which will probably appear at some length in the next number of the Society's "Journal.”

Mr. G. Chivas sent for exhibition a Roman altar, discovered during the present month while excavating at the rear of the new Corn Exchange, Chester. This altar must have lain for centuries within a few yards of the Roman soldier's gravestone dug up in 1859, and since then transferred by Mr. Chivas to the public grounds adjoining the Water Tower. Mr. Hughes explained that this altar was of a ruder description than those usually met with either in Chester or elsewhere, and that the lower portion of the inscription was almost entirely obliterated. This inscription occupied originally four lines, the two first and the commencement of the third being now almost all that could be deciphered with any certainty. It ran thus:

DEAE

MAT

RI... ... V M.

The name of the individual was wanting to complete the inscription, but the dedication De Matri, "To the holy mother," presiding over the city, was entirely new, all other known examples in England being addressed Deabus Matribus, To the goddess mothers." This depar

ture from the ordinary rule he could not attempt to explain.

Mr. T. Rigby (Fenny Wood) exhibited, and presented to the Society, the log-book of the "old Temeraire" line-of-battle ship, captured by Captain Bartley of the " Warspite," under Admiral Boscawen, from the French at the battle of Cape Lagos, in 1759. The "Temeraire" was commanded, at the date of the record in question, 1762, by Captain George Wade, a native of Over, Cheshire.

This meeting was the last of the session.

ROYAL INSTITUTION OF CORNWALL.

May 23. The annual meeting was held at the Museum, Truro, E. SMIRKE, Esq., President, in the chair.

In his address, the President spoke of the intended visit to Cornwall, in August next, of the Cambrian Archæological Association. Strictly it was to be a meeting of the Cambrian Society, but in effect it would be a joint meeting of that Society and of the Cornwall Institution-the formation, for one week, of a sort of Cornu Cambrian, or Cambrio-Cornubian Association. Very extensive preparations had been made for the meeting, and funds had been liberally subscribed. The map and programme which had been prepared for the meeting comprised almost everything of antiquarian interest in the county; though some of the objects proposed to be visited were distant, and involved the necessity of pedestrian exercise which perhaps would be rather laborious. In remarking on the various papers to be read that day, he mentioned one by Mr. Pedler, of Liskeard, on some Inscribed Stones in Cornwall, and said that he did not entirely agree with the deductions drawn by Mr. Pedler. But his chief object was to state that at Tregony there would be found a very remarkable inscribed stone, which had formed part of the foundation of the very lowest part of the south-west angle of the church. He was himself unable, when there, to make an accurate examination of it, it being difficult to decipher the whole inscription in

certain shades of sun-light. But he found four distinct lines of words, all in old unmixed Roman characters, and therefore probably of very early date. They were quite unnoticed in any printed books, and it was only recently that they had been brought under the notice of Dr. Barham, by Mr. Warren, a former vicar. The stone was not known to any person on the spot, not even to Mr. Bennetts, a resident surgeon and a very intelligent person, who assisted him to examine it. He drew attention to this antiquity now, in the hope that further particulars concerning it would be obtained before the next meeting of the Institution.

After the announcement of numerous donations to the Museum and Library, Dr. Barham observed that one object, a fragment of a spur found in an ancient place of sepulture, at Place, Fowey, and contributed by the Rev. E. J. Treffry, was a very interesting donation. It was, he believed, all that remained to Mr. Treffry of a large number of pieces of armour and other antiquities discovered below the foundations of Place. At the time when the late Mr. Treffry was engaged in making some excavations there, he found, at the foot of the old castle, built in 1457, the remains of a deep and rich garden covered with rubbish, which had evidently been brought thither at the time of the building of the castle; and below that garden he found a place of interment, which had been filled up and disused for a great many years. In that place of sepulture were a number of bodies lying east and west, without coffins, and separated from each other by pieces of slate. Many of them were buried in armour, and with spurs and other objects of value elaborately ornamented. Unfortunately, in consequence of their not being sent to this or some similar institution, these interesting objects had been entirely dispersed and lost; Mr. Treffry submitted them to various antiquaries for their opinions, and these gentlemen valued them so highly that they never found their way back to Place. The only fragment, therefore, of what might have been a very interesting collection, was this portion of a spur, chased, originally gilt, and very elaborately ornamented. It seemed clearly to have belonged to some person of distinction; and it would also appear probable that some event of stirring importance had taken place previous to the interment of the bodies-if they were interred about the same time. The late Mr. Treffry, in a communication published in the Report of the Institution for 1840, stated that when the Treffrys obtained Place, in the time of Richard I., the endowed church and cemetery were in existence. So that the origin of this spur might be carried back to a considerable antiquity, though from its form and workmanship it could not belong to an extremely remote age.

