However well it may be made to suit the conve- | nience of particular circles or classes of men, it is impossible that any kind of paper money could be the universal money of the world. As a fit instrument for this purpose, it was necessary that something should be found which should bear to every person to whom it might be offered, unequivocal evidence of its being a representative of value. A slight consideration will show that this could only be attained through the medium of some commodity, which cannot be brought into existence without a certain uniform amount of trouble or labour being spent on its production. Gold is the substance which possesses this quality beyond all others hitherto known to exist; and therefore it has been, by the consent of the greater part of the civilised world, fixed upon as the principal standard of value. The peculiarities of this metal are, that it is extremely durable, and so the amount of it in existence is not likely at any time to suffer a sudden defalcation; it is met with in small quantities, and is produced by a very laborious process, affording but little profit to the worker; it is thus not likely to have its amount suddenly increased.

It is a very natural feeling, that of all the rich possessions which the bountiful lap of nature spreads forth for human enjoyment, the most to be coveted would be a mine of gold. Unfortunately, this view | has not been confined to schoolboy visions; it has intoxicated many an adventurous capitalist, who has ruined himself by the search for gold. There is something that renders men delirious in the very word, and no mania has made more victims than that of working gold mines. Now, the very reason why gold possesses its value as a medium of exchange, is because the manufacture of it is an unprofitable trade. Look a moment at the production of another metal-iron ; from 1824 to 1826, pig-iron sold as high as L.13 a-ton; in 1832, it fell to between L.4 and L.5 a-ton. Here we see that the demand for the article raised its price to the first-mentioned sum; while it continued at that price, enormous fortunes were doubtless made in the trade; then came competition, and the price sank to its natural level, or perhaps lower. Were there such fluctuations in the value of gold, it is needless to say how useless it would be as a general measure of value.

Perhaps the manner in which money is presumed to have come into use, may be illustrated by the following supposed case. Let there be a community consisting of four individuals, A, B, C, and D; A possesses so many sheep, B so many quarters of grain, C has clothing, and D has house-furniture. A wishes to have some of B's corn, and is ready to give an equivalent in mutton; but then he does not want so much as the value of a whole sheep, nor does B want to obtain so much mutton. Then there is D, who also wants both corn and mutton, but not so much of either as he would give a coat for; while the sheepowner in want of a table would willingly give a sheep, or the equivalent of a sheep, for one, but the furniture dealer cannot consume so much butcher meat at a sitting, and would prefer having a shoulder of mutton, along with a peck of corn, in exchange for his commodity. Thus complicated and inextricable would be the intercourse in the barter system, even in such a small community as we have imagined. What is wanted to put an end to the evil is, some substance for a portion of which A will give a sheep, because he knows that for a proportional picce B will give any given quantity of grain, C a coat, and so forth.

Suppose we set one of the members of the community to discover such a medium of exchange, let it be , the tailor. If it should occur to him that his friends will receive a shell with a peculiar mark on it, in exchange for their commodities, he will find himself vory much mistaken. Suppose he should offer such an article to B, in exchange for a bushel of grain, B would laugh heartily, and say, "My good fellow, I can make just such another myself if it were of any use. So can neighbour A and neighbour D. I cannot expect, then, that they will give me any thing for it, so I can give you nothing." By this supposition it will be observed that C has been endeavouring to obtain something for nothing, for it is supposed that the shell in question neither cost him property nor labour, at least equivalent in value to what he wants for it. If he change his tactics, and offer something for which he has given labour or its fruit, he will perhaps be more successful. Let us bring a fifth party into the field, E. He knows of a means by which, with the expenditure of a certain amount of labour, a certain quantity of a substance called gold can be extracted from the earth. The substance is of such a nature that the supply of it always preserves (with variations almost imperceptible) an uniform ratio to the labour expended. But what occasion has E to produce this metal which will neither clothe nor feed him? None whatever, unless some one who will find an use for it will give wherewithal to clothe and feed him for it. Let us see if such an use be not to be found. Suppose now that C employs E to bestow as much labour as he will give for a coat, in extracting for him a corresponding quantity of the precious metal. If C go to B with a portion of the gold, and offer to exchange it for a bushel of grain, he cannot be met with the same answer which encountered his offer of the shell. The gold is not a thing which A and D can make as they want it, nor is it a thing for which C has not given value. It is true that B can procure it in the same manner as C did; but if it be convenient for him to

part with the bushel of grain, he will prefer taking it
from C at that price, as the more convenient way of
getting it. Moreover, C may have already procured
as much of the metal as the wants of the community
demand; and if B, or any of the others, were to obtain
more of it, they might have to dispose of it again as a
surplus commodity. Let C take another piece of
the gold and offer it to A for a leg of mutton. A
knows that B has got a piece of gold, the value of an-
other leg, which B will be in want of. In the same
manner D comes into the market for another part of
the sheep, and so it is disposed of, A possessing not the
commodities he wants in return, but the means of
procuring them. Here we have a circulating medium
in miniature.

