96 Miscellaneous. 



melted matter overcoming the resistance of the rocks above to force 

 a passage to the surface ; consequently no eruption follows, or in 

 Mr. Malet's words, "an earthquake is an uncompleted effort to 

 establish a volcano." A. Colvin, F.G.S. 



New Univeesity Club, St. James's Street, S.W., 

 December 22nd, 1873. 



3ynisc:EiL.iL.j^3^EOTJS. 



On the Derivation of the Word "Sakskn." — It was supposed 

 by Dr. Stukeley that the word Sarsen came to us from the Phoenicians, 

 and other writers since his time have adopted it as such ; but the 

 greatest authority of the present day confutes the opinion, and 

 states "that no word in the English language is of Phoenician origin." 

 If so, we must inquire what other language will assist us. In the 

 Anglo-Saxon, ses is a rock or stone ; sessi, a settle or seat ; sesan or 

 sesen, rocks. The e in sesan is without accent, and sounded like e 

 in there, ai in fair, or as apres Fr. The word Sarsen is pronounced 

 by the country people sdsen, omitting the r ; so that, perhaps, the 

 word Sarsen is no other than the Anglo-Saxon Sesan, " rocks," and 

 correctly sounded by the Wiltshire descendants of our Saxon fore- 

 fathers, who still retain many other words of the same origin in 

 great purity; for, as Dean Trench has observed, "they have not gone 

 from us, but we from them." E. F. 



Oldest British Starfish.— Mr. Henry Hicks, F.G.S., F.E.C.S., 



has called my attention to an important omission made in my list of 

 Palaeozoic starfishes printed in the last number of this Magazine, 

 page 7. I find I omitted from that list the oldest known British 

 starfish, the Falasterina Bnmseyensis, a new species, described by 

 Dr. Hicks in the Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lond. 1872, vol. xxix. 

 p. 51, pi. iv. figs. 21-23, from the Tremadoc rocks of Eamsey Island. 

 The specimen was discovered by Mr. Lightbody, of Ludlow. Mr. 

 Hicks mentions that Dr. Otto Torell and Mr. Linnarson had de- 

 scribed forms of starfish which had been found in Sweden, in rocks 

 supposed to be of the age of the Harlech group of Great Britain. 

 Another Palaeozoic form has also been figured and described by 

 Mr. W. Hellier Baily, F.L.S., F.G.S., in the publications of the 

 Geological Survey of Ireland, to which my attention has been called 

 by Prof. Harkness, F.E.S., of Queen's College, Cork.— H. W. 



OBITTJ^^ia:Z". 



Prof. A. E. Eeuss, Vienna. — It is with deep regret we record the 

 death of an able Austrian palaeontologist. Prof. Eeuss was a Foreign 

 Correspondent of the Geological Society of London, and author of 

 many papers on the Foramiuifera, Crustacea, etc. We hope to give 

 a longer notice of Prof. Eeuss next month. 