Dr. Barham read portions of a very elaborate paper on the Ancient Inscribed Monuments of the British Era found in Cornwall, by E. H. Pedler, Esq., of Liskeard.

Mr. Pedler, after remarking that Cornwall is fortunate in possessing many inscribed monuments of great antiquity, and expatiating on the interest and historical importance which attach to them, stated that they belong to distinct ages of past history, and may therefore be conveniently grouped into distinct classes. The first and earliest are the

memorials left us by the Roman masters of our island. Next to these in point of time are the commemorative monuments of the native inhabitants of the county, set up by them when freed from the Roman yoke, and enjoying that liberty and independence which the Roman invader was the first to disturb. The third and last class of these

ancient memorials comprises those which have been left to us by the mixed races of Saxon, Dane, and Norman, who here, as well as in most parts of our island, inundated, absorbed, and finally obliterated the Celtic population which preceded them. Mr. Pedler then proceeded :—

"The memorials of the second or British class will alone form the subject of this paper. So far as they have fallen under my notice, they are nine in number, and are found scattered over every part of the county, from Camelford in the east, to St. Just, at the Land's End, in the west. They all agree in the following particulars-the monuments of which they consist are all monoliths, or single stone pillars, set upright in the ground; and though some of them have been partially brought into shape by the tool of the workman, and exhibit attempts at ornamentation, the greater number are in a condition almost as rude as when raised from the quarry. The writings which they bear are not, as is usually the case, in horizontal lines across the stone, but run vertically along its face, beginning at the top and going downwards. They are all written in Roman capitals, which run together without separation of the words; and, though small Roman and Saxon characters are occasionally found intermixed, these must be regarded as late innovations and a departure from the purely British style of writing. So far as I have had an opportunity of examining them, the letters are all incised or cut in intaglio. The language in which they are written is the pure native vernacular of the CornuBritish tongue, and is doubtless the same language which was brought into the island by those Belgic emigrants who, we learn from Cæsar, had sometime previ ously to his invasion arrived here from the Continent, and the same language, we may believe, which ultimately prevailed throughout the southern part of Britain."

Mr. Pedler then reviewed cursorily the history and social condition of the British population of our peninsula during the period of their independence the era to which these monuments belong; this period, computed from the departure of the Romans to the reign of the Saxon Athelstan, being not much less than five centuries. He then proceeded to the main purport of his paper; the foundation of his argument being that, although the writers of these ancient memorials used the Roman alphabet, it must not be taken for granted that they used it as we do, attaching to every symbol the same phonetic value that we attach to them. On the contrary, although we have writings in the Cornish tongue some five or six centuries old, written for the most part in strict conformity to that use of the Roman alphabet which was then prevalent among the English, it was very unlikely that the Britons should have made a similar use of that alphabet at a period when the English nation did not exist, or even at any time whilst they were a people independent of English rule. Mr. Pedler expressed obligations to the learned E. Lhuyd, for his very valuable chapter on the use of letters in the most ancient Welsh MSS. (of Cornish there are none extant of any great antiquity), and remarked that though these MSS. ascend to a very high antiquity, the rules deduced from them are far from adequate to meet all the requirements of the memorial inscriptions now under consideration; and it must therefore be inferred that in these inscriptions we meet with compositions exceeding in antiquity even the oldest Welsh MSS., and evincing the style and type of writing adopted by the natives immediately after, and probably also during the Roman occupation. He then set forth, in detail, the powers and values of the Roman letters as, he believed, they were used and understood by the ancient Cornish, and after further observations and arguments, for the most part of a philological nature, he applied them in proof of his assertion that the inscriptions are not, as has been generally assumed, Roman, but purely British. The following are the results that he arrived at :—

GENT. MAG, VOL. CCXIII.

