The Old Weevils 



a Bear's paw, a Falcon's wing or a Puma's 

 tooth stuck in his hair? We may safely 

 doubt it. 



How preferable to these heraldic horrors 

 is the reverse of our own silver coinage 

 recently brought into circulation ! It repre- 

 sents a sower who, with a nimble hand, at 

 sunrise, fills the furrows with the good seed 

 of thought. It is very simple and it is great; 

 it makes us reflect. 



The Marseilles drachma has for its sole 

 merit its magnificent relief. The artist who 

 made the dies was a master of the graver's 

 tool; but he lacked the breath of inspiration. 

 His chub-faced Diana is no better than a 

 trollop. 



Here is the NAMASAT of the Volscae, 

 which became the colony of Nimes. Side by 

 side, profiles of Augustus and of his minister 

 Agrippa. The former, with his dour fore- 

 head, his flat skull, his acquisitive broken 

 nose, inspires me with but little confidence, 

 notwithstanding what gentle Virgil said of 

 him : Deus nobis h#c otia fecit. 1 It is success 

 that makes gods. Had he not succeeded in 



1 "The god made these hours of leisure for us." 

 Translator's Note. 



5 



