the name of the river, perhaps synonymous with Aufona, or Avon. Dr. Gale* places about the river Itchen a people of the Iciani, distinct from those commonly known by that name, and takes them for Cæsar's Icenimagni or Cenimagni, whose name the Dr. fancied he saw preserved in Meanstoke, Meanborough, Mean, places hereabouts. But not to mention that he errs in saying that Ptolemy places Portus Magnus [Portsmouth] among the Icenimagni, which is not true (for Ptolemy never mentions them.) Mr. Horsley proposes to read Iceni, Cangi, or Iceni, Regui, making them two distinct people. To return to the Cangi. If I am right in my conjecture that they are meant on the present piece of lead, it may be objected that there is a difference in the orthography; to which I answer, that on the Hants pig the N is omitted, but a space left for it. On the lead mentioned by Mr. Camden the name is spelt Ceangi. It will be therefore no material variation in orthography, especially considering who the workmen were that made or composed this stamp, to find it here written KIANGI, or the second letter may be an imperfect E. The dimensions of the present pig correspond, within an inch, to those of the Kirshaw and Hints pigs. The weight is near 1561b. that of the Kirshaw 1cwt. 1qr. 16 lb. of the Hints, now in Mr. Green's collection at Litchfield, 150lb. Mr. Pennant says, this last weighs 152lb. about 2ĺb. more than the common pigs of lead. We have now a succession of these pieces for the reigns of Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, and Ĥadrian. The words EX ARGEN may be explained by Mr. Pennant's observation that the Romans found such plenty of silver in the Spanish mines, that for some time they never thought it worth their labour to extract it from lead§. In later times they discovered an ore that contained silver, tin, and lead, and these three metals were smelted from it. It appears that the first product was the tin, the second the silver, and what Pliny calls galana, which was left behind in the furnace, and seems to be the same with our litharge, and being * Comment. on Antoninus's Itin, p. 109. + Wales, I. 56. Ib. 58. Strabo, III. p. 221. melted again became lead, or, as this writer calls it, black lead, to distinguish it from white lead, or tin.* The piece of lead now under consideration, is, like all the others, of a wedge-like shape prolonged, a transverse section of which would form a wedge, with the acute angle flattened for the sake of the inscription. On the basis is a hole, seemingly for the insertion of an instrument, whereby it might be lifted by a crane. 1773, Feb. LXXV. St. Blase, the patron of Wool-combers. MR. URBAN, I HAVE been often asked about St. Blasef, and his being the inventor of wool-combing, or, at least, the patron of that art. Little, however, can I find to my satisfaction; but what I can learn of him I shall freely impart to you, nevertheless, Mr. Urban, for the information of the querists, and in hopes that those who know more of this vulgar saint may be induced to give us some further account of him, and, in particular of his connection with the wool-combers. Blase was a Bishop and Martyr; and his see, according to the Breviary, was Sebasta, or Sebask, in Cappadocia‡.— He is a person of great note amongst the vulgar, who in their processions, as relative to the wool-trade, always carry an effigy or representation of him, as the inventor or patron of their art of combing it. There was an order of knighthood also instituted in honour of him§; and his day, which stands marked at this day in our calendar, was celebrated 3 February. He suffered death in the reign of Dioclesian, about the year 283, according to the Legenda Aurea, but the English version of that book has 387; neither of the dates are strictly true, since Dioclesian did not succeed to the empire till A. D. 284, and died before the latter date. Indeed, authors vary much about the time of his *Plin. xxxiv. c. 6. +He is written also Blasus, and Blaize or Blaise. In the Aurea Legenda there are two etymons of the name, both of them ridiculous. Aurea Legenda, cap. 38. + See also the Aurea Legenda. Others reckon him patron of Armenia; see Collier's Dictionary, v. Blaise and Beda, in Martyrologio, p. 340, Collier's Dictionary in Voce. death*. Before his death, which was by decapitation, he was whipped, and had his flesh torn ferreis pectinibus, with iron combs. It is difficult to say from this account of the Saint, which yet is the best I can procure of him, how Blase, comes to be esteemed the patron of the wool-combers. And when he died, his prayer to our Lord was, as the Golden Legend has it in the English Version, "That whosomever desired hy's helpe fro thyinfyrmyte of the throtet, or requyred ayde for any other sekenes or infyrmyte, that he wold here hym, and myght deserve to be guarisshyd and heled‡. And ther cam a voys fro Hevene to hym sayeng that hys peticion was graunted and shold be doon as he had prayd§.” In which prayer, there is not a word, you observe, that concerns the wool-combers. The art, no doubt, had been invented long before the time of Bishop Blase; it is probably one of those very ancient ones, of which, on account of their great antiquity, the invention is at this day entirely unknown. And as to our bishop, I am of opinion, he was esteemed the patron of the wool-combers, merely because he was tortured with an instrument of the kind, with an iron comb. I can find no other reason for it; others perhaps, be more fortunate. 