was impatient to be rid of him who had checked his influence during the last years of his brother, and the friends of liberty could never place any lasting trust in the man who remained a member of the government which sent to death Russell and Sidney.

LORD GODOLPHIN.

The part performed by Lord Godolphin, was not so considerable as to require a full account of his character. He was a gentleman of ancient family in Cornwall, distinguished by the accomplishments of some of its members, and by their sufferings in the royal camp during the civil war. He held offices at court, before he was employed in the service of the state, and he always retained the wary and conciliating manners, as well as the profuse dissipation of his original school. Though a royalist and a courtier, he voted for the Bill of Exclusion. At the accession of James he was not considered as favourable to absolute dependence on France, nor to the system of governing without parliaments. But though a member of the cabinet, he was, during the whole of this reign, rather a public officer, who confined himself to his own department, than a minister who took a part in the direction of the state. The habit of continuing some officers in place under successive administrations, for the convenience of business, then extended to higher persons than it has usually comprehended in more recent times.

JEFFREYS.

James had, soon after his accession, introduced into the cabinet Sir George Jeffreys, Lord Chief Justice of England, a person whose office did not usually lead to that high station, and whose elevation to unusual honour and trust, is characteristic of the government which he served. His origin was obscure, his education scanty, his acquirements no more than what his vigorous understanding gathered in the course of business, his professional practice low, and chiefly obtained from the companions of his vulgar excesses, whom he captivated by that gross buffoonery which accompanied him to the most exalted stations. But his powers of mind were extraordinary, his elocution was flowing and spirited; and after his highest preferment, in the few instances when he preserved reason and decency, the native vigour of his intellect shone forth in his judgment, and threw a transient dignity over the coarseness of his deportment. He first attracted notice by turbulence in the petty contests of the corporation of London, and having found a way to court, through some of those who ministered to the pleasures of the King, as well as to the more ignominious of his political intrigues, he made his value known, by contributing to destroy the charter of the Capital of which he had been the chief law officer. His services as a counsel in the trial of Russell, and as a judge in that of Sidney, proved still more acceptable to his masters. On the former occasion, he caused a person who had collected evidence for the defence to be turned out of court, for making private suggestions, probably important to the ends of justice, to Lady Russell while she was engaged in her affecting duty. The same brutal insolence shewn in the trial of Sidney, was perhaps thought the more worthy of reward, because it was foiled by the calm heroism of that great man. The union of a powerful understanding with boisterous violence and the basest subser

* See Barillon au Roi, 15 Avril, 1685. Fox's Hist. app. Iviii.

viency, singularly fitted him to be the tool of a tyrant. He wanted indeed the aid of hypocrisy, but he was free from its restraints. He had that reputation for boldness which many men preserve, as long as they are personally safe, by violence in their counsels and in their language. If he at last feared danger, he never feared shame, which much more frequently restrains the powerful. Perhaps the unbridled fury of his temper enabled him to threaten and intimidate with more effect, than a man of equal wickedness with a cooler character. His religion, which seems to have consisted in hatred to nonconformists, did not hinder him from profaneness; his native fierceness was daily inflamed by debauchery; his excesses were too gross and outrageous for the decency of historical relation, and his court was a continual scene of scurrilous invective, from which none were exempted but his superiors. A contemporary† of amiable disposition and tory principles, who knew him well, sums up his character in a few words,-" He was by nature cruel, and a slave of the court."

*

CHARACTER OF THE QUEEN.

Mary d'Este, the consort of James, was married at the age of fifteen, and had been educated in such gross ignorance, that she had never heard of the name of England, until it was made known to her on occasion of her marriage. She was trained to a rigorous observance of all the practices of her religion, which sank more deeply into her heart, and more constantly influenced her conduct, than was usual among Italian princesses. On her arrival in England, she shewed a childish aversion to James, which was quickly converted into passionate fondness. But neither her attachment nor her beauty could fix the heart of that inconstant prince, who reconciled a warm zeal for his religion, with an habitual indulgence in those pleasures which it most forbids. Her life was embittered by the triumph of mistresses, and by the frequency of her own perilous and unfruitful pregnancies. Her most formidable rival, at the period of the accession, was Catharine Sedley, a wothan of few personal attractions, who inherited the wit and vivacity of her father, Sir Charles Sedley, which she unsparingly exercised on the priests and opinions of her royal lover. Her character was frank, her deportment bold, and her pleasantries more amusing than refined. Soon after the accession, James was persuaded to relinquish his intercourse with her, and though she retained her lodgings in the palace, he did not see her for several months. connection was then secretly renewed, and in the first fervour of a revived passion, the King offered to give her the title of Countess of Dorchester. She declined this invidious distinction, assuring him, that by provoking the anger of the Queen and of the Catholics, it would prove her ruin. He

* See Evelyn's Diary, 1. 531. Reresby, 231. and Roger North, p. 250.

Evelyn, 1. 579.

