VASES. I shall be thankful for an answer to the following question: Which of the nations first made vases? There are, I believe, only two on behalf of whom the paternity is claimed, viz., the Egyptians and Greeks. But which of them has a right to a verdict in its favour? H. L. R.

RECORDS.-What material was first used for making records? The Decalogue given to Moses was, it is said, written on stone. But was it written or engraved? And was nothing previously engraved or written? Did not the Egyptians-long before Moses and Aaron delivered the Jews from Egyptian bondage-possess written laws?

A. K. THE HASTINGS FAMILY.-Will some courteous reader inform me where some account of the early transactions of the family of Hastings can be met with? ERNEST RUSSELL.

THE "TAREEK I TIBREE."—I should be glad to know where an English translation of this ancient work can be met with.

THE WYCLIFFE MSS.-Are the Wycliffe manuscripts still preserved in Dublin, and, if so, can they be seen? I shall be grateful for information on these points. I am mainly anxious to see a volume in square quarto, consisting of 219 leaves of parchment, written early in the fifteenth century. It was once the property of Sir Robert Cotton, who appears to have given it to Archbishop Ussher; and it was part of the collection presented to the University of Dublin by Charles II. I believe that some few of these MSS. were printed in a volume of extracts from Wycliffe's writings, published by the Religious Tract Society many years since; but I presume these extracts were very incorrectly given, as the editor took considerable liberties with the original. I have also some remembrance of seeing a reprint of Wycliffe's "Wychit," copied from the Nuremburgh edition of 1546, and dedicated to Bishop van Mildert. It was edited by the Rev. Thomas Pantin. Where shall I find a more complete and a reliable printed edition of the works of Wycliffe ?

HORACE W.

THE NAME OF WALL.-One of our old chroniclers states that the name of Wall, wherever found, indicates an Irish origin; but I find, so far as family records go, that it may as frequently be traced to Wales, from which country I have some reason for believing the Irish families of that name originally came, probably in the eleventh century, with the first Norman invaders of Ireland. Can some kind reader throw fresh light on this subject?

A. H. W.

ARITHMETICAL RHYME.-Professor de Morgan, in his notice of Vyse's "Tutor's Guide," apparently leaves it to be inferred that the annexed lines were by this writer, and first made their appearance about 1770. I find them, however, in an earlier publication, viz. :-"Institutes of Arithmetic,' by Alex. Ewing, Edinburgh, 1756, and would not wonder in the least to hear that even then they were a second-hand affair. They do not occur in any of the editions of Cocker" which I have come across. Can any reader of the Antiquary help me in the matter?

"When first the marriage knot was tied Betwixt my wife and me,

My age did hers as far exceed as 3 times 3 does 3;
But after 10 and half 10 years

We man and wife had been,

Her age came up as near to mine as 8 does to 16: Now pray, what were our ages on the wedding day?" CALCULUS.

Replies.

GALILEE.

(Vol. iii. 163.)

WITH reference to the term Galilee," besides the works mentioned by your correspondent, some further particulars will be found in Wild's "Lincoln Cathedral," Britton's Dictionary, and other well known books. It is clearly a very ancient term, and the point which it designates was a less sacred part of the church than even the nave-a sort of "court of the Gentiles," "Galilee of the Gentiles." Thus several uses were made of it, for which the church was considered as too sacred. The processions alluded to terminated there, the bishop going before "into Galilee," and women being, at Durham, viewed as a sort of Gentile race. female relative of a monk wished to visit him, the reply was "Behold he goeth before you into Galilee," &c. The Galilee seems, in most respects, parallel to the narthex of the Eastern churches, the uses of which were very similar. The sanctuary is likened by some old writers to the heaven of heavens; the choir to the middle orders of heaven; the nave to the lowest heavens or paradise; but the narthex to the earth, where penitents seek admission into paradise. St. Cuthbert's Misogyny led to his banishing women to this outermost court.