I

1. The inscription on the Mên Scryfa, in Madron, RIALO BRAN-CUNOVALFIL, Mr. Pedler renders, RYEL A BREN-CUN A WOL-VYL, "a Royal Tree, Chief of the Lowest Tribe."

CVNOWORIFILIVS.

2. On the Long Stone monument, in the parish of Fowey :-CIRVSIVISICIACIT This inscription Mr. Pedler writes and interprets as follows:KERUS EUN EGE A KET CUN A WORE VVLY US, " Beloved, just he was, and an ally,Chief of the Upper Tribes, who was."

3. The Worthyvale monument, near Camelford :-LATINIICIACIT FILIUS MACAR. Remarking that this inscription is perfect save as to the last letter but one, and that he has supplied an A, partly on the authority of Borlase, but chiefly because that letter is required to make sense, Mr. Pedler renders it thus:-LATHENE EGE A KET VYLY WAE MA CAR, "a life-slayer he was and an ally-People, alas! he was dear." 4. The Esne monument, at St. Clements, near Truro:-ISNIOCVITAL-FILITORRICI. Mr. Pedler states that with the exception of the third letter this inscription is very plainly legible, and he renders it thus:-ESNE O GUYTHOL-VYLY TORR-EGE, "Esne, whose name was Guythol (Guard-all)—People, he was a tower."

5. The Mawgan monument:-CNETVMIFIL-ENANS. Mr. Pedler opines that the proper reading is, CNETH UME VYLY-ENANS, “a Knight of the Upper PeopleEnans."

6. The monument at Bleu Bridge, Gulval:-GUENATAUTIC DINVIFILIUS; written by Mr. Pedler, GUENATAUG EG DEN UE VYLY US, and translated, “a minister was he, a man of the upper folk, who was."

7. St. Just monument :-SILUSICIAC T, written SYLUS EGE A KET, and translated "saved he was, and an ally." Mr. Pedler is inclined to consider this as a memorial for some Dane or other Pagan foreigner who had been converted to Christianity, and probably received the name of Sylus (saved) in baptism. A cross, with what was the resemblance of a bishop's crosier, is engraved on the stone, which it appears was found in the chancel of the church when taken down in 1834. The old church is supposed to have been built in 1336; but the letters of the inscription imply a much earlier date; and Mr. Buller supposes that there was an older church on the same site, known as "Lafronda"--a name still borne by the farm. It should be read "lafaron da," which signifies "good words," and seems to relate to an early preaching of the Gospel on that site.

8. The monument near Michell::-SUANI HICIACIT; which Mr. Pedler renders SUANEK EGE A KET, in English, "Prosperous he was, and an ally."

9. The Cardinham monument:-AILATHI FILIVROC NI. This stone stands in the yard of Wilton farm, in Cardinham, and was once used as a gate or door post, as may be seen from the holes where hinges appear to have been inserted. The first letter has been injured from this cause. Mr. Pedler completes and translates it thus, WAE Y LATHE VYLY UR O-CHANE, "Alas that he is slain! People, now sing a dirge." The name Wilton (Wylton), Mr. Pedler says, seems to indicate the chief dwelling. place of a separate tribe or community.

Having thus treated of all the British monuments in Cornwall, Mr. Pedler went on to speak of the inscription on the Fardel Stone, described by the President a short time since. The text of the inscription appears to be as follows:

Front. PANONI MAQVIRINI. Reverse. SAGRANUI. Treated as the Cornish inscriptions have been, the text assumes the following form:

Ft. VAN O NY MA GUYR ENE. Rev. SAGREN UY. Which in English will be, Ft. "High he was not, whose name was Truth of Soul." Rev. "Let us consecrate you."

