314 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 
Dublin Society at the time, which might have been given to the 
king instead of either of the above. 
One informant assures me that Mr. Patrick Brophy, State 
Dentist, claimed to have been the inventor and retailer of the 
story about George IV., and professed to have amused the 
Marquis of Wellesley with it at a dinner party during his 
second Viceroyalty in 1833. 
Dr. Fraser has suggested that a Mossop medal, made of Irish 
silver, which was certainly presented to the king, was possibly the 
origin of the story. This may have been the foundation. Or 
there may be some truth in the story that a nugget was given 
to the king by the Harl of Meath, as I am informed by the pre- 
sent Harl that there is a tradition to that effect in his family. 
Discovery of the 22 oz. Nugget (see Pl. xut., fig. 4).—In letters 
written by John Lloyd, F.R.S.* and Abraham Mills’ to Sir Joseph 
Banks, President of the Royal Society, they describe respectively 
the results of their visit, in company with Mr. Weaver, to the scene 
of the Wicklow gold washings. Mr. Weaver’s own account was 
not published till many years later. 
I do not propose to deal here with all the traditional stories as 
to the discovery of nuggets, and the annual search for gold which 
appears to have been carried on by certain families who shared 
the secret for at least ten or twelve years before the year 1795. 
The discovery of the washings at Croghan Kinshela was first 
made public in September of that year. The rush took place soon 
afterwards, and the working by the peasantry continued till the 
15th October, when, under orders of the Government, a detach- 
ment of the Kildare Militia took possession of the washings for 
the Crown, and the peasantry retired quietly. According to 
Mills the latter had, during the six weeks, disposed of £5000 
worth of gold at about £3 15s. per oz. = 800 ozs. 
It is not clear from the above authors alone whether the 
22 oz. nugget which was first referred to by Lloyd was found 
1 Dated Cronbane, 4th November, 1795. Read 19th November, 1795. Phil. 
Trans., vol. Ixxxvi., 1796, pp. 34-87. 
2 Dated Cronbane, 21st November, 1795. Read 17th December, 1795. Phil. 
Trans., vol. Ixxxvi., 1796, pp. 38, 44. See also Trans. Roy. Dub. Society for 1800, 
vol. i., Pt. i., p. 454. 