These defects were probably magnified in the verses of Lord Dorset :

The

however insisted, and she yielded, upon condition that, if he was ever again prevailed upon to dissolve their connection, he should come to her to announce his determination in person. The title produced the effects which she had foreseen. Mary, proud of her beauty, still enamoured of her husband, and full of religious horror at the vices of Mrs. Sedley, gave way to the most clamorous excesses of sorrow and anger at the promotion of her competitor. She spoke to the King with a violence for which she long after reproached herself as a grievous fault. At one time she said to him, "Is it possible that you are ready to sacrifice a crown for your faith, and cannot discard a mistress for it! will you for such a passion lose the merit of your sacrifices?" On another occasion she exclaimed, "Give me my dowry, make her Queen of England, and never let me see her more." Her transports of grief sometimes betrayed her to foreign ministers, and she neither ate nor spake with the King at the public dinners of the court.

RARE AND UNPUBLISHED COINS OF ROMAN EMPERORS, CÆSARS, AND EMPRESSES, STRUCK IN GREEK CITIES.

LETTER 1.

Mr. URBAN,

Camberwell, Nov. 10.

THE series of Imperial Greek Coins, or coins of Roman Emperors struck in the provinces, has, until within these few years past, been strangely neglected by English numismatists; a neglect which may be attributed to a feeling similar to that of the late Mr. Payne Knight, whose enthusiastic fondness for what he termed the legitimate remains of Greek art, led him to exclude from his cabinet all coins struck by Greek cities after they had become tributary to the Romans. A fine and matchless series of the coins of the Kings of the Bosphorus in electrum, is said to have passed from this gentleman's collection to that of a northern Sovereign, Mr. Knight alleging that they were not genuine Greek coins, and therefore unworthy a place in his cabinet. Such caprice in an unlettered man, who collects ancient coins merely for their beauty, and cares not whether they illustrate the manners and customs of the ancients, so that they please the eye, would not excite our wonder; but that the scholar and the man of taste should adopt sụch notions, is strange and inexplicable.

The series of which the following are hitherto undescribed specimens, is particularly rich in historical information. The Imperial Greek coins are in execution, for the most part, far inferior to those struck at Rome; still there are many of very elegant fabric; but the instruction to be derived from their endless variety of type and legend, certainly exceeds that of any other series. The names and portraits of Emperors, Empresses, and Cæsars; the whole mythology of the Greeks, with the representation of their deities in the most ancient form-the cone-shaped stone and the terminus; the names and titles of Magistrates; the privileges of cities, their sites, and the various games instituted by the Emperors, are all presented on these remarkable monuments of the Roman power.

The following coins are not mentioned by Vaillant, Eckhel, or Mionnet, and are therefore presumed to be unique. The descriptions, as well as the drawings, have been made with the greatest attention to accuracy: the observations are addressed only to those who have not made the science of medals their study.

GENT. MAG. VOL. III.

E

I.

LUCIUS VERUS.

CYZICUS IN MYSIA.

Obverse. ΑΥ. ΚΑΙ . Α . ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟΣ.OYHPOC. Αὐτοκράτωρ Καίσαρ Λού κιος Αυρήλιος Οὐῆρος. The Emperor Cesar Lucius Aurelius Verus. Bust of Verus to the right, bare-headed. ΝΕΟΚΟΡΩΝ Reverse. KYZIKHNON (money) of the people of Cyzicus, Neocori. Victory in a biga to the right. [In the cabinet of Dr. J. Lee.]

This elegant coin is of large brass. Its fabric is quite equal to that of the brass coins of this Emperor struck at Rome. We have many fine autonomous coins of Cyzicus, the execution of which attests the state of the arts in this city, whose citadel, walls, harbour, and marble towers are eulogized by Florus. The inhabitants of Cyzicus were deprived of their privileges by Augustus, who was incensed against them on account of their neglect of the ceremonies in his honour, as also for the violence which they had offered to some Roman citizens.

11.

BARBIA ORBIANA.

CIUS IN BITHYNIA.

Obverse. Γ.ΓΕΙ . ΕΡΕ. ΓΑΛ . ΒΑΡ. ΟΡΒΙΑΝΑ. Γνήα Σεία Ερευνία Σαλλούσ τία Βαρβία Ορβίανα. Gnea Seia Herennia Sallustia Barbia Orbiana. The bust of the Empress to the right.

Reverse. KIANON. (money) of the people of Cius. A youthful male figure seated on a rock, to the right. [In the cabinet of Mr. Thomas.] It is only on her Greek coins that we find the long list of names borne by this Empress, who is not mentioned by ancient historians. Before the discovery of a brass medallion bearing the head of Orbiana and that of her husband Severus Alexander, she was supposed to be the wife of Trajanus Decius.

d

The foundation of Cius is attributed to various persons. It was destroyed by Philip V. King of Macedon, and rebuilt by the first Prusias, who gave it his name; but it subsequently resumed its ancient one of Cius. A coin of Domitian of this city, described in the Mus. Theupoli, bears the name of Prusias, while others of the same Emperor, quoted by Mionnet, have that of Cius; so that, in all probability, the change took place about this time. The reverse of the coin under notice, presents us with the representation of Hylas, the youthful companion and favourite of Hercules, who, landing with the Argonauts on the coast of Asia, for the purpose of obtaining a supply of water, was drowned in the river Ascanius. Hercules abandoned the Argonauts to go in search of him. Others say that he was carried off by the nymph Dryope who was enamoured of his extreme beauty. A coin of the Empress Tranquillina struck at Cius has the figure of Hylas with a vase or pitcher in his hand.e

As this title will not exactly admit of a literal translation, it may be necessary to give, once for all, a description of its import. The word is derived from ves, for vaos, a temple, and xope to cleanse; and in its original sense answered to our Sacristan; but, in process of time, it became a title of great consequence. Cities thus styled had the privilege of erecting temples and celebrating festivals in honour of the Gods and the Augusti, at which games were introduced, with musical, poetical, gymnastic, equestrian, and naval contests. At these festivals the Emperor was sometimes present, when the city was, at his command, proclaimed neocora, as a mark of especial favour and distinction. Some cities boasted the repetition of this honour ; and thus we find ΔΙΣ ΝΕΟΚΟΡΩΝ and ΤΡΙΣ ΝΕΟΚΟΡΩΝ. Ephesus and Smyrna, of which I shall have occasion to speak on another occasion, gloried in the title of neocora.

be B. iii. c. 5.

e Eckhel, Doct. Num. Vet. ii. 434-437, and Sestini's Lettere, &c.

d Vol. II. p. 493.

• Mionnet, tome ii. 496.

III.

PLAUTILLA.

NICOPOLIS IN EPIRUS.

Obverse. ПAAYTI^^A. CEBACTH. Plautilla Augusta. Bust of the Empress Plautilla to the right.

Reverse. IEPAC. NEIKOПOAEWC. (money) of Nicopolis the Sacred. A seated female figure; a patera in her right hand, and a cornucopia in her left. [In the writer's cabinet.] The city of Nicopolis in Epirus was built by Augustus to commemorate his victory in the celebrated naval battle of Actium. He conferred upon

it the important title of IEPA (sacred), and instituted games (Quinquennalia) to be held there every fifth year. Many of the coins of the Roman Emperors struck by the people of Nicopolis bear this title, and a large brass of Plautilla quoted by Mionnet,' has the additional one of Inviolable. According to Polybius, the inhabitants of the cities designated 'Iepά, were, amongst other privileges, exempted from military service.

IV.

GORDIANUS AND TRANQUILLINA.

MESEMBRIA IN THRACIA.

Obverse. AYT. K. M. ANT. TOPAIANOC . A . CEB. TPANKYAAIN Αὐτοκράτωρ Καίσαρ Μάρκος Αντωνίνος Γορδιανός Αὐγουστός. Σεβαστή Τρανκύλλεινα. The Emperor Cæsar Marcus Antoninus Gordianus Augustus (and) Augusta Tranquillina. The heads of Gordianus and Tranquillina face to face, the first laureated.

Reverse. MECAMBPIANON (money) of the people of Mesembria. Two figures in short tunics, standing, each holding aloft a shield on his left arm, and a short sword in his right hand. [In the cabinet of Mr. Thomas.]

The figures represented on the reverse of this interesting coin are two Corybantes, priests of Cybele. Some authors have supposed the Corybantes to be the young men who by loud noises drowned the cries of the infant Jupiter, and saved him from the jaws of Saturn. The frantic ceremonies of these priests provoked the raillery of the old poets. Plautus speaks of "the drumming priests of Cybele," and Juvenal compares their antics to those of drunken men. The Corybantes are generally described as bearing cymbals; but the two figures on this coin have shields and swords. Rasche h refers to a coin of Caracalla struck at Magnesia in Ionia, on which they appear with the same weapons, dancing before a divinity placed on an altar. Another coin quoted by Mionnet represents two of these priests performing their strange ceremony, with the infant Jupiter seated between them. A bas-relief in Visconti's Museo Pioclementino also exhibits the dance of the Corybantes.

V.

SEVERUS ALEXANDER.

SELEUCIA IN PISIDIA.

Obverse....Μ . ΑΥ . CE . ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ.... Μάρκος Αυρήλιος Σεονῆρος 'Aλégavopos.... Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander. Laureated bust of Severus Alexander, to the right.

Reverse. KAAYAIOCEAEYKEQN (money) of the people of Claudiopolis and Seleucia (in alliance.) A naked male figure to the right, with a kind of tiara, and the paludamentum floating over his shoulders, bending a bow. Æ. 9. [Cabinet of Dr. J. Lee.] This coin records the alliance between the cities of Claudiopolis and