When any

G. GILBERT SCOTT.

A. HALL.

W. D. SWEETING.

MAELSTROM (Vol. iii. 69.)—The following extract from "The Seaman's Kalender," pp. 40, 41: London, 1662, may perhaps be of use to your Berwick correspondent :"The principallest and most perillous of all [dangerous place in the sea] is the Maelstream well or Slorp, called the Mousk-stream which lieth on the backside of Norway in 68 degrees, on the north side of an island or rock called Weeray. This Well draweth the water into itself, during the whole flood, (which is the space of 6 hours, and 12 minutes) with such an in-draught and force, and with such a noise through the tumbling and falling of the waves and streams one upon the other, that it is rather to wonder at, than to write of: So that during that time, within the space of more than two leagues, round about the Rock of Mousk (under which that water floweth) no ship or other vessel may come near, for they should to their utter destruction be drawn into it, and swallowed up; but all the time of the Ebb, the water is so strongly cast up again, that no kind of Substance or Metal, how heavie soever it be, can there sink: So that our northern fishers at that time with their jollen or fishing-boats take many and strange-formed fishes, which they draw into their boats with hooks and lines, which they have ready laid for that purpose: for that during the Ebb they cannot return into the Gulph, nor get under water by any means.

"The northern people that inhabit about those Rocks do think that the stream passeth away underneath a part of Norway, under the north bottom in East Finland, because that in that place there is likewise such a Mael-stream, (though not altogether so strong nor dangerous) where the like fishes are taken, and the water is in like sort troublesome, as it is underneath and above the Rock of Mousk.

Whereupon many experienced pilots do call the said Slorp, The Navel of the Sea, which causes the courses of the Ebbs and Flows about all the Lands that are on the north side of the Equinoctial, as the most convenient place for that purpose to spread the waters South, North, East and

West."

CALCULUS.

Touching this sea-wonder, Varenius, at p. 142 of the Geographia Generalis " (Cantabrigiæ, 1681), says :"Vortex et Euripus ad Norwegiam omnium celeberrimus et maximus. Etenim tredecim milliaria habere scribitur in circuitu; medium petra occupat, quam adjacintis terræ populi vocant Mouske. Vorago hæc sex horis absorbet omnia, quæ illi appropinquant vel vicina sunt, aquam, batænas, naves onerarias et alias res, totidemque horis omnia illa eructat et evomit, magna cum violentia, strepitu et circumgyratione aquæ. Causa latet."

F. E. I. S.

:

Facts and Sottings.

TUMULI ON THE YORKSHIRE WOLDS.-Canon Greenwell and Professor Rolleston have lately completed a series of very interesting excavations among the ancient barrows which exist in the Goodmanhan and Elton Woods, near Beverley. The group consists of thirty-one tumuli. In 1851 some half-a-dozen of these were opened by Lord Londesborough, when some bodies were found, together with urns of very ancient date. In 1866 Canon Greenwell opened six others, in which were a number of burnt bones, urns, and one unburnt body. During the present excavation some eight or ten tumuli have been opened, and some very interesting remains have been discovered, including an urn which has the very rare addition of a cover or lid to it.

NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE AND ITS FATE. - We fully agree with the two prayers of the memorial: the special, calling for further consideration as to Northumberland House; the general, demanding proper prevision, with the aid of competent persons, as to public works. As we have said before, if any great advantage can be gained for the public by the destruction of Northumberland House, it must go; but if, as we believe, an equally good road can be obtained by entering on the west side of it, the destruction should not be permitted. Looked at carefully, and with a view of relieving the Strand of traffic the most efficiently, we have been long convinced that neither the road to the west of Northumberland House (that which has been called Sir James Pennethorne's plan), nor the road proposed by the Metropolitan Board, is the best. For that purpose the entrance should be on the west side of the Charing-cross Hotel, following the line of the front of the National Gallery and Duncannon-street. All we ask for, however, is a careful consideration of the whole question by a competent tribunal.-The Builder.

THE SAXON CHURCH AT BRADFORD-ON-AVON.

