PART I.] Works published by the Record Commission. has long been progressively increasing. The abridgment commences with the year 1781, and the first 20 years have been nearly completed at press; and this portion of the work will amount to 3,500 pages in folio. The second series of 20 years will, in extent, exceed the first by at least one-half, and cannot be safely completed within less than four or five years. It is a work which must afterwards proceed progressively at nearly the same rate. Only 24 copies are printed, and the expense on that head amounts to about 21. 10s. per sheet. The expenses of compiling, transcribing, &c. amount, at present, to about 1,100l. per annum, and cannot be greatly diminished till the arrear be fully brought up. WORKS PREPARING FOR THE PRESS. 1.-Abridgment of the Register of the Great Seal. The compilation of this work has been in regular progress since the year 1824; its probable extent, when printed, has been calculated at two closely printed volumes in folio, on the supposition of its being brought down to the Union in 1707. The state of the actual compilation, however, which comes down only to the reign of Queen Mary, renders this conjecture uncertain. Several years, not less than four, must be required to complete the abridgment, but in the mean time it will be sent to the press; and on the supposition of its amounting to two closely printed volumes of 700 pages each, the expense of printing may be estimated at 3,000l. and the other editorial expenses at from 1,600l. to 2,000l. II.-An Abridgment of the Register of Entails. Considerable preparations for these works have been made, but at present their completion remains suspended. JOHN CALEY, Secretary to His Majesty's Commissioners on the Public Records. June 11, 1829. APPENDIX. The following is extracted from the statement of Mr. Palgrave, editor of the Rolls of Parliament, noticed in the preceding docu ment: The work comprehends · I. Assizes, ordinances, and legislative and judicial proceedings of the Great Councils and of the Curia Regis," from the reign of Henry II. to the period when the series of Parliament Rolls, properly so called, begins. II. The writs of summons to the end of the reign of Henry VII. when the Rolls of Parliament terminate. III. The proxies of the spiritual and temporal lords, and all documents affording evidence of the attendance given by peers or 629 others specially summoned to Parliament or Great Councils. IV. The writs of election for the Commons, together with the returns thereto. The writs de expensis, and all other documents relating to the attendance of Members of the Commons, and their parliamentary character and privileges. V. The Rolls of Parliament corrected and revised, the former edition not being a faithful transcript from the original record. VI. Petitions or bills presented to Parlia ment or to the Council; pleas in Parliament or before the Council (very inany of which are not entered on the existing rolls of Parliament); proceedings in inferior Courts which originated in Parliament or in the Council, or were returned into Parliament or before the Council; all inquests taken by virtue of parliamentary commissions, and all other documents supplying the numerous chasms in the rolls of Parliament, or arising out of or elucidating the proceedings of Parliament or the Council, from the reign of John to the reign of Henry VII. VII. Writs of military service, and other documents relating to military service. The text, composed of the before-mentioned materials, is accompanied by a full alphabetical digest, by a chronological abstract, and by such tables (e. g. tables of the returns of the writs of election) as are required by the nature of the text of each volume; this apparatus being added for the purpose of rendering the contents more accessible to the reader who may not be conversant with ancient records. The extent and magnitude of the work may in some measure be estimated from the general view of the materials; but it is not in the power of the editor to state at present the exact number of volumes which the whole will form, inasmuch as the records for the reigns of Henry IV. V. and VI. have only been partially examined, and the colRichard II. are not completed. lections for the reigns of Edward III. and The editor was appointed a sub-commissioner for the purpose of executing the work, on the 27th April, 1822; and the printing of the first volume, entitled "Parliamentary Writs, &c. of Edward I." began in October 1825, and was completed in July 1827: it contains 288 sheets, or 1152 pages. The printing of the second volume began in October 1827. On account of the bulk of important matter, it has been divided into two parts, of which 367 sheets, or 1468 pages, are worked off. The first part is nearly completed, and the secoud is expected to be ready for delivery in the course of the year. FOSSIL SAURIANS. Mr. G. Cumberland, of Bristol, in a letter to the Editor of the Quarterly Jour 630 Fossil Saurians.