“ They rather urge the visitor onwards, the more leisurely to view and examine the choicest sculptures of ancient pagan art, the Apollo and the Laocoon, or those wonderful productions of the Renaissance school, the frescoes of Buonaroti, besides a multitude of objects of every style of art and of all ages, with the endless repetition of which the mind and eye are sated and bewildered.
But the simple tablets which fill the Lapidarian Gallery, for such is this corridor called, possess a deeper and more enduring interest than at first sight is readily apparent. ”

“ The deer are but rarely visible in the old enclosures, but within the limits of the romantic park, surrounding the castle, numerous herds of the same breed may yet be observed bounding in their native wildness amid the waving avenues of beech and sunless glens of oak, that lend so great an allurement to seek sylvan nature here in her solitary retreat. ”

“ On removing the effigy and stone table for repair, the grave of stone courses appeared perfect; the earth which covered the remains had sunk to the depth of several inches. On the surface lay fragments of hazel wands, or branches, such, probably, as pilgrims were accustomed to cut by the way, and suspend around the shrine, in token of zealous devotion. ”

“ The exquisite monument of the Prince is partially known by numerous engravings and descriptions, but it may however be questioned whether, as a work of art, it has yet been sufficiently appreciated, but the period is at length approaching, it is ardently hoped, when the value of these works will be better known, when their intrinsic merit as statuary will be acknowledged, and when their evidences of history, personal and national, will, if it cannot excite an admiration and generate a higher taste, serve, at least, to protect them from wanton spoliation. ”

“ On the verge of one of those ancient Forests which originally covered a great portion of the northern parts of Northamptonshire, and on a lofty eminence overlooking the green vale of the Welland, stands the formerly Royal Castle of Rockingham. ”

“ Yet,—since with the majority, whether judging of the present or the past, success is hailed as virtue, while misfortune is branded as crime—it may be well to consider, if even here ineffectually and thus obscurely, how far interested were his accusers; and what justice in that chivalrous day would be meted by uncongenial minds, to one, who it seems was more meek and beneficent than impetuous and warlike; more inclined to the society of clerks than of knights; more conversant with the powers of reason, than of the sword. ”

“ Petrie has brought to light a large class of buildings in Ireland of a period more remote than any that are known to exist in England, and has established their date with much research and ingenuity, in a manner which leaves nothing to be desired, and upon evidence which appears quite irresistible. In other cases, where the evidence is of more doubtful character, he states it clearly and candidly, and though he has an evident leaning to one side, generally that which gives the greatest antiquity to the structure in question, he endeavours rather to lead than to drag his readers along with him. ”

“ These duties Lord Dunraven discharged admirably. Nature had given him a courteous manner, a kindly and unselfish disposition, and an excellent temper, to which he had added, by study, a sound knowledge not only of the antiquities of the district, but of those of Ireland and many parts of the Continent, so that he was not only a popular President, but to the accuracy of a local antiquary he added the breadth of view of a sound comparative archæologist. ”

“ Among the more remarkable details of this edifice are deep pendants, proceeding from the bosses of the vaulting; and these, at the junction of the nave and choir, are sculptured most elaborately into groups of figures anything but ecclesiastical in their design. Their effect is rich and striking, and the character of the whole edifice is one of considerable lightness and elegance. The workmanship throughout is good, and all the sculptured portions are delicately finished. ”

“ It would be difficult to find a more complete revolution of feeling among mankind, than that which has taken place concerning the instrument of crucifixion: once the object of horror and a symbol of disgrace, it is now the blessed emblem of our faith; the sign of admission by baptism to all the benefits of Christian fellowship. . . . The change from cross to crucifix, in ancient monuments, is gradual: first occurs the simple cross; afterwards a lamb appears at the foot of it. In a third stage there is Christ clothed, on the cross with hands uplifted in prayer, but not nailed to it ”

“ The Anglo-Saxons appear, as far as we can judge from the scanty remains of mixed masonry in those structures which may fairly be attributed to that people, to have made use of the materials procured from the ruins of pre-existing Roman buildings; they did not however work up the materials of stone and brick in the same regular and systematic mode as the Romans, but though they formed some of their arches with brick-work, they seem to have inserted bricks in the walls just as they may have come to hand, irregularly and without rule or order. ”

“ Although the forest of Rockingham has been much denuded since the time when the English monarchs made it so frequently the scene of their diversions, many venerable trees, scattered throughout the unreclaimed district, towering above the underwood, serve to point out its ancient boundaries. ”

“ Those that are in the most perfect state are about two and a-half feet long, their greatest breadth one inch and three quarters. They were found in a mass, covered over with a flat stone, and are in such a corroded state, that there can be no doubt of their being of high antiquity; this is rendered more probable from the fact that the field in which they were discovered is continuous with Hamdon hill, the site of a British Roman encampment, where numerous remains in iron and bronze have been found, such as coins, arrow-heads, fibulæ. ”

“ So much ruthless and ignorant destruction has been perpetrated, that, on recounting it, one cannot suppress a sigh, and mournfully contemplate the dishonoured fragments that have been accidentally spared. ”

“ Notwithstanding the silent ravages of time and the rude hand of the spoliator, this church contains many very valuable remains of medieval piety, and many interesting specimens of Christian ornament, which are highly deserving of preservation. The entire restoration of this church is an object more to be desired than expected, but even that is not impossible, and would certainly reflect much honour and consolation to any benevolent individual or association invested with sufficient means and taste and skill to restore its ancient proportions. ”

