Lot 11. Ostade-A landscape and figures, 7l. 17s. 6d. Purchaser, Mr. Cimpiani.

Lot 14. Cl. Lorain-A landscape and figures, 1051. Purchaser, Duchess of Portland.

Lot 17. J. Bassano-A Holy Family, 131. 2s. 6d. chaser, - Brand, Esq.

Pur

Lot 20. Sal. Rosa-Soldiers, &c., 171. 17s. Purchaser, Mr. Townsend.

Lot 22. P. Veronese-A woman's head, 121. 12s. Purchaser, Mr. Vernon.

Lot 25. Domenico-St. Barba, 58l. 16s. Purchaser, Richard Grosvenor.

Lot 38. Fr. Mieris-Boy with a jug, small oval, 61. 10s. Purchaser, Mr. Steward.

Lot 39. P. Potter-A landscape and figures, 111. Os. 6d. Purchaser, Mr. Reynolds. 10 St. Catherine, 42l. Purchaser,

Lot 43. Albano

- Thompson, Esq.

Lot 44. Titian-A sleeping Venus, 181. 7s. 6d. Pur-chaser, Mr. Masterson.

Lot 52. Guercino-St. Sebastian, 541. 12s. Purchaser, Lord Cooper. Lot 54. Giordano-A sleeping Venus with Cupids

attending, 111. 11s. Purchaser, Mr. Holditch

Lot 55. Rubens-A-landscape with Our Saviour healing the lame, 79l. 16s. Purchaser, Duchess of Portland. Lot 59. Correggio-Sigismunda weeping over the heart of Tancred, 4041. 5s. Purchaser, Sir T. Seabright.

Second Day's Sale.

Lot 8. D. Velasquez-An old woman's head, 3 qrs., 241. 13s. 6d. Purchaser, Mr. Dulton.

Lot 11. Holbein-A woman's head, 3 qrs., 21. 2s. Purchaser, H. Fox, Esq.

Lot 12. M. A. Caravaggio-A man playing on a flute, 71. 7s. Purchaser, Mrs. Child.

Lot 25. Albert Dürer-A crucifixion, 15l. 15s.
Lot 31. Metzu-A Dutch lady at her toilet, 221.

chaser, Governor Saunders.

Purchaser, Mr. Gould.

Pur11s. 6d.

Lot 38. P. Brill-Sea view, figures by Caracci, 651. 2s. Purchaser, Duchess of Portland,

Lot 39. Rembrandt-Admiral Ruyter, 16l. 5s. 6d. Purchaser, Mr. Steward.

Lot 50. Ann. Caracci-Venus at her toilet, 631. Purchaser, Lord Cowper.

Lot 51. Guido-Our Saviour asleep and the Virgin watching over him, 3281. 13s. Purchaser, Richard Gros

venor.

Lot 52. P. de Cortona-Rinaldo and Armida, 23l. 2s. Purchaser, Admiral Knowles.

Lot 54. Vandyke Virgin, Jesus asleep in her lap, Lot 57. Teniers-Boors at Cards, 851. 1s. Purchaser,

2111. 18. Purchaser, Duchess of Portland.

Lord Middleton.

Third Day's Sale.

Lot 4. Sir P. Lely-Duchess of Portsmouth, 3 qrs., 4l. 7s. 6d. Purchaser, Richard Grosvenor.

Lot 10. Watteau-A landscape and figures, 91. 9s. Purchaser, Governor Saunders.

Lot 11. Jordaens-Man piping, children about him, 51. 5s. Purchaser, Lord Byron.

Lot 14. Coypel-Nymphs bathing, 41. 4s. Purchaser, Captain Hamilton.

Lot 24. G. Poussin-A landscape and figures, 571. 158. Purchaser, - Rust, Esq.

Lot 25. N. Poussin-Its companion, 23l. 2s. Purchaser, Lord Anson.

Lot 38. Wouvermans-A village carnival, 311. 10s. Purchaser, Vandergutch.

Lot 43. Le Brun-Departure of Rinaldo from Armida, 731. 10s. Purchaser, Lord Anson.

Lot 44. Rigaud-Cardinal Dubois, half-length, 33l. 12s. Purchaser, Mr. Thompson.

Lot 46. Murillo-Beggars, 321. 11s. Purchaser, Richard Grosvenor.

Lot 52. Carlo Maratti-A Holy Family, 331. 1s. 6d. Purchaser, Vandergutch.

Lot 60. Raphael-A large and capital picture of a Holy Family, 7031. 10s. Purchaser, Duchess of Portland.