Now, it will at once attract the reader's attention,
that though the community have thus obtained a very
convenient article, they are not the richer from hav-
ing obtained the gold; in fact, they are poorer, for
they have parted with a coat to obtain it; they have,
in fact, purchased a convenience. To a misunder-
standing regarding this apparently very simple cir-
cumstance, much human misery may be attributed.
It has too often been the feeling of communities, that,
if they possessed gold, they possessed riches, and not
a mere article for facilitating commerce-an article
which, from its uses in this respect, is itself a commo |
dity. The most startling illustration of this fallacy
is to be found in the history of Spain. Before the
working of the gold mines in their American posses-
sions, the Spaniards were a rich and prosperous com-
mercial people; but when they began to find gold,
they thought they had got at their hand that for
which they formerly laboured, and that, like a poor
industrious man who has unexpectedly succeeded to
an estate, they need now work no longer. To prevent
their riches from disappearing, the law prohibited the
exportation of the precious metals, and thus effec-
tually shut the door against the only way in which
they could be made sources of wealth-exportation as
an article of commerce. In that view, and in that
alone, was there any advantage in the possession of
gold; and even had it been employed in the most ad-
vantageous manner, it would not have been so profit-
able as many other means of employing capital and
labour; for, as already remarked, the peculiarity
which makes gold so useful as a measure of value, is,
that the labour expended in producing it bears so
constant a ratio to the quantity realised, that but
small profits are made from its production.

The manner in which the Spaniards became ac-
quainted with the treasures of their transatlantic
possessions tended to nourish the hallucination. They
found a considerable quantity of gold in the possession
of the natives, of which they speedily took possession.
They found also a considerable quantity of native
gold in the streams. Thus, by an accidental circum-
stance, such as that of finding a hidden treasure, they
became possessed of money without working for it.
They did not reflect that, if this lasted, gold would
cease to be the representative of value which it was,
and would be of no further service in commerce than
as an extremely beautiful material for manufactures,
which would fluctuate in value with the tide of
fashion. When they could procure the mineral only
by the result of hard labour, they still had the same
preposterous feeling that they were possessed not of
the means of making riches, but of riches itself, and
dearly did they pay the penalty. While starvation
desolated the land, and the highest grandees could
not command so much of the produce of ordinary
commercial industry as a glass window, every wretched
dwelling glittered with mountains of plate.

"Several grandees," says Mr Dunlop in his Memoirs of the Reigns of Philip IV. and Charles II., "it is said, had twelve hundred dozen of silver dishes, and as many plates; and a nobleman was thought very ill provided who had not at least eight hundred dozen of dishes, and two hundred dozen of plates. These were generally ranged on enormous and lofty sideboards, to which the menials ascended by silver steps. The sideboard of the Duke of Albuquerque had forty silver ladders; and when he died in the middle of the seventeenth century, six weeks were fully occupied in weighing and taking inventories of the gold and silver vessels." At the period to which this refers, the Dutch, who were content to make their money by buying and selling the vulgar necessaries of life, were able to lend a considerable sum to the lords of the two Indies, which the possessors of bullion were unable to repay; and in another part of the work just quoted, we have the following view of the ludicrous poverty which haunted a court, dreaming that it was the source of the riches of the world: Money could be no longer raised for the most pressing occasions, however trifling might be the cost. Couriers charged with urgent and important dispatches on affairs of state, were often unable to quit Madrid, for want of the funds necessary to defray the immediate expenses of their journies. Some officers of the royal household having waited for payment of what was due to them, as long as they could, without absolutely reducing themselves to beggary, peremptorily demanded their dismission, and were only retained by force and menaces. All the grooms, however, belonging to the royal stables, who had not received their rations or wages for two years, contrived to escape from their service, and the horses remained for some time uncurried and unfed. A table which had been kept up at the king's cost for the gentlemen of the bed-cham

ber, was now totally unsupplied; and money was even frequently wanting to defray the daily expenses of the board of a monarch who was master of Mexico and Peru! The household of the queen-mother, which had hitherto been maintained at its full establishment, now began to feel the effects of the general destitution. The rations provided for her domestics were withheld; and on lodging their complaints at court, they were told, with a sort of Cervantic humour, that the royal coffers were now all standing open, and they might come to supply themselves."

This example is adduced, not only as a memorable instance of the pernicious consequences of the fallacy in question, but as an illustration of how far misunderstandings with regard to what seem very simple principles in this part of the science of political economy, may be productive of most direful evils. It is not here maintained that the possession of much gold is an indication of national poverty- -on the contrary, it is, like all other expensive commodities, generally the concomitant of wealth. It may be strictly necessary, to a very large extent, for the uses of a rich trading nation; Britain at the present moment, though her bullion circulating medium bears but a small proportion to her paper money, probably employs more of the precious metals than Spain ever possessed; but, then, she uses them, and pays for their use, because she wants them, not because they are called gold and silver. Rich nations, too, like rich individuals, can afford to employ a considerable quantity of the precious metals for ornamental purposes, sacrificing a portion of their wealth in this, as in other articles of luxury. It is calculated by Mr Jacob that the quantity thus consumed annually in Europe costs L.5,612,711, of which England alone uses to the extent of L.2,457,221.

