn one, where the Nucleus was a large Stocking Needle ; which had been fwal- lowed, and by the Mufcular Motion, and different Attitudes, had worked itfelf into the Bladder; which Needle, had it been a Pin, would not have wandered fo far, becaufe the Head of the Pin would have ftuck and ftop" d it from going any further. The Anecdote in refpefl of the Lady, (a Nun) amufmg herfelf with the Bodkin, as a certain Great Surgeon in my hearing entertained a young Gentleman with, we can hardly confent to, for the Vagina has no Communica- cd this night, by the Prior at Maiden Bradley. There is nothing notable ; the brethcren be kept fo (Ireight, that they cannot offend ; but fain they would if they might, as they confefs, and fuch fault is not in them. - Pr.mSL Aic/lin-s, Lavton." ■without Erijlol. " Mvjingiilar good Lord, tSc. " AS touching the Abbot of Bury, nothing fufpcft as touching his living; but it was detedcd he lav much forth at Granges, and fpcnt much money in playing at cards and dice. — It is confcITed and proved, that there was here fuch frequence of women comyn and rcfortyn, as to no place more. — Among the relicks are found the Coles St. Laurence was roiled withal ; the * Calculits.'^ I never was fo happv as to know the true cafe, but I have been informed fmce, that: the Lady had a Stone in her Bladder, which by its weight, or gravity, lay on the Hole or PafTage, in the Bottom of die Bladder ; thereby hindering her from difchargiiig her Urine ; fhe frequently made ufe of the Bodkin to eale herfelf, which at lalf, by chance, got into her Bladder ; and round which the Stone was formed. For whatever gets into the Bladder, there is always a ftony Subftance which forms itfelf round it, as may be feen from this and the above Cafes. To fdl our Page, we will give a handful over. — Thus: Ccifntlus, fignifies lite- rally a little Pebble ; thefe Stones and other Crufta- tions are found not only in the Bladder and Kidneys, but alfoin the Pituitary Duds, of the Brain, Liver, Lungs, Stomach, Inteftines, and Joints of the Hands and Feet. In the Phil. Tranf. we meet with accounts of Stones in the Peneal Gland, the Heart, Gall-Bladder, Womb, &c. all of a variety of Shapes. — Perhaps there never was a Painter who has drawn fo many, nor has feen more of them, than myfclf. The generation of Stones is perhaps owing to the \'oIatile Salts of Urine, which B a a or i^s h ?m v s:Eru Mi tion with the Bladder, nor ^vonld the Stone have been formed in that Place if it had Iain there for a Century, or ever fo lonjr; Is there anyj^robability^ of the feaidrr. weiifmgilSfl'tt and Form ? 2. An Eall India Bezoar Nut, wliicli rattles like an Eagle Stone, &c. of a black purple Colour, like coagulated ^Jpodi^ raffed with what Painters call brown Pink, \'ery beautifially polifhed, willi" a "mark or creafe through its Center, and fo bright and Looking-glafs like, that it reflcfted the Images all round it. . ■ "1 •.. X 3. A Monkey's iSczofl)-, + or ti'ticEaft India ■-B^oa'r, very much rcfembling one from the Goat, of an oblong Shape, broke in two with a long Straw, (c.) or fome fuch like Subftance in its Center; its Colour brown Pink, or deep YelTow."^ i\fc5titt$'it- fet-ai generally tke'y ■a?e'Tor"'^refer\^^-bfr'ili j\mle Gheft, or 'Cafe,'- of.'wAaf fs'CalleA 'Lighum Lcevifniliilm'; "thfe-R^ii M'Ma which ap- pears to- refemble the 'Cbmiiio'h Elder, aiid may' for what'I 'know, b'e' is curious as flie Stone it;fetf. . , , . ,1 r ,, •, ■ - . i p-6ter\mi^key's'ftzbar, biit bri'Ciraiia¥%rife':^'Tgiy v^^ m 'mi^k and Magnitude. _ . . . , '•' 5: A'f'd&i/jur th'i Nucleus A Plunib-Siorie, .(is') it' 1? faid'H-fet'lie Vits' a gthordli ^atfer, wjlycli hai"Twallowed tlie Plimib-flon-e by accident, '' atldVolind which tha &oii;!fevra'^S"^ LAytt-s'is-niay tife'fe^iT"febni' 'the! Set^ libn! ^? retemM^ i i^Wg& ^?^'ihiicAV'bafif^M lts'''-dreiWitj-%ft'po't6us flib-; giiiog ino'ii Ji h'qofl bac ^sud a-.- ■'' t>':: • uil) lo Iv.mH siU • -i..! 3ii(lj3dl§«lfeuliffi".S^iW/otetiViliebsa{4: thus_ flie in| mittiit aniitiprftiljlf sfifle Nates, it having -l^in: S»»n«!f fSf'fe!!^ l99KS'^l!&t'l^S'^'n'&v'P:'^ PmM'*. Body for .years. ^Tliat. Stones -in, fladdcr, may'btuprodticcii, °" ". \' ' " '^'thc Optic Nerves caufing tlcad-ach and Blindiicfs.jS, 25, •B-JtaituidioJ 0:1 z»;d im tot .OJ •iS?ibi^d|,-j*i8iiiiiij thc-Jiftndicc-, »,-*i"*eU«^' The cure of tlie Stone is citlicr, 1. By a Liquor, or ters cfFctting an Ifcliuria ane dircllaT^ed piece-meat; there- der, &c. -varioufly alTeEting, . 52, .67, -glso', ',332 Sc -M{lri'--ii^'d! ' M'enitrutiWs-'as c^n difTolve- the Stone And of the Urine of two Perfons;-.of dififefent Ages and l5iu tli'e 'Oi'ej'^ is'ho\\* to tbnvey thefe iniH the Bladder Sexes, which turned into Stone an Hour after it came- \vMtliot'lt''h\irtir^««r,«i is of opinion, that her Body are at Liberty .0 form what ConjcBures they pleafc to B R I T I S H MUSEUM. 55 to believe, that a Lamp was ever contrived to burn for looo or 1500 Years ; much lefs is it creditable, that the Ancients had the fecret of making one bum for e\'er : but who muft not own that many of the Ancient Memorable Things are loft ? One would imagine to be fure, that few will give themfelves the trou- ble of fearching for the fecret, and indeed it feems no eafy Matter to find out, either a Perpetual Wick, or Oil, yet that is no Rule, for I could mention Se\'e- ral things the Ancients were acquainted with, which furpafs their fecret of the fuppofed Oil and Wick. — I know that moft People treat thefe Relations as Fables ; others think that the Lamps \i'hich before were extinguilhed, took light afrefli upon the Admiffion of Frefir Air, fome that they made them without Wicks. — Dr. Plott, however, thinks, fuch Perpetual Lamps Practicable, and pro- pofes, the Linum Afbeftinura, for the Wick, and that Naptha, or Liquid Bitu- men, conftantly fpringing into fome of the Coal Mines, will anfwer for the Oil, and will burn -without a Wick.— IM. Dr. Plott, Phil. Tranj. No. 166, or in Lowthorp's Abrig. V. 3. p, 636. — Some again have imagined it to have been a Na- tural or Artificial Phofphorus, that kindled immediately on the Immiihon of Frefh Air ; moft Accounts agree in this, that the Lamps went out upon the Admiffion of the Air, and Sir Thomas Brown in his Vulgar Errors, B. o^.p. igj. takes no- tice of the Perpetual Lamps, and fays : why fome Lamps included in clofe Bo- dies have burned many hundred Years, is becaufe whatever was their matter, either a Preparation of Gold, or Naptha, the Duration proceeded from the purity of their Oil, which yielded no fuliginous Exhalations to fufTocate the Fire ; for if Air had nourifhed the Flame, it had not continued many minutes, for it would have been fpent and wafted by the Fire. This being the Reafon why Fire fometimes continued manv ages in Flame -without Fewel. 3. The real FolTile Afbeftos. + 4. A Purfe made of the faid Afbeftos, or Incombuftible Foftlle. This Mineral has feveral Names, as 1. Aftjeftos, 2. Amianthus, 3. Salamandra, 4. Linum Foftile, &c. &c. Aficjioi.'] Found in the Ifland of Anglcl'ca, in fome pan of Wales, Highlands of Scodaiid, in America, Alia, in the Mountains of Arcadia, and various other parts of the World; a fort of native Fofh! .Stone, of a whitilli fdver colour, confifting of fmall threads or longitudinal Fibres, infipid, and indifibluble in Water, endued vith the ^won- derful property of refifting and remaining uniiurt in the Fire, which only w hitens it. Afbeftos properly ligniiies an incombuftible Body ; may be I'plit in Threads and Filaments, from one to ten inches in length, a Genus to be diftiiiguiftied from the Amianthus. The Amianthus has fticrt and abrupt Filaments, but not fit for fpinning, but will do for Paper. Vid. Plul. TranJ. No. 166.— And whereof poor People make Torches, becaufe they will not confume in the Fire. There are feveral diftina Species of the .Aft)cftos, and the while, loofe. thready kind, with broad filaments, not what is forincd into Man'es, but always remaining loofe, will be found preferable to all. This is found-near the Surface of the Earth, in many Parts of Aberdeenftiire in Scotland, &c. Cloth as well as Paper has been made of this Stone, and I have feen a Gentleman, a kind of a Phi- lofopher, at Amfterdani, who had a tafty Night-cap of it, which when foul he would throw it into the fire, and became belter clean than if it had been waflied with foap and water, as we do linen This kind of Clotli was highly efteemed by the Ancients ; being held equally precious with Pearls : a China cover, (i. e. a piece of twenty-three inches and three quarters long) being worth eighty Tale, i. e. 36/. 13!. ^i. Its principal u.'c according 10 Pliny was for the making of Shrouds for Royal Funerals, to wrap up the Corps, fo that The BRITISH MUSEUM. ,,4. 4> 4.. 'k- 4". # 4' .'4'' 4" -"h' --k TAB. XXIII. Graptolithi, Figured Slates, and an Agat, with the Edipfe on the Sun. FiS:- 1 • A ^"'^'y Florentine Stone, on which by the Hand of Nature is de- piaed a Beautiful Landfcape, it's fuppofed to be Iron, or a Mi- neral Subftance that has marked the Landfcape, and occafioned chiefly by Mine- ral Exhalations, flaining the Original foft Matter. Nature has no where been affifted, except the Black Frame ; there is another Landfcape equally Beautiful, iiime fi'ze, in the Britifh Mufeum. I never faw in my life any Stones of this kind, fo well imitating the Compofition, invention, &c. of the late Famous Landfcape Painters.— There is a low Horizon, (a.) a large Sky, Trees on the fore Ground, (b.) and they are not done in that manner, or method of makmg Ornamental Trees, the general way of doing Landfcapes now a Days : but it that the .^Ihes might be prerervcd, diaiiifl from ihofe of the wood, &c. whereof the Kirnerahpile was com- pofcd: and the Princes of Tartary, accordmg to the accounts in the Philofophical Tranfaaions, flill ufe it at lliis Day in burning the Dead. The Wicks for their Perpetual Lamps, are made of it ; or perhaps of a Subilance llill fuperior. Seplalla, Canon of Milan, had Tliread, Ropes, Nets, and Paper made of the Afbeftos, of which the Britifh Mufeum has Specimens. One piece of Paper in particular bore the fire very well, except the Ink, which turned a little red by the force of the Fire, which may be feen at the fame place. But notwithftanding the common opinion, in two trials before the Royal Society, a piece of Cloth made of this Stone was found to lofe a dram of its weight each Time. And a large burning Glafs indeed, reduces it into little Glafs Globulas, in proportion as the Fila- ments feparate ; but common Fire only whitens it. As the Foflil is theproduftof our Dominions, and would be of great fervice in Manufafturing it into pa- per, cloth for various ufes, &c. that the art was once known, no liodv will difpute, and I wifh fome Ingeni- ous pcrfon would recover it for the benefit of Man- kind; for how many Ladies, Valetudinarians and Children have been burnt by their Cloaths catc;hing Fire, for want of them being made of the Afbeftos ? Befidesa great many Manufcripts, Wills, Deeds, tS:c. As to its Generation, Dr. Floii, takes it to be a mix- ture of fome Salt, and a pure Earth without Sulphur, coagulated in the Winter; and hardened by the heats in the Summer. The Salt, J. Kelfus fays, is a Lijuii Alum, of a Milky Subftance inclining to Yellow, that fweats out of the Earth. Vid.- Phil. Tranf. A^o. 172. p. 1051. It was anciently prefcribed for difeafes of the Skin, and particularly for the Itch. Sir A. Hume, Bt. one of my Worthy Subfcribers, had in his pof- feffion a fine Species of Albcftos, adhering to Talk, which is counted very curious, and indeed the Amian- thus and Albeftos are ftoney Concretes of the talky kind, though differing from Talk in their external appearance. They are not near fo bright, or fo finooth and unftious ; and are compofed not of leaves or plates, as have been faid, but of long Filaments like Flax ; The method of preparation, as prefcribed by Ciampini, &c. I'iil. Neiiviann, p. 30. Reprefents The BRITISH MUSEUM. 