1773, August. may, Yours, T. Row. MR. URBAN, LXXVI. Wild Cats in Britain. THE dog is thought to be an indigenous animal of this island, as we find mention made of British dogs in the most early accounts we have of the country; but it is not so with the cat, as appears from the laws of Hoel Dha, who died A. D. 948, where a considerable value is put upon them, and the property of them is secured by penalties.T * Annot. ad Beda Martyrologium. + He had cured a boy that had got a fish-bone in his throat, Golden Legend; and was particularly invoked by the Papists in the squinancy or quinsy.Fabric. Bibliogr. Antiq. p. 267. So he was one of the 14 Saints for discases in general, Fabric. Bibliogr. . Antiq. p. 266. § Golden Legend, fol. 135. Mr. Pegge's Essay on Coins of Cunobelin, page 97. Mr. Pennant's British Zoology, I. p. 46. As the cat is a beast of prey, and particularly fond of birds, the creature is apt to stroll into the fields, and, if it meets with success there, will often become wild, without returning home. Hence came a breed of wild-cats here, which formerly were an object of sport to huntsmen. Thus, Gerard Camvile, 6 John, had special licence to hunt the hare, fox, and wild-cat, throughout all the king's forests ;* and 23 Henry III. William, Earl Warren, by giving Simon de Pierpont a goshawk, obtained leave to hunt the buck, doe, hart, hind, hare, fox, goat, cat, or any other wild beast, in certain lands of Simon'st. But it was not for diversion or sport alone, that this animal was pursued in chace; for the skin was of value, being much used by the nuns in their habits, as a fur. Hence in Archbishop William Corboyl's Canons, anno 1127, art. 10. it is ordained, "that no abbess or nun use more costly apparel than such as is made of lambs or cats skins. But their furs, I am told, are more valuable in North America. The wild-cat is now almost lost in England, but is described by Mr. Pennant, I. p. 47. And as no other part of the creature but the skin was ever of any use here, it grew into a proverb, that you can have nothing of a cat but her skin. 1774, April. T. Row. LXXVII. Observations on Stone-henge. MR. URBAN, THE inserting in your useful Miscellany the following remarks on Stone-henge will be esteemed a favour by your constant reader, J. J. STONE-HENGE is justly considered as one of the most surprising monuments of antiquity in England; and the great difficulty of bringing together and erecting the prodigious stones of which it is composed, has rendered it an object of much speculation to the curious. The late Dr. Stukely has obliged the world with the best and most accurate account Sir W. Dugdale's Baron. I. p. 627. Ibidem, II. p. 457. See also I. p. 701. Blount's Tenures, p. 60, 104. Gunton's Hist. of Peterb. p. 151, 160. Mr. Pennant, I. p. 48. Mr. Johnson's Collection of Laws, Canous, &c. A, 1127. of it, I believe, that has ever appeared; and his conjectures carry with them as much weight and conviction as we can expect, considering the very remote antiquity of the fabric, and the rudeness of the times when it was erected. The Doctor is of opinion, that the stones were brought from those called the Grey-Weathers, on Marlborough Downs; that it was built by the Druids, before the arrival of the Romans in Britain; and that it was once perfect and complete, many of the stones having been since broken to pieces, and carried away for other uses. But some people, thinking the stones much too large for land-carriage, have endeavoured to account for their present appearance, by supposing them to be made on the spot, of a kind of cement. This opinion is adopted by Benjamin Martin, in his Natural History of England, Vol. I. p. 101, and seqq. who likewise dissents from the Doctor in some other particulars. His words are as follow: "As to the original of Stone-henge, it does not appear, from all that he has said, that it was certainly a finished temple at first, or ever built by the Druids; and we think he has not so much as made it probable that the stones which compose it are natural or not factitious." But, as Dr. Stukely's conjectures appear to me well founded, I beg leave to subjoin a few remarks in defence of them, against B. Martin's objections, which I shall consider separately. And, First, I shall endeavour to prove, that the temple was once in a perfect state, which opinion B. Martin attempts to refute. He says, that "he cannot see any reason to suppose that this temple was ever complete or finished, because it is confessed, that a great number of stones, and many of the largest size, are now wanting, and no where to be found, which must be supposed to have been there used when the temple was completed. The prodigious labour, time, and expence, employed in demolishing such a structure, to answer no end at the same time, make it more than probable that it was never once completed; but, what is still a greater proof of this, is, that those stones which are now wanting, must still have been in being, and would have been seen or found at no great distance from the place."-Indeed, if no end was answered by demolishing this noble work, it is highly probable we should have seen it in a much more perfect state than we do at present; but I think his argument will prove of little weight, when we consider, that they might be broken to pieces, and used for building, which is no more to be wondered at than that men should dig stones out of quarries for the same purpose. This very well accounts for |