Chapter 4

Having inspected his whole works, the steward cheerfully and confidently awaited the attack; to which the English moved forward in great strength, and led by the king in person, on the 13th of September. Irritated by their late repulse, and animated by the presence of their nobility, the different squadrons rushed forward with an impetuosity which at first defied all efforts to repel them; so that the ladders were fixed, the ditch filled up by fascines, and the ramparts attacked with an impetuous valour which promised to carry all before it. But the Scots, who knew their own strength, allowed this ebullition of gallantry to expend itself; and, after a short interval advanced with levelled spears in close array, and with a weight and resolution which effectually checked the enemy. Considerable ground, however, had been gained in the first assault; and the battle was maintained, from sunrise till noon, with excessive obstinacy on both sides; but it at last concluded in favour of the resolution and endurance of the Scots, who repulsed the enemy on every quarter, and cleared their ramparts of their assailants. At this moment, by Edward's orders, the sow began its advance towards the walls; and the cran, or catapult, armed with a mass of rock, was seen straining its timbers, and taking its aim against the approaching monster. On the first discharge the stone flew far beyond; and, as its conductors hurried forward the immense machine, the second missile fell short of it. A third block of granite was now got ready, and an English engineer who had been taken prisoner was commanded, on pain of death, to direct the aim; whilst the sow was moving forward with a rapidity which in a few seconds must have brought it to the foot of the walls. All gazed on for an instant in breathless suspense,--but only for an instant. The catapult was discharged,--a loud booming noise in the air accompanied the progress of its deadly projectile,--and, in a moment afterwards, a tremendous crash, mingled with the shrieks of the victims and the shouts of the soldiers from the walls, declared the destruction of the huge machine. It had been hit so truly, that the stone passed through the roofs, shivering its timbers into a thousand pieces; and crushing and mangling in a frightful manner the unhappy soldiers who manned its different platforms. As those amongst them who escaped rushed out from its broken fragments, the Scottish soldiers, imitating the witticism of black Agnis at the siege of Dunbar, shouted out that the English sow had farrowed. Crab now cast his chains and grappling-hooks over the ruins of the machine, and, dragging it nearer the walls, poured down his combustibles in such quantity, that it was soon consumed to ashes. The complete failure in this land attack seems to have cast a damp over the naval operations; and, although the ships attempted to move on to the walls at flood-tide, they were driven back without difficulty; whilst a last effort to enter the city by burning the gate of St. Mary's was repulsed by the steward in person. It was now near night-fall; and, foiled on every side, the English entirely withdrew from the assault.

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NUMISMATICS.

[Addison, in commenting on the Usefulness of Ancient Medals, says, "A series of an Emperor's Coins is his life digested into Annals." Who shall, therefore, gainsay the the utility of _A Numismatic Manual, or Guide to the Study of Coins_. The author, Mr. John Y. Akerman, does not intend his volume exclusively for the use of the experienced medallist, so that much popular interest may be expected in its pages. The title bespeaks its contents, but we quote a few brief extracts relating to rare English coins.]

_Ecclesiastic Money_.--This money was coined by prelates prior to the Norman Conquest. Of these there are pennies of Jænbearht, archbishop of Canterbury, with the reverse of Offa, king of Mercia, Aethileard, Wulfred, Ceolnoth, Plegmund, and Ethered. They are all extremely rare, excepting those of Ceolnoth, which are not so rare as the others. Besides these there are pennies of St. Martin, coined at Lincoln, and St. Peter's pennies, struck at York, which are supposed to be as old as the time of the Heptarchy. Those of St. Edmund, coined at Bury, are prior to the Norman Conquest. The pennies of St. Paul are, it would seem, by the cross and pellets on the reverse, not older than the reign of Henry III.

All Stephen's money is very scarce, and one or two types are exceedingly rare. At a sale in London, in 1827, the penny of Stephen with the horseman's mace, brought thirteen pounds. His coins are generally very rude and illegible. This king coined pennies only.

The groat of Edward I. is of the first rarity.[10] The pennies of Hadleigh, Chester, and Kingston, are scarce; the other pennies are extremely common, and scarcely a year passes without a discovery of new hoards. The half-pennies and farthings are somewhat scarce. From this time to the reign of Henry VII., the English coins bear a great resemblance to each other.

_Edward IV_.--The groats common, except those of Norwich and Coventry, spelled "Norwic" and "Covetre." The half-groat and halfpenny scarce, the penny and farthing rare. The Bristol penny is extremely rare.

_Richard III_.--All this king's coins are very rare, except the groat, which is less rare than the others, some groats having lately been discovered. The Canterbury-penny of Richard III. CIVITAS CANTOR, supposed _unique_, sold at a public sale a short time since, for seven pounds ten shillings. The Durham penny of the same king brought four guineas.

_Henry VII_.--Folkes, in his _Table of English Silver Coins_, after describing the various pieces coined by Henry VII., says, "We may further in this place take notice of a very uncommon and singular coin, charged with the royal arms, but without a name. The arms are surmounted with an arched crown, and placed between a _fleur-de-lis_ and a rose, legend DOMINE-SALVVM. FAC. REGEM; on the other side is _fleur-de-lis_ and a lion of England, and an arched crown between them above, and a rose below, with this inscription, MANA. TECKEL. PHARES. 1494. An English lion also for a mint mark. It is, by the make and size, a French gross, and is supposed to have been coined by the Duchess of Burgundy, for Perkin Warbeck, when he set out to invade England." There are also half-groats of this coinage, with the same date, one of which brought _twenty guineas_ at a sale in London in 1827.