On the preservation of these and similar monuments, Mr. Pedler writes:

"It is to be lamented that the Fardel stone should have been removed from the place to which it belonged and transferred to the British Museum, which is already suffering from the evils of repletion. This step could have been taken only under an erroneous view of the uses of that admirable institution. For more easy inspec tion by the investigator, or for the safe keeping of a frail but valuable relic, the Museum is a most advantageous repository; but in this instance a drawing would answer every purpose of an inspection of the original, while the nature of the ma

terial would render the monument safe from all injury but what was wilful. It might therefore have been safely committed to the guardianship of the landed proprietor and his tenant. On the other hand, to separate it from its proper site deprives it of much of its interest, and at the same time removes a link by which the locality is brought into connection with the history of a distant age. It were to be wished that, if possible, it should be restored to its original site. While touching on this subject, I may be permitted to express a hope that some steps will be taken for the due conservation of our own ancient inscribed monuments. Man have been seriously injured, some perhaps destroyed. Their value is, on many accounts, such as to demand from us every exertion for their safe keeping, and I know not any better channel through which such exertion can be made than the instrumentality of your own Society. I would suggest that they should be enclosed by an iron rail resting on a granite plinth, and a metal tablet be affixed, giving some ac count of the monument and confiding it to the guardianship of the public. In most cases the landed proprietors would probably defray the expense; where they declined, a fund for the purpose should be raised."

The remainder of the paper was occupied with a dissertation on the Ogham writing of the Fardel and St. Dogmael monuments.

Mr. Blight, of Penzance, read a paper on Holed Stones and Barrows in the parishes of St. Constantine, Wendron, and St. Leven. He said :

"In the western part of Cornwall there are several ancient monuments known by the name of Holed Stones.' They consist of thin slabs of granite, each being pierced by a round hole, generally near its centre. They vary in size and in form. That near the Mên-Scryfa in Madron, better known than others, is placed between, or rather arranged triangularly with, two other upright stones. Other holed stones which have hitherto been noticed are not so accompanied. The late Mr. Buller, in his Account of the Parish of St. Just,' describes some such stones which he found near Cairn Kenidjac. One may still be seen in the Vicarage grounds at St. Just; and two others near Bolleit, in St. Buryan. The monument to which I would now more particularly call attention is at Tolven Cross (Tolven is Cornish for holed stone') in the parish of St. Constantine, a few yards west of the road from Gweek to the Helston and Falmouth turnpike. Dr. Borlase refers to a holed stone abont a mile west of St. Constantine Church. The subject of the present notice is twice that distance from the church; it is therefore uncertain whether or not the Doctor alludes to the same monument. It is the largest holed stone in Cornwall, being 8 ft. 6 in. high by 8 ft. 11 in. wide at its base, diminishing to a point at the summit; thus it is of a triangular form. Its average thickness is about one foot; but it is a little thicker at the bottom than at the top. The hole, almost perfectly circular, is 17 in. in diameter. Though within the slate district, the stone is of granite. Formerly it was a conspicuous object by the wayside; but within the last twelve or fourteen years a house has been built betwixt it and the road. It now forms part of a garden hedge. In a field adjoining the opposite side of the road, perhaps eighteen yards from the stone, is a low, irregular barrow, about twenty yards in diameter, and studded with small mounds. Dr. Borlase has alluded to the superstitious practice of drawing children through the holed stone at Madron, to cure them of weakness or pains in the back-a practice still observed at the holed stone in St. Constantine. I was told that some remarkable cures had been effected there only a few weeks since. The ceremony consists in passing the child nine times through the hole, alternately from one side to the other; and it is essential to success that the operation should finish on that side where there is a little grassy mound, recently made, on which the patient must sleep, with a sixpence under his head. A trough-like stone, called the "cradle," on the eastern side of the barrow, was formerly used for this purpose. This stone, unfortunately, has long been destroyed. That holed stones were not originally constructed for the observance of this peculiar custom is evident, for in some instances the holes are not more than five or six inches in diameter. A few years ago, a person digging close to the Tolven, discovered a pit in which were fragments of pottery arranged in circular order, the whole being covered by a flat slab of stone. Imagining that he had disturbed some mysterious place, with commendable reverence he immediately filled up the pit again. Taking the proximity of the barrow in connection with the pit, it seems most probable that the Tolven is a sepulchral monument, stones