- The

Rev. W. H. Jones, Prebendary of Sarum, and vicar of Bradford-on-Avon, has written to the Times, stating that there is every reason for hoping that in a short time possession will be obtained of the whole of this interesting relic, which has been pronounced to be "the one perfect Saxon church in the country," and which was some time ago brought to light in that town. An appeal was recently made this building, and about nine months ago the chancel was to the public for subscriptions for the purpose of recovering purchased. Not only the Society of Antiquaries but several local archæological societies have supported the trustees of the fund in their endeavours to raise subscriptions; and among the subscribers are Sir Gilbert Scott, Dr. Edwin Guest, and Messrs. E. A. Freeman and J. H. Parker, all well qualified to give a reliable opinion as to the value of this unique relic of pre-Norman times. The Rev. W. H. Jones, who is acting as treasurer, states that some 2007. more are needed for the purchase-money and attendant expenses, and for the restoration, probably 500/., which it is hoped will be secured in the course of time.

BRITISH MUSEUM.-The keeper of the MSS. in the British Museum, we understand, intends to issue a catalogue of the oldest manuscripts in the national collection, with autotype facsimiles of the choicest early illuminations and

texts.

calculated for effect at long distances, losing the minuteness and roundness of real life on a nearer approach. Such is, however, not the case with Atalanta, as Mr. Brent depicts her; and apropos of his rendering, we may affirm that nearness "lends enchantment to the view." One of the advantages of adopting a heroine of antiquity is that she may be endowed with the personnel most esteemed by the poet himself; for who can say if Mr. Brent or Mr. Morris is most correct in endowing the fair Greek with eyes of "dusky darkness," or "clear grey? The influence of the romantic school is strongly apparent in these poems, and, as a natural consequence, they display emotion, faith, and a refreshing evidence of thought. The exclusive followers of the antique, though they may win the plaudits of the classical critic, can never become household favourites, or take deep root in the hearts and thoughts of the people in this surging age of complex life and feeling. Therefore, though we cannot deny to such creations the possession of positive beauty, unity, and objective grandeur, we must still regard them as abnormal growths-the productions of genius forcibly directed into a specific groove, and at variance with the spirit of the age. The best proof of this is that incidents of the present time, if treated in the same style, would be simply unendurable; therefore it is that, by intention or instinct, the choice of certain writers generally falls upon subjects from the antique.

The second poem in this collection, "Winnie," gives an interesting picture of our fair English country life. The characters are sketched in fresh and tender tints. The following well expresses the feeling which is now impelling so many among the ranks of the weaker sex to take their lives in their hands," and to wander forth in search of work and realities more engrossing than the ordinary drawingroom-lady's occupation:

"And Winnie lived as one beneath a spell.

The purple rooms, the deer-trod slopes around,
The chequered lights that glanced o'er hill and dell,
And still retreats, where fancy loved to dwell;
And music's spells, as household doves drew round,
With their melodious wings, to sweep the chords of sound.
All seemed a charmed indolence that bound
Her senses and her soul, until at last

She rose and cleared her sight, and the illusion passed.
The world! the world! She must go forth to bear

Her cross in trial, temptation, everywhere!

To make her creed, her faith to God, take part
With that deep love she cherished in her heart!
Long Mary pleaded-gently, but in vain;
Soon Winnie stood beside the bed of pain,
With ministering hand and voice, creating,
Hopes that till then had perished in the waiting.
As oft again, when grief and sin combined,
Shook the last sands of some distempered mind,
She kissed the fevered brow. The sufferer woke
From his dark, perilous sleep; bright comfort spoke,
And to his penitent soul revealed, though far,
Heaven's golden gates, that stood for him ajar!"

And so Winnie goes forth, one of the followers of the red cross, to the fields of carnage, not less a hero, though her arms were those of love and peace rather than of strife and aggression. The following extract from this poem may serve as an example of Mr. Brent's power in dealing with the ideal and that shadowy realm of thought and feeling so exclusively the territory of the poet:

"My tale were well-nigh done; what matter, more?
Yet much lies in a life; though, as before,
The same still forms pass down to the same shore.
Face like to face, as flower to flower, appears
Upon the flower the dew, upon the face the tears.
Gray forms wave through a haze as present seem
The long-departed dear ones in a dream;

A song, a kiss, hands pressed, then something nigh,
Wind-like, that stirs a dreary tapestry,
The interwoven hopes of days gone by.
So the old shadows move from the old walls,

And others come, like unto those that go-
Like, not the same-and now a silence falls;
And now rise numerous voices, sounds of woe,

In battle spent, in combats void and vain;

For things fought out that still are fought for-aye, again!
We stand beside a shore where all around

A gray mist lies, and waves without a sound;

And wrecks float by, like kingdoms that have been,

And king's whose names, like Demogorgon, made

Nought down the sweeping infinite but shade.