The largest purchasers at the sale were (1) the Duchess of Portland, who secured fourteen pictures, as follows:- Cl. Lorain, 105l.; Rembrandt, 321. 11s.; Bamboccio, 211.; Elsheimer, 17l. 17s.; Guido, 1571. 10s.; Rubens, 791. 16s.; Vandyke, 126l.; 126 P. Brill, 65l. 2s.; Vandyke, 2111. 1s.; View of Antwerp by P. Brill, Rubens, Gillis, and Brueghel, 5511. 5s.; Titian, 43l. 1s.; Eliz. Sirani, 231. 2s.; Tintoret, 66l. 3s.; Raphael, 7031. 10s. -Total, 2,2021. 18s. (2) Richard (first Earl) Grosvenor, seventeen pictures, &c. :- Crescentia, 10l. 10s.; Domenico, 58l. 16s.; Jordaens, 16l. 5s. 6d.; F. Laura, 36l. 15s.; an antique bronze, 42l.; Guido, 328l. 13s.; Sir P. Lely, 4l. 7s. 6d.; P. Veronese, 791. 16s.; Holbein, 3l. 3s.; Do., 3l. 13s. 6d.; Polydore, 36l. 15s.; Rubens, 25l. 4s.; Borgognone, 231. 2s.; F. Bassano, 115l. 10s.; Murillo, 321. 11s.; Teniers, 1571. 10s.; Le Brun, 1271. - Total, 1,1011. 11s. 6d. (3) Sir J. Seabright, A. Correggio, 404l. 5s. (4) Governor Saunders, fourteen pictures :--Antolini, 71. 15s.; Vandevelde, 5l. 15s. 6d.; Baddalocio, 151. 15s.; Gentileschi, 44l. 2s.; Albert Dürer, 15l. 15s.; A. Kuyp, 26l. 15s. 6d.; Rubens, 28l. 17s. 6d.; Do., 15l. 15s.; Gofredy, 6l. 6s.; Watteau, Sl. 18s. 6d.; Do., 91. 9s.; Sal. Rosa, 7l. 7s.; Do., 4l. 4s.; Rottenhamer, 16l. 5s. 6d.-Total, 213l. Os. 6d.

St. John's Wood.

S. H. HARLOWE.

"BRITISH AND CONTINENTAL TITLES OF HONOR." BY A TRAVELLER, 1842.

This interesting work was written to show the real value of foreign titles of nobility (some of which were purchasable at the moderate figure of 30l.!), and to disabuse the minds of the ordinary

class of travelling Britons of the idea that Continental Counts and Barons are on a par with our Earls and Barons, and therefore superior to Baronets and the nobiles minores of Great Britain, the fact being that the majority of these titled gentlemen can scarcely be considered equal in rank to our Esquires. The following conclusions, drawn by the author from his arguments and facts, are worthy of a place in the Peerages, Baronetages, and other works of a similar character:

"I. That, notwithstanding the popular distinction between Nobility and Gentry, no one who goes abroad, and who really belongs to the nobiles minores of England, should deny that he is Noble.

"II. That it is a vulgar error* to suppose that a Commoner may not be Noble.

* Conclusively proved by the fact that all the sons of Peers (in their fathers' lifetime), though by courtesy "III. That the three first titles of the Peerage being Princely dignities, and the two last of high Nobility, no Englishman should on the Continent address a Peer as M. Le Comte, or M. Le Baron; for these are, there, titles of low Nobility.

"IV. That, in order to discover whether a foreign Nobleman may rank with our Peers, we should find out whether he is the chief of his family; and whether his ancestors had a right of hereditary seat in the Diet of his country; or whether he may be, in any other way, ranked amongst its high Nobility.

"V. That there is a marked difference between the British lesser Nobility (or Gentry) and that of Germany, viz., that the British lesser Nobility have been from

immemorial called Nobilis in Latin; that they have

always had a right to sit and be represented in Parliament; and that they might intermarry with the high Nobility, and even with the blood Royal; whereas the lesser Nobility of the Empire were not called Nobiles before the fourteenth century; nor could they sit or be represented in the Diet, nor could they marry with the high Nobility, nor the blood Royal of their country.

"VI. That the only Counts who could formerly be ranked with our Peerage were the Counts of the Empire, with right of seat; and these are now almost all titular Princes. Also that the only Continental Baron who could rank with a British Baron was the old German Dynasty Baron, who has long ceased to exist.

"VII. That a British Baronet has, at least, a right to rank with a titular Count, or Grave, of Germany, who may be chief of his family, † and above all those who may

not be so.

"VIII. That a British Esquire who is chief of a family,

the head of which formerly held a Manor immediately, without being a Peer of Parliament, may rank with an immediate Baron of the Empire, who is head of his House, and whose ancestor had no right to a seat in the Diet of his country.

"IX. That a British Esquire, who is representative of a family which formerly held a Knight's-fee immediately, may rank with an immediate Knight of the Empire, who may be also chief of his family.

"X. That Barons by patent must rank with our Esquires by patent.

