Ancient Linear Measures. 219 



change two thousand years ago in the manufacture of what is 

 called sword money ! These appear generally to measure very 

 precisely 6, 5, and 4^ of these Chinese inches, and it is a point 

 that will, I think, bear fuller investigation. The oldest round 

 bronze cash that is in my own collection, said to be B.C. 200 

 measures precisely one old Chinese inch across. The old Chinese 

 inch = 1*25 English; and Mr. Seebohm believes that this old 

 Chinese, as well as perhaps the English foot itself, may be 

 derived from an Assyrian or Babylonian cubit of *533, as given 

 by Lepsius, thus : — 



(Royal cubit 6 + 1) = 7) -5330 



•0761 = palm. 



•3044 



Anything throwing light on the early connection between 

 Babylonia and China or other countries cannot, at the present 

 time, fail to bear good results. 



6. Mongol— At p. 316 of Col. Yule's "Travels of Marco 

 Polo " is a description and figure half-size of a most impor- 

 tant specimen of what is called a " Table d'or de Command- 

 ment," the Paiza of the Mongols. It is of the fourteenth or 

 fifteenth century, having engraved on it letters in the Baspa 

 character. This is described by Schmidt as measuring 12*2 

 inches long, by 3*65 wide ; and by Ramusio as a cubit in length 

 and 5 fingers wide, and as weighing between 24-32 ounces. This 

 tablet was found in the Government of Yenesei in Eastern 

 Siberia ; and being so important an object, perfectly finished and 

 of solid silver gilt, and running so near the old Chinese foot, viz., 

 •311 metre as against *305, it should receive some attention as 

 having been possibly cut or cast by the measure of the then 

 existing Mongol foot, or as part of some cubit. This tablet 

 measures 8 T 9 ^- inches of the newer and larger Chinese measure. 



7. Sittite. — In looking over the plates in Dr. Wright's " Empire 

 of the Hittites," recently published, it struck me that the 

 apparent regularity of the spaces and lines, which divided the 

 rows or parallel series of enclosed hieroglyphs, might furnish 

 indications of some fixed measure, possibly in connection with 