We believe that the fallacy we have been above attempting to expose, is now pretty well understood in its broader aspect; but such misapprehensions, when they have once caught hold of the popular mind, are not eradicated at once, and we fear that many fibres of the one in question are still pretty toughly rooted in society. It is still common to hold the doctrine, that a trade between two nations, in which the one gives bullion for the commodities of the other, cannot be profitable to the former. Such a trade has, we believe, never yet been exhibited on any very extensive scale; but were it to come into existence, a little consideration will show that there is no reason for presuming that it would be more disadvantageous to either party, than any other sort of trade. Gold is simply a commodity-a commodity which we import: and if we can export it profitably, why not do so? If the country in question will take nothing from us but gold, then it is either worth our while to buy gold for the purpose of sending to it, or it is not. If it is not worth while, then the trade will not be carried on at all. If it is worth while, then the trade is on the whole a profitable one. If we import sugar from the Spanish settlement of Manilla, and export it to Germany, this is called "the carrying trade," and quite correctly; but it seems to be thought that if we import gold from South America, we must keep our hands upon it, otherwise we shall be ruined. commonly said that we can only establish a profitable trade when we pay in our own manufactures. Now, paying in gold is, after all, indirectly paying with our own manufactures, for (except the comparatively trifling quantity that may have been taken in war) there is not an ounce of bullion in the country that has not been obtained in exchange for some article produced either by our manufacturing or agricultural industry. Let him who doubts this position try if he can discover any other method by which gold can have found its way to this country.

It is

A steady trade, in which gold should be given on the one hand for goods on the other, is not to be confounded with those incidental and unexpected demands which create what is called a drain of bullion. These are generally occasioned by some disorder in the money market, the nature of which is frequently so imperfectly ascertained that it becomes a subject of vehement party discussion. But a drain may be also occasioned by a country finding it unexpectedly necessary to resort to some other community for a portion of the necessaries of life, such as grain. If the demand for the article were regular, it would proceed on the same terms as any other department of commerce. When it is sudden and unexpected, however, there being no previously established circle of trade in which the countries are included, the article as a single purchase must be paid for in hard cash; for the scller, were he offered manufactures, or any other commodity, would not know whether he could get them disposed of or not, and would be afraid to take them on hand. A drain like this, removing not merely the gold imported for the purposes of foreign commerce, but that which we have kept for our own use, may be productive of great and alarming inconveniences. It is the removal of the foundation of our circulating medium. The difference of the two cases may perhaps be illustrated in the operations of an individual merchant. With some of his customers he may have cross accounts; they buy from him, and he buys from them; and between them there is perhaps only a small balance to be paid in cash. There will be persons, however, from whom he buys, who take no goods from him in return, and these he must pay in cash. Is he a loser, however, by doing so? In the general case, certainly not, otherwise he would not

continue that line of business. He feels that the cash he so pays out is more than compensated by the money he receives from purchasers of whom he himself does not take goods. Thus the money he puts forth in the usual course of business is continually flowing back upon him. Let, however, some unforeseen accident make an incidental demand on his purse. Suppose one of his warehouses is burned down, and he must replace it. Here he parts with hard cash to some one who takes no goods from him in return, and with whom he cannot have a cross account; nor is the sum he has so expended compensated by other sums received from customers. It is, in short, a direct loss.

A WORD UPON ANTIQUARIES. EVERY person remembers the famous discovery of the Prætorium by Jonathan Oldbuck at the Kaim of Kinprunes, and the manner in which Edie Ochiltree blew into thin air the grand superstructure raised thereon by the Antiquary, by revealing that the letters A. D. L. L., which Jonathan interpreted into Agricola Dicavit Libens Lubens, meant neither less nor more than "Aiken Drum's Lang Ladle ;" and that the rude attempt at sculpture, which Monkbarns had determined to be a representation of a "sacrificial vessel," was intended as an emblem of the same Mr Drum's ladle, he being one of the celebrated "kale-suppers o' Fife." More recently, the author of the Pickwick Papers has described his hero as falling into a precisely similar error, a certain stone, marked in a very zig-zag way with the name of BILL STUMPS, having caused about as much speculation among the Pickwickians as the ladle of Aiken Drum did in the case of Jonathan Oldbuck. These stories are no doubt very amusing, and particularly that of Sir Walter; but the original story, that which gave rise to both of these supposititious incidents, seems to us much more amusing than either. It has one great advantage over them, inasmuch as it relates to a thing of real occurrence, a recorded and authenticated fact. We hope to raise a smile by laying before our readers the details of the

affair to which we allude.

