12 The Word Premifes improperly applied.-Antique Image found. [Jan: publick in fending you this, and requefting you to honour it with a place in -your refpectable work. Yours, &c. I. P. Mr. URBAN, P-ni-nv-lle Jan. 9. and frequently in your Magazine, that the word premises is uf d to fignify houfe and land with their appendages. Dr, Harwood, amongst others, fpeaking of Hackney college in sour Magazine for May 1793, fays, "a gentleman offered Soool. for the premijes," meaning the building with the ground, &c. Baily, Sheridan, Entick, and others, in their dictionaries, give it this fignification; and in every day's newlpapers are advertisements of premiles to be fold, and of fals upon the premises. This perverfion of the word, I am apt to think, originated with the lawyers, and in this wav-every grant or conveyance of lands neceffarily confias of two parts, the premies and the babendum. In the premites the parties are defcribed, the inftruments neceffary to shew the granter's title are recited, the confideration upon which the deed is made is fet forth; and, laftly, the property granted is fpecified, all by way of preface or introduction to the fecond part, or babendum, which fhews the eate or intereft the granter is to have in the things granted; here then clearly appears the true legal import of the word, and, in this uf: of it, it retains its original and proper meaning; but in the covenants which follow the babendum, where it becomes neceffary again to make mention of the property granted, if it happens to confift of various particulars, the lawyers, for brevity (to which by the bye they are not much attached), have accustomed themfelves to write "the aforesaid premises," or "the premifes before mentioned," and, from the frequency of thefe phrafes, the word premifes is univerfally taken as a colleive noun fignifying manors, mefjuages, lands, tenements, woods, and fo on, the abfurdity of which I think may be clearly pointed out by putting it for borfes, corus, sheep, fwine, household goods, bank flick, exchequer bills, or any thing, in fhort, which may be the object of a deed, and which it has just as good a right to ftand for as manors, meffuages, &c. We may indeed with fome degree of propriety, to avoid a repetition in the latter part of a deed of the feveral kinds of property paffing by it, write, "the before granted premijes," or "the before aligned premijes," according to the nature of the inftrument; because, by reference to the first part of it, it will appear, that what was thereby granted or affigned was property there specified. and which was intended to be then again fpoken of, as all defcriptions of persons, even up to the on bench, use this word improperly. Yours, &c. W. W. Mr. URBAN, Wendover, Bucks, Jan. 3. THERE was lately found upon Lee Common, about three miles from Wendover, by a labourer who was digging the ground, a Roman image. Upon hearing of this, I went on purpole to fee it, and purchafed it. It is the figure of an old man; the features and countenance are very expreffive; it appears to have a compaflionate look, with its arms extended. It has a crown upon its head ornamented with pearls, and its vefiment is inlaid with purple. The compofition of this image appears to be copper, of confiderable thickness, and washed with gold. It is about eight or ten inches in length, and remarkably well proportioned. It appears to me that it has been an object of adoration, and fhould imagine it must have lain in this obfcure fituation many hundred years in the ground. I will fend it you foon, to take a drawing of it; and, if any of your numerous readers can inform me for what ufe or purpose this image has been made, it will be efteemed a favour. T. MALLISON, Mr. URBAN, Jan. 8. AM troubled with an occafional bleeding at the nofe, and have, of late, loft a vast quantity of blood, which proceeds only from my left noftril. Many of my friends have given me advice; but, before I apply any thing, I beg leave to requeft the opinion of fome of your correfpondents, whether any, and if any, which of them is or are likely to be of fervice? And, if not, what method they think moft preferable. One recommends a cold bath as a preventative; another advifes me (when bleeding) to put a key down my back; a third fays, I ought to drink falt and water occafionally; whilft others have been fo fuperftitious (if I may be allowed to call them fo) as to press me to put a piece of writing-paper under my tongue at the time my nose is bleeding; with many other curious recommendations. Can any of your correfpondents inform me where King Edward V. was buried Nov. 26. AMBERLEY calle (pl. III. fig. 1.) is fituated on the Eaft fide of the river Arun, at the foot of the South Downs, four miles North-east from Arundel, having the Downs, on the South, and a wide extent of level marchland on the North, the river Arun at a fmall distance on the Wett, and the church and village of Amberley on the Eft. It is built on a rock, is of a parallelogram form, with an entrance on the South under a gateway between two finall round towers, with grooves for a portcullis. It is defended on the South by a rofs, over which is a bridge leading to the principal entrance; and on the North and Weft fides, by the low rocky precipice it ftands on, it does not appear ever to have been of great ftrength; but the ruins of an arch within the walls fhew the architecture to have been light and elegant. Camden informs us it was built by William Read, Bishop of Chichester, in the reign of Edward III.; it was afterwards leafed out to the Gorings, Butlers, Brifcows, and Parkers, fucceffive lef fees. Its prefent owner, under the Bifhop, with the appendage of a large farm, is Lord Siliea, and the castle is degraded to a farm houfe. The vil Ige of Amberley is a long feattered Street of mean buildings. The land is rich and fertile adjoining the Downs the foil is chalky; and lower in the valley a rich black earth, producing great crops of wheat. The church is a decent fmall ftru&ture, containing a body and chancel, with a fquare tower at the Weft end. The living is a vicarage, valued in the King's Books at 71. 55. 