"That the Edlen von' must rank with our gentlemen bearing arms.

"XI. That the common 'von' (derived from official situation), or 'de,' must be considered to give Nobility equivalent to that of those persons in England who are

Esquires, or Gentlemen, by profession, office, &c., although

some of them may have precedence of Gentlemen of blood."

C. S. K.

LORD WELLESLEY AND LORD CORNWALLIS. In the recently-published correspondence of Lord Ellenborough (p. 172), there is a memorandum by Lord Wellesley containing an extraordinary misstatement about Lord Cornwallis.

Lord Wellesley says that, in 1797, Lord Cornwallis was a poor old man, with one foot in the grave. So far is this from the truth, that, at the time in question, Lord Cornwallis had just been appointed both Lord-Lieutenant and Commander

many of them are Lords, as well as the Baronets, are commoners, i.e., only entitled to sit or be represented in the House of Commons.

† "Younger sons of Foreign Nobility must rank with younger sons of English Nobility of equal grade."

of the Forces in Ireland; and it was subsequently that he was appointed, for the second time, Governor-General of India (which did not take effect), and, afterwards, to an important military command; and, several years later, he was, for the third time, named, with general approval, GovernorGeneral, and actually succeeded Lord Wellesley himself.

It is true that, on this last occasion, his motives were partly of a somewhat trivial personal kind, and he was then physically unfit, but his mind was as vigorous as ever.

All this may be seen in the excellent Memoirs of Lord Cornwallis, by Mr. Charles Ross.

The truth of the matter is in the opposite direction. The memorandum was written in July, 1842, and Lord Wellesley died in the following September. It has but slight traces of the great ability which the writer had as a younger man, and I happen to have had some personal intercourse with him some time previous, from which it was clear that he was not what he had been. His second appointment, several years before, to the Irish Lord-Lieutenancy rather surprised the world. I have no doubt he either mis-stated the date, or had but imperfect recollection of what had happened forty-five years before. LYTTELTON.

PURGATION BY FIRE. It may not be so well known to the English as to the classical reader that the ordeal so commonly resorted to by accused persons in the Middle Ages, in attestation of their innocence, had neither its rise in, nor was especially characteristic of, those times. It was known and in use centuries before. And thus the scholiast upon Sophocles, in the Antigone-from which I take the subjoined illustration-says: "Nihil in historia notius, quam purgationes, quibus, adhibito sacramento, rei objecta crimina amoliebantur, et innocentiam comprobabant." "No fact of history is better known or authenticated than that of purgation, by which, under solemn appeal to heaven, accused persons were accustomed to rebut the charges brought against them, and to assert their innocence of them." Thus in this play (Antigone) the messenger sent to announce to Creon that some one had sprinkled dust over the corpse of Polynices, offers, on the part of himself and fellowwatchers, to undergo this ordeal as a test of their innocence and ignorance of the deed :

ἦμεν δ ̓ ἕτοιμοι καὶ μύδρους αἴρειν χεροῖν,
καὶ πῦρ διέρπειν, καὶ θεοὺς ὁρκωμοτεῖν,
τὸ μήτε δράσαι, μήτε τῳ ξυνειδέναι
τὸ πρᾶγμα βουλεύσαντι, μήτ' ειργασμένῳ.
LI. 264-267.

"The mass of burning iron in our hands
We all were prompt to take, to pass through fire,
To call the gods to witness with firm osth
We did it not, we knew not who design'd,
Or who perform'd the deed."-Potter.

[To the last parallel may be added the following:"The spangles of wit which Prior could afford he knew how to polish. but he wanted the bullion of Butler. Butler pours out a negligent profusion, certain of the weight, but careless of the stamp."-Johnson.]

THE LATEST IRISH BULL. In the following cutting from a leader in the Daily News of a recent

date will be found two of the latest Irish bulls, the author being no less distinguished a personage than a knight and an ex-Lord Mayor of Dublin to boot :

"The following curious inscription is on a tombstone in Bideford churchyard, to the memory of Captain Henry Clark, of that town, who appears to have yielded too much to a thirsty na ure, and died in 1836:"Our worthy friend who les beneath this stone

Was master of a vessel all his own.
House and lands had he. and gold in store;
He spent the whole, and would if ten times more,
For twenty years he scorce slept in a bed;
Linhays and limekilus lu I'd his weary head
Because he would not to the poor-house go,
For his proud spirit would not let him to.
The blackbird's whistling notes, at break of day,
Used to awake him from his bed of hay.
Unto the bridge and quay he then repaired
To see what shipping up the river steer'd.
Oft in the week he used to view the bay
To see what ships were coming in from sea.
To captains' wives he brought the welcome news,
And to the relatives of all the crews.