-Printing in Egypt. nal of Science, &c. gives some account of the order in which the Fossil Saurians have been discovered; of which the following are extracts: "The Rev. Peter Hawker, of Stroud, in 1812 discovered some bones, and a head, in the blue lias at Weston, near Bath; and following up the quarrymen's labourers, succeeded in procuring the head and nearly all the vertebræ, with parts of the bones of the fins of a large animal, which caused much inquiry, and a desire in others to procure specimens. In 1813 Mr. James Johnson, of Bristol, raised an enormous head from low water-mark at Lyme. It weighed near a ton, and was 2 feet 6 in. broad, by 2 feet 10 in. long, and 11 in. thick. There are two large cavities on the sides of the frontal bone, and the sockets of the eyes are 14 in. long, by 7 in. wide; a few of the scales of the eyes were seen, and were near an inch in diameter; the sockets being oblong, not oval, as were those of Mr. Hawker's specimen. About the same period Mr. Day, of Henton, got a very large head imperfect, but several of the teeth in their places. Next, Mr. Brackenridge, of Bristol, acquired from the Theynsham quarries a very large and singular head, with high frontal bones, and a circular eye, also having plates very distinct, and a considerable number of teeth: this was also discovered about 1813. Mary Anning, of Lyme in Dorsetshire, to whose industry and skill we owe nearly all the fine specimens since found, next sold to Mr. Bullock a head about 54 feet long, with fifty teeth in each jaw, the eyes also defended by sixteen scales; which having been purchased of him by the British Museum for 471. Mr. Konig cleared away the superfluous limestone, and discovered the nostrils. All these were ichthyosauri. Mr. Johnson next procured a head of the Gangetic crocodile from Parbee Island; and, in 1819, at Whitby, in the alum shale, half a mile from the entrance of Whitby harbour, another was disclosed of this tribe; it was 3 feet long, and had several teeth resembling tenui-rostris, and several of the vertebræ adhering. This has been engraved. "In 1818, Mr. Morgan, of Bristol, from the schists, at low water, at Watchet, in Somersetshire, extracted nearly the whole animal, with the fins adhering, ribs, and entire tail. This is the only one found there, and was purchased by the Surgeons' Company in London for 251. The Geological Society also procured one nearly entire, of Mary Anning, of Lyme; Colonel Birch had another; M. Delabèche a fourth, all nearly perfect. After which the plethiosaurus, now in the possession of the Duke of Buckingham, and for which he gave Miss Anning above 100l. was brought to light by her patience and assiduity; and, lastly, she raised the tenui-rostris, a new species, that has been acouk of her for 501 by the Bristol Instit that others, even more [XCIX. perfect, of the ichthyosaurus have come to light; but the most perfect of any she raised at considerable expense, in 1824, and, I believe, still possesses it; having attained it by lifting the bed of schistous limestone inwards to the coast, and removing it piece by piece, and even turning it to clean it, and shew the best surface. Since that period little has turned up, until 1826, when at Whitby, in the schist, they are said to have discovered a true crocodile fossil, which is now in the Museum there, and is published by Dr. Young, their secretary, in his second edition of his "Survey of the Yorkshire Coast." "In Brook's Journal, vol. xxv. p. 101, is an account of one of these animals, found eighty feet from the surface of the earth, in 1810, near Stratford-on-Avon. He called it a crocodile. Cuvier says, one was found at Maestrich quarries, and conjectures it to be an intermediate genus between animals of the lizard tribe which have long and forked tongues, and those that have a short tongue, and the palate armed with teeth. The skeleton was twenty-four feet long, the head one-sixth of its length: he thought then it inhabited the ocean. (See Jameson's Essays.) Fragments of heads have been found in the Viucentine in Italy, in pyritical blue clay limestone; also at the bottom of the cliffs at Honfleur, in France, and Havre. At Alençon was found one also which Cuvier considered as a lost species of crocodile at Newark, in Nottinghamshire, Dr. Stukeley found what he called a lost species of crocodile. Professor Jameson says, all these fossil remains of oviparous quadrupeds belong to very old flotz strata; but they seem to me to be more related to the porpoise and dolphin than the lizard, which they only resemble in the jawbones, their fins (ridiculously enough called paddles) nearly resembling those of the porpoise, as does the general character and attitude.", PRINTING IN EGYPT. The enlightened Ali Pacha of Egypt has now at work in his capital an extensive printing press, for which an improved Arabic type has lately been cut. With this press all the details which tend to illustrate the system borrowed by Ali from Europeans are freely and widely disseminated through his army and navy. In aid of his military views, works have been printed for the instruction of the troops, their conduct in war, and for the regulation of the infantry. A work in praise of war has also appeared this year from the same press. The Pacha has likewise ordered the publication of works on scientific and commercial subjects. Several books on geometry, astronomy, surgery, and grammar, have made their appearance at Cairo within the last few months. The great work of Malerizi, illustrative of the history and statistics of the country which he so ably governs, is the last book which his highness has ordered to be printed. SCENE I.