7d the prefent incumbent is the Rev. Henry Peckham. Yours, &c. I Friar's-house, ShrewfMr. URBAN, bury, O. 18. HAVE inclosed a view (fig. 2) of the Francifcan, or Grey Friary, in this town, and hope you will give it a place in your ufetul Mitcellany. This view was taken in December, 1793, and was an exact reprefentation of the building then, but its appearance now is different, being made into fmall dwellings, by which the windows, &c. are much altered. As I have not been able to find any better account of this bui.ding than that which Mr. Phillips, in his Antiquities of Shrewsbury, has given, I shall take the liberty of quoting his words as far as I have occafion: "We have no particular account of the time this houfe was founded, neither how endowed, or valued at the Suppreffion; probably it was founded before Austin's Friars *, as, in the 30th Hen. III. A.D. 1246, John, fon of Ralph de Mortimer, is mentioned as a Grey Friar there. Geoffery Lord Powis is faid by fome to be the founder; but LeJand, in his Itinerary, vol. VI. p. 19, fays, My Lord Powis faith, that Hawife, wife to the Lord of Powis, was the caufer that the Grey Friers college, in Shropshire (where The Ivith buried under a flat marble by Chorlton,s tombe), was builded." A ftone coffin, which was found in the building, had lain in the path adjoining for many years, and was only a receptacle for filth, was last month cleaned, and removed into my garden, which joins the building, and was undoubtedly once the burying-ground belonging to it. This building ftands on the banks of the Severn, near the Eaft bridge. The infide, before the late alteration, contained nothing worth notice, having been used as a malt-houfe more thar forty years. D. PARKES. Mr. URBAN, Оя. 20. HAVE been, during the last spring, over a confiderable part of Hertfordfhire, and made many sketches; one of which, from Hunfdon church, as it is mentioned by Salmon, p. 254, as uncommon, I think may perhaps merit capitals, is infcribed: your attention (fig. 3.). Under it, in "Beloved of all whilst he had lyfe, Obiit 12 die Decembris, ao d'ni 1591, Curious as it is, it however fhews the engraver was no anatomift. Yours, &c. PHILOGRAPHICE, 14 Hints for the general Improvement of the British Coinage. [Jan. Mr. URBAN, Jan. 15. AM happy at feeing in your la volume, p. 1081, the attention of your readers called to a fubject well worthy their molt ferious confideration. The wretchedly debated Itate of our copper coinage, and the quantity of counterfeit half-pence, that are fo plentifully poured upon the publick, have long and foudly demanded the ftri&teft notice and interference of the Legiflature. The inducements held out to the Birming ham artifts, and the amazing gains to be acquired by this forged fabrication, are clearly and ably ftated by your ingenious correfpondent; and it is obvious that, until Government takes upon it to give us fome redrels, the evil will go on conunually increafing, to the great decline of the Arts, and the infamy and degradation of our national character. It is not, however, to purfue the fubject of the copper money that I trouble you with this letter; it is to offer a few remarks on the ftate of our coinage in general. To a perfon accustomed to examine the fine marked heads and exquifite reverfes of the antient medals, the prefent mean workmanship of our coins is truly grievous; but it is not with fuch elegant models that I mean to contraft them: I wish only to look back to the general condition of our money for fome of the late reigns, and to ask why, when the other Arts have been in progreifive advancement, the medallic fhould fo miferably have fallen off? The refpe&table and, in fone instances, beautiful fpecimens that have iflued from the Mint through a fucceffion of princes from Charles I, reflect the fairest credit on the English coinage. The pieces of Charles and James II, and particu. Jarly the fine half-crowns and farthings of Queen Anne, lay claim to diftinguished commendation; and the very creditable coins of George I, and II, thew that it was not till the reign of his prefent Majelly, that our money appears in fuch bafe fabrication. It is now worse than it has been for the last 150 years; and every one must remark, that the guineas and fhillings of our moft gracious fovereign do not difplay more character or relief than the thin pieces of our older monarchs. It is true, our gold is kept perfe&ly up to its ftandard and pur ty; and it may perhaps be faid that, from its rapid circulation, and frequent returns to the melting pot, its workmanship is of little confequence. Yet furely, Mr. Urban, as illuftrative of the ftate of the Arts, and for the credit of the nation, and as interefting to the curiofity of future times, it moft forcibly demands an improvement in this respect. Our fil- ' ver, however, is fo worn and defaced as to be much below its ftandard value (a fhilling being intrinfically worth little more than 8d.); and, as this is more flationary among us, and more confined to home circulation, the beauty of its fabrication ought to be an object of public concern. In fuch a fate of depreciation too, the fiver money holds out a very trong temptation to the forger. Would it not, therefore, be advifable in Government, even in a commercial view, to call in this worn-out coin, and, in imitation of King William, iffue out a general re-coinage? But, for God's fake! do not let us have fuch pieces as the late fhillings of his most gracious Majefty; which, of all coins I ever faw, are the most aukward and inelegant. The copper money might be greatly and eafily reformed by dies of fuperior workmanship; and, had Mr. Bolton's coinage taken place, as the publick was led to expect, from the very beautiful fpecimen of his pattern-halfpenny, it would foon have put a flop to the prolific exertions of the other Birmingham manufacturers. ob It is not to be fuppofed that any fervations will have effect after what has been fo ably urged by Mr. Pinker, ton, in his accurate and very ingenious Effay on Medals. But, if ever the attention of our rulers fhould be awakened to the fubject, the whole defign and execution of our coins ought to undergo a thorough reformation. The head fould be expreffed in much boider relief, and in a more eafy and portraitlike form. The aukward legend of initial letters should be altered to a more fimple title. And, in the name of all the Arts, let us endeavour to throw away the unmeaning and infipid reverse of the arms. Inftead of them, let fome hiftorical fubje&t be adopted, or elfe fone figure or device emblematic of our agriculture, commerce, or other na tional characteristick. And might not the reverfe, in imitation of the most valued claffical medals, fometimes bear a head |