At last poor Harry Clark was taken ill,

And carried to the workhouse 'gainst his will;
But being of this mortal life quite tired,

He lived about a month and then expired."

Unitarian Herald.

As the above is from a paper edited by the Rev.
William Gaskell, M.A., there can be no doubt as
to its genuineness.
N.

LINES ON A SUN-DIAL. - The following is under one, on a white marble cross, in Collaton Church, Devon :

"If on this dial fall a shade the time redeem; For. lo! it passeth like a dream.

For if it all be blank, then mourn thy loss

Of hours unblessed by shadows from the cross,"

JOHN BUNYAN'S PARENTAGE. - As I was (by the courtesy of the vicar of the parish) inspecting the registers of Wootton parish, co. Bedfordshire, I came across the following entries which evidently allude to some of John Bunyan's ancestors, as Wootton is not so very far from Elstow,-abont five miles, and they may, perhaps, eventually lead to the discovery of who were his parents; they also do away with the supposition of those who think that John Bunyan may have had gipsy blood in his veins: see The Hero of Elstow, by "James Copner, M.A.," "Hodder & Stoughton, MDCCCLXXIV.," p. 20:

"The Register for Christenings & burialls & weddinges made by Richard Leverock Vicare of Wotton from the feist of St. Michael in the year of Our Lord 1581 as following:

October Imprimis xxth daie was Christened Willm. Bunnion

November 1585 the xxth aie was baptized Henrie Bunion (sic)

9 January 1644-5 Richard Bunnion & Elizabeth Nichols were maried." DUDLEY CARY ELWES.

THE O'MULCONRY.-- How few recognitions there will be in the Swedenborgian Hades by supposed ancestors of their supposed descendants! It is a

mournful reflection that so much ingenuity should

fail. The writer of a recent article in one of the newspapers starts with the following observation, which I quote chiefly for the reason that it affords another example of the erroneous use of "at" for "of":

"There is no necessity to ask 'Garter Principal Kingat-Arms' or 'Ulster' what is the signification of the dignity about to be conferred upon Prince Arthur."

But the same writer (relying, perhaps, on Waller's definition of poetry, when excusing himself to the merry monarch for a bad laureate ode, or perhaps being one of those who revere “claims" to descent from the Counts of Perche, the Earls of Chester, or the patriarchal Thomas de Brotherton, and blest with that large faith which is really so great a comfort to many minds) thus continues :

"There is a Baronet living in Wales at present-Sir John Conroy-whose lineal ancestors used to nominate the Kings of Connaught. The Conroys are the same as the Conaires, and the Conaires were called in the eleventh century the O'Maolconaires, which Englishmen corrupted into the O'Mulconries; and this same house-which has now drifted clean out of Ireland-was paramount in that province of Connaught of which Prince Arthur is to be Duke."

On turning to Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, I find no real reference to any authentic proofs of a lineal descent. The warranty by Thomas Preston of forty-three descents is worth nothing. Charles Conry, b. 1657, seems to be the earliest reliable ancestor.t Again :

"Thus, if we went by ancient heraldic tradition, it would almost seem that his Royal Highness the Prince ought to be making matters straight with the O'Mulconry, otherwise Conroy."

The value of such old chronicles in proving one's ancestry would not be estimated by MR. PINKERTON, ANGLO-SCOTUS, HERMENTRUDE, or TEWARS, as they would be by the O'Maolconaires themselves. "Ulster" of course does not vouch for the trustworthiness of the old chronicle; he merely refers to it. The family itself very probably rightly estimates the would-be greatness thrust upon it by indiscreet admirers. Again :

"But, in good truth, a live Duke is better than a dead Milesian Conaire, even though he were one of the "Nine Hostages," and Monarch of Ireland 400 A.D.

As for "Niallus Magnus" (A.D. 400), I leave him to MR. PINKERTON.

My object in drawing attention to the article in question is to suggest the advisability of separating general introductory remarks on a surname, or family, from the special pedigree that follows. In nine cases out of ten, these Celtic and Norman pedigrees that thunder in the index are generally found to be trustworthy only from some startingPoon point in the seventeenth century, when So-and-so's grand-son, or great-grandson, is supposed to turn up as So-and-so "pricked high sheriff," or "fined for alderman," who leaves a will from which dates the true foundation of the family.‡

S.

FAMILY OF ALEXANDER, OR ZINZAN. - Connected with the Court of James I., as Equeries and Masters of Revels, were members of the family ily of Alexander, or Zinzan. Of this family I am desirous to obtain some information. The first person belonging to the family whose name occurs in the Public Records is Robert Alexander, who was "Equery of the Stable" to Queen Elizabeth. This person, in 1585, was employed by the Queen to convey to "the King of Scotts" certain horses which she sent him

† Gambetta, in his recent funeral oration (see Daily cestry of his friend the Count.