194 
clarke's travels. 
the gems found iu Cyprus, we noticed intagliated searabsei with 
similiar symbols; arid obtained one whereon Isis was exhibited 
holding the quadruped, precisely according to the appearance 
presented by the statue discovered at Larneca. Since these 
antiquities were found, the inhabitants have also dug up a num¬ 
ber of stone coffins, of an oblong rectangular form. Each of 
these, with the exception of its cover, is of an entire mass of 
stone. One of them contained a small vase of terra cotta , of 
the rudest workmanship, destitute of any glazing or varnish.* 
Several intaglios were also discovered, and brought to us for 
sale. We found it more difficult to obtain ancient gems in Lar- 
neca than in the interior of the island, owing to the exorbitant 
prices set upon them. At Nicotia, the goldsmiths part with 
such antiquities for a few paras . The people of Larrieca are 
more accustomed to intercourse with strangers, and expect to 
make a harvest in their coming. Among the ring stones we 
left in that town, was a beautiful intaglio representing Cupid 
whipping a butterfly : a common method among ancient lapi¬ 
daries, of typifying the power of love over the soul. Also an 
onyx, which there is every reason to believe one of the Ptole¬ 
mies had used as a signet. It contained a very curious mono¬ 
gram, expressing all the letters of the word iitoaemaiot, acu* 
cording to the manner here represented : 
The use of such instruments for signature is recorded in the 
books of Moses, seventeen hundred years before the Christian 
aera; and the practice has continued in eastern countries, with 
little variation, to the present day. The signets of the Turks 
are of this kind. The Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians, had the 
same custom; indeed, almost all the ancient intaglios were so 
employed. In the thirty-eighth chapter of Genesis, it is re¬ 
lated that Tamar demanded the signet of Judah ; and above 
Ihree thousand years have passed since the great lawgiver of 
#'!t is mw in the author’s possession. 
