Xl. THE SECOND WINTER MEETING. 



lid which appears to have been fixed down, leads me to connect it with the form 

 of stone reliquary described by Bloxham in his "Ecclesiastical Architecture;" 

 he says they were sometimes constructed to contain precious objects, and some- 

 times they contained blood, in a small cavity, with a cover fastened down over it. 

 I think I am right in saying that the stone was not originally the single object 

 which it now appears to be. There are traces underneath of its being attached to 

 another stone, and in that case it may not perhaps have had originally much 

 connection with the coffin. Mr. Mondey calls it "an incense burner," because 

 he thinks it was connected with interments of the Stone and Bronze Ages. 

 Probably the date is much later. 



The HON. SEC. said he ventured to think that Captain Acland's 

 theory was the right one. This was the form in which saints' 

 bones were placed in an altar as relics. The Rev. R. G. BARTELOT 

 suggested that it may have been a receptacle for the holy oil. 



MEDIAEVAL HORSE ORNAMENT. The PRESIDENT exhibited 

 a small mediaeval copper shield enamelled with a lion rampant, 

 dug up at Preston, near the Roman pavement, at a depth of ten 

 feet from the surface. It is said to be one of a series of 

 ornaments for horse trappings and to be of rare occurrence. It 

 is hoped that a further note on it may be contributed to the next 

 volume. 



PAPERS. 



The following papers were read : 



(i.) " Fourteenth-Century Life in Bridport, as shown 

 by the wills preserved in the Borough Archives," 

 by the Rev. R. G. Bartelot. (Printed.) 

 (ii.) "New and Rare British Spiders," by the Rev. O. 



Pickard-Cambridge. (Printed.) 



(iii.) " Coins struck in Dorset during the Saxon, Norman, 

 and Stuart Periods," by Mr. H. Symonds. 

 (Printed.) 



(iv.) " William Knapp, musician, of Poole (composer of 

 the hymn-tune ' Wareham ' ") by the Rev. S. E. 

 V. Filleul. (Printed.) 



(v.) "Queen Eleanor Crosses," by Mr. Alfred Pope. 

 (Printed.) 