57 Reprefents Nature, and in a Ruyfdale-like manner, (fo call'd by Painters when Trees, &c. are Natural, and not mannerd.) 2. The India Agat* a Pendant, fet in form of a Heart, here Nature again has drawn on it a true Reprefentation of an Eclipfe on the Sun, (c.) and (d.) the Moon, on the bottom of which hangs an Onyx + drop (e.) — ^They have a Compa- nion to it in the Britifh Mufeum, which is an Eclipfe of the Moon. * Agaie.'j A precious Stone, firft found on the banks of a River in Sicily, from whence it is named, partly Tranfparent and partly Opake ; ufually diver- fified with a variety of Colours, Veins, Spots, &c. fomctimes exhibiting Figures, or appearances of Na- tural Ohjcfts, as Landfcapes, Woods, Rivers, Fruits, Flowers, Sec. — The moll celebrated ^J^a/, is tha.to? Pjir- rhus, u-hcrein were reprefented theNiiieMufes, each with their proper attributes, and Apollo in dieMiddie, playing ontheHarp. Vid. PUn.l.j. c. ii. Kircher, diat famous Author, mentions to have feen a Stone, on wliich was depiSed the four Letters ufually infcribed on the top of Crucifixes, I. N.R.I, fome real Crucifix he apprehends had been under ground, among Stones and other Rubbifh, where" the Infcription happening to be parted from the Crofs, and to be received among a foft mould, or clay, fufceptiblc of the Impreffion of the Letters, this came afterwards, by means of fome Lapidific juice, or fume, to be petrified. In the fame manner, that Author fuppofes the Agat of Pyrrhus to have been formed, but others imagine thole Stones made in no other manner than Cameas, or Florentine Stones : Thele kind of Agats, arc ciafs'd among the Anthropomor- phos. There is lihcwife ;i particular kind of Agais, commonlv cali'd Mocues, of which die Britifh Mu- feum ha5 fine Specimens, thev are beautifully polifiied, on wiiich are very lively and natural Reprefentations of little Landfcapes, Moffes, Shrubs, and other Figures. They are compofed of Chryftal, debafed by a large quantity of Earth, are merely the effett of one fimple Concretion, and variegated only by the difpo- fltion of the fluid, they were formed in, which gave their differently coloured Veins, or Matters. ^And are very numerous, they are however arranged into fome order, and firit according to the dili'ercnt Colours of their ground ; fecondly, with regard to the Objects re- prefented on them ; are alfo divided with regard to liie affinities ihey bare to other Stones, and are fomctimes denominated from rlie fubiefi reiircR-nled on ihem, like our Aftronomical Agat above, from the Eclipfe being depitted on it. The great Mr. Boyle, who is an Honour to his Country, takes Agats to have been formed of fcpa- rate beds, or flrata of fine Clay or Earth, brought by a petrifying liquor to coagulate into a Stone. — The fame Author obferves, that the Fire will purge away the Co- lours of Agat. That likcwife Agats may be ftained artificially by a folution of Silver in Spirits of Nitre, and the Figures and Ramifications of any Pifturefquc Stone, whether natural or artificial, may be difcharged with Aquafortis, with which the Lapidaries are well acquainted. — Thofe who chufe to be further in- formed may confuil M. Du Fay, who has given the art of flaining Agats, with divers beautiful Colours. Vid. Mem. Acad. R. an. 1728. p. 71. 1 muft not forget to mention, that the Seal Engravers efteem this Stone for Seals ; becaufe no Wax will ftick to it ; and are ufed for Sword-hilts, Knife-hafts, Beads, Cups, &c. t Onyx Drop.'] At the bottom (e.) is accounted a Spe- cies of Opake Agat. The word, in Greek, Signifies Nail ; the Poets making this Stone to have been formed by the Pares, from a paring of ^'■cnus'3 Nails, cut off by Cupid with one of his Arrows. — There arc four Spe- cies of the Onyx now in ufe among the Lapidaries, the bluifh white one, with broad and white Zones, which is the true Onyx of the Ancients, and is compofed of a bluifli white Onyx, variegated with white and brown Zones, The Onyx is found in fcvcral Parts of die Eali: Indies, in Mexico, Bohemia, and odicr Places in Germany; and is formed of Chryftal debafed with a fmail Ad- mixture of Earth, in form of a Pebble and fometimes of fiat and even Plates, of a feries of Coats made by incruftations round a central Nucleus ; in fJiort, white Zones or Girdles are efl'cntial to an Onyx, Q TAB. XXIV. ,58 TAc B R I T I S H M U S E U M. •"H B ni ' TAB. XXIV. The Human Horn, and the Crotalum. Fi<^- 1. rf^'^'-^ °^ t\\e. Horns* of Mrs. French, a Woman from TenterrfeM, a Market Town of Kent, who had a Horny Subjlance growing out of the back part of her Head ; it is faid by one of the Officers at the Britifh Mu- feum, that fome People allowed her a certain fum per Year for to make a fhow of her : but the fforn by fome Accident broke off, which fhe prefented to Sir H. Sloane, who gave her generoufly four Guineas in Return. But this Horn does not belong to the Woman whofe Portrait they have at the Mufeum, her Name was Mary Davis, an Inhabitant of Great Saughall, near Chefliire. " This Refemblance was taken Anno. Dom. 1668, ^tatis 74. When fhe was 28 Years old, an Excrefcence rofe upon her Head, which continued thirty Years like to a Wen, then grew into two Horns, after five Years fhe caft them ; then grew two more, after five Years, fhe caft them again ; thofe upon her Head have grown four Years, and are to be feen." — The above is a Copy of what was wrote on the bottom of the Picture, and the Face is a Profile : Another Pifture after her it is faid is in the Mufeum at Oxford, along ^vith the two real Horns. — And in the late Sale of Sir John Dalfton's Colleftion, 1775, there was likewife a very curious Horny Excrefcence, taken from behind a Woman's Ear, with a Certi- ficate and further Account thereof In pcrufing my Notes over of the Year 1772, I found another fingular account of the Wife of a Tradefman at Macon, in Burgundy, who for thofe fixteen Years pafl;, has been afflifted with a Horny Suhjlance, which grew out of the fide of her Neck, to the length of five or fix Inches, curling like the Horn of a Ram ; fhe had for fome Years paft cut it off down to its Bafis, which was two inches in Diameter, but it conftantly grew again foon after ; however a dextrous Surgeon made a Radical cure of this Ex- traordinary diforder, by diJfeSing it out from its Origin, which was found to be fupplied by a quantity of matter fimilar to the White of an Egg. If any one of thefe Women had lived or been born among the Ancient Egyptians, &c. they might have laid claim of a Pedigree to Ofiris, Bacchus, Pan, or any other * Horns.'] Now as this Woman's Horn has got Tomcthing of the Satyr in it, I thought it mod proper to coop it along with the Crotalus, of 77j« B R I T I S H MUSEUM. 59 of the horned Gods, but moft of the Gentlemen in this Libertine Age, do not look on thefe as a proper Ornament for the Fair-Sex ; and yet it is very remark- able, that all thofe Horns I have feen are always found on a Woman's Head, as if Nature laboured to put us in mind that there are Female Cuckoos as well as Males. I prefer the laft Word before the Real one, the very found of which makes Men in general look very ferious, and on the Contrary it makes the Women fmile. — From this we find what different effeSs founds of Words, Mufic, Gold, &c. have on the Membrana Tympani, and Auditory Nerve ; and thus from Sound and Mufic we are harmonioufly led on to our Mufical Inftrument com- monly called a Crotalus. Fig. 2. A Crotalum, + or kind of Cymbal, with eight round Plates, (b.) of Bronze or Brafs, hollow within, the Ring (c.) is Copper, and was ufed like the Siflrum to mark the Cadence ; the ufe of underftanding it in thofe Days was certainly more agreeable than we can at prefent imagine. — ■ — It is a very ancient Mufical Inftrument, a kind of Caftagnetta, and found on Medals in the Hands of the Prieft of Cybele, &c. and differs very much from the Siftrum, though Authors frequently confound the two. They were fhook in the Hand, and in ftriking againft each other, made a quick tinkling Noife, like the fmall Shells of Brafs, Ivory, or Wood, called Caftanet, which Dancers rattle in their Hands, as at Sadler's-Wells, to accompany and direft their Motions and Cadences. — An Antient, in Paufanias, fays, that Hercules did not kill the great Birds of the Lake Stymphalus, but that he drove them away by playing on Crotola ; but this Crotalum is entirely of a different Shape and more like the Caftanet : the Crotalum therefore, if this is true, muft be exceedingly ancient. Lucretius, I. 5. The Manner of driving Birds away from Orchards in Holland, now a days, with a Machine I call a Wind-Rattle, perhaps, took its Invention from thence. Clemens Alexandrinus, attributes the Invention to the Sicillians, and forbids the Ufe thereof to the Chriftians, becaufe of the indecent Motions and Geftures that accompanied it. — — I look on this as a Specie of Crotalus, perhaps from Crotalia. Vid. Plin. g. 35. — — Jewels fo ^vorn, that they jingle as " they ftrike againft one another." Thefe round Plates are likewife ufed in Cymbals, or what is called Tambourins, which we daily fee accompany the Organs ; and abroad, efpecially in Holland, among the lower Clafs, where they fallen ever fo many of thefe tin Jingles and Bells to their country Carts, &c. in the time of their Kermis, or Fairs, as a harmonious Preparation for Dancing. + Crotalum.^ We bave endeavoured to afTift a made of two Brafs Plates, or Bones, as I have already learned French Gendeman, ivho has called this Mufical faid, which being ftruck together, made a kind of Inftrument a Crotales ; for what is likewife called a Mufic like the Caftanets ; and ihcfe I take to be the Crotalum among the Ancients, is a Mufical Inftrument fame which Hercules made ufe of. TAB. XXV, 6o 77j£ B R I T I S H M U S E U M. floni )ud ,',boc) bamorl or': "lO TAB. XXV. Greek and Roman Tejferce, or Tickets Fig. HE Hand in Bafo Relievo on this Ticket * with the Thumb and ruft Finger up, the third, fourth and fifth Finger * Tidd:] The Hollanders have a Pfovcrb, viz. Ccn- fida-ing is all, faid the Maid, andihe made biU one Bed and laid with her Mailer ; and the Englilh fay, Well begun is Half ended, for all our Aaions whether the undertaking be good or bad, turns on the Axis of this remarkable Proverb, of which I am very fond, and find it always very difFicuU in beginning veil. For if a Pcifonmakesa falfc ftep, let us fuppofe a Rope Dan- cer, or a Young Lady, &c. the projeft of any under- taking, Work, Reputation, Life and Soul is irrecover- ably Loft, i.e. according to its confequencc : thus after Coiifdering or a Forctight, we will endeavour to make a good beginning with the Tickets, to avoid 5^c/j, or any marks of Scratches in our Rrputation as an Author. Now before \vc enter tn view or explain the fol- lowing Tejfenr, by way of Prelude, it will be necef- lary to obferve, that tbefe Tickets feiTcd for various Furpofes, and likewife fignified a Watch-word among Sentinels in Roman Camps to prevent furprize^ &c. Augtiftus Czefar gave for his Watch-word Venus Gene- trix; Ponipeius Magnus gave Hercules Inviftus, Sec. and this was called Tejera MUitaris, there were others called TeJ/era Fnmentaria, the next was TeJJ'era Nimmaria, and there was the Tejfera Hn/pilahs, of which we have given a flight fketeh among the Dice Page 44- — There were many more as the Tcffera; of the Gladiators and Slaves which were Certificates or marks of Freedom, for to alTift as Speftators and not Gladiators, as may be feen from Gruter, M. de la Chaufe, Frabreti, and Montfaucon.. And the TeJ- [era; Convivaki, or Tickets by which they were admit- ted unto Feafts, or which intided a Soldier, &c, to a Dinner, according to Livy. -It is true that the Emperors ufe to give the Soldiers certain Meafures of Corn, &c. and the Poor as I have iaid before. Corn, Oil, Gold, Silver and other things; but befides thcfo they fervcd for certain