_Milled Money_.--The artist first employed on the milled money of England was a Frenchman, named Philip Mestrelle, who was executed at Tyburn, on the 27th of January, 1569, having been found guilty of making counterfeit money.

_Charles I_.--The obsidional, or _siege pieces_, struck by the partizans of this monarch during the civil wars, are extremely interesting, and, with the exception of those coined at Newark, are all rare. They may be known by their shape from every other English coin, as well as by their legends. Those of Newark are of a diamond or lozenge form, some are octangular, and others of a shape that would puzzle a geometrician. Some have the rude representation of a castle; others, a crown; and many have the initials, C.R., and the legend DVM. SPIRO. SPERO.

_Oliver Cromwell_.--The coins of Oliver were the production of the inimitable Simon, whose works are to this day admired and prized. Some have doubted whether they ever were in circulation, but it is now pretty generally allowed that they were.

_Charles II_.--The milled money of this king is of a very different style, and has the head laureated. All the pieces of this coinage are common. To the eternal disgrace of Charles, he encouraged an artist whom he had brought over from Antwerp, and gave the preference to his works before those of Simon, who produced in the year 1663, a pattern crown of most extraordinary workmanship, _on the edge of which_ was the following petition in two lines:

"THOMAS SIMON _most humbly prays your_ MAJESTY _to compare this his tryal-piece with the Dutch, and if more truly drawn and embossed, more gracefully ordered, and more accurately engraven, to relieve him_."

To any one but the heartless profligate whose portrait occupied the obverse of the medal, this appeal would have been irresistible, but it does not appear that the unfortunate artist was relieved. He probably died of grief and disappointment at the unjust preference shown to his rival.

_James II_.--The base money struck by James the Second, in Ireland, in 1689 and 1690, is common, except the crown of white metal, with the figure of James on horseback. Some of his half-crowns and shillings were struck of metal, the produce of old cannon, which were melted down for the purpose, and are in consequence termed "gun money."

_Anne's Farthing_.--The common current farthing of Anne is scarce, but scarcer with the broad rim. The patterns of 1713 and 1714 are rare, but those with the reverse of Britannia under a kind of arch, or with Peace in a car drawn by two horses, and the legend PAX MISSA PER ORBEM, are the scarcest of all.

At a public sale of the coins of the late Mr. Dimsdale, the banker, the Oxford crown with the city under the horse, was knocked down at sixty-nine pounds. At the same time the rial of Mary brought sixty-three pounds, and the rial of Elizabeth twenty-one pounds ten shillings.

A friend of the author is of opinion, that the coins of Henry VII., with the head _in profile_, are the first English money bearing a likeness of the sovereign.

[The work is illustrated with, several lithographic _fac similia_ of coins; and the vignette is from a very beautiful gold coin of Hiero II. of Syracuse, in the possession of Mr. Till, of Great Russell-street, Covent-garden. This morsel of antiquity, not larger than one's little finger nail, must be upwards of _two thousand_ years old!]

[10] The groat of Edward I. sold for five and a half guineas, at a public sale in London, in March, 1827. It is quite evident that the effigies of the English monarchs on their coins are not _likenesses_, until the time of Henry VIII. whatever the Ingenious may say to the contrary. Some have supposed that the rude figures on the Saxon coins use likenesses, but the idea is ridiculous. Folkes, in his "Table of English Silver Coins," remarks that the Kings of England are represented _bearded_ on their great seals, but always _smooth-faced_ on their coins.

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THE GATHERER.

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_The Red Sea_.--The water of the Red Sea is so very clear, that Mr. Buckingham read on the wooden stock of an anchor the name of the ship at the depth of 25 fathoms (150 feet).

T. GILL.

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_Curious Appeal_.--Philip, Alexander's father, gave sentence against a prisoner at a time he was drowsy, and seemed to give small attention. The prisoner, after sentence was pronounced, said, I appeal: the king; somewhat stirred, said, To whom do you appeal? The prisoner answered, From Philip, when he gave _no ear_, to Philip, when he shall give ear.--_Bacon_.

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_An Emperor's Crown kicked off his head by the Pope_.--Pope Celestine III. kicked the Emperor Henry IV.'s crown off his head, while kneeling, to show his prerogative of making and unmaking kings.

T. GILL.

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THE LATE SIR. WALTER SCOTT, BART.

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Instead of the "Brief Memoir," announced in our last, we intend to publish with our next number, a _Supplementary Sheet_, containing

AN ILLUSTRATED MEMOIR OF THE LATE SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART.

With Anecdotes of his Life and Works, Characteristics, Tributes to his Memory, from accredited sources, and interspersed with Original Observations: with

FIVE ENGRAVINGS, Price Twopence.

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_Printed and published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,) London, sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; G.G. BENNIS, 55, Rue Neuve, St. Augustin, Paris; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers._