ANCIENT ROMAN REMAINS FOUND

NEAR SHEFFORD;

AND IN ITS IMMEDIATE VICINITY, AT STANFORD BURY.

SINCE the discovery of the remains recorded in a preceding article, (vide p. 343-346) and of which the above representation of a Glass Vase is an example, a fresh supply has been obtained from the same field at SHEFFORD, although at some distance from the former site.

The discoveries at STANFORD BURY were as follow. In the spring of 1832, Mr. Hale, a Farmer in the neighbourhood of Shefford, whilst looking at his labourers making a hollow drain in his field, observed the spade of one strike (what he thought must be) a piece of iron, and desiring the man to take it up, he attempted to do so, but found it descend much deeper into the earth than was expected, it was set in perpendicularly, and it was not until having dug four feet downwards, that the relic could be brought to light. When taken from the ground, it was found to be an iron camp Tripod, consisting of three curved legs turning on a swivel at the top, on which was fixed a massive iron ring. Mr. Hale, conjecturing its use, had the laudable curiosity to make the workmen dig deeper, when they found a chain and pot-hooks, which being attached to the ring at the top of the Tripod plainly indicated its purpose.-This curious

"Feeling assured that the Tripod could not be a solitary deposit," says our correspondent, "I employed two men, in the autumn, to dig in the same spot; and my conjectures were soon confirmed, for on the site and adjoining to the same place, was quickly found an iron fire-dog of simple construction, and doubtless used by the Roman soldiers like the Tripod for cooking their victuals in the neighbouring encampment. After this, we met with a stout iron bar, one end of which was curved somewhat like a pump-sweep or handle, having a hole through it at the ends-for this I could at first assign no apparent use,-I dug further, and found a second fire-dog, a duplicate of the former one; they were both in a small degree mutilated; yet I was led to admire the grace and spirit with which all articles of Roman manufacture (at least all those which I had seen) were executed, their designs are still more striking, and even in these homely utensils, the imitations of nature are of the boldest order, the graceful turn of the Stag's neck and the outline of the head which form the ornamental part of each end, are singularly effective. It must be acknowledged that the Romans combined the utile in dulci in an eminent degree, and it is a matter of admiration, the simplicity of contrivance in these fire-dogs, for cooking the greatest quantity of victuals at one and the same fire. To effect this, the bar before alluded to was laid longitudinally on one side of the Stag's head, betwixt that and one of his horns, another bar lay parallel on the opposite side, from both which descended two rows of hooks to supply the means of boiling or roasting, the curved ends of the bars having holes through each of them, into which might be thrust pivots of iron, so contrived, that upon necessitous occasions they would form four bars, and thus multiply the means of making the most of one fire, the end of each bar also, turned up gracefully as a hook from which might depend additional pots and kettles.

"Not far from these was found a considerable quantity of pataræ, black and red, of great variety of patterns, I preserved two or three with the makers names across them, viz. SILVVS and OFCOE, safe from the wreck that attended the rest in the excavation. The first name is very legible; the other nearly so, but not quite.

"Another brass pan, or rather the shadow of a brass pan of very large size was next discovered, probably from two to three feet in diameter, (as its iron rim appeared to indicate) but this article was so much decomposed, that I did not attempt to preserve an atom of its form, it has therefore vanished.

"I had nearly forgotten to mention, that withinside or close to a red vase, I found four very white stones that had been wrought into the exact shape of peppermint drops, save that the tops were round and raised, instead of being flat like the bottoms. One also was found, a duplicate in size and shape, but perfectly black and made of jet.-These little stones were used to play some Roman game, and it was probably this game that Medea's children were playing when the infuriated mother meditated their murder, as the painting found at Pompeii seems plainly to indicate.

"The next article discovered was a brass Jug capable of holding about a pint or more,-this was placed invertedly in the earth, the bottom and handle having corroded off, were lying close by. The handle is a model of elegance, and represents a female with extended arms grasping the outer rim; she has a beautiful face, and her hair is twisted up into a knot behind, like that on the coins of the younger and beautiful Faustina; some of her locks however are left to fall carelessly over her shoulders, from whence the handle tapers downwards till it joins the bottom, where it fancifully diverges, and shews two faces or masks one below the other; the upper one is an old Momus in a paroxysm of laughter, the lower one has a more mild and placid though cheerful countenance: they both appear in a different degree moved at the recital of some tale, and may be considered as appropriate emblems of the

Both sides of this handle, together with a vase discovered near the same spot, are delineated in the annexed cut. The Jug itself is peculiarly formed; the lower half swelling out gradually from the bottom, the neck narrow, and at its upper part pinched up as almost to touch; whilst the mouth bulges forth both to the front and back, so as nearly to form a figure of eight.

"At the bottom of the largest urn was a large black ball of pitch or some bituminous matter, which was found to emit an aromatic smell, after being held sometime in the hand.

"Amongst the various deposits found, were four separate joints of what most closely resembles a flute, each joint or piece having a cylindrical hole cut through it, as well as a hole for the finger to stop: they have palpable marks of the original workmanship, and present traces, at the ends, of the lathe and chissel, each end being turned concave, though not in any way adapted for the purpose of being joined together, or, as I (then) conjectured, forming one instrument. Nevertheless it appeared as if made to

"discourse sweet music;" for I have since learned that a copper or brass tube, with an embouchere at top, passed down the centre, the bottom dilating somewhat like a keyed bugle, and curving like the instrument called the serpent. The joints are in excellent preservation, two of them are exactly one inch and one quarter in length each; the other two exactly one inch and one eighth each; they are made of ivory, and have been originally stained and clouded red and black to resemble tortoiseshell.

There can be no doubt but that these remains formed part of a Tibicinal instrument resembling the representation attached to this article, which has been reduced from Professor Brontie's copies of "Ancient Monuments," Etruscan, Greek, Roman, &c.; but it should be remarked that the small apertures in the joints have been altered from a square to a circular form, so as more strictly to accord with those recently found. Two of these instruments are preserved in the Villa Albani, at Rome.

L

"The vault in which these precious relics were discovered, was paved at the bottom with Roman bricks; and had not the soil been so unpropitious to their preservation, they would probably have been pronounced some of the most valuable specimens of Roman manufacture;-as it is, the large urn appears as perfect as though never broken, and the whole of these ancient remains are sufficiently entire to excite the most lively interest."

T. T.

THE OLD ENGLISH STAGE.-No. II.

NOTICES OF SCENE-PAINTERS FROM THE REIGN OF

JAMES I. TO THAT OF GEORGE IV.

HAVING in our former paper given a brief history of Scene-painting, we now proceed to sketch a record of the ingenious fraternity of SCENEPAINTERS, as far as a most careful research has enabled us to discover their names and qualifications.

Amongst those who practised in this department in the times of James the First, and of his son Charles, Daniel Mytens is the earliest on record; he, as already observed, provided designs for the stage at Holy-rood house, prior to the accession of James to the English throne.

played at the court of James I., under the auspices of his queen, Anne of Denmark, and also for the superb little stage at Whitehall, for the masques in which Charles I., his queen Henrietta, and the young nobility of the court performed. Nicholas Laniere, the celebrated composer of music, painted scenery also for certain masques, in the reign of James I.

It is somewhere recorded, that Winceslaus Hollar designed the scenery for the public stage in the time of Charles I., although he did not paint them.

No contemporary practising the graphic art in England in his time, was more completely qualified

to excel in this department, as we owe almost all we know of the topographical features of old London before the great fire in 1666, and of the ancient state of Westminster, to his etchings and engravings. It is no small compliment to his talent, to observe, that our two distinguished scene-painters, Messrs. Stanfield and Roberts, have availed themselves of his topographical remains, to add splendour to the scene in our day, at the two most magnificent theatres of Covent Garden and Drury Lane.

In the time of Charles II., two foreigners, invited hither by Sir William D' Avenant and Henry Killegrew, painted the scenery for the theatre in Black-friars, one an Italian artist, Signor Fideli,

the other a French artist, Monsieur l'Abbé. Robert Aggas, reputed a good landscape-painter, was also employed as scene-painter to Black-friars, and the

Phoenix theatres. Streater, a landscape-painter, worked likewise in the scene department. This artist was honoured with the personal regard of Charles II., and had the reputation of being a wit. Becoming sadly afflicted with the stone, Streater was obliged to discontinue his profession, when his royal patron commiserating his sufferings, sent him, at his own expense, to Paris, where the most skilful surgeons successfully performed an operation upon him, which restored his health. There is a curious and most interesting picture in the royal collection, representing the old mansion, "Whiteladies," at Boscobel, Charles the Second's hiding-place, after the battle of Worcester. In this are small portraits of the King, Colonel Carless, and the Penderill family, painted by Streater.

The painted scenic department was much improved under the management of the celebrated Betterton, on the stage of the theatre in Dorset-gardens. Much praise was bestowed on the machinist department too, at the same period, at the cost of the