Sacrifices, FefUvity's, the Thea- tres and other Places of Diverfion, as Marks and coun- ter Marks.i Their Charafter as to Fonn are various, and the Matter or Subftance conlift of IV017, Bone, Stone, Chryftal, many others of Wood, like thofe which are found at Herculaneum; a great number of them are Lead, and refemble Coins, they repre- fent Egyption, and Grecian Divinities, with heads of Emperors, or other Charaflers. Vid. Count Cayliis, —Some others again we find with fentences on which was MTOte, Faii/le vivas, Live Happily, &c. — Thole who have writings on them, or Figurations, provided they have efcaped the Sithe of Time, throw great light towards explaining them, but thofe which have only Numbers, or fome with Figures and Numbers, bclides their different forms and fubftances being arbi- trary, has made many an Antiquary fweat, in vain ; and makes them very intricate and difficult for to De- cide, yet there are fome from their Peculiarity's, as thofe of the Gladiators, and TeJJens Hofpilaki, &c. which may be eafily underRood. But what is very remarkable, is that fome of thefe Tickets have Baffo- Rcllevo's on them, their lubftance being Ivory, Bone, and Stone, which required to be fculptured, and their Letters, &c. engraved, fome of which I have fecn arc very well done ; now if we confider the great quantity that were wanted, to fupply the Spe£tators, their luxu- rious Tafte for encouraging their large Theatrical Sports in tliofe Days; and fome again for fo common ufe, we do think, as I have mentioned concerning an arrow Head of Flint, that perhaps they had afecret unknown to us, of making the above fubftances Soft or Liqucfla- ble and fit for a Mould. — Since I wrote this, I have been fo happy again of meeting with a Pafiagc to fetdc this doubt by new Evidence, from Seneca's Epiftlc, xc. telling us thatDemocritus, by being well acquainted with the Egyptians, difcovercd how to foften Ivory, and Fz0.( A 2 B I I I The BRITISH MUSEUM. 61 down fignifies the number viii, or eight, being the degree of the Theatre ; and the number ix, or nine, engraved on the Back, (a.) fignified the Door, or and by boiling a ftone, learned how to convert it into an Emerald ; * a green precious ftone. — If they could foften Ivory, they might do the fame with Bone, Flint, Stone, Sec. and if they had the Art of tinging or imi- tating the Emerald, there is no doubt, na/ it is con- firmed, of their making Artificial Gems, which equalled the Originals both in Luftre andHardnefs; and being well acquainted with Chymical Operation ; it is faid by Vopifcus, that they ufe to make drinking-glaffes, call'd A.laJJontei, which would change Colour like a Pigeons Neck or a Peacock's Tail. More- over it is faid, fays PUny, I- 36- c. 26. " That during the Reign of Tiberius, the Third Emperor, there was devifed a certain temper of Glafs, which made it pliable and flexible to wind and turn without breaking : but the t Artificer who devifed this, was put down, {put to Death,) and his Work-houfc, for fear left Veftcls made of fuch Glafs fhould take away the Credit from the Rich Plate of Brafs, Silver, and Gold, and make them of no Price : and verily, this Bruit hath run Cur- rant a long Time. But what booted the aboliftiing of Glafs-Makers, feeing that in the Days of the Emperor Nero, the art of Glafs-making was grown to fuch per- fection, that two drinking Cups of Glafs, (and thofe not big, which they called Plerotos or Eared Cups) were fold for 6000 Sellerces, " a Coin among the Ro- mans, in value the fourth part of a Denier, or two Afles and a Half, i. c. two Pounds of Brafs Coin and a Half ; marked thus LLS. the two LL. ftanding for LibtriE, Pounds, and the S. for Semi, Half a Pound; which afterwards, by turning the two LL. into an IL was thus marked, HS. It is likewifc faid by Appion Plijlonica, there was to be fccn in the Labyrinth of Egypt, a Coloffus of Sc- rapie, nine Cubits high, of an entire Emerald. Vid. for their beautiful Staining Stones, , Glafs, enamel and making Paitc, Pliny. Marble, &c. may be made fo foft as to be planed as we do \\"ood, and I have thought many Years ago, that Wood might, when pulvcrifed and mixed with a ftrongCement or particular Glue, be made fit for making of Figures, &c. in a Mould. We arc not loft here in a Labyrinth of Confufion, our Subject is flill in my mind; I had no opportunity of introducing this any where but here: the intent of this, is to fet the Imagination agoing, of thofe who have a Genius for thefe Subjefts, if by chance they fliould meet with this. What pleafes mc moft, and every one to their liking, as the old Woman faid when Ihe kifs'd her Cow, — is the Teffera Hqfpitalis ; they confifted of two Pieces which ufed to join when put together, or like one piece cut in two, with certain Charaftcrs or double Marks as did correfpond together when joined, as Bakers, and others mark their Tallies. With thefe Tickets they juftified the Hofpitality which was contrafted with cer- tain Perfons, in cafe they travelled. &c. either for their Pofterity. or they miglit lend thefe Tickets to whom they pleafed ; on bringing thefe Tefi'cras thev were as well received with Lodging, Sec. as the Perfon to whom the Ticket belonged. O how Humane and Friendly tliis is ! — Here is a Pifture of Ancient Hofpitality !—\Vhat a pity it is that fo noble a Charity is abolifhed, and fo fine an Exam- ple is not known in Chriftian Countries ! Thus have we endeavoured to open the Door, for to enter into the Ufe of the above Tickets. t Fingers Down.] PjV holding down the Fourth Fin- ger of the left hand, while the reft were extended. The Egyptian Hienjglyphic Signifies the Perfetl and magnified Number of fix. The ancients expreifcd numbers by the Fingers on either hand : on the left they counted their Digits and Articulte Numbers unto a Hundred; on the Right Hand Hundreds and Thou- fands, and though by holding the Finger Down in the Left, meant but fix, in the Right Hand it fignified Six Hundred. !'id. Picrhis, and Sir T. Brown's, I'ul. Er- * This is he who ufed to laugh at the Follies of the World, in hunting fo eagcrlv after Riches and Honour ; a great Traveller for the fake of K nowledge, by which he became an excellent Philofopher, at Abdera. [I'id. Cic. andCcneca, xuho quotes the above Author.) Was a learned Man, he -was z great 0}-aior. Philofopher, Poet, and d. Hif- torian. If any of thefe Petit great Men now a da)'s, or other Men, will but make a Comparifon between their merit and them ; but however, weflialtall know by and by, who ha« merit and who has not; thefe Men of the lirft Rate I refpeft, and look on their Phiiofophv, &c. as I would admire a fine Antique; cither done by an Egyptian or Grecian Sculpture, and tiicfe are the People I would take for an Example. + It is faid that the Suppliant came bcfijre the Emperor, and fiicwcd him a Glafs whole and found, which had been purpofly broke before ; he caufed him prefently to be put to death. Vid. Ccrl. Rhodig. I. 20. c. 30. Every Perlbn is fenfible, that all Uienfils or Kitchen Veilels, &c- made of Glafs, or China, are more wholefome to Eat and Drink out of, than any other Metal whatfoever, and if Fortune chufes to fmile on me once more ; I fhould like, if it even was for all the remaining part of my Life to find this great fecret out ; and I really believe I could make Glafs, China, &c. Malleable if I had time: but Dame Fortune has neither Eyes nor Ears, and Kifiing goes by Favour. R 62 The BRITISH MUSE U M. entr)- through ^vhich one was to pafs : this precaution was to prevent the croud from flopping the Paffage. The fubftance Ivory, and fame fize. 2. A Bone cut in form of a Ram's Head, this Ticlcet ferved to announce the nature of Contribution in Viauals given to the People, and he that received fuch a one was paid in Mutton, the fame Quantity which is marlicd on the Back, B. xui. 3. This Tejfcra or Ticket, (c.) was difcovered in Campania, near the ruins of Ancient Capua, Capri, or Caprea, '(I believe this Capri, or Caprea, is 20 m. f. of the City of Naples.) It ferved for a Theatrical Ticket, in the Rcprefenta- tion of a God, entitled Serapis, % the reft the name of the Author, and feems to Ihow that he was called So/)7b/!ana ; the letter "ear the bottom, litrnifies the feventh Row of Benches, that was to be occupied by the FoCTefror, the upper Part which is obliterated, may ftand for the number of the Door. — The Flower Lotus, 1| placed on the other fide was the Symbol of this Deity, which {hews that this Piece was reprefented at the Time of the celebration of the Anniverfary of this God.— The fubftance of this Ticket is Ivory, fame fize, and fet in a Sih er Frame to keep it from being further damaged ; I look on this as being very curious and very valuable on account of its Antiqmty. 4. The Lords of the Manor, or Matters of Villages ufed to give to the Inha- bitants Luftral or Expiatory Viaims, and Tefferas, fuch as the Ram, Sow, and Bull ; which were facrificed in their behalf on the eleventh of May, this being the Time they addrefs'd their Gods m favour of their Harveft, which we endea- vour to prove or is proved by Hoftenius from an ancient Ruftick Kalendar. The facrificing of the Ram, and the Flames underneath the Animal, are very well reprefented in Bafs-Relivo, on this Ivory Ticket, figure 4, and the ron, p. 237. Among the Moderns, tlicy have an ufeful Invention of teacliing Dumb People to fpeak, or exprcfs their mind on the Fingers, which I have teen performed »ith amazing Alacrity, by a Dutch Phyfi- cian at the Hague. + Strapii, Oftru, md Apis, are the three different Names of one and tire fame God. Scrapis, Etymo- logy or derivation proceeds from Cheft, for Ofiris, tvhofc Body after Death, ^-as found inclofed or Ihut up in a Cheft, (being killed by his Brother Typhon) from thence was afterwards called Sompis. by the change of a Letter Sempis, from M-liich the Poet made his Play, and for which this Theatrical Ticket lirved. Apis, derives from a Word in the Egyptian Language, wliich fignifies an Ox, as appeared after the faid Ofiyis was interred, and which was worfhiped by the Egyp- . tians, thinking it was OJirii, and called it Apa- See Pantheon of the Heathen Gods, p. 336., This Ofi- ris, or Serapis, the greatell of all the Gods in Egypt, ■ was fuccceded by this ftatcly beautiful Ox. Vid. Plin. Hi/I. Nat. I. i.e. 40. |j The lotas.] Of which we will give the following Botanical Relation: Alpitrus calls it Lotus Agyptia ; a name moll Authors have copied from him. Sir Hans Sloane, Nymphea Indica Flore Candido, folio in Ambitu Serrato, others Ambel. It is a Native of Egypt, the Eall Indies; and the hotter parts of Ame- rica, and flowers in Autumn. The Root, which is of the fhapc and fize of a large Egg, is a delicacy with the People of the Eaft, and accounted a very wholefome and delicate food: they boil it, and eat it with the Liquor ; it is fo extremely abundant in the Nile, that it ferves as a kind of univerfal food to the Poor, who have nodiing to do but go into the place wiiere the water is firalloweft, and take up in an hour or two, Food for many Days for their Families. — There is not any Bread in the World (by report) more whole- fome and lighter than this, fo long as it is Hot ; but being once Cold, it is harder of digeftion and bccom- eth weighty and Ponderous. Plm. I. 22. c. 21. aGendeman whom I very much refpetl, and often ((uote, the moft learned in Natural Hiftoiy, and one with whom I fooner would err, than be in the Right with his Criticizers. Roman The BRITISH MUSEUM. 