open to every member who may wish to consult them: thus it may be inferred, that the President and the Fellows are equally under the control of Messrs. Ellis, Carlisle, Amyot, and Co. Alas! to what a state has the Society degenerated, if such individuals as these are suffered to be the masters of the first literary institution in England! and can any thing be conceived more improper than that they should be permitted to command its resources? If there be no rational motive for refusing to throw the accounts and records of the Society open to its members; if there be not some special object for continuing to keep the Fellows in a state of darkness on the subject of its affairs, from what can this stupid obstinacy arise? If the papers which have been communicated to the Society are not to be perused whenever they may be wanted, for what purpose are they preserved? Or are they recorded for the private amusement and special instruction of the Select Committee, of which Mr. Carlisle and Mr. Amyot are the presiding genii? We have not now sufficient space to pursue this subject; but, before the appearance of our next number, we shall probably be enabled to inform the Fellows whether it will be necessary that a special statute should be passed to obtain access for them to the documents to which we have referred; or whether that object can be secured by the appointment of other officers, instead of those who have evinced so decided an opposition to inquiries that might tend to expose the errors of a system of which they alone are the supporters and the patrons. The account of the proceedings of the Society has nearly occupied the room which we intended to appropriate to comments on the statutes; and we can therefore only extract that most sagacious regulation which directs that the persons who form the committee to determine whether certain papers are to be printed, shall not open their lips on the question, but that their proceedings shall be wholly pantomimic. This is a happy illustration of the conduct of the Society in general, and is well calculated to excite the laughter which dumb-show exhibitions elsewhere so commonly produce. "At every meeting of the committee their method of proceeding upon the papers which are to be considered by them shall be this: the first entry in the minute-book of the Society relating to any paper upon which the opinion of the committee shall not have been taken, shall be read; and if any member so desire, the paper itself shall also be read, but otherwise only the minute relating thereto: after which there shall be no debate or altercation, but the question shall be immediately put," &c. How this statute is to be reconciled with the principles of common sense the officers do not trouble themselves to inquire; but it would be well worthy of the collective wisdom of Mr. Carlisle, first in talent as in seniority, Mr. Ellis, Mr. Amyot, and Mr. Markland, to reconcile the statute which prescribes that there" shall be no debate" at the councils of the Society, with that which specially directs, that it is the duty of the president to "regulate all the debates of the Society and of the Council!" ADVERSARIA. MOTTO OF THE Order of THE GARTER.-It is curious that the motto of this order, "Honi soit qui mal y pense," should never have been properly translated; for how few persons are aware that it has any other meaning than the almost unintelligible one of " Evil be to him who evil thinks?" The proper version is, however, "Dishonoured be he who thinks ill of it." WHEN the Earl of Warwick was appointed preceptor to Henry the Sixth, in November, 1432, who was then about eleven years of age, the Earl took the precaution to secure the protection of the Duke of Gloucester, and the other Lords of the Privy Council, against the effects of the young monarch's displeasure, in case he should "chastise" his Majesty. The part of the " Articles" in which this fact occurs is not a little curious: "Item that consideryng howe, blessid be God, the Kyng is growen in yeeres, in stature of his persone, and also in conceyte and knoweleche of his hiegh and royal auctoritee and estate, the whiche naturally causen hym, and from day to day as he groweth shal causen him more and more, to grucche with chastysing and to lothe it, so that it may resonably be doubted, leste he wol conceyve ayenst the seid Erle, or eny other that wol take upon hym to chastyce hym for his defaultes, displesire, or indignation therefore, the whiche withouten due assistence is not esy to be borne."-Rolls of Parliament, vol. v. p. 433. SINGULAR TENURE.-By an inquisition held on the death of William Corbet, in the 11th Ed. I. 1282, it was found that he held certain lands and tenements in Chotington " per serjanciam faciendi servicium unius hominis peditis in exercitu Domini Regis, cum contigerit guerram moveri inter Dominum Regem et Principem Walliæ, sumptibus ipsius Willielmi, donec homo ille dimidium bacon' illo expendiderit."-Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs, p. 549. ANCIENT INK.-The excellence of the ink used in former ages has been often the subject of observation, but we believe that few receipts of the manner in which it was made have reached us: hence the following, which occurs on a piece of parchment in the hand of the fifteenth century, and is pasted on the first leaf of the Cottonian MS. Titus A. XXII, may perhaps be acceptable : "Uncia gallarum, miscentur et uncia gummi 1 Statutes, p. 23. Origines Genealogica; or, the Sources whence English Genealogies may be traced, from the Conquest to the present Time: accompanied by Specimens of Ancient Records, Rolls, and Manuscripts, with Proofs of their Genealogical Utility. Published expressly for the Assistance of Claimants to Hereditary Titles, Honours, or Estates. By Stacey Grimaldi, F.S.Ă. 4to. pp. 342. £3. 3s. A KNOWLEDGE of the repositories of information by which either ancient or modern pedigrees may be traced has been hitherto confined to so small a number of persons, that any attempt to render the public acquainted with them ought to be received with indulgence; but the satisfactory manner in which the task has been performed by Mr. Grimaldi must ensure to him the respect of antiquaries, and the gratitude of his profession. It is true that the work is not perfect, nor are the illustrations so useful as they might have been rendered: but the individual who, in the first edition, has been able to present so much useful information, will, we are convinced, continue his researches for the improvement of a future impression; and we have no doubt that Mr. Grimaldi will ultimately form one of the most valuable books of reference which have been offered to the attention of the lawyer, the biographer, or the antiquary. The plan of this volume is a very good one. The records are noticed in chronological order, and, after a description of their contents, a copy of one or two of them is inserted, to which are added "proofs of their genealogical utility." Too Besides the description of the various records, the author has occasionally offered some observations which are well worthy of attention, and prove that he has no inconsiderable acquaintance with the subject. Of these, his comments on the present law respecting the necessity of documents being in "proper custody," to enable them to be received as evidence, have our entire concurrence'. The chapter which is decidedly the most imperfect is that on "Coats of Arms:" not that what is said is erroneous, but because the most useful remarks of which the subject admits do not occur. little notice is taken of the invaluable collection of charters in the British Museum, many of which extend to a later period than the reign of Charles the First, and we know that the majority are very much older than the time of Richard the Second. To these documents we would particularly invite the author's best attention, as in one instance we are aware of charters which establish no less than five descents of a pedigree; and there are but few families whose genealogy would not receive material illustrations from them. In p. 28, a reference occurs to Le Neve's "Monumenta Anglicana;" but a voluminous collection of inscriptions by him, of a much earlier date than these, printed by the same author, exist in the Museum. When speaking of the Scotch Rolls, Mr. Grimaldi notices that they are frequently quoted by Dugdale, but probably he is not aware that in numerous instances in which that eminent writer has done so, no such facts appear among the printed records which bear that designation. To these brief remarks we will only add, what may serve as a note to the chapter on " Wills and Administrations," that a very considerable number of original wills are preserved among the charters in the British Museum, and that in many cases they will also be found among the private evidences of families. Our opinion of the value of Mr. Grimaldi's labours is, it must be obvious, extremely high; and our respect for his industry, intelligence, and zeal, is proportionate to that opinion. That he will speedily be called upon to publish another edition is unquestionable; and it is under that impression that we entreat him to collect all the additional information in his power, and to revise the style of his work with great care. His modest apology on the subject might be successful in the case of a man of less talent; but such anomalies for example, as saying, "that time had destroyed all the coffin-plates that was found in the vault," must have arisen from inattention alone; and therefore they may not be easily excused. An octavo form, and a less price, would act as powerful recommendations to a work which must be useful to every man who is interested in genealogical researches, whether from professional or literary motives. A Letter to the Right Hon. the Earl of Aberdeen, K.T., President of the Society of Antiquaries, on the Expediency of attaching a Museum of Antiquities to that Institution. Pp. 19. AN effort, on the part of an officer of the Society of Antiquaries, to render that institution of some public utility, is an event so extraordinary, even if it be not wholly unprecedented, that we cannot help entertaining the opinion that it is to the "Retrospective Review" it may be mainly attributed. Not that we assume to ourselves the merit of having in any degree suggested the measure which is advocated. All we claim is the poor virtue of having convinced the most intelligent of the officers of the Society that something more was expected of him than to sit in a certain chair on certain occasions. " This well written pamphlet is the production of Mr. Markland, the Director, to whom we took the liberty of alluding in a very pointed manner in our last number; and the success which has attended the object of those remarks at once proves their utility, and forms our apology for having so rudely disturbed his tranquillity. Mr. Markland has commenced his "Letter by stating, that as he had recently, that is, on the 23rd of April last, been honoured with the appointment of Director of the Society of Antiquaries, he has addressed its President upon a subject which he considers likely to promote those studies for the cultivation of which the Society was incorporated; that it was "not without reflection and previous discussion with some of the most experienced members that he has come forward; but finding that their opinions strongly coincide with his own, he is encouraged to hope that the object which he has in view will receive the favourable consideration of his Lordship and of the Society at large." The proposition is simply to appropriate one apartment of the Society, as" a Museum or Repository of Antiquities," for the reception of remains of "English antiquities ;" and the learned Director proceeds to show that such was the original intention of the founders of the Society. He then details the advantages that would accrue from it, and the sources whence the materials for such a Museum could probably be derived. If this proposition be received with coldness, it can only arise from the fear that it would regenerate a taste for those useless relics which most people hope has entirely passed away. The brick and mortar antiquaries of the last age have always been objects of ridicule or contempt; for what can be the use of preserving a piece of brass or marble which elucidates nothing, tells nothing, and to which, in many cases, no possible explanation can be given? That it was ancient was a sufficient recommendation to the F.S.A.'s of the last generation; and perhaps enough of the old gentlemen yet remain to render the institution of an hospital for the nourishment of their unfortunate predilections somewhat dangerous. If we could be convinced that nothing would be admitted into the proposed Museum but what was really useful or really beautiful, we should strenuously advocate the adoption of the plan; though at present we are decidedly of opinion that rational antiquarian knowledge -that knowledge which illustrates our history, the manners of the times, and the state of the arts, with all the other objects of useful inquiry-would be a thousand times more advantageously attained by the publication of valuable manuscripts, such, for instance, as are suffered to moulder away in the Society's library, and which never can be rendered useful unless they are printed by that institution. Thus, then, we rejoice much more at the zeal which this pamphlet indicates, than at the peculiar direction which it has taken; and though we do not enter so warmly into Mr. Markland's views as many of his confreres of the present Council probably do, we sincerely respect the motives in which his pamphlet has originated, and which augur favourably of his fitness for the situation to which he was so very unexpectedly elected, or, to use the much more appropriate expression adopted by the Director himself, "appointed." For the Director of the Society of Antiquaries of London, in 1828, Mr. Markland, has asked some very extraordinary questions, and he appears to entertain no less extraordinary ideas. In one place we actually find the following paragraph: "It may be asked, how does it happen that, although more than half a century has elapsed since the Society was incorporated, and nearly the same period since it has occupied its present apartments, the nucleus of a collection should barely have been formed?" To which he answers, that it has arisen from a deficiency of space. We, on the contrary, attribute it, with much more justice, to a want of zeal, to that torpor which now prevails over every thing connected with the Society, and from which it has long been our earnest endeavour to arouse its Fellows. Mr. Markland has ventured to cite the example of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Did he not, |