“ Thinking that by making a better search something else might be discovered, in April, 1844, I cleared all the soil out of the fissure, and found amongst it some more human bones, which indicate the skeleton to be that of a female, also a large quantity of animal bones, amongst which was the skull either of a wolf or large dog. From the absence of any urn or other article, it is questionable if this can with propriety be styled a barrow, but from the fact of the discovery of human bones I have thought it worthy of record. ”

“ There is always this difficulty attendant on any endeavour to classify the medieval buildings of Paris, that they have been so much altered and added to at various periods, as often to make it a work of impossibility to range a given edifice within a distinct chronological class. The same edifice may contain examples of every different style of the middle ages, and therefore a strict classification in order of time is not to be expected in an account like the present. ”

“ Malachy, that the Irish first began to build with stone and mortar in the twelfth century, would, on a casual examination of the question, seem to be of great weight, and extremely difficult to controvert; for it would appear, from ancient authorities of the highest character, that the custom of building both houses and churches with oak timber and wattles was a peculiar characteristic of the Scotic race, who were the ruling people in Ireland from the introduction of Christianity till the Anglo-Norman Invasion in the twelfth century. ”

“ Church—and which led, eventually, and by slow degrees, to those affecting and beautiful representations of the Saviour, the Virgin, the Apostles and other holy persons which are found in the painting and sculpture of the Italian schools of the purer times of Christian Art. With respect to the strange adaptation of the human figure to the tortuous shapes of the ornament on those crosses, I am disposed to think that no particular meaning is intended by it. It is probably a mere exercise of ingenuity on the part of the artist to try bow far the figure could be made to fill or fit into the spaces. ”

“ The founder's crosier, of which Carter has given a fair representation [14] , bears much analogy in its workmanship to the remains of the mitre: it is said that some intentions have been entertained of "restoring" this unique example of chased-work and enamelling, many portions being defective; but it is much to be desired that no modern workmanship, however skilful in imitation, should be mixed up with the original, so as to destroy the value of the whole as an authentic evidence of the perfection of the arts during the fourteenth century. ”

“ I should state that the house under which the cellar is situated is an old one, it has rather a large projecting gable, and is probably of the date of Queen Elizabeth's reign. The masonry of the wall in the cellar is composed mainly of rough irregular-shaped pieces of stone, principally granite, which are laid together in convenient portions, but not in regular rows. Over the heads of the arches, intended to be round, are rows of tiles, which are similar in shape to those used in the Jewry wall, and which, as you will perceive, resemble those to be met with in remains of Roman origin. ”

“ Amongst the beautiful series of sculptures of the portal of the Cathedral of Chartres, is one of a figure wearing a long pallium, holding in his left hand the base of a pastoral staff or cross, the top of which is destroyed, and who is crowned with a conical kind of cap. Mr. Shaw has given a beautiful representation of this figure, which he describes as an archbishop, and says that the mitre bears a close resemblance to the tiara seen on the head of the pope in an illumination given by Gerbertus. ”

“ On the north side of the nave there is a very good Norman doorway, and the priest's door is an excellent example of the Decorated style. All the corbel-heads are in good preservation and very beautifully executed. The nave is divided from the aisles by octagonal piers; there is nothing remarkable in the interior of this part of the church; the chancel is ornamented by three fine sedilia of equal height, terminating in finials, a trefoiled piscina, the bason of which is eight-foiled, having the form of a carved head, and two beautiful canopied niches at the sides of the east windows. ”

“ Many of the pointed arches of this church are untrue, one side of the arch being struck from a different centre to the other. The whole church is furnished with a clerestory, and in the nave beautiful pillars and corbels remain, as if to sustain a stone roof. The pews are of a most unsightly character, as are the galleries. The arcade-work in the transepts is very fine; the font is surmounted by a handsome Perpendicular cover.
Exterior.—The nave is entered by three doorways, that on the west is very elaborate, but the shafts are gone; above each doorway is an empty niche ”

“ The hill is remarkable from its insulated position in a rich plain, commanding an extensive view; nine counties may be discerned from the summit. The granite of which it is composed had been quarried at the top of the hill where the soil is of little depth. The first account of any discovery of urns or relics of antiquity was given by an old man living near the place, who said that forty-six years since when digging in a Rath, or mound of earth, he saw a granite slab under which was found an urn of beautiful fashion ”

“ Edward Pretty, of Northampton, exhibited a coloured drawing of a painting on the wall of Lenham church, in Kent, representing a nimbed angel weighing souls; one is in the lower scale praying to the Virgin Mary, who is throwing a rosary upon the beam to give weight to the scale; her right hand is raised, as bestowing a blessing, or interceding for the good soul. The other scale, which is upraised, has two devils or evil spirits, using every exertion to pull down the scale, and another imp is seated on the upper part of the beam with a soul in his hand, and blowing a horn. ”

“ It was previously apparent that some arched recesses had been filled up in the south wall of the church, and a slight opening had been made in one of them which however led to no discovery, and from the shallowness of the wall it was supposed to be destitute of any monument. But in covering the surface with a portion of the pews now erecting, a workman found an obstruction in making good his fastenings, which led to the removal of some stones, when the recess was found to contain a monumental effigy. The figure is that of a man, and measures from the head to the feet six feet two inches. ”