63 Roman Numeral Letters (d.) three, on the back of this Ticket have the fame Sgnification as the Greek Letter at the bottom. I muft own I looked on Num- ber Three as the date of the Month on which the Sacrifice was fixt, but meet- ing with the above PaETage, we will rather with more Authority fuppofe, that the Perfon was entitled to a quantity of Money in Gold, Silver, or certain Mea- fures of Corn, Pullet Eggs, likewife various Animals, and many other uncertain things, from a Paflage in Lampridius, fpeaking of EUiogabalus. — As to the ufe of the hole in the middle of the Teffera, I am not afhamed to own my igno- rance, unlefs it was to hang on the Gueft, or fome fuch ufe for to hang by. 5. From the Explanation of the laft Ticket, the numeral Letters both in Latin, and Greek, on the front of this Teffera, (5.) will be eafily underftood, and as there is no figure or letters, but the Number fifteen, it's impoffible to judge with any certaint)', for what it was intended, unlefs it fer\'ed for the degree, or the place the Spectator was to occupy in the Theatre, or any other places of Diver- fioh ; the fubftance of this Teffera was a beautiful Chiyftal, of .a Globular fortn, and the Number 15 engraved in the very fubftance ; and the Reverfe of the Number is feen through the Back part of this Ticket, figure (e.) 6. and 7. As they are of the fame bigncfs, and form one piece when laid on each other, as if it had been cut in two, I muft own I took this for a Teffera HofpitaUs, but the Earl of , fuppofes tlie word Polynices to fignify the name of a Play, which was ftill more confirmed by Lady , who in- formed me that in a French Book, entitled Theatre Greek, is mentioned the Tragedy of Polynices, &c. This Polynices was the Son of Oedipus, and Brother of Eteocles, but Eteo- cles being the Elder fon, agreed with his Brother Polynices, that after their Fa- ther's Death, they fhould Rule alternately Year by Year, but he having reigned his Year, would not refign the Government to his Brother ; upon which a War enfuing, they met in the Field, and killed each other. Their Bodies being burned in one Pile, the Flame parted, to Ihew their Antipathy, when Dead, was as great as when Living. lid. Stat. Theb. 12, 430. Figure (7.) being very much obliterated, my Friends and myfelf have not been able, after a deal of fearching to make it out, and as there are a great many Antiquities, the Ex- planations of which are only Conjectures, fo there are many, of which nothing can be faid, though the Plan I had formed to myfelf was not to draw any thing of that kind ; we wifh however the Reader will accept of our beft endea- vours, as we fuppofe this Ticket to be the name of the Entertainment after the laft Tragedy, or may be the name of another Play; what makes me think fo, is their fubftance being the fame, and they fit exaftly when put together, or per- haps it ftands for the Name of a Man and Woman. TAB. XXVI. 64 m B R I T I S H M U S E U M. TAB. XXVL A Roman Patera, & a large Gold One ditto. Pi„ 1 A Shallow Red Roman Patera, *Pocullum, or little Cup. Found at ^' ■ /v Black Stakes, below Chatham, upon the ebbing of the Tide; the in and Out-fide varnilhed, + and the Word in the Iniide Prmam, % perhaps ficrnifies a Breakfaft Cup belonging to the Roman Soldiers of the firft Legion, when they invaded this Kindom, and not the name of the Mafler of the Pottery. Vii TAB. XXII. 011 Lamps, for the Word Januari.^Uke thofe fkilful in Pyro- tcdinics, or the Art of Fireworks, entertain the Spcftators ; fo we endeavour at our coming and going, always to throw fome pleafing Squibs, or Lights on Sub- jeas • efpecially where there is but little to fay, or when we cannot be Deep ;— But fometimes they are dry and infipid by Nature ; then again we endeavour to llourilb them off with ajuft Taftc and hangout, always lively, never low-fpirited and defpairincT, for it was never my Intention the Reader Ihould grow ^^'eary . Red Ro,mn Patera:} OF Englffli ManuFaaurc; thefe arc dag up \« different places of this Kingdom and thefe Roman Potteries have lilicwifc been difco- vcred in many Fhtces ; fuch as about Midway between Wiiberfoffe and Barnby on the Moor, fix Miles from York, in the Sand-HiUs, or rifing Ground, where now the Warren is :— Another Roman Pottery on the Sand- II.Us at Santon, a little way off Btigg, in Lincolnflrire, &c The red Patn ai, and likewifc iheir Urns, was what they vaHued ihemWves moft on, as if they intended to eternize their Names to future Ages. t Varnilhi.-] Or ;vhat we call Glazing, this was done with a bright Coral Colour, but far mOre Healthy, Beautiful, and Lafting, than our modern way of Lead- ing which wiU fometimes crack with Heat and Mo.l- uue; and on account of the Lead Fumes, which it emits when on the fire, is certainly therefore more Unwholefomei what further concerns their glazing, this was performed with dipping or by the brulh; and muft have been done before baking. Plin. Hill. Nat. U... 35. c. 15. aid 1.36. c. 19. Where he treats on the Nature of Bitumen, a fat, tenacious, inllammable mineral lubftance, or Foffil Body, fays it ferves for diverfe and fundry ufcs ; fueh as— S3- " For brafen Chaufer«, Pans or Kctdes, or fuch-like Vclfels, be enhuiled therewith, it hardens them againft the vio- lence of fire. I have faid already, that they were wont in old Times to Varnilli their Images with bitumen ; for it links into folid Statues, Pateras, &c. It has been ufed in Mortar, alfo inftead of Lime, and with that kind of Cement were the Walls of Babylon laid, and the Stones fodered together. Iron-Smiths alfo have much ufe of Britumen, and namely in fanguining or colouring their Iron-work ; and Nailers, efpecially about their Nail Heads ; many other ways likewifc it ferves their mm. IPrivianas, (1.) The Lieutenant that appointed Wa- ges to the firft Regiment, (a.) Pnmam, the Soldiers of the firft Legion as I faid above. (1.) Fejl. (2.) Pri- iiiani Aijuilam altftukn, Tac. JIiJl. 2. 43. and 77;e B R I T I S H MUSEUM. 65 and fall a flumbering over our beft endeavours ; or like the Meteors, whofe quick Velocity and fparkling Light, fometimes will dazzle the Sight ; thus we labour to illuminate the Mind. Once more like any Thing that gives Light ; a Pharos, a Taper, or whatever elfe you pleafe. — And now we'll give the Reader a Reliih with an Ancient Breakfaft. This was termed Jentaculum, like our Englifh Word hath a jcjunica, from falling: In former times it was called a Silatum, from Sile, the name of a certain Herb, with the Root whereof the were wont to feafon that Wine which they had at Breakfaft : for as Plutarch faitli, their Breakfaft was nothing but a Sop dipped in Wine. Plut. in Sym. I. 8, a. 6. 2, A Large Gold Patera, dedicated to Bacchus, of Sir William Hamilton's Colleftion, in the Britifli Mufeum. This Golden Patera was found at Gergenti, or Gergentum a town of Sicily, or Agrigentum ; the Ufe of it was deftmate for the Sacrifices, it ferved for the Libations of all Kinds; the Oxen circling round this Patera, indigitate it was confecrated to Bacchus, the God of Wine ; which in moft ancient Times, the Grecians adored under this Form of the faid Animal : The Crefcent (b.) defigned in Granites on the inner Center of the faid Patera, is the Sign of Bacchus's Horns, which gave him the Name of Kerafpho- ros, or Hornet, as v.-e fmd in Dyonifiaqus, the Roman and in the Latin Poets. Kerafphoros, I faid, though he is hkewife called by many of the Greeks, Eugenes, that is born of an Ox ; and from thence Tauriformis, or Tauriceps ■ and he is fuppofed to have Horns, becaufe he firft plough 'd with Oxen, or be- caufe he was the Son of Jupiier Amon, who had the Head of a Ram. He is reprefented with Horns alfo in the Statues, Relievos, and Coins, and the Poets generally depia him thus ;— " Put but on Horns, and Bacchus thou /halt be. II Ovid. Ep. Saph. But now again ^ve proceed,— Bjy Wine and Mirth the Beggar grows a King:— Vrom thence ^ve may learn that Bacchus makes as many horned as Venus. And why not ^vith Horns ?— for Wine not only makes Men forget their Cares and Troubles, but it renders e\'en the meaneft People Bold, Lrfolent, and Fierce ; exercifing their Fury and Rage againft others with their Tongue, as a mad Ox gores with his Horns. Some again think that Bacchus waslfaid to be horned, becaufe the Ancients on their Tables ufcd Horns to drink out of, inftead of other drinking Veffels. Vid. Xcnophon, I. 6 & -. Which Cuftom has remained among the Northern Nations a long while. Plm. I. n. & Tho. Bar- tholi mis. The form of this Ancient Patera, of which there are but three in the World, as I ha\-c been told, is round and very fliallow, ^vith two other Circles within; the different Diftances of each form a beautiful variety; the outward Ornaments, nov/ called Carlo Marattis, moulding, and the Granates are ftill [1 Ovid.'\ Another Favourite oi' mine, efpccially liis Metamorphn/is, which I commonly call the Painters Bible ; an eafy and excellent Poet, a wondcrru! great Reader, and who has difpofcd into very agreeable Com- pofitions, Times, Perfons, and Things, very artfully, and infinitely different; fo that I know no Author, whofeWorksmake better entertainment, andpiaorefque Piflures than his. s admired 66 The BRITISH MUSEUM. admired in our Days in Piflure Frames ; but the Oxen which I have copied exaflly, are like moft all the Animals of the Ancients, who are generally as re- markably bad, as their Statues, &c. are fine, and in which the Artifts feem not to have fufficiently confulted with Nature.— The ornamental Part of this Patera was chafed, and it is the fame Size. TAB. XXVII. Nautilus Papyraceus, or Paper Nautilus. Fiir. 1. ' I 'HE Nautilus, * or Fijl-i, a caft from Nature in Wax, and placed in J- the Natural Shell, as big as the Objeft, and fo are the three fol- lowing Shells : (a. A.) The Shell, (b.b.) the two foremoft Legs without their Membranous Sails, (b.b.) the Real Sails and Legs from a dried and diflefted Nauti- lus, Vid. center of the Print half as big, (c.c.) the Oars or Limbs, by means of which the Fifh Swims. This Nautilus, or Cuttle Blubber, is called by the Neapo- litans, Pulpo Seccia, becaufe the Head, Body, and Limbs, are fimilar to thofe of the Seccia, or Cuttle Fifh. By us it is called the Sailor from Nautilus, a fpecie Turbinated Sea Shell, of a compreffed figure, the Whirl or Volute, hid within the Body. — It is fuppofed that Men firft took the hint and method of failing and rowing in Vefiels from this Creature, from whence this known Verfe of Pope, " Learn of the little Nautilus to fail, " Spread the thin Oar and catch the driving Gale. There are two diftinfl; Genera of Nautilus, the thin, and the thick Shelled Nautilus, of which there are a variety of Charaflers in each. — The thin and * Ninttilus.'] The Shell of tlie Paper Nautilus, is Tetting an example for fcverc Critics, who take a delight fcldom found perfeft. on account of its fuKftance being when they have an opportunity of flinging the ingeni- fo thin, and when defcrted like a ihipwrcck, is daflied otis and learned ; for to make themfclvcs pafs for great againft the Rock, Shallows or upon the Shore. — Both Men, forgetting at the fame time how liable we all are the thick and thin fhellcd Nautilus, are often con- in committing of Errors. 1 hope the Wax Nauti- founded by Authors, and generally rcprcfent the Ani- lus, figure (i.) is well difpofed in the Real Shell-, for I mal as fupporting, or ftretching a (or one) membrane drew it as I found it, and as it was given me ; the real between its Arms. Whereas in reality, there are fails of the dried one is not fo well as I could wiili, two, it is not my intention to mention thefe otherwife but we mufl make the moft of a bad bargain. Better refpetlful Authors ; for though they were mifinformed, this than nothing, and a Lark is better than a Kite, it was not their defign to deceive others. Hereby flatted r/i« B R I T I S H MUSEUM. 67 flatted Paper Nautilus, (of which we give a drawing,) thefe Species when they are to fail, extend the two foremoft Legs on high, and difplay the two Membranes : which ferve for Sails, the two other Arms (c.c.) they row with, and ferve as Oars, the hinder Limbs as a Rudder at the Stern, by which the Architefl of nature has ordained the courfe of this VefTel to be governed. — Thus numbers of thefe Creatures divert themfelves in the Mediterranean, and Eaft Indies, of various fizes, when the Sea is calm ; but as foon, and before a Storm rifes, or if difturbed, they haul in their Sails, Sec. and take in as much Water fufficient to plunge themfelves down and then fmk to the bottom. — -It fometimes quits its Shell, and returns to it again, but when it's unfit for failing, it forfakes it en- tirely ; — when it begins to fpring a Leak. 2. This Purpurce, + has very Ornamental Protuberances, and according to my opinion one of the moft elegant Shells ; thefe Protuberances, even the very fmallefl are cut from the top to the bottom, with Minuter Beauties, re- fembling curled Cabbage Leaves, or endive, raifed for Ballads ; the body of the Shell is White, of an Afh Colour, and the Protuberances are a Brownifh Black, either all over, or at leaft at the Extremity. I copied Nature as I faw it, and I am forry my fhell has none of this Black, owing to thefe Shells being fre- quently bleached. 3. The Wendel, or Wentel Trap, t fo named by the Hollanders, who find it in their Molucca or Spice Iflands ; but in this Country it is called the Royal Stair-Cafe. It was once in high value, and often ufcd to fell for Twenty Guineas and upwards. It is generally claffed among the Turbines, or Screw- Shells, Pearl-Colour like and fmooth. 4. Echini Marini, \\ without its Spines, the Sea Hedge-Hog, or Urchin, the t Parfura-I This is a very beautiful Species, called Purptira, from the Purplejuice each Shell-Fini yielded, and in Pliny's days the fine doubid dyed purple of Tyre, called Dibapha ; one could not buy a pound of it for one thoufand Denarii, ^hich is more than 30I. fterling. Vid. for this dye, and when the Romans begun to weare purple firft. Plm. L g. c. 39. The prodigious great price of the dye, proceeded from the liltie quantity of purple, the vein of the Neck and Jaws, each Fifti produced, and confidering the long Robes, and Mantles they wore, occafioned the purple liquor perhaps to be Icarce. But fince the Coche- neal inlccls are gathered from, or upon the Opuntia, and being ealily got in great quantities ; this once fa- mous Royal Dye of the Ancients, is entirely therebv eclipfcd, and now out of dite. -The above Shell is very rare, and once very much valued, I have been informed, that Cardinal Gualtcri gave a \ery great price for one, which J fiiould be afhamed to mention. J Wc7itel-Trap.~\ " It is an anecdote of the Wtn/el- Trap, worthy to be traiifmittcd. as it (licws the value of particular Species at Times, that in 1753, at the Sale of Commodore Lifle's Shells at I.angford's, four Wcntcl-Traps were fold for Seventy-fix pounds thirteen Shillings, viz. L. S. D. Firft day, Feb. 21ft, lot g6, one not ) 16 o quite pcrfcft ) Third day, lot 98, a very fine and ^ jg 18 o pefeft one S Fourth dav, lot 101, one for 16 16 o Sixth day, lot 83, one for 23 23 o £ 76 13 o See Va Ccfia's. Conch, p. 205. A Gentleman cx- trcemly well vcrfcd in Foffik, &c. |] Echini Marini.'] It is certain that the Sea-Urchin does throw out at the Lower Aperture of its Shell, when it pleafes, certain Bodies, which refemble not a little the Legs of a Star Fifh ; but thefe ferve not at all to its motion ; but, on the contrars', their real ufe is to 68 77(ff B R I T I S H MUSEUM. Sea Egg, the Sea Cake, are all Englifh Names of the different Species in Ichthy- ology. It is frequent in our. Seas, and in mod Parts of Europe ; it is generally armed with a great number of Spines, or Prongs, which are movable at the Animal's Pleafure, by means of Mufcles, that communicate with the Spines through the Papillae of the Shell, the Animal ufes thefe Spines both for its de- fence and inftead of Legs, to walk from place to place by rolling themfelves and tumbling round, though fometimes moves in a Spiral line. — Mr. Reaumur, that ingenious Author, and whofe induftry has left nothing, for to be added on this fubjeft, has frequently feen them walk at the bottom of a (hallow Bafon in the Sea Water, with no other Affiftance than that of their Spines. to keep the Creature ftill, and fixed.— Mr. R has chofcn rather to call them Horns than Legs, re- feinbUng the Horns of Snails; the animal makes ufe of diefe to feel about, and ferve the Creature as a Staff does a blind Man in his walking. Thefe Horns are every where difperfed, among the Spines, all over the furface of die Shell, but when taken out of the Wa- ter, tlicy are no more to be difcerned. — • It lias an Aperture at the very fummit of the Shell, and another at the bafc, juft oppofite to it; this is the cafe in the common kind ; for there are great varieties in the place of die holes in the Species : die upper is fuppoled to ferve it to difchargc the Excrements by, and at the lower aperture is placed the mouth of tlie Animal. — This Creature may march w^ith its mouth down- ward ; or upwards, or in any direftion like a The Legs and the Horns cover all parts of it, and able to move every wayt what a prodigious number of Mufcles mull diis little Creature have, to be able to move feparatcly thirteen hundred Horns, and more than two thoufand Spines, which ferve for Legs. Hem. Acad. Par. 1712. The Sea-Urchin Shell, as it is delineated, is llripped both of its Spines and its Horns; it is a hard Body, and appears a beautiful piece of Workmanfliip, with an innumerable multitude of Papillae. The Spines are apt to fall off, when the .Animal is dead, or on die flighteft touch. They were Ancientl;' eaten raw before Supper, as Oyllcrs are now, and as much ellecmed ; thougli I have met with fome Gentlemen as ufed to boil them in the Shell, as we would an Kgg, and according to General report, the Fifli is good to Eat, and of a Glutinous Quality. — Its colour as nature feems to me, is of a Dufky Red, with a mixture of white, but becomes whiter by laying a Ion" Time on the fhorc ; there is no fuch thing as giving an accurate defcriplion of their Colours, for they vary as much as the Human Complexion, the Dutch Boors and Sailors are very fond of wearing Silver But- tons taken from calls of diis Shell, &c. which are really Ornamental, from whence the name of tiie Round But- tcn-Fifli, &c. Vol. p. 3. From my own Obfcrvations on Nature, ] got this further to remark on Fifii in general ; that they are endowed with Senfe, do hear, fmell, fleep, and have the other Senfes ; that their Eyes fiiine by Night, and of all Animals have the largefl Heads ; exceed them in Bulk, that the Females are commonly bigger than the Males, and feem to have the Gift to foretel the Wea- ther, or things to come, know the different feafons, tranfmigratc like theBirds of Paffage, from one country to another, and lalUy, are fuppofed to be the only Ani- mals that were not deftroyed by the Deluge.-^ To diis we will accompany a remarkable Relation con- cerning Fifh, by an Author of Good Credit and Ve- racity, that is Bufbequis, who was lent Envoy from Ferdinand King of the Romans, to the Turkilh Em- peror in 1554. He fays, " That at Buda, the Capital City of Lower Hungary, he faw a Fountain without the Gate of the Town, in the Way leading to Conflantinople, the water whereof, at top, was boiling hot, and yet at the bottom there were fifiies playing up and down, fo that you would think they mud needs be thoroughly boiled before you could take them out." — See Bvjbequins's EpiJlUs, p. 19. — And from another Voyager in the Indian Ocean, to New Guinea, in 1769, who told me likewife his feeing live Fi(h fwimming in Hot Water ; his Account was thus, " About two Leagues from Calambia, in a (mall village, he found a Rivulet, whofe water was boiling hot; for Reaumur's Thermometer being plunged into it, even at the diftance of a league from its fource, rofe to 6g degrees: Yet to his inexprcITible furprize, he found there the Plants and Shrubs in the fulieft vigour, though their roots were fteeped perpetually in this hot water, and their branches were furrounded with the thick vapour it fent forth, a vapour fo fulFoeating, that the Swallows which ventured to pafs over the Stream, even at the height of feven or eight Feet, fell down Motionlcfs. The Spanifh Governor has built fcveral Baths along the courfe of this Rivulet; but what ado- nifbed him moft, was to ice Fifii fwimming in ihis Water, whofe heat was fo great, that he could not bear The BRITISH MUSEUM. 69 TAB. XXVIII. Governor Pitts Brilliant Diamond, &c. 1. A Model, an Real form, gr Expanfion, and the line underneath fhews the Depth of the rough Diamond, of Mr. Pitt. and 3. Is the Progrefs of the Lapidaiy of the faid Diamond, bear his Hand in it. He ufed all pofTible means to get fomeof thefe Fifli, but iheir extreme Agility put it out of liis Power to catch even one ; So that all he could obferve was, that they had brown Scales, and were, generally fpeaking, about four inches in length. I muft not forget this pretty Anecdote upon Fifhing Or Angling, and Fifh. All Fifli regulate their Times of eating and abftinence by the Temperature of the air, and tht quarter from whence the wind blows ; and would thofe perfonswho are lovers of Angling take the Pains to keep a few fmall Fifti in glaffes, they might at any time eafily foretcl, from their taking or refuiiiig Food, what fport is to be expcfled, and often fave ihcmfelves many aweary ftcp taken to no purpole. It has been obferved, from Fifli kept in jars, that fuch as have lived awhile together, contraft fo great an affctlioii for each other, that if they arc fcparated, they grow melancholy and fullen, and are a long time before they forget the lofs. — Two Ruffs had lived very fociably together from Chriflmas to April in ajar of water. ; one of them, at the rcqucil of a friend, was given to him. After this feparation. that which remained was fo affected with grief: ^li^^ f"'' three weeks it would eat nothing. It was therefore ii;nt to its companion, upon which it eat immediately, recovered its former briflincfs ; and fcemed to be very happy. LalUy, to ail thofe who bear vp the Helm of this State, i would be giad to take the liberty of putting them in mind that, in 1435. the Company of Fillimongers of thin City greatly impofed upon then' fellow Citizens in felling their Fiih, by preventing all foreign Filhcrmen from cutting to pieces, orodierwife felling their Fifh bv retail; therefore, to obviate fuch impofition.s for the future, it was by Parliament eiiaftcd, That no perlbu whatfoever fhould prefume to hinder or obftriitt aiiv FiOierman, either foreign or domcftic, from difpofing of his FiHi as he fhould fee convenient, upon the penalty of 10!.