MR. URBAN, They likewise state that his place remote antiquity, been constantly de- They also state that, when in Britany, Arthur usually resided at Gael, in the middle of the forest of Brecilien, from which circumstance some derive his name "Arthwr," meaning in Celtic languages either "strong man," or strong bear." But at what precise period this warrior came to our country, who were his parents, whether St. David was his uncle, and what were the events of his early life, together with the proof or disproof of the identity above alluded to,-I hope this hint may induce your learned correspondent further to investigate. Yours, &c. PLANTAGENET. ON TIMBER HOUSES. No. III. (With a View af the House of Walter Coney, at Lynn Regis, Norfolk.) WE now present our readers with a view of the very handsome and curious house of Walter Coney, which was referred to in our first article upon this subject.* This house, which was destroyed in town. An ancient family of this name * See Timber Houses, No. I. in Aug. The representation of the Walpole branch is said to be now vested in two brothers of the name of Coney, who gain their livelihood by the exhibition of some well-trained Newfoundland dogs, at one of the minor theatres in London. Walter Coney flourished as one of the Mayor of Lynn, serving in that capa- " took the sea at Linn, the 29th day of September, with many other gentlemen, and sailed into Flanders, and came again the 9th day of March, the same year;" lastly Coney was Mayor in 1478, when "he mayde the roofe of the body of Saint Margaret's Church, the Crosse Syld, and the Trinitie Chapel." He was also representative in Parliament for the borough. He died in 1478, and was interred in the Trinity Chapel, on the north side of Saint Margaret's Church, which he had built, and where still remains his very handsome monument, (a plate of which has lately been published in a work entitled the Antiquities of Lynn,) the inscription of which is thus given in Mackerell's History of Lynn: Hic jacet Walteras Coney, Mercator Hujus Dille Lenne quatuor Major et Aldermanus Gilde Mercatorie Sancte Trinitatis infra Dillam predictam continuo per quatuor decim annos et amplius qui obiit penultimo die Mensis Septembris Anno D'ni M ecce Irrip. Cujus Anime propicietur Deus. Amen. Walter Coney's arms: Sable, three conies, sejant argent, were erected in St. Margaret's church, with this inscription: Ensignia Gualteri Coney burgensis et aldermani Guilde mercatorie Sancte Crinitatis hujus Burgi. In the year 1485, Sept. the 29th, it is recorded in the Congregation Book of this borough, that the executor of Walter Coney granted 20l. to the making of a pinnacle to the great steeple of St. Margaret's Church. This spire was blown down 8th Sept. 1741. When Mackerell wrote his History of Lynn, early in the last century, there was to be seen in an upper window of Coney's house four escutcheons. The first was the arms of the town, azure, three dragon's heads erect, erased, pierced through the mouth with three cross-crosslets, fitchée, or. 2. A merchant's mark. These two coats are here represented. 3. Argent, a cross gules. (The guild of next importance to the Trinity was that of St. George.) 4. Argent, a chevron gules. And under the windows, next the street, were his own arms, as before blazoned, carved and coloured. In another, which appears in the engraving, and which still exists affixed to the front of a warehouse in Church Street, were the arms of the town, with a remarkable difference in chief, apparently intended to represent the holy wafer or host. The dragon's heads of the arms of Lynn, are derived, it may be remarked, from the customary symbol of St. Margaret, the patroness of the town. This shield is supported by angels, and on either side is a demiangel holding a shield charged with St. George's cross. The very handsomely carved cornerposts were, when the house was pulled down, presented to Daniel Gurney, esq. of Runcton. The second speci men of this architectural feature, engraved at the side of the view, is from an ancient house in Ipswich. With regard to the general construction of Walter Coney's house, we may repeat what was stated on a former occasion, that no regularity or uniformity of design was considered necessary by its architect. The gable-ends and windows were of different sizes, and did not range precisely over each other, or with the arches and brackets below. The joists and beams were of unequal bulk, and placed as chanced to be most convenient in the construction of the floors. In short, utility was the main object; a solid and useful structure the result proposed; not the fulfilment of a contract, not the imitation of an earlier style, not the masquerade of an external façade either superior to, or unaccordant with, the constuction of which it formed part. The house it self was framed upon principles of utility and durability, and the portions admitting of ornament, were, at the same time, adorned with no sparing hand; but no parts were incongruously clapton, in pretended ornament, where they did not actually and appropriately belong to the construction. How dif ferent is this system to that of the æra of false pediments, and mock gables, empty inches, and black shields ! THE VERSAILLES GALLERIES OF PORTRAITS. No. I. ONE of the most important parts of the collection of pictures formed by Louis Philippe at Versailles is the series of Portraits, most of them painted by artists who were contemporaries of the personages they represent. This extensive series is contained almost entirely in the third or upper story of the palace. It is in excellent condition, arranged as well as circumstances would admit; and, though still di vided into two separate series, (the latter of which is not yet catalogued because it is not completed,) is sufficiently interesting from its great size to demand an especially careful visit. The crowds of idlers who throng the lower rooms of the palace, where they find cheap food for their vulgar curiosity in the series "victories des Français," seldom mount in great numbers to the apartments where the portraits cover the walls, and this fortunate circumstance allows the antiquary and the connoisseur to examine these, the real treasures of the collection, at perfect leisure. Unfortunately, however, many of the rooms where the portraits are arranged are dark, and all are lighted by windows from the side, so that in many cases it is impossible to obtain a good view of the canvasses: still enough may be made out to show their great value. The antiquary will not be sorry, perhaps, to read a few notes concerning some of the most remarkable pictures among them. tions are completed the palace will probably contain about four times that number. Beginning therefore with the portraits in room No. 141, at the head of the great staircase of the northern wing, we shall take the catalogue in our hands and proceed. The first portrait of note is No. 1568, one of St. Bernard, painted by Andreas Sacchi, about 1650. We do not know what authority the painter found for the Saint's head, but it is rather a weak performance in point of art, though probably a genuine picture. It is small and dark. In the catalogue, which is to be purchased on entering the palace, the rooms, in which the largest and most precious part of the portraits is kept, are numbered from 141 upwards :the northernmost room bearing this number; and the others lead successively towards the south, along the garden front of the northern wing, and then return northwards along the court-side of the same division of the building. The total number of portraits in this portion of the northern wing is about 1,300, and when the other por Near it is No. 1570, a portrait of an almost equally celebrated man, Simon de Montfort, infamous for his cruelties towards the Albigeois, in the 13th century. This picture is, however, only a copy by a modern artist, from another the authority of which may be doubtful, and it is therefore interesting for the sake of tradition more than anything else. The same may be said of No. 1572, a copy of a portrait of St. Louis, mentioned by Montfaucon, tom. ii. p. 155, and the original of which is preserved in the collection of the Palais Royal at Paris. This original is itself'only secondhand, the real original having been a picture on pannel, kept in the Sainte Chapelle in Paris, and long ago, we believe, destroyed. From the costume of the sainted King being of the time of Louis XII. there is no doubt of this real original being itself only traditional; and we quote it as a curious instance of the difficulty which may be experienced in tracing the authenticity of any early portraits. We are inclined to place faith in the tradition of a likeness, when that tradition is not over-strained, and in fact, the face of St. Louis is not doubtful; but such cases as these may make us hesitate before we pronounce decidedly on any work of art of very remote epochs. We may add that on the picture in the |