—A street; inscription over a door, "Davus, Chirurgus, Anatomicus,” &c. Enter Simo. Fœmina, naturæ salve mirabile donum! Nil melius nobis, nil magè dulce dedit ! Terrestris tu flos, æthereumque jubar! Verùm marmoreâ firmior arce manes. Ipse igitur quæram, nondum tardantibus annis, Hic habitat virgo quam ducere gestio, (Knocks at the door of Davus's house. Lesbia opens it.)—L. Quid vis, O here?-S. Num Davum continet hæcce domus ? L. Intrò est, irarum stimulis agitatus acerbis ; Egrotat nemo; jam medicina perit; S. Garrula lingua tace, Davumque arcesse; residet L. (aside) Hem! magus est!-S. At tu properans arcessito Davum. (Enter Davus.) D. Quis Davum vocat, ingenio super æthera notum ? Cui nota est omnis medicina, cathartica, philtra, Unguentum, pilulæ, pharmaca, bolus, (runs against Simo,)-here! S. At, precor, attentas præbe mihi, commodus, aures. D. Icariis scopulis surdior auris erit Si nummus desit-clavis, quæ, fida magistro Pulsanti, cunctas scit reserare fores. S. Aureus adventum reddet mihi nummus amænum (gives him money). D. (taking it) Nunc ad rem redeo; pulsus tibi fortis; ocelli Sunt etiam læti, puraque lingua.-S. Tamen Agroto, doleoque et mente et corpore!-D. (aside) Nostris At dolor è pilulis mox tibi major erit ! S. Hem! mihi nescio quid misero præcordia torquet! D. (aside) Heu! video-pariter mente genuque tremit (To Simo) O here, amas.-S. Morbo hoc crudeli, care, laboro. D. Quæ causa est?-S. Virgo.-D. Quid medeatur?-S. Hymen! D. O morbus felix, alioque benignior omni, S. Pupilla-hanc sponsam mihi des, nummisque crumenam Tum, curru invectus, medicos miraberis omnes D. Pactum est; immitem, fateor, desiderat uvam, Illa tamen discet, quàm sit puerilis amator (To Simo) Imò age, dic, flexis genibus, suspiria fundens, Tu modò promissis maneas-promptusque Hymenæus (They go into the house. Enter Pamphilus and Dromo, meeting.) An tandem nati votis pater annuet æquus, Aut me, Uxorem? quam jam potero sperare salutem ? Quam sortem, quas spes, ars tua nota dedit? Dro. Est tibi sors.-P. Euge!-D. Ah! invictis, care, triumphas, At spes est, fateor.-P. Salve, fidissime !-D. Patri Nam statuit, sponsam ducens, quia jussa recusas, P. Dispereant, dum me pectus soletur amicæ, Tum me felicem vitæ mala nulla movebunt ; Cede, Dromo; ne te rutilantis lumina Solis (Glycerium appears at a window, Exit Dromo.) Pam. Rerum naturæ pulcherrima, gloria terræ, Sollicita menti, da, dulcis amica, quietem; Gly. Tempus, care, deest; venit procus alter, eundum est Accitu Davi; sed tua semper ero. P. Ah! merear talem, si quis mereatur, amorem ! G. Quod tibi promisi, religiosa colam ; [XCIX. Jamque valeto! (Exit.)-P. Vale !—Quid nunciat? Emulus, eheu! Nunc prudente opus est-animisque-(Groans, and counterfeits illness,) Num medici Davi est hæc domus? heus, morior! (knocks at the door) P. At morior.-L. Quin tu tranquilla morte quiescas! P. At pete tu Davum.-L. Si tibi vera loqui Me coges, Dominus medicas non ampliùs artes Exercet.-(Pamphilus tries to force his way in; scuffle, &c.) Intrabo.-Da. (running out) Cur me turbas, scelerate, tumultu? (He raises Lesbia, who was thrown down in the scuffle.) (Adjusts her dress, and exit.) D. to P. Improbe, abi.-P. Ægroto-fer opem, venerande, precanti ; D. Nil mihi cum donis; alibi tibi quære salutem; P. Quid? divina petent ægri medicamina frustra ? D. Nequaquam Tattersallus sanare valebit, Si capitis vexat quos, stomachive, dolor. Vel, si non omnes scit Dickinsonus amicos P. Ah! quando renuis mea munera, sævus, et artem, D. Hem! tanto meliùs-tibi non adulabor-in usum Et quamvis non ægrotis jam vendo salutem, Me defunctorum membra secare juvat. (Exit Davus.) (Dromo enters, having overheard them.) P. Vah! ignave, metu turbentur inertia corda; Accendit; sed tu saccum mihi quære.-Dro. Repletum D. Mene jubes?-P. Jubeo.-D. Facinus patrare nefandum Quid cessas?-D. Propter cædem deposcere corvos Non cupio.-P. Taceas; perfice jussa citò. Ah! felix labor est, penso felicior omni, Qui mihi conjugium, qui tibi præbet opes. (Gives Dromo money.) D. Tu mihi jam præbes solatia vera pericli; Par herus, ut dicunt, par quoque servus erit. (Exit Dromo.) P. Jam, chirurge, cave; quæram mihi fraude salutem. 633 Cum fraudem nectas, utar et ipse dolo. (Dromo returns with a sack, D. En! adsum.-P. "Dolus an virtus, quis in hoste requirat? D. Mox referent nostræ læta tropaa manus. P. Attonitum mox implebit mea gloria vicum. D. Pugnæ laus omnis sit tibi, præda mihi. P. Audaces, ut spero, lubens fortuna juvabit. D. (Pamphilus being now in the sack, Dromo takes him on his back, and knocks Davus's door. Davus appears.) Da. Quid me vis?—Dro. Tibi quid secretò dicere vellem (whispers him). Da. Dro. Si purum atque recens.-Dro. Purum est.-Da. Dic, unde parâsti? Da. Pactum est-intrato: Medico, qui corpora vendit, Dro. Jam sumus in tuto-durum fit mollius auro, (Enter Crito, with a bottle.) C. Quis vinum exoptat? mecum bibat hæc gula vastum D. Ah! vinose.-C. Ad potandum te provoco.-Dro. Vinum GENT. MAG. Suppl, XCIX. PART I. H |