Some time in the sixth decade of last century, a rudely-squared stone, with an inscription upon it, was dug up on a desolate boggy heath in the county of Northumberland. It fell into the hands of the squire of the parish, who, not being able to make any thing of it, called in the parson to his aid, and many minute examinations, and profound speculations, were the result. But the divine, also, was obliged finally to admit that the interpretation of the inscription surpassed his powers. As in duty bound, however, he agreed with the squire in thinking that the stone was a treasure of antiquity, and, with the view of referring it to higher authorities, took an exact copy of the inscription, which stood as nearly as possible K. EE PO⋅N.T

thus:

HIS-SI-DE

survey I discovered that the stone was found near an
old Roman military road. Here, indeed, we have a
light thrown on the subject, which will clear up all
manner of difficulty. First K, often found in inscrip-
tions for C, and here standing for Calius-, ædilis,
an officer whose business it was to see the roads kept
in proper order-PONT, pontem-H, Hadriani, the
same person who built the wall to prevent the inroads
of the Picts, thence called Hadrian's wall-I·S.SI,
jussu, the first u, and the former part of the latter u,
being obliterated-DE, demolisit. In all, Celius ædilis,
Hadriani jussu, pontem demolisit [Calius the ædile,
by order of Hadrian, demolished the bridge'], when,
by draining the morass, the bridge became unneces-
sary."
7." To this there was a postscript added, stating,
that "the priory which Mr X talks of seems to have
some of the old bridge about its foundation."

Here was old father Clemens quietly re-inurned,
and the priory, not precisely annihilated, but disco-
vered to be a paltry thing of yesterday, with some of
the very stones of the grand morass-bridge about its
foundation. This was the " unkindest cut of all;"
not only to overthrow the theory of poor X, but to
lug in his priory so slyly, as a fundamental proof of
the hostile hypothesis. But alas! alas!

"Oh wad some power the giftie gie us,

To see ourselves us others see us!"

Oh would we but remember the invaluable lesson of
the mote and the beam! Y had scarcely produced
his great refutation, and his equally great discovery,
when lo! there comes me in" a Z, who, with due
alphabetical appropriateness, galls in turn the kibes of
Mr Y. Of course Z perfectly agrees with his imme-
diate predecessor in thinking the theory of the first
riddle-solver, the unfortunate X, the "most ridiculous
that ever entered into the head of an antiquarian."*
Mr Z, however, thinks little better of the second sup-
position, and proposes a new one. It is a bold one,
the boldest of all. "I have taken (says he) the most
obvious and generally received meaning of the initials,
and find the solution to stand thus: Česaris ex edicto
per orbem nuntiatur templum hic instauratum sacrum sibi
ipsi dicatum esse." This profound solution, which has
a word invented for every letter in the inscription,
gives us the following meaning: "Through the edict
of Cæsar, it is announced over the world that the
temple here erected is consecrated to himself." Hav-
ing thus cut the knot, Z exclaims, "Here we find
Cæsar-after having, like Hercules, finished the
greatest of his labours after having extended his
conquests over the Britons, usually called fierce and
indomitable-erecting a temple on the limits of his
ambition, and, flushed with victory, assuming the ho-
nours of a god! This is the most easy and natural
construction, and perfectly consonant with the concise
terms in which their inscriptions were generally
couched. We need no other proof to convince us of
the certainty of the fact; but, as a corroborating tes-
timony, if we look into Horace, we shall find a passage
evidently referring to this very circumstance-

The rank of god Augustus shall obtain,

With wild Britannia added to his reign."

Such was the inscription which the parson trans-
mitted to the Antiquarian Society, with a polite
request to have the opinions of the members there- We have a postscript added to this letter of Z, show-
upon. Much and long did these gentlemen ponder ing that he too had taken coach, or travelled post, down
over this relic, which was unanimously admitted to be to Northumberland, on this mighty errand. "The
of great antiquity. Many were the debates which stones (he says) which Mr Y mentions in the priory
took place upon the subject, and ultimately the writ-have a much greater resemblance to the remains of an
ten opinions of the more distinguished members were old temple than the trifling ruins of a bridge, espe-
recorded in the archives of the body, as well as pub- cially one which has the uncouth figure of a sword
lished in the Magazines of the time. The first inter- upon it." Poor X! Little did he imagine, that, out
pretation given in was as follows:-"On the first of the very foundation-stones of his priory, his two
examination of this stone (said a member who signed sharp-sighted opponents would build both a bridge
himself X), I was not able to form any satisfactory and a temple, to the annihilation of his hypothesis.
conjecture concerning the inscription; but as the Such was the admiration, we must not omit to state,
identity of the place where it was found ought to be which the learned interpretation of Z excited among
materially considered, I wrote to a gentleman of the the members of the Antiquarian Society, that he was
district for information, if there were any vestiges of instantly and unanimously elected one of their num-
antiquity, such as camps, fortifications, or the like, in ber, an honour he had not previously enjoyed.
the vicinage. In answer to which inquiry I was in-
formed that there was nothing of this kind which he
knew of, except the ruins of a priory about a mile
distant. This is indeed sufficient for our purpose, and
clears up the matter at once. Clemens [K] pontifex
[PONT] hic jacet [HI] sanctus [S.] serrus [S.] dei
[ID-E]. The second letter of the inscription is evi-
dently an L, and the IDE a transposition of dei,
from the ignorance of the sculptor; the meaning,
altogether, being that the stone was erected to the
memory of one Clement, a dignified brother in the
convent. [Literally, Clement the priest here lies, a
holy servant of God.'] Nothing can be more plain
and easy than this."

