Of OXFORDSHIRE. 311 



the Houfe of a certain Prince, and left him by his Ancefiors. 

 And albeit, that in the days of the Inhabitants then living, it was 

 no where digged, yet knew they where the Mine of it was, but 

 were very unwilling to difcover the place ; yet at length they did, 

 it being ruinated and ftopt with (tones and rubbiih ; being much 

 eafier to dig then Iron mine, and might be reftored again, if Mi- 

 ners, and others fkilfnl therein, were appointed to work it w . 



1 o. Some fuch natural Eleclrum feems alfo to be hinted in the 

 Civil Law, and to have been mixed with Silver. Neratius re- 

 porting that Proculus gave fentence, that it was no matter in a Le- 

 gacy of Eleclrine vejfels, how much Silver or Eleclrum was in 

 them , but whether the Silver or Eleclrum exceeded ? which 

 might eafily be perceived by ocular infpe&ion ; or if fo equally 

 mixt that it could not be done, that then recourfe was to be had 

 to the Eslimat of the Teftator, amongft which fort of veffels he 

 ufually accounted them x . Whence 'tis eafie to colleft, that the" 

 Eleclrumhere fpoke of, can be no artificial mixture of filver and 

 gold, again mixed with filver ; but a natural metal before it mix- 

 tion with filver. 



1 1 . Moreover, that there is alfo an artificial Eleclrum, is as e- 

 videntfrom the Inftitutesot the Emperor Juji in 1 an y ,and Q Flor. 

 Tertullian z : made by intermingling gold and filver, according to 

 the natural mixture ; which according to Serviws and St. Ifidore % 

 was of gold'm a triple, but according to Pliny h and Monfieur Sa~ 

 vot c , in a quadruple proportion, to one of filver ; vi%. 19 Carats 

 J of gold, and 4 Carats and :} of filver ; which as the fame Savot 

 teftifies, were the proportions obferved by the Emperor Sevens 

 Alexander, and Lewis the Twelfth of France, by an Ordinance 

 made at Blok, of Nov. 19.1506. {ovthcFrench gold. 



1 2 . Which very proportions I fhould be willing to think our 

 Britifi coins to have ; only I guefs the Britans had, and made ufe 

 of, as little Art as might be : Wherefore I am enclinedto believe 

 them rather native Eleclrum, dug and coined thus according as 

 they found it, either richer or poorer ; for I havefeen fome pie- 

 ces of this fort of mony, much richer in gold then fome others are. 

 That gold and filver Mines were worked here in Britan in thofe 



* Petri Maityris AngleriideOrbeN<rvo,T>ecad.i.cap.^. * fl.De Auto Afgentoj&e. IJCg.Yediailu^Ne- 

 rat'uu. 1 Jnftitut. de Rerum divifwm, . Si duorum. * ,<? Septi?nii Florent. Tertulliani Lib. adverf. Her- 

 mog.cap.i^. & adverfa Praxean. cap. 27. " Lock fupra citatis. b Loco citato. Lovis Savot de la 

 Matiere des Medalles antiques, ipart.chapitre 9. 



ancientef 