And by-and-bye we see a thing forlorn,

A something like a sea-bewildered bird

(Its scared voice in the night a moment heard),

That glides unto the dark-is seen no more

And still the spectral waves rise, fall, upon the shore."

We find an appreciative page dedicated to the memory of Charles Dickens, which concludes in the following well-chosen words:

"The Dark River" is a pretty and truthful "bit of nature painting-not the less pleasing because it represents objects dear and familiar to all ramblers among country scenes. Upon the mercenary avarice which ruthlessly exposes our sailors to more than the natural perils of the deep, Mr. Brent is justly and opportunely severe.

The Dark-red Sail" is a picturesque legend of the Breton coast. Perhaps the piece displaying the deepest feeling is the one without name or title, and which will recall to many some memory too sacred to be titled or classed with others. A deep pathos underlies the mere words, a sort of hush such as we feel on looking at some calm, sad, but beautiful sculpture. Had space permitted, extracts worthy of attention might have been given from" Pandora," "The Dying Poet," and others, but enough has been said to show that Mr. Brent's volume, by its suggestiveness and true poetry, will well repay the careful reader, who will therein not fail to meet with passages as full of poetic beauty as of earnest thought and feeling.

Answers to Correspondents.

F. A.-The best known history of the Indian Archipelago is that written by John Crawfurd, and published in 1820. Q.-Refer to "Outlines of Literary Culture."

T. R. S.-Benjamin Franklin worked for some time as a printer in London; he was President of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1785-8, and died in 1790.

7. Britton-Cowper's eulogium on Judge Hale will be found in "The Task," book iii.

S. H.-Henry, son of David, king of Scotland, had the Earldom of Huntingdon conferred on him, upon condition of swearing allegiance to King Stephen.

O. C.-The Act for regulating the Office of the Receipt of Her Majesty's Exchequer at Westminster was passed in 1834.

K. R. J.-Peter de Montfort, who was killed at the battle of Evesham, is the earliest speaker of the House of Commons on record. He was appointed temp. Henry III.

H. Fraser.-The Duke of Norfolk bears the title of Earl of Arundel by his tenure of Arundel Castle; without any creation, patent, or investiture.

F. F. (Launceston.)-You will find an account of the family in Carew's History of Cornwall."

P. J.-The Royal Society of Literature was instituted in 1820.

S. S.-The pictures were bequeathed to Dulwich College by Sir Francis Bourgeois.

H. R. T. (Croydon.)-Write to the Secretary, 12, Bedford-row. Thespian.-The late Italian Opera House was destroyed by fire, March 5, 1856.

FR. (Lee.) The Armoury in the Tower of London was destroyed by fire on Saturday, October 30, 1841.

S. S. L.-You will find all the information you need in Horsley's "Britannia Romana."

Henry Jenkins. He is stated to have been born at Bolton, Yorkshire, T. A. H. (Bridport.)-The centenarian you allude to was named about 1501, and to have died in 1670, which would make him 169 years old.

H. L.-The institution of the Literary Fund originated through the sympathy that was evinced for the fate of Floyer Sydenham, the eminent Greek scholar, who, owing to his embarrassments, was seized and thrown into prison for a trifling debt he had incurred for his frugal meals.

T. R. S.-Dr. Porteus was not Bishop of Winchester. He was some time master of St. Cross Hospital, near that city, and was raised to the bishopric of Chester in 1776, and translated to the see of London 1787, over which he presided till his death in 1808. 7. S.-See answer to Herald, on p. 60 ante.

NOTICES.