— If a like A61 was to pafs now a days, it would be of infinite fcrvice to the Inhabitants and Poor of this great Metropolis. &c. their health and piirfcs: for there reigns a general difcontent among all degrees of People, and as the dearnefs of Fifh, and all other Provifions is a fubjeft that well dcferves to be fearched narrowly into ; pray let us fuppofc once a Famine, and its Confeqiiences ; I prefume every one has a right to facrillce hisjudgracm, and give his opinion for the good of this Country, that the real caufcs may be hit on, expofed and rctlified : that we may catch a good wind, and with an rye on the fail right the Helm, or Helm a Midfltip. and fb voyage into the old right Paffage, or that point of the Compafs which will fleer us into that defircable Harbour call'd Plenty and Reafona- blenefs. Thus we labour to throw in our Modefl Mite, and fo repafs to what concerns the Method of Clajing Shell-Fifl), &c. However, wc will flcetcli down a few outlines of what regards the method of clafling of Shell-Fifh :— All the Shells are to be ar- ranged, under three Principal Claffes ; and all and every Species, arc to be divided into a Number of Families, according to their variety of Characters, and are always determined by the Mouth. The firft Claf ( arc called Unis'alves, or only one Shell one Piece. — The fecond, Bivalves, or two Shells, two t^es- — The third, Multivalves. or more than two Pieces. —Thefe three are the principal Characters, all the other varieties in Shells may be eafily underftood by Comparifon, and a little lludy even by thofe that are niter flrangers to this entertaining lludy of Shells, fo as 10 refer any of them to its proper Clafs and Familv. By particular defire, we have added alfo the For- mation of Shells, which wc fuppofc will be likewife very acceptable : ihcy are formed from a matter which per- fpires 70 The BRITISH MUSEUM. or the firft and fecond cutting, all three from Cafts in Metal, of this valuable Diamond. * rpircs from their bodies, dnd hardens and condenfcs in the air, and forms a vifible coat all about the Fifh. The Anima! is only produced from the Egg, the Shell is formed afterwards, the moment the Animal is hatched and begins to tranfpire. — What is here related concerns the Common Garden Snail, Naturalifts fuppofe from thefe the like formation of all other Animals covered with a Shell ; this Mr. Reaumur, has proved by experi- ments. Now to this we are obliged to join the for- mation of the beautiful variety of Colours on Shells, like Mufical Notes, and other Characters, &c. The head of the Snail, &c. is always at the Mouth or opening of the Siiell, and its tail at the other extremity, or what wc ufually call the top of the Shell ; and the body of the Snail from whatever caufe, always turns itfclf into a Spiral, and gives origin to the volutie of the Shell, The Neck of the growing Snai! is the part which principally forms the Shell, and tlie various co- loured rays, or lines on Shells, do vifibly appear upon the Neck of the Animal. And if a grown Snail be minutely examined, you will always find them placed jufl even with the black lines or rays which twirl gra- dually round the Shell. This different Colour pallcs from the Animals Neck as through ftraincrs on the Shell. What relates to the inner-lining or ceiling of their Shelly Habitation, this is always Whitifh, and has no variety of coloured lines, and is formed hy that pofterior part of the Snail's body as proceeds from the Neck. Now from the formation of the Shell, and the variety of Colours of the Common Garden Snail, vhich tranfpire through the Neck, from various points or [trainers, as has been faid ; it will be veiy eafy to form an idea how to account for all the variations of colours and forms of the moll beautiful Sea Shells, * Diamond.'] By tbe Ancients czWcd Ad avunit, the firilinrank, value, hardncfs, and luftrc, of all Gems found in the Eafl Indies, and the Brazils ; but ihcfe arc notfo fine. InGolconda, both Merchant and Miners oo generally naked, with only a poor Rag about their middle, and a Salh on their Heads ; they dare not wear a Coat, left the Governor fay they have thriven much, are Rich, and fo enlarge his Demands on them : how- ever, when by chance they find a great Stone, they conceal it by fwallowing them down, till they have an opportunity of retiring with their Wife and Children into Vifiapour, where they are fafe and well ufed. rid. Earl MarJJial of England, Phil. TranJ No. 136. p. 907. For the parts of the World wherein Dia- mond are found, and the various Earths, &c. — The Generation of Gems is out of fluid Subftances. im- pregnated with Mineral or Metalline Tindures, and af- terwards petrify'd. 1 was prefent at a Jeweller's whcii he divided a lifde Diamond into two with his Forceps, for to fhow they confift of various Stratas and Fibres, and will break very often little Diamonds, if they run the point of their tool between the Fibres. The fineft Diamonds are thofe which refemble a drop of the cleareflrock water; are colourlefs, and if fuch be of a regular form, and truly made ; free from Stains, Flaws, and crofs Veins, &c. they will have the vivid luftrc, and the brighteft Reflex of any, and efteemed the moft perfeff, and moft valuable ; but if they be tinftured Yellow, Blue, Green, or Red, in a high degree, they are next in cfteem ; but if they partake of thefe Colours only in a low degree, it greatly lowers iheir value ; then they are faid to be of the fecond, and third \\'atcr. — The moft remarkable Diamonds for fize known, are Governor Pitt's Diamond, purchafcd by the late Duke of Orleans, for Louis the xvth, King of France, weighing 136 Carets and a half, as we have faid. The Diamond of the Great Duke of Tufcany, which weighs 139 Carets and a half ; that of the Great Mogul, weighing 279 i-ninth Carets : And one mentioned by Mr. Jeffries, in a Merchant's Hands, weighing 242 5-i6ths Carets.— — According to Mr. Jeffries's Rule, the value of Diamonds is in the duplicate ratio of their weights, and that a nianufaftured Diamond of one Caret is worth at a Medium 81, the Great Mogul's Diamond therefore muft be valued at above 624962!. this being the value of a Diamond of 279 Carets and one half. ^H. Jeffries on Diimonds. The beft book that ever was wrote, and very rare, in which you'll find a rule for the valuation of Diamonds of any weight. The Brilliant is an improvement on the table Dia- mond, and was introduced within the laft century. Brilliant Diamond is that cut in faces both at top and bottom, and whofe table, or principal face at lop is flat, — Rofe Diamond is tiiiile flat underneath, hut its upper part cut in diverfe litde faces, ufually triangles, the uppermoft whereof terminates in a point. — Tabic Diamond, is that which has a large fquare face at top, encompaffed with four leffer. Diamonds are faw'd, and fome cleave ihem, it can only be cut, and ground bv itfclf, and Its own flibftancc, which is Diamond liuft. The Diamond bears the force of the ftrongeft fires, but muft be taken out carefully, and fuffered to cool bv degrees, otherwife it will crack, and fplit in pieces. Thev have been fuppofed to be entirely unfub duable by common fire, &c. Vid. ll'm. Lewis's Nol« onC. Ntumami's Chym. Works, p. 6. That Minerals, Metals, Geras, &c. having lain in the Earth from the Creation, or have done fo ever fmcc Noah's Flood, nobody will difpurc, but that they never grew, is no! probablL', 77;« B R I T I S H M U S E U M. 71 4. This Model + of Govertior Pitt's Brilliant Diamond, which was purchared by the late Duke of Orleans, for the King of France, for 135,0001. the prefent King wears it on his Hat inftead of a Button. — Round this Model of the Brilliant, is engraved on a Silver frame, viz. This is the Model of Governor Pitt's Diamond, weight 136 Carets and a half, was Sold to Lewis the ic,th of France, Anno. Dom. 1717. 5. The Model of the Great Drihe of Tufcany's Diamond. This fine Rofe Dia- mond, weighing 139 Carets and a half, but is not fo valuable, nor has it fo vivid a Luifre. This Diamond formerly belonged to Charles the Bold, the laft Duke of Burgundy ; when killed, and his Army defeated in the Battle of Nancy, it fell into the hands of a common Soldier; but being ignorant of its Value, fold it for lefs than a Crown. One of the Grand Dukes of Tufcany afterwards by Purchafe, became poffelTed of it, and it was preferved in the Family of Me- dicis for a long Time, but at laft came into the Hands of the prefent Emperor of Germany, who convey 'd it to Vienna. 6. Is the true Character, Expanfion, Depth, and Workmanfiiip of the King of France's large Brilliant Diamond, above mentioned. 7. Ditto of the Great Duke of Tufcany s Diamond. 8. The Shape, Size, or Out-line, of the large Brilliant, of the Emprefs of Ruffia, from an extraft of a Letter from the Hague, Jan. 2, 1776, my Note runs thus, " We learn froin Amllerdam, that Prince Orlow made but one day's ftay in that City, where he bought a very large Brilliant for the Emprefs his Sovereign, for which he paid to a Perfian Merchant there, the Sum of 1,400,000 Florins, (Dutch Money,) a Florin in Holland is \ alued at 2od. This is all I can oblige the Reader with, which I had from Mr. l^ell, a Jeweller. 9. A Rough Egyptian Pebble, broke oblique into t^vo Parts ; only one part is fliewn liere, on which is a ftriking Likenefs of the Head of Chaucer, father of the Englilh Poets, and is entirely b)- the Pencil of Nature, without any affiftance of Art. — The Egy ptian Pebbles are a remarkable kind of Stones, from their being variegated with curious Charafters, thofe as ha^'e a variety of Co- lours are \ aluable, Too much of one thing is good foL' notliing. And now we probable, and fccnls rtcilber to liave been tbe intention of Providence, lince the growing of Metals, Stones. &c. ^^■c are lenlible of in \vhat has been mentioned before. Linfchoten fays, that in tlie Eaft-Indies, \ihen they have cleared the Diamond-Mines of all the Diamonds, in a few Years Time they find in the fame place New Diamonds produced.- -M'c read likeisilc in many good .\ulhors, and liear it from every Mouth, that a Diamond is made foft, and broke by the blood of a Goat, but not except it be frefli or warm, and that -not without blows ; and then alfo it will break the belt An- vils and Hammers of Iron. — But on examination ^^e find a Diamond ftecped in Goat's-blood, rather in- crcafeth in Itardncfs, than acquiring any foflncfs by the infufion ; for the bed we have are Gomminuible without it ; and arc fo far from breaking Hammers, that they fubmit linto -Piftiliation, and refill not an Ordinary Peftlc Fid. Sir T. Broims, B. 2.f. 92. — An Univerfal -Utthor of great Ehquatc^, and whofe work lias been tranfiatcd in mofl all Languages. ■1' Modd^ In Ihowiiig the draught of tbe Model of Pitt's Brilliant, and mentioning its Hiflory to many People, it became the common difcourfe of the town. One Gentleman in particular advertifed for a true hil- torv of the faid Diamond : — Sir, in the Jmrnalda Sca- ums, for luly, 1774, p. 553, is an extract from a let- ter of a French MiHionary, with the following luigular paiTage. 72 77i« B R 1 T i S H M U S E U M. will give a flight Defcription of another kind of Diamond, meaning Chaucer : it is univerfally agreed, that Geoffry Chaucer, was Born in the fecond Year of the Reign of King Edwai-d III. Anno. Dom. 1328. His firft Studies were in the Univerfity of Cambridge, he was removed to Oxford, in order to Compleat his Studies, he became " as (Leland fays) " a ready Logician, and fmooth Rhe- torician, a pleafant Poet, a great Philofopher, an ingenious Mathematician, and a holy Divine. — That he was a great mafter in Aftronomy, is plain by his dif- courfes of the Aftrolabe. That he was verfed in Hermetic Philofophy, (which prevailed much at that Time) appears by his Tale of the Canons Yeoman: His knowledge in Divinity is evident from his Parfon's Tale, and his Philofophy from the Teftament of Love." As to his genius as a Poet, Dryden fpeaking of Homer and Virgil, pofitively afTerts, that our Author exceeds the latter, and ftands in Competition with the former.— In refpeft of Painting the Portrait, or Charafter of this great Genius ; one may fee his very Temper on this Egyptian Pebble, which is a Compofition of the Gay, the Modeft, and the Grave. " True Wit u ' like a brilliant Stone, " Dug from the India Mine; " Which boafl two various powrs in one, " To Cut as well as Shine ! " Genius like that if poliflid right, " With the fame Gifts abounds ; " Appears at once both keen and bright, " And Sp.^rkles while it Wounds." This is Diamond Cut Diamond. My Son gave me this Vcrfe, alfo that of Page 40. and 4.1. but he is in the Country, and I am not able to tell the Names of thefe Authors, who feem to me Perfons of great Invention and Genius ; however, I have made Quotations of them all. paOage.