singular and grotesque Arabesques throughout the volume, most of them have human heads, and hold either culinary or military instruments in their hands; ancient weapons, armour, shields, musical instruments, occur by hundreds, and universally well executed, as may in some measure be guessed from these two facsimiles: see Plate III. The volume concludes thus, "expliciunt autentica, Deo gratias refero, omnium Creatori." Throughout the MS., almost universally, the broad margins of the pages are filled with well-written Commentaries.

It is written on vellum, tall Folio, Sec. XIII, superbly bound in Russia à l'antique, pp. 258.

XXVII. MISSALE ROMANUM.

On vellum, a very large Folio, the writing bold, and almost the whole of it set to Music in the old Ecclesiastical or Gregorian modes of eight tones. Fully one third of the book is rubric, giving directions for Feasts and Fasts, for Singing, Robing, Bowing, &c. &c. It has been a regular Church-book, as may be gathered from the following rude entry :

** Iste liber pertinet,

Bere thatt well in mynde,

Unto this Churche,

Bothe gentyll & kynde. Amen.

Per me Thomas Lyuns."

On various blank portions of leaves are entries by a much later hand, of several deaths, and especially of great numbers of the Hyde family; the earliest death recorded is of "Johan. Hyde Armig, MCXXXV," another in the reign of Henry II; a a third, "Richard. Hyde militis MCCLXXVIII anno reg. Regis Edward. I, septimo;" and many others at various periods, the last date being 1523. Another entry is "an. dom. MCCCCLXXXIIII

erat in hac die eclipsis solis." At the beginning of the book is also an inset of a slip of vellum on which the following verse is written by an English scribe, probably the one above named, in a singularly cramped hand,

"Marbel not Joseph

Thoogh Mary be wythe chylde,

She hath concebyde a very maid,
And yet she not defyld."

There are several leaves of Missals inserted at the conclusion of the volume, and among others four leaves of the famous Bomberg Missal.

Folio, Sæc XIV, splendidly bound in Russia, full gilt, with beautiful representations of Cathedral doors, towers, turrets, &c. pp. 716.

XXVIII. MISSALE ROMANUM.

An almost incomparable MS. for boldness and beauty of writing, on the best vellum, immense Folio, highly illuminated on seven different pages; in between thirty and forty places the initial letters which are about three inches in length are superbly illuminated, and numbers of them laboriously ornamented with red and blue. For evenness of writing, boldness of stroke, unfailing beauty of execution, this MS. cannot be surpassed. It appears to have lost a leaf or leaves at the end; perhaps one also at the beginning; it commences with the Calendar. Bound in old stamped white leather drawn over boards; pp. 616.

XXIX. Sancti GREGORII MAGNI Comment. in Jobum, vel MORALIA.

The following Account of this MS. I copy from an entry made on the last leaf of the book by my Father. "This MS. contains the Commentaries of Pope Gregory the Great on the book of Job: as they contain many maxims for the government of Life, they are generally termed St. Gregory's Morals. The first ten books are wanting; they probably made another volume.

From the binding it appears that this book formerly belonged to Henry V, King of England. The leather is embossed with various devices. On the right side or board, there is a square Compartment divided into sixteen parts, in each of which, in a Lozenge, there is a Rose. In a square contained within this, there is another square, in the centre of which is the Lancastrian Rose, and in a Scroll round about it the following Legend :—

Hec rosa virtutis de celo missa sereno,
Eternum florens regia sceptra feret.'

The Scroll and Rose are supported by two Angels kneeling: over the head of that on the left, appear the Sun and Stars; and over that on the right, the Moon and Stars are represented :

On the left hand side or board, in a Square as before, there is another, in which there is a large Shield containing the Arms of England and France quartered, three fleurs-de-lis, and three lions passans guardans. The shield is surmounted with a Royal Crown, and is supported by a Greyhound, more like a wolf, on the right, and a Griffin on the left. Over the head of the Griffin appear the Sun and Stars, and over the head of the