But though the learned X was so well satisfied with his plain and easy solution, not so some of his brother antiquaries. Observe how Y, an equally distinguished member of the Society, trips up the heels of his predecessor X. "I never was so much astonished in my life (says he; as at the perusal of Mr X's solution of the inscription in question; what a forced construction ! what a preposterous idea! . . I will grant him that K is often found on monuments of antiquity in place of C; but how, in the name of wonder, could he imagine the two following letters to be LE, which are plainly . But the cream of the jest is IDE, & transposition of Dei !" We shall not trouble the reader with the remainder of Mr Y's triumphant sneers at the resurrection of the holy father Clemens. Y had actually travelled down to Northumberland to examine the locality for himself, and here is the new solution which resulted therefrom. "On a personal

they had whitened his hairs, had not frozen his memory. He revealed the appalling fact, that this great antique inscription meant nothing more or less than KEEP ON THIS SIDE, and that the stone inscribed with these vile vernacular words had been placed, within his own recollection, in the morass, by a benevolent cottager, who wished to preserve the passing traveller from danger, and whose will to do good greatly exceeded the powers of his chisel !

Was there ever a piece of solemn trifling equal to this! Never, surely, since time began. Universal Britain shook its sides when the schoolmaster made his unlucky disclosure, and it was long ere the antiquaries could hold up their heads thereafter.

JOHN METCALF, THE BLIND ROAD
SURVEYOR.

THE wonderful extent to which nature compensates
the deprivation of one important faculty, by endowing
the rest with additional acuteness, has been frequently
the subject of remark. The particulars related in the
following memoir strikingly illustrate this point, and
show to what a degree the power of habit, and the
exercise of good sense and ingenuity, are capable of
overcoming seemingly insurmountable difficulties.
John Metcalf was born at Knaresborough, in York-
shire, in the year 1717. His parents, though decent
people, were not wealthy; and the greater was con-
sidered the misfortune, therefore, when, at the age of
six years, while attending a district school, John was
seized with the small-pox, and lost his eyesight in
consequence. He had been noticed previously to pos-
sess good natural talents, but it was chiefly after the
loss of his vision that he began to be thought a re-
markable boy. Within a few months after that
event, he had taught himself to walk about his father's
doors nearly as well as before, and in a few succeeding
years he could readily find his way alone to any part
of Knaresborough. At the same time, he was accus-
tomed to associate freely with boys of his own age,
and became noted for his skill in climbing and other
juvenile amusements. He also learned to ride, and
grew so fond of that exercise, that he ventured re-
peatedly to follow the hounds of a gentleman of the
vicinity, Mr Woodburn, who was very fond of his
company in the chase. Swimming was another of
young Metcalf's accomplishments, and he performed
feats in this department which astonished every body.
On one occasion, when two men were drowned in the
Nidd, he was employed to dive for their bodies, and
succeeded in bringing up one of them.

Music, the usual resource of the blind, was not neglected by Metcalf. Before he reached the age of sixteen, he had acquired such proficiency on the violin, as to be engaged as a performer both at Knares borough and at Harrowgate, where he was much liked and caressed. It must be admitted that some of his favourite diversions at this period of his life were not of the most commendable kind. He became fond of cock-fighting, and kept a number of these creatures under his own care. This amusement divided his leisure time with bowling and riding. Strange to say, with the assistance of an accurate knowledge of the ground, and other helps, he grew very skilful at bowls, and could judge of distances so well as to come off frequently the winner. With his earnings as a musical performer, he bought a horse, and not only rode frequently in the hunting-field, but ran his horse for small plates at York and elsewhere. occasion he engaged, for a considerable stake, to ride his own horse three times round a circular course of a mile in length against another party. As it was believed that Metcalf would never be able to keep the course, large odds were taken against him; but, by the ingenious plan of stationing persons with bells at different points, he not only kept the circle, but won the race. His skill in horse-flesh (as the phrase runs) was astonishing, considering that the great faculty which determines the judgment of others was to him a blank. He actually made considerable profits by the purchase and sale of horses.

On one

What a noble thing is learning! what a science that of the antiquary! Here, out of fourteen simple letters, we find monks and priories, bridges, ædiles, temples, and Cæsars, called into light and existence Nor let the reader think that all these discoveries At the age of twenty-one, John Metcalf was six were vain and profitless. Referring to his own solu- feet one inch and a half in height, and extremely tion, Z triumphantly points out the great historical robust in person. He was so lively in spirits, and so fact deducible therefrom. "What would a Camden quick in his motions, that few suspected his want at or a Hollinshed have given to have traced the foot- a casual glance. Nor durst any one presume so far steps of Augustus Caesar so far as the northernmost upon his defects as to ill-use or insult him. With his parts of the Brigantes [one of the divisions of the opponent once within his grasp, he could well avenge country under the Romans], or see him introducing any injury offered to him. He even protected his the Roman temple into Britain!" The modesty, no friends against aggression, and in one instance acdoubt, of Z has forbidden him to notice a still more quired the thanks of every body, by inflicting severe important historical fact deducible from his solution chastisement on a noted bully who had misused one of the inscription. From it the world learnt for the of his associates. Nor did his defect of vision prevent first time that Augustus Cæsar ever was in Britain. him from being a favourite with the fair sex. A feeling of pity and remorse seizes upon us as we tween him and Miss Benson, the daughter of a reapproach the moment when it is incumbent upon us spectable innkeeper at Harrowgate, a mutual affection to blow up this magnificent edifice erected by X, Y, Z, sprang up, and notwithstanding that the lady's mother and their fellow antiquaries of Britain. But the an opposed the match so far as to get the banns published nalist of such important transactions must bow to the with another, Miss Benson remained faithful to her call of duty, and speak the whole truth. The labours blind lover, and they were ultimately united in private. of the venerable society became known ultimately to After his marriage he continued to perform during the inhabitants of the district where the stone was every season at Harrowgate, increasing his income by found. Among others, an old schoolmaster, there keeping a chaise or two for hire. Being indefatigable resident, was told of all that had been said and done in his search for means of bottering the condition of on the subject. Unluckily, the snows of age, though his family, he also travelled, at intervals of professional leisure, to the coast for fish, which he brought to the markets of Leeds and Manchester. Such was his *Z, by the way, affords the opportunity of remarking that tive, and that the right word in this case is antiquary. antiquarian, though often used as a noun, is properly an adjec- quickness and ingenuity, that no accident ever hap pened to himself or his horses on these journeys.

Be

continue that line of business. He feels that the cash he so pays out is more than compensated by the money he receives from purchasers of whom he himself does not take goods. Thus the money he puts forth in the usual course of business is continually flowing back upon him. Let, however, some unforeseen accident make an incidental demand on his purse. Suppose one of his warehouses is burned down, and he must replace it. Here he parts with hard cash to some one who takes no goods from him in return, and with whom he cannot have a cross account; nor is the sum he has so expended compensated by other sums received from customers. It is, in short, a direct loss.

A WORD UPON ANTIQUARIES. EVERY person remembers the famous discovery of the Prætorium by Jonathan Oldbuck at the Kaim of Kinprunes, and the manner in which Edie Ochiltree blew into thin air the grand superstructure raised thereon by the Antiquary, by revealing that the letters A. D. L. L., which Jonathan interpreted into Agricola Dicarit Libens Lubens, meant neither less nor more than "Aiken Drum's Lang Ladle ;" and that the rude attempt at sculpture, which Monkbarns had determined to be a representation of a "sacrificial vessel," was intended as an emblem of the same Mr Drum's ladle, he being one of the celebrated "kale-suppers o' Fife." More recently, the author of the Pickwick Papers has described his hero as falling into a precisely similar error, a certain stone, marked in a very zig-zag way with the name of BILL STUMPS, having caused about as much speculation among the Pickwickians as the ladle of Aiken Drum did in the case of Jonathan Oldbuck. These stories are no doubt very amusing, and particularly that of Sir Walter; but the ori ginal story, that which gave rise to both of these supposititious incidents, seems to us much more amusing than either. It has one great advantage over them, inasmuch as it relates to a thing of real occurrence, a recorded and authenticated fact. We hope to raise a smile by laying before our readers the details of the

affair to which we allude.

Some time in the sixth decade of last century, a rudely-squared stone, with an inscription upon it, was dug up on a desolate boggy heath in the county of Northumberland. It fell into the hands of the squire of the parish, who, not being able to make any thing of it, called in the parson to his aid, and many minute examinations, and profound speculations, were the result. But the divine, also, was obliged finally to admit that the interpretation of the inscription surpassed his powers. As in duty bound, however, he agreed with the squire in thinking that the stone was a treasure of antiquity, and, with the view of referring it to higher authorities, took an exact copy of the inscription, which stood as nearly as possible thus:

K. PON-T

H⚫IS.SI.D.E

Such was the inscription which the parson transmitted to the Antiquarian Society, with a polite request to have the opinions of the members thereupon. Much and long did these gentlemen ponder over this relic, which was unanimously admitted to be of great antiquity. Many were the debates which took place upon the subject, and ultimately the written opinions of the more distinguished members were recorded in the archives of the body, as well as published in the Magazines of the time. The first interpretation given in was as follows:-"On the first examination of this stone (said a member who signed himself X), I was not able to form any satisfactory conjecture concerning the inscription; but as the identity of the place where it was found ought to be materially considered, I wrote to a gentleman of the district for information, if there were any vestiges of antiquity, such as camps, fortifications, or the like, in the vicinage. In answer to which inquiry I was informed that there was nothing of this kind which he knew of, except the ruins of a priory about a mile distant. This is indeed sufficient for our purpose, and clears up the matter at once. Clemens [K BE] pontifex [PONT] kic jacet [HI] sanctus [S.] servus [S.] dei [IDE]. The second letter of the inscription is evidently an L, and the IDE a transposition of dei, from the ignorance of the sculptor; the meaning, altogether, being that the stone was erected to the memory of one Clement, a dignified brother in the convent. [Literally, 'Clement the priest here lies, a holy servant of God.'] Nothing can be more plain and easy than this."

But though the learned X was so well satisfied with his plain and easy solution, not so some of his brother antiquaries. Observe how Y, an equally distinguished member of the Society, trips up the heels of his predecessor X. "I never was so much astonished in my life (says he; as at the perusal of Mr X's solution of the inscription in question; what a forced construction! what a preposterous idea!.. I will grant him that K is often found on monuments of antiquity in place of C; but how, in the name of wonder, could he imagine the two following letters to be LE, which are plainly . But the cream of the jest is ID·E·, a transposition of Dei!" We shall not trouble the reader with the remainder of Mr Y's triumphant sneers at the resurrection of the holy father Clemens. Y had actually travelled down to Northumberland to examine the locality for himself, and here is the new solution which resulted therefrom. "On a personal

survey I discovered that the stone was found near an
old Roman military road. Here, indeed, we have a
light thrown on the subject, which will clear up all
manner of difficulty. First K, often found in inscrip-
tions for C, and here standing for Calius-Æ, ædilis,
an officer whose business it was to see the roads kept
in proper order-PO·N'T, pontem―H, Hadriani, the
same person who built the wall to prevent the inroads
of the Picts, thence called Hadrian's wall-I·S.SI,
jussu, the first u, and the former part of the latter u,
being obliterated-DE, demolisit. In all, Calius ædilis,
Hadriani jussu, pontem demolisit [Cælius the ædile,
by order of Hadrian, demolished the bridge'], when,
by draining the morass, the bridge became unneces-
sary." To this there was a postscript added, stating,
that "the priory which Mr X talks of seems to have
some of the old bridge about its foundation."

Here was old father Clemens quietly re-inurned,
and the priory, not precisely annihilated, but disco-
vered to be a paltry thing of yesterday, with some of
the very stones of the grand morass-bridge about its
foundation. This was the "unkindest cut of all;"
not only to overthrow the theory of poor X, but to
lug in his priory so slyly, as a fundamental proof of
the hostile hypothesis. But alas! alas!

"Oh wad some power the giftie gie us,

To see ourselves as others see us!"

they had whitened his hairs, had not frozen his memory. He revealed the appalling fact, that this great antique inscription meant nothing more or less than KEEP ON THIS SIDE, and that the stone inscribed with these vile vernacular words had been placed, within his own recollection, in the morass, by a benevolent cottager, who wished to preserve the passing traveller from danger, and whose will to do good greatly exceeded the powers of his chisel!

Was there ever a piece of solemn trifling equal to this? Never, surely, since time began. Universal Britain shook its sides when the schoolmaster made his unlucky disclosure, and it was long ere the antiquaries could hold up their heads thereafter.

JOHN METCALF, THE BLIND ROAD
SURVEYOR.

THE wonderful extent to which nature compensates the deprivation of one important faculty, by endowing the rest with additional acuteness, has been frequently the subject of remark. The particulars related in the following memoir strikingly illustrate this point, and show to what a degree the power of habit, and the exercise of good sense and ingenuity, are capable of overcoming seemingly insurmountable difficulties. John Metcalf was born at Knaresborough, in YorkOh would we but remember the invaluable lesson of shire, in the year 1717. His parents, though decent the mote and the beam! Y had scarcely produced people, were not wealthy; and the greater was conhis great refutation, and his equally great discovery, sidered the misfortune, therefore, when, at the age of when lo! there "comes me in" a Z, who, with due six years, while attending a district school, John was alphabetical appropriateness, galls in turn the kibes of seized with the small-pox, and lost his eyesight in Mr Y. Of course Z perfectly agrees with his imme- consequence. He had been noticed previously to posdiate predecessor in thinking the theory of the first sess good natural talents, but it was chiefly after the riddle-solver, the unfortunate X, the "most ridiculous loss of his vision that he began to be thought a rethat ever entered into the head of an antiquarian."*markable boy. Within a few months after that Mr Z, however, thinks little better of the second sup- event, he had taught himself to walk about his father's position, and proposes a new one. It is a bold one, doors nearly as well as before, and in a few succeeding the boldest of all. "I have taken (says he) the most years he could readily find his way alone to any part obvious and generally received meaning of the initials, of Knaresborough. At the same time, he was accusand find the solution to stand thus: Česaris ex edicto tomed to associate freely with boys of his own age, per orbem nuntiatur templum hic instauratum sacrum sibi and became noted for his skill in climbing and other ipsi dicatum esse." This profound solution, which has juvenile amusements. He also learned to ride, and a word invented for every letter in the inscription, grew so fond of that exercise, that he ventured regives us the following meaning: "Through the edict peatedly to follow the hounds of a gentleman of the of Caesar, it is announced over the world that the vicinity, Mr Woodburn, who was very fond of his temple here erected is consecrated to himself." Hav- company in the chase. Swimming was another of ing thus cut the knot, Z exclaims, "Here we find young Metcalf's accomplishments, and he performed Cæsar-after having, like Hercules, finished the feats in this department which astonished every body. greatest of his labours-after having extended his On one occasion, when two men were drowned in the conquests over the Britons, usually called fierce and Nidd, he was employed to dive for their bodies, and indomitable-erecting a temple on the limits of his succeeded in bringing up one of them. ambition, and, flushed with victory, assuming the honours of a god! This is the most easy and natural construction, and perfectly consonant with the concise terms in which their inscriptions were generally couched. We need no other proof to convince us of the certainty of the fact; but, as a corroborating testimony, if we look into Horace, we shall find a passage evidently referring to this very circumstance—

The rank of god Augustus shall obtain,

With wild Britannia added to his reign."

Music, the usual resource of the blind, was not neglected by Metcalf. Before he reached the age of sixteen, he had acquired such proficiency on the violin, as to be engaged as a performer both at Knaresborough and at Harrowgate, where he was much liked and caressed. It must be admitted that some of his favourite diversions at this period of his life were not of the most commendable kind. He became fond of cock-fighting, and kept a number of these creatures under his own care. This amusement divided his We have a postscript added to this letter of Z, show- leisure time with bowling and riding. Strange to ing that he too had taken coach, or travelled post, down say, with the assistance of an accurate knowledge of to Northumberland, on this mighty errand. The the ground, and other helps, he grew very skilful at stones (he says) which Mr Y mentions in the priory bowls, and could judge of distances so well as to come have a much greater resemblance to the remains of an off frequently the winner. With his earnings as a old temple than the trifling ruins of a bridge, espemusical performer, he bought a horse, and not only cially one which has the uncouth figure of a sword rode frequently in the hunting-field, but ran his horse for small plates at York and elsewhere. it." Poor X! Little did he imagine, that, out of the very foundation-stones of his priory, his two occasion he engaged, for a considerable stake, to ride sharp-sighted opponents would build both a bridge his own horse three times round a circular course of a and a temple, to the annihilation of his hypothesis. mile in length against another party. As it was beSuch was the admiration, we must not omit to state, lieved that Metcalf would never be able to keep the which the learned interpretation of Z excited among course, large odds were taken against him; but, by the members of the Antiquarian Society, that he was the ingenious plan of stationing persons with bells at instantly and unanimously elected one of their numdifferent points, he not only kept the circle, but won ber, an honour he had not previously enjoyed. the race. His skill in horse-flesh (as the phrase runs) was astonishing, considering that the great faculty which determines the judgment of others was to him a blank. He actually made considerable profits by the purchase and sale of horses.

upon

What a noble thing is learning! what a science that of the antiquary! Here, out of fourteen simple letters, we find monks and priories, bridges, ædiles, temples, and Caesars, called into light and existence! Nor let the reader think that all these discoveries were vain and profitless. Referring to his own solution, Z triumphantly points out the great historical fact deducible therefrom. "What would a Camden or a Hollinshed have given to have traced the footsteps of Augustus Caesar so far as the northernmost parts of the Brigantes [one of the divisions of the the Roman temple into Britain !" The modesty, no country under the Romans], or see him introducing doubt, of Z has forbidden him to notice a still more important historical fact deducible from his solution of the inscription. From it the world learnt for the first time that Augustus Cæsar ever was in Britain.

A feeling of pity and remorse seizes upon us as we approach the moment when it is incumbent upon us to blow up this magnificent edifice erected by X, Y, Z, and their fellow antiquaries of Britain. But the an nalist of such important transactions must bow to the call of duty, and speak the whole truth. The labours of the venerable society became known ultimately to the inhabitants of the district where the stone was found. Among others, an old schoolmaster, there resident, was told of all that had been said and done on the subject. Unluckily, the snows of age, though

On one

At the age of twenty-one, John Metcalf was six feet one inch and a half in height, and extremely robust in person. He was so lively in spirits, and so quick in his motions, that few suspected his want at a casual glance. Nor durst any one presume so far upon his defects as to ill-use or insult him. With his opponent once within his grasp, he could well avenge any injury offered to him. He even protected his friends against aggression, and in one instance acquired the thanks of every body, by inflicting severe chastisement on a noted bully who had misused one of his associates. Nor did his defect of vision prevent him from being a favourite with the fair sex. Between him and Miss Benson, the daughter of a respectable innkeeper at Harrowgate, a mutual affection sprang up, and notwithstanding that the lady's mother opposed the match so far as to get the banns published with another, Miss Benson remained faithful to her

blind lover, and they were ultimately united in private. After his marriage he continued to perform during every season at Harrowgate, increasing his income by keeping a chaise or two for hire. Being indefatigable in his search for means of bettering the condition of his family, he also travelled, at intervals of professional leisure, to the coast for fish, which he brought to the markets of Leeds and Manchester. Such was his

*Z, by the way, affords the opportunity of remarking that
tive, and that the right word in this case is antiquary.
antiquarian, though often used as a noun, is properly an adjec- quickness and ingenuity, that no accident ever hap
pened to himself or his horses on these journeys.