94 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 275. 



found in churchyards ; I picked up several when 

 the surface ground of that at Much Wenlock was 

 lowered. W. J. Bernhaed Smith. 



Temple. 



Brasses restored (Vol. x., pp. 104. 535. ; Vol. xi., 

 p. 37.). — For the information of Sob I beg to say- 

 that the " metallic rubber " and prepared paper 

 for monumental brasses are sold by H. S. Richard- 

 son, Stockwell Street, Greenwich. I have em- 

 ployed this method, but I doubt if Sob will find it 

 answer so fully as he probably expects. Its com- 

 position is not made known, but it appears to be 

 simply bronze powder melted with bees'-wax. 

 Rubbings made with it on black paper certainly 

 produce very faithful representations of the 

 original brasses, but they have the disadvantage of 

 not bearing to be folded ; and the bright colour, of 

 the bronze soon fades. F. C. H. 



St. Pancras (Vol. xi., p. 37.). — The figure of 

 this saint on the noble brass of Prior Nelond is 

 described by Norris Deck as " treading on a 

 human figure, probably intended for one of his 

 Pagan persecutors." I should suppose it rather 

 intended to symbolise his triumphs over the arch- 

 enemy of mankind, in allusion to the etymology of 

 the saint's name. He is said to have been Bishop 

 of Taormina in Sicily, to have been ordained by 

 St. Peter himself, and finally stoned to death. 

 Hence he is often represented with a sword in one 

 hand and a stone in the other. F. C. H. 



Artificial Ice (Vol. xi., p. 39.). — Your corre- 

 spondent I. P. O. inquires " What was the sub- 

 stance exhibited under the name of artificial ice 

 for skating on at the Egyptian Hall and Baker 

 Street Bazaar, many years ago ? " I believe it 

 was merely a strong solution of Epsom or Glauber 

 salts, which was frequently replaced, as it was soon 

 cut up by the skaters. F. C. H. 



CampheWs Imitations (Vol. vi., p. 506.). — The 

 line — 



" And coming events cast their shadows before." 

 has been compared with similar thoughts in Leib- 

 nitz and Chapman. It has also a prototype in 

 Shakspeare, though the resemblance is not so 

 close as to amount to plagiarism in Campbell. 



In Troilus and Ci-essida, Act I. Sc. 3., Nestor 

 says : 



" And in such indexes, although small pricks 

 To their subsequent volumes, there is seen 

 The bahy figure of the giant mass 

 Of things to come at large." 



Sttlites. 



Turning the Tables (Vol. ill., p. 276.). — This is 

 derived from the game of backgammon, formerly 

 called " The Tables," where the tables are said to 

 be turned, when the fortune of the game changes 

 from one player to the other. Uiceda. 



Sestertium (Vol. xi., p. 27.). — The following ex- 

 tract from Zumpt, § 84., is perhaps the best reply 

 that can be given to Mr. Middleton's Query : 



" The neuter sestertium, which denoted a sum and not a 

 coin, was equal to a thousand sestertii. In reckoning by 

 asses, as the Romans carried their numbers only to centeria 

 millia and formed higher numbers by adverbs (§ 29.), the 

 words ceniena millia came to be left out, and only the 

 numeral adverbs, decies, vicies, &c. used, with which 

 centena millia is to be supplied. Thus decies aeris was 

 decies centena millia assium aeris. In reckoning by ses- 

 terces, the neuter noun sestertium was joined in the case 

 required by the construction with the numeral adverb. 

 Thus decies sestertium (^-i-o-um-o) was decies centena millia 

 sestertioru/n (gen. pi. of sestertius), a million o{ sestertii. The 

 adverb often stood alone ; e. g. decies, vicies. There were 

 therefore three forms, carefully to be distinguished from 

 each other : the sestertius, joined with the cardinal num- 

 bers, denoting a single nummus sestertius ; the sestertium, 

 joined in the plural with ordinals, denoting so many 

 thousands of the nummi sestertii ; a.nd sestertium, joined in 

 the singular only with numeral adverbs, denoting so 

 many hundred sestertia, or hundred thousand sestertii. 

 See Vail. Pat. 2. 10. sex millibus (sc. sestertiis masc). 

 Suet. Aug. 101. Vicena sestertia. Kep. Att. 14. 2. Sestertio 

 vicies . . . sestertio centies. These three combinations 

 were distinguished in writing ; HS. X. was decem sestertii- 

 HS. X. decem sestertia; HS. X. decies sestertium. But the 

 distinction was not always observed, if our present MSS. 

 of the classics are correct. Vid. Ascon. Ped. dc Ver. 1., 

 extr." 



Subject to the correction of Cicero's text, or to 

 his mystification, the following are the respective 

 values of — 



HS. D. millia * = 5 hundred sestertia = £4035 

 HS. MM. = 2 thousand sestertii = 16 



HS. M. = 1 „ „ = 8 



These English values are from Ainsworth. The 

 Penny Cyc, art. Sestertius, values the sestertium 

 at 8?. 17s. \d. See Anthon's Sullust. Catal. 

 XXX. Conf Say, Pol. Ec. b. i. c. 31. § 7. as to the 

 comparative value of Roman and modern money. 

 On the text of Act. ii. 3. 32., see Valpy's ed. vi. 

 p. 532. T. J. BucKTON. 



Lichfield. 



Cummin (Vol. xi., p. 11.), or rather Cumin 

 (Cuminum cyminum, Linn.), was probably placed 

 in coffins with the dead body (as many other plants 

 and herbs) on account of its antiseptic, aromatic 

 properties. That it was extensively used for some 

 purposes In ancient times may be inferred from 

 the mention of it in holy writ (both Old and New 

 Testaments), in the old Medical Classics both 

 Greek and Roman, and in the writings of Horace, 

 Persius, and others ; but it was most In use ap- 

 parently by the Arabian physicians : much is said 

 of it by Rhazes, Serapion, Avicenna, and Aver- 

 rhoes ; but whether there is anything to connect 

 the plant with any necrologlcal purposes, I hare 

 not been yet able to ascertain. The inquiry would 

 be well worth pursuing. William Pamplin. 



• Here the word millia is used instead of sestertia. 



i 