— That one of the principal Diamonds of the Crown of France, and which was purchafed of an En- glUhman, was one of the eyes of the God Jagrcnat, a famous idol, placed in a pagoda at Chandcrnagor, in Bengal ; that this God Jagrenat has fince continued with only one eye ; and that the French have done all they could to blind him entirely, but have not luc- ceeded. becaufe he is better guarded. This account differs. I think, from the common one of that Diamond, which is, that it was brought from its native Bed. concealed in a Galli which a Slave had made in his Leg. In what condition was it when it firft came into Mr, Pitt's hands ? If rough and unpo- liflied. I fliould not doubt of the luppofed facrilegc ; f,)r I imagine, a Diamond, it its Natural Roughnefs, would not have made a more Brilliant Figure in Jagre- nat's Head than a piece of Alum. If any of your Corrcfpondents will give fome account of this remark- able Gem, it will probably be an Entertainment to fcveral of your Readers." J- C. To which we anfwer thus : — Sir, it was Thomas Pitt, Efq. (of a Noble family, which were ancienUy of Blandford in the County of Dorfet,) who in the Reign of Queen Anne, was made Governor of Fort St. George, in the Eaft-Indies, where he refided many Years, and there purchafed the above Diamond, which he fold to the King of France for one hundred and thirty-five thoufand pounds. — ; The following true Account of his purchafing the Diamond, and to vin- dicate the Governors Charafler, was printed foinc Years ago in the Daily Poft, Nov. 3, 1743. " Since my coming into this Melancholy Place The BRITISH MUSEUM, 73 TAB. XXIX. Antiqmtates ALgyptiacce, Sijlrum, &c. Fig, 1 . A Siftrmn, ^ fical In ftrument or Rattle, in form of a Racket, traverfed by four of Bergen, I have bee;; often thinking of the moft unparallelied Villainy of WiiUam Frafer, Thomas Frederick, and Smapa, a Black iMercliant, who brought a Paper before Governor Addifon in Council, infinu- ating, that I had unfairly got Poirenion of a large Dia- mond; which tended fo much to the Prejudice of my Reputation and the Ruin of my Eflate, that I thought ncccflary to keep by me the true Relation how I pur- chafed it in all Refpc£is, that fo, in cafe of fudden Mortality, my Children and Friends may be apprifed of the whole Matter, and fo be enabled thereby to put to Silence and confound thofe, and all other Villains, in their bafc attempts againil either. I having not my Books by me at prefent, I cannot be pofitive as to the Time ; but for the Manner of purchafmg it, I do here declare and affert, under my Hand, in the Prefencc of Cod Almighty, as I hope for Salvation, through the Merits and Interceftion of our Saviour Je[us Chrift, that this is the Truth, and, if it be not, let God deny it to me and my Children for ever; which I would be (u far from faying, much Icfs leave it under my Hand, that I -would nut be guiky of the ieart l;ntruth in the Relation of it for tlie Riches and Honour of the whole World. About two or three Years after my Arrival at Madrafs, wliich was in July 1698, I heard there were large Dia- monds in the Country to be Sold, which I encouraged to be brought down, promifuig to be their Chapman, if they would be reafonable therein ; upon which Jam- chund, one of the moP cmiiient Diamond-Merchants in thofe Parts, came down about December 1701. and brought with him a large rough Stone, about 305 Man- gclms, and fome fniall ones, which mylirif and others bought ; but he alking a very extravagant Priee Ibr the great one, I did not think of meddling with it ; when he left it with me for fume dav-. and then came and took it away again, and did fo fcveral Times, not in- filling upon lefs than 200,000 Pagodas ; and, as I bell rcm.cmber, I did not bid liim above- 30,000, and had little Thoughts of buying it for that ; I confidered there were many and great Rifques to be run, not only in cutting it, but alfo whether it would prove foul or clean, or the Water good ; befides, I thought it too great an Amount to be adventured home on one Bottom : But Jamchund refolved to return fpeedily to his own Coun- try ; fo that, I bed remember, it was in February fol- lowing became again to me (with Vincaty Chittcc, who was always with him when I difcourfcd him about it) and prcffed me to know whether I refolved to buy it, when he came down to 100,000 Pagodas, and fomething under, before we parted, when we agreed upon a Day to meet, and to make a Iinal End thereof one Way or other, which I believe was the latter End of the afore- faid Month, or Beginning ol March; when weaccord- ingiy met in the Confultation-Room, where, after a great deal of Talk, I brought him down to 55,000 Pagodas, and advanced to 45,000, refolving to give no more, and he likcwife refolved not to abate, fo deli- vered him up the Stone, and wc took a friendly Leave of one another : Mr. Benyon was then writing in my Ciofet, with whom I difcourfcd what had paffcd, and told him now I was clear of it; w-hen about an hour af- ter ray Servant brought mc Word that Jamchund and \'incaty Chittec were at the Door, who being called in, they ufed a great many ExpreiTions in praife of the Stone, and told me he had rather I fhould buy it than any body, and, to give an Inftance thereof, offered il for 50.U00 ; i'o. believing it mull: be a Pennyworth, if it proved good, I offered to part the 5000 Pagodas that were between us, whicli he would not hearken to, and was going out oi tiie Room again ; when he turned biick and tuid me. that I fliould have It for 49,000; but Tk BRITISH MUSEUM. moveable Bars, the ends of which are like Serpents Tails. This Siftrum * was conftantly ufed in Egypt by the Prieft of Ifis, and Ofiris, in the Celebration of the Feaft when the Nile began to rife, and for beating Time in Concerts, &c. fliaking it from the Right to the Left, to make a tinkling, an irregular clattering Noife ; which to the Ancients muft have been more Melodious than what it is to our Modern Ears. — Inftead of recommending its Mufical Sound, I think it rather a Burlefque on that Noble Art ; though we have feen People as could entertain great Lovers of Mufic, even on a Salt-Box, &c. when handled by a proper Artifl. The ufe of it in Divine Service was only done in order to excite the Devotion of the Prieft who officiated. — The French Encyclopedia tells us that it was ufed by the Hebrews in their rejoicings, for we read i . Reg. xviii. V. 6. that when David returned from the Army,' when he had killed Goliath, the Women came out to meet him, finging and dancing with the Tabours and Siftrums. (a.b.) Are fome fruit in Alto-Relievo, on each fide of the Siftrum marked (.\.B.) and not fo cafily made out as fome will have ; (a.) I take to be bat I dill adhered to what I had before offered liiin. when prefently he caine to 48,000, and made a folcmn Vow he would not part with it a Pagoda under; when I went again into the Clofet to Mr. Benyon, and told him what had paffed, faying, that if it was worth 47,500, it was worth 45.000 *; fo I clofed with hini for that Sum, when he delivered me die Stone, for whicli I paid him very honourably, as by my Boolis ap- pears. And I here fartlier eall God to Witnefs, that I never ufed any threatening Wor.d at any of our Meet- ings to induce him to fell it me; and God himfelf knovvs it was never fo mileh as in my Thoughts fo to do: Since wliich I have had frequent and confiderable Dealings with this Man, and trufted hirn with feveral Sums of Money, andballanced feveral Accounts with him, and left upwards of 2000 Pagodas _in his Hands at my coming away : So, had I ufed the leall indireft Means to have got it from him, would not he have made himfelf SatisfaBion, when lie had my Money fo often in his Hands ? Or would I have trufted him af- terwards, as I did, preferable to all other Diamond- Merchants? As this is the Truth, fo I hope for God's Blcffing upon this and all my other Affairs in this World, and eternal Happinefs hereafter. Written and figncdbyme, in Bergen, ]idy 29, 1710- TH O M A S PI T T," Mr, Salmon, .Author of the Univerfal Traveller, favs. p, 165, Vol. 1. That he was upon the Spot at the Time of this Tranfaftion, and is able to refiitc the fcandalous Stories raifed on the Governor about it. The above account agrees in every refpeft with that which I had from the the Right Hon. Lord Rivers's own * 20,4001, Sterling, at Mouth. Tills Diamond was configned by Governor Pitt, to Sir Stephen Evance, of London, Kt. It appears by an original bill of lading, that it was fent in the (hip Bedford, Captain John Hudfon, Comman- der, March 8, 1701-2, and charged to the Captain at 6500 Pagodas only. The date of this bill of lading agrees wdth the Time, the Governor mentions, of his purchaGng that Diamond in India. — I have been fince informed" that the Workmanfliip of this Stone did coll goool. — " D. Jeffries, will have that it was fold for 135,0001. but 5000I. thereof was given and Spent in negotiating the Sale of it. The Diamond is generally faid to approach near to one of the firft Water, and, hath only a foul fmall (peck in it, and that lying in fuch a manner as not to be difeerued when the Stone is fet. He deferibes the errors of the Manufafture of this Brilliant Diamond, and how it might be improved, the confequence of this will be the Augmentatiun of its Inllre ; and lieighlenilig its value. * Sijlrur/i.'] But foinetimcs we fee the Sijlrmi at the top, ornamented with three Figui-es ; that of a Cat with a Human face in the Middle, the Head of Jfii on the right Gde, and tlic Head of Ncphl'iys on the left. — And fometimes a Cat's Head on a Human Body, the Cliarafter of the face being a Compofilion of the Cat and of the Human. Vid. Monlfmmn. [up. Vol. ii. B. vi.— Thus was the Cat, or the Great God .tlurus, varioudy rcprcfented, and what is worth Notice, is that they had the greatell veneration for Cats imagina- ble, held her in great Honour, and when dead em- balmed their Bodies, We need not wonder there- fore at feeing fo many Monuments of the faid Animal rcprcfented 8s. 6d, per Pagoda, The BRITISH MUSEUM. 75 the fruit of the Perfea. (b.) The Lotus, ' and (c.) Keprefents a Female Cat, or o reprefented under different forms. And if a Cat was killed cither defignedly or by accident, the unfortu- nate Criminal was punifiicd widi death. That this Animal was counted really very Holy, and the favourite Idol of many Ages, may be feen in the Time of Tibe- rius, at a City in Eg)'pt (as Diod. Siculus relates} where more than 7000 Romans, where killed by the Egyp- tians in a Tumult, bccaufe one of the Roman Soldiers had killed a Cat, an Egyptian God. — If the reader pleafes to remember what I faid, in a former Page, concerning Diana, how fiie transformed herfelf into a beautiful Cat, and Ifis, who was often reprefented with a Crefcent, fignlfies the Moon's increafe at a certain Sea- fon ; any Pcrfon from this mayfoon conceive that Diana and Ifis, arc the fame, only dL-pified in form of a Cat, on tliis Sillrum : which confidering the Ignorance of thofe Times and their deteftahle Idolatry, its not furprifmg to read of fo much blood being filed. ■ But to fpeak like a Chriflian. I have feen by chance. People taking a delight in doing Mifchief, and wanton- ly kill a Cat, though there is not one verfe in the Old. or New Tejlament, which mentioned it to be a im ; yet, I believe in the lightof God, its looked on as fomc de- gree of Murder, if a Man in a Frolic or PafTion kills an Animal, provfided its harmlefs and beneficial to him. I am not afliamed to own, being fond of my Cat, as a Companion, there is fomething Solitary and Hermit- like in their behaviour, fuiting that retired life fo much delired by Authors; and a great deal may be learned from thefe Animals, according to the old Proverb, " Mai and Dogs go abroad, '- Cad and Woyncn jiay at Home Or when the Cat is away the Mice play ; and wlio mull not own, but a Cat may look at a King : — Every body knows them to be ufeful Animals, and as it was a great fin in Egypt to kill a Cat, I dont doubt but they had plenty of them. In fhort, the Chief is to know the ufe of the Siftruni, which is this : the Cat on the top fignifies the Moons influence on the Annual rifing and falling of the Nile, this degree is reprefented by the Bars, the yearly fifing by the Circular Tails of the Snakes, thereby becoming the Symbol of the principal Motion, and Fertility of all things, further feen by llie blooming LoIlis, and Perfea, a Tree Growing in Egypt, like a Peach, lid. Plin. 15, 13. The Egyptians know the infallible fign by their Zodiac when the River Nile began to rife, and retired immedi- atelv to the higher Grounds, which flowing begins in the Month of May or June, and is ufually at the Veight in September, from which Time the Waters - or Bloom which is beginning to open ; :ie of their Great Gods called Allurus. decreafe till May or June again, The Campus. VH. ^.33. and their Fields and Gardens, they ufed to fill with great Ceretnony annually, when the Nile was at a certain height. This was the Time when the Siftrum was chiefly ufed, for they knew that the fruitfulnefs of Egypt depended on this; and it was thereby rendered the moft fruitful Country in Africa. That it was ufed in their Tragic Songs on Ofiris, according to Lucanus, is true, but as to its being a Warlike Inftrument. we can hardly believe from the paffage of Virgil : '■' Rcgina in mcdiis patriovocat agmina Sijlro." — This is rather to be underftood, that it was their Country, and that it was Ifis. held up to them by their Queen, Cleopatra, for whicli they fought, and by which flie wanted to in- rpirc them widi Courage ; but not to mark the va- rious ftcps in Marches, for the found of this Siftrum would have been of no more fervice than playing on the ]cws-Harp. — The fubftance of the above Siftrum is Copper, the fame fize. And according to Apuleyus is fometimes of Silver and Gold. Jer. Boftius wrote a treadfc on the the Siftrum, inniled, Ifiacus de Sijli'o. t Lohis.'] The Fruit of the Lotus was, by the An- cients, imagined to be endowed with the virtue of mak- ing Strangers forget their Native Country. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. in voc. ■ An herb of the Seed whereof the Egyp- tians made Bread, being like Millet. I'id. defer. Plin. 13. iy. and our Tab. qf Tickets, p. 60. where we have given a Botanical defcription. I fiiould have been very glad to have met with a Real Lotus, a dried one, or one painted from Nature in its Native Soil, or a tranf- planted one ; in order to compare them with the various Pidures on Mummies or Monuments, .Sic. for in drawing of different Figures, I foon found the variety of Charafters there is among the Egyptian Flowers and Fruits, and in Comparing even various Lotuffes, &c. - I met with fome difference in rcfpeft to each other, as if there were fevcral fpecies of Lotus, or the fault of the Artift in not giving a true Reprefentation of Na- ture, but drawing them in an Ornamental like Manner; from thence it comes that Antiquarians cannot form a right idea, and make millakes in their Demonftra- tions ; either from tranfcrihing bad Authors, or confounding different fruits, &c. together. I muft add this further concerning the Lotus, and other Fruits and Leaves, &c. found on the Heads of Egyptian Gods : that they fometimes reprcfi^nted thele as in the Bud, Bloffom, and in full growth, all thefe form fo many Charafters. that thofe who were not well acquainted with thefe Vegetables, havetaken them all for dilfercnt Fruits, whereas they were all one; befides their being fometimes ^6 77;e B R I T 1 S H M U S E U M. 2. Ofms. t with a Mitre oh its Head, in tlie form of a Cone ; on each fide of which is a Pinna, or Phime radiated, below that an Ox's horn, broken at the end, and a Colocafia on the Forehead, with a long Beard under his chin. His Hands meet at his Breaft, the Right holding a Pedum or Scepter, and the Left a Whip. His Body is covered from the Neck to the Ancles, with a clofe Linen Garment, in the Shape of a Mummy, height feven inches and three quarters. 3. Ifis, II fitting, with Onis in her Lap, and a Calathus or Balket on her Head, in which was probably the Moon's Orb, or the Four Elements, inclofed on each fide with the Horns of an Ox, her ufual attribute ; but that is now broken off, fhe has a lote on her Forehead, and long Hair, which falls down her Back behind, and from each Shoulder before, to her Breaft. Her right hand is placed under her left Breaft, and with the other Are fupports her infant Son. She has Bracelets on her Arms ; and the lower part of her body from the Waift to her An- cles is cloathed with a Linen Garment like that of Ofiris. The Head of Orv.s is fha\ ed, except one large lock of Hair, which remaining on the right fide, refts on that Shoulder. He has alfo a Colocafia on his Forehead, and his body is naked. ■ Height feven inches ; the fubftance Stone, very much refembling what we call a Hone, the hair of Ifis I take to be covered over with a ftriped kind of fubftance, hanging down like Lappets, for it never grows fo near the Forehead, d the Ornament on her head a crown of Lotufes.— The head of Orus feems aiK fomciimes fculptured with the Fruit alone, or wittiout the Leaves, and fometimes the Fruit cut open. I leave the Reader to judge, for want of being well acquainted with the different Fruits, Leaves, of Egypt, in Refped of Botany, how ihefe Antiquarians have groped, and what Blunders have not been made.— To return to our Lotus, what is worth remarking, is : that it rifes above the fur- face of the Water, when the Sun appears, and dives by degrees under again, when the Sun fets. From this Ph!cnoraenon, perhaps it became the Symbol of Ofins, becaufe the Relation they thought it had to the Sun. . It was a long while after thel'e Notes were •finifhed, that by chance I met M. Mahudel, in the Memoirs of the Belles Letters, [T. 3. p. 181.] who has wrote an accurate Dcfcription on five Principal Egyptian Plants, &c. viz. the Lotus, the Egyp- tian Bean, the Colocafia, the Pcrlla, and Mufa : they where not only referred to the Egyptian Theology, but were alfo ufed for Food. The above Author gives the Fruit and Leaves drawn from Nature in two Copper- plates, and the Egyptian Lotus, the Bean, &c. are rc- prefented hereon various Figures, as Ofiris Ifis, Harpo- crates, &c. The Colocafia, in form like an AlTes Ear. or Horn, in which the Fruit lies we find on the Head of Orus or Harpocrates : the Perfea Leaves refemble a Tongue, and the Kernel a Heart ; and on that account it was confecrated to Ifis : the Fruit is placed on the Heads of their Idols, fometimes whole, and fometimes cut in two to exhibit the Kernel ; the Mufa has large Ob- tul'e Leaves, found on the heads of Antique Figures, and where devoted to the Local Deities of Egypt. All thefe Fruits were good to eat, and from their Charac- ter as to form, and alfo the Leaves, &c. ithas occafioned all thofe Myflerious Doarincs of Symbols, and de- noted the attributes of the Egyptian Deities. J Ofiris, Sol and Kilus, or the Sun and Nile. Tlic Son of jiipiter and Niohe, who was the firll who taught the Egyptians .ff;//loni(0'- Tib. 1.7.28. lie was murdered by his brother Typlion. His Wife af- ter long fearch found his body, and buried it in the Ifland Abatos ; at which Time a very large Ox was Iccn, which taking to be him, (lie worfhippcd under the name of Apis and Serapis, this Ox, being a Symbol ofHulbandry: the Ifraclitcs in Imitation of which made their Calf They had an annual cullom of going to feck him, and having found him, returned with ihoutsofjoy. /'ifi. That excellent Roman SatyriH in the Time of Domilian, and Trajan, Juv. 8. 29. 11 Ifis, or lo.l Daughter of the river I nachus, whom Jupiter debauched and transformed into a Heifer; juno having fmelt the affair out, begged her of bun, and fhe was immediately watched and kept by Argus with his hundred Eyes, who was killed by Mercury, in Egypt, where he was fcntby Jupiter. lo being The BRITISH MUSEUM. 77 to have a cap on, which wrincles round in a point on the right Shoulder. He was afterwards a King of Eg)^pt, and the Apollo of the Egyptians. Vid. Pint, in IficL & Ofir. — Fig. 1. and 2. from Colonel W. Lethieulher's colle6lion. The En- graver has reverfed both the Figures, which the Reader is defired to excufe, and the left hands of each Figure, &c. we are to fuppofe the right, or, as the Print would appear if viewed in a Looking-glafs. ftang by a Gad Fly, fcnt by Juno, fled into Egypt, where, after her keeper's dead], flic reco\Tred her for- mer (liape, and after her Marriage widi Ofiris, ftie was called Ifis, ibe Great Goddefs of the Egyptians. I'id. Ov. Met. fab. 11. Orus, or Harpocratcs, their Son, is generally reprefented in ihc fame Temples, holding the fore finger of his Left Hand on his Lips,. Varro - fays die meaning of diis was, that no one fliould dare to fay that thefe Gods had been Men formerly ; and the Laws infliftcd was Death upon any who laid that Berapis was once a Mortal Man. Tlie Egyptians wor- fiiipcd him as the God of Silence, being the greateft Mark of Prudence, and a Reverential Awe for the Divinity. From the coUeclionxif Colonel William Lethi- "cuUieT, leTt by his Will, dated July 23, 1755. OJiris and Ifn, having taught the Egyptians Huf- bandry and Letters, being endowed with greatnefs of Mind, and by enjoying fuperior Talents they civilized that Country, and the Egyptians became a great and Mighty People. Flaving thlis by Courtefies andKlnd- nefs, role their Fame, they obtained the Admiration of the ignorant, the more jcnjihk part not being able to ex- tinguilh the vulgar opinion, were obliged to fubmit, and Uiey both reigned over Egypt. — Their excelicut briglit Talents and Kindnefs being fo predominant over the dark ignorance of Egypt, that they fuppofcd them to be beings far fuperiar to Human Nature ; till at lafl, they built them Temples, and Adored them as the greateft Gods of Egypt ; nay their gratitude, and profound refpcci went fo far to their Supreme Benefac- tors, {as they call them,) Ifis who they faid was every thing, thai upon the Pavement of the Temple, there was this deteftable Infcription ; / am evny Thing that lidth been, that is, or that will he, and no Mortal has yet lifted vp my Vtil. Tims Plutarch informs us : as to the Symbols they bear, Ofiris is adorned wiUi a Scepter like a King, and armed with a Whip, to denote the Symbol of the Sun, which regulates the Courfc of N'alurc, the Leader or Infpetior of all things.. His is the Moiherof Nature, who contains, feeds, and fup- ports all thing? ; likewife ihc Moon, for flie is painted with Horns, and like a Teeming W'otnan with a fine Swollen Bofom, nurfing of a naked little bny: Orus who according to Ath Kcrcher, fignifies tlie created World, Fed and Maintained, '■ — Ifis and Ofiris, may be called by ah infinity of Karnes, and are of- ten reprefented with various attributes ; according to the diflercni Hiflorics, Feafts, Works; and to the fe- veral Offices in each afcribed to them.-— In fine, Ifis is taken for all things according" to the Egyptian Theology, and is the fame a:s all the GoddelTcs, and Ofiris as all the Gods.— — Thus we fee how the Egyp- tians vailed over the face of their Knowledge, ir the gloomy Labyrinth oF Hieroglyphics, and other figns. - To unlock this Treafure, or to take the Maik off, and its dark difguife, fo that the Truth might be vicvjcd in its pure Charaflet-, is no cafy Tafii ; for whatever De- monftralions we meet with, arc all now a days looked on as only Conjec\urcs : and though many learned Men might perhaps have miffed the mark, yet it muft be al- lowed that fome very fublime Comparifons, and moft ingenious Explanations have been made, which perhaps in ihtir kind might be fall as good, as their Hierogly- phic knowledge, if the truth of thofe" was known. — What relpefts tljcir learning, for which Egypt is the Miftrefs of the \\'urld ; and fomc of the Eaflern Nations \\"crc noted fur their knowledge in Polite Literature ; both in Scripture and Profane Hiftory : and as to its Antiquitv, the Origin, or Mother of all Arts and Sciences; fob was from thence, likewife the Brachrnans and Gym- iiofophijls. Mofes and Daniel Teceivtd their Education from them : and many of the Ancient Philofophcrs travelled into that celebrated Country for learning, as Pythagoras, DeMocritus. — "but5'o/(};?i07i'j\\'ifdom excelled the Wifdom of all the Children of the Eaft Countrj-, and all the Wifdom of Eg>'pt. Vid. 1. Regum. c. 4. V. 36. But all thefc Egyptian figures and Hierogly- phics, Amulets,