She
sure, nor can I tell if it was drawn upon the sherd at the same time
that the uncial Greek was inscribed, or copied on more recently from
the Scarab by some other member of the family. Nor was this all. At the
foot of the writing, painted in the same dull red, was the faint
outline of a somewhat rude drawing of the head and shoulders of a
Sphinx wearing two feathers, symbols of majesty, which, though common
enough upon the effigies of sacred bulls and gods, I have never before
met with on a Sphinx.
[2] The cartouche, if it be a true cartouche, cannot have been that of
Kallikrates, as Mr. Holly suggests. Kallikrates was a priest and not
entitled to a cartouche, which was the prerogative of Egyptian
royalty, though he might have inscribed his name or title upon an
_oval_.—Editor.
Also on the right-hand side of this surface of the sherd, painted
obliquely in red on the space not covered by the uncial
characters, and signed in blue paint, was the following quaint
inscription:—
IN EARTH AND SKIE AND SEA
STRANGE THYNGES THER BE.
HOC FECIT
DOROTHEA VINCEY.
Perfectly bewildered, I turned the relic over. It was covered
from top to bottom with notes and signatures in Greek, Latin, and
English. The first in uncial Greek was by Tisisthenes, the son to
whom the writing was addressed. It was, “I could not go.
Tisisthenes to his son, Kallikrates.” Here it is in fac-simile
with its cursive equivalent:—
ΟΥΚΑΝΔΥΝΑΙΜΗΝΠΟΡΕΥΕϹΘΑΙΤΙϹΙϹΘΕΝΗϹΚΑΛΛΙΚΡΑΤΕΙΤΩΙΠΑΙΔΙ
οὐκ ἂν δυναίμην πορεύεσθαι. Τισισθένης Καλλικράτει τῷ παιδί.
This Kallikrates (probably, in the Greek fashion, so named after
his grandfather) evidently made some attempt to start on the
quest, for his entry written in very faint and almost illegible
uncial is, “I ceased from my going, the gods being against me.
Kallikrates to his son.” Here it is also:—
ΤΩΝΘΕΩΝΑΝΤΙΣΤΑΝΤΩΝΕΠΑΥΣΑΜΗΝΤΗΣΠΟΡΕΙΑΣΑΛΛΙΚΡΑΤΗΣΤΩΙΠΑΙΔΙ
τῶν θεῶν ἀντιστάντων ἐπαυσάμην τῆς πορείας. Καλλικράτης τῷ παιδί.
Between these two ancient writings, the second of which was
inscribed upside down and was so faint and worn that, had it not
been for the transcript of it executed by Vincey, I should
scarcely have been able to read it, since, owing to its having
been written on that portion of the tile which had, in the course
of ages, undergone the most handling, it was nearly rubbed
out—was the bold, modern-looking signature of one Lionel Vincey,
“Ætate sua 17,” which was written thereon, I think, by Leo’s
grandfather. To the right of this were the initials “J. B. V.,”
and below came a variety of Greek signatures, in uncial and
cursive character, and what appeared to be some carelessly
executed repetitions of the sentence τῷ παιδί (to my son),
showing that the relic was religiously passed on from generation
to generation.
The next legible thing after the Greek signatures was the word
“Romae, A.U.C.,” showing that the family had now migrated to
Rome. Unfortunately, however, with the exception of its
termination (evi) the date of their settlement there is for ever
lost, for just where it had been placed a piece of the potsherd
is broken away.
Then followed twelve Latin signatures, jotted about here and
there, wherever there was a space upon the tile suitable to their
inscription. These signatures, with three exceptions only, ended
with the name “Vindex” or “the Avenger,” which seems to have been
adopted by the family after its migration to Rome as a kind of
equivalent to the Greek “Tisisthenes,” which also means an
avenger. Ultimately, as might be expected, this Latin cognomen of
Vindex was transformed first into De Vincey, and then into the
plain, modern Vincey. It is very curious to observe how the idea
of revenge, inspired by an Egyptian who lived before the time of
Christ, is thus, as it were, embalmed in an English family name.
A few of the Roman names inscribed upon the sherd I have actually
since found mentioned in history and other records. They were, if
I remember right,
MVSSIVS. VINDEX
SEX. VARIVS MARVLLVS
C. FVFIDIVS. C. F. VINDEX
and
LABERIA POMPEIANA. CONIVX. MACRINI. VINDICIS
this last being, of course, the name of a Roman lady.
The following list, however, comprises all the Latin names upon
the sherd:—
C. CAECILIVS VINDEX
M. AIMILIVS VINDEX
SEX. VARIVS. MARVLLVS
Q. SOSIVS PRISCVS SENECIO VINDEX
L. VALERIVS COMINIVS VINDEX
SEX. OTACILIVS. M. F.
L. ATTIVS. VINDEX
MVSSIVS VINDEX
C. FVFIDIVS. C. F. VINDEX
LICINIVS FAVSTVS
LABERIA POMPEIANA CONIVX MACRINI VINDICIS
MANILIA LVCILLA CONIVX MARVLