Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/485

 9"-S. IV. Dec. 23,'99.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 513 Westminster-Hall, and at Mr. Garrets a Bookseller under the Royal-Exchange, where are Instruments ready to receive Subscriptions of all Persons that shall be willing to contribute to the said Design. Upon tho Nature of which Design a worthy Author having long since nobly wrote in Verse as followeth: Praise is Devotion fit for mighty Minds The differing World's agreeing Sacrifice, Where Heaven divided Faith united finds, But Prayer in various discord upward flies. For Prayer the Ocean is, where diversly Men steer the Course each to a several Coast, Whero all our Interest so discordant be, That half Bagg-Winds by which the rest are lost. But Praise, its force like Powder is unknown, And tho' weak Kings excess of Praise may fear, Yet when 'tis here, like Powder, dangerous grown, Heavens Vault receives what would the Palace tear." More precise details of the scheme were afforded in the announcement given in the same date's issue of the Post Boy as under :— " Cavendish Weedon, a Barrister of Lincolns-Inn, having Observed a Voluntary Subscription in the time of the late War, to the New Play-house by Lincolns-Inn Feilds, altho' there was at the same time two other Play-Houses ; hath proposed a Sub- scription now in the time of Peace, for beautifying Great Lincolns-Inn-Fields, one of the largest Squares in the World, and.most convenient and necessary Place {or a Church throughout the Suburbs; and therein of Establishing Anthems of Praise and Thanksgiving, every Holy-Day in the Year after Morning Prayer, and every first Thursday in every Month, a Lecture Sermon upon the Attributes of God, and after such Sermon the like Anthems, and that such Church should be nominated St. Maries, and be a Chappie of Ease to the Parish of St. Giles's, for every Sunday, and for constant Prayers at Ten of the Clock in the Morning, and Three in the Afternoon, every Weekday for the benefit of the Inhabitants thereabout; which design having passed a most general approbation, he procured Sir Christopher Wren to design a Modell thereof, which he afterwards also caused to be cut in Wood, which may be seen in Lincolns-Inn Library, two Plans of which design, he hath caused since to be finely Ingraven in two parts, one of the Church, the other as to the manner of beautifying the Fields by Pallisading the several Walks, and placing the Figures of the 12 Apostles in the several Divisions, with Water Works of Hampsted Water. Both the Plans thereof may be had at Mr. Playford's a Bookseller in Temple-Change in Fleetstreet; at Mr. Harrisons and Mr. Ravens Booksellers in Lincolns- Inn ; Mr. Foxes a Bookseller in Westminster-Hall: and at Mr. Garrets a Bookseller under the Royal Exchange, where are Instruments ready to receive the Subscriptions of all persons that shall be Im- ployed to Contribute to the said Design." A further variant was presented in the same date's issue of the Post Man, and the Historical Account, <fec, which reads thus :— " Cavendish Weedon of Lincolns Inn, Esq; encouraged bv his Success in erecting Seats by sub- scriptions in nis Majestys Courts of Chancery and Kings Bench in Westminster Hall (to the great ease and conveniency of the Gentry of the Long Robe daily attending there, who heretofore always stood to their great fatigue) And also by the sub- scriptions of many worthy members of the said Society, having much improved and adorned the new Square in Lincolns Inn, with a Pillar, Fountain, Stone Walks, and several other useful Ornaments. The said Mr. Weedon further considering that no Kingdom upon Earth, is more obliged to God Al- mighties infinite goodness and Mercy, than this our Nation, and that no Nation hath a more proper and convenient place to erect a beautiful Church or Chappel for establishing Divine Service there of perpetual Praise and Thanksgiving, than that of the Center of Great Lincolns Inn Fields, being one of the largest Squares in the World, hath heretofore caused to be engraven upon two Copper Plates, two several Plans of the said design, the one containing the manner of beautifying the said Fields with a Prospect of Lincolns Inn and Gardens, the other a draught of the Model of the said intended Church, with the instrument at large to be subscribed, which having obtained a general approbation, 'tis thus communicated to the publick, and the instru- ments are to be seen at [the various booksellers as before quoted]." The barrister who takes such ease as he can upon the benches of the Law Courts to-day has apparently to thank this worthy for first thinking that "the gentry of the long robe "needed to-sit while waiting in court; and that furnishes an additional reason why Cavendish Weedon, of Lincoln's Inn, should not be forgotten. Alfred F. Bobbins. The Gold Coins of the Foeum. — No doubt the vicissitudes of all great empires have been reflected faithfully to no small extent in their coinages, and not less in their weights and measures. The subject, with regard to ancient peoples, has proved attrac- tive to many industrious students ; but even with regard to the Romans in imperial times it has received only partial elucidation. I do not for a moment wish to pose as a master of this obscure and difficult theme; but having witnessed and recorded elsewhere the discovery of a hoard of fifth-century gold coins, amounting in all to 397 pieces, over 300 of which belonged to the ill-fated Emperor Anthemius, it may interest your numismatic readers to know some of the results of an examination into the quality and weight of these. It is well known that under Augustus the normal libra or as equalled 5,050 grains or 327'453 grammes, and the emperor issued his aurei 40 to the libra—that is to say, they each weighed 126 grains. Already, in the days of Nero, the aureus became only one forty- fifth of the libra, and it went on degenerating further under Galba and Vespasian. Domitian restored its character, which, however, fell again during the reign of Traian, till under his successor Hadrian it lacked no less than