66 



be seen in the photographs.* Mr. Nye carried the specimen 



'°" Th^sa" elTthat it was found, Dr. J. Burbidge, of Le.-es 

 informs me Uwas brought to him. He obtamed the loan of i 

 fo a considerable timi, and Mrs. Burbidge took three small 

 nhotoeraohs of it. Dr. Burbidge says that he is acquamted with 

 &r N>^! and has professionally attended his fam,^ for some 

 fears and believes him to be honest and trustworthy. I have 

 also carefully questioned both the men, who have given a 

 consistent account of the discovery. From other enquiries I 

 have found them to be of good report discoveries 



The rare and fortuitous nature of most of these discoveries 

 renders the probabilities so much in favour o their being made 

 bv unscienUfic persons, that we must, perforce, receive with 

 camilin but with respect, the only possible evidence, where it 



^^°^^^r^St:^t;riironT;rti;e smaner piece of the flint. 



now'lorming thl' lid .of the cavity ^ ^^^-^rld S 

 fractured while in the possession of Dr. Burbidge, aiiQ \vas 

 cemented again by him. The specimen was returned to Mr 

 Nye! who refused to part with it, and was somewhat annoyed at 

 i>c hrpatao-e declining to trust it elsewhere. 



The fSe M C T. Phillips, Curator of the Castle Museum, 

 Lewes entered into negotiation with Mr. Nye for its purchase, 

 bu owinrto the sudden death of the former gentleman, the 

 mauer dropped, although Mr. Nye had, at that time, entertained 

 reqiesdo^'of parting with it to a local Museum, in preference to 



"""llyaTnto^vas first drawn to the matter, soon after the 

 discovery by Mr. John Lewis, C.E, F.S.A., ^vho shewed me the 

 Three sm^ll photographs of the specimen, which had been given 

 to him by a frknid at Lewes, but he told me that he had not seen 

 L sp^^^^^^^^^^ On seeing the photographs, and not being 



ablfo detect any trace of organic structure, I regarded the toad- 

 hke object in thl flint as mirely bearing an accidental, though 

 strfkinr resemblance to a toad. Mr. Lewis gave me the 

 piotoo^aphs which I kept, regarding the object in the hollow 

 S the flint' as being an example of the -r-ous^mitative re- 

 semblances flint stones often assume. The same a prion 

 conclusS^^^ been come to by every geologist of repute who 



'^^ ^i?;;:?:ot^m.til Ma^r^or^^^^^^^^^^ year that, on turning 



"^^n^avTph^^og^Iph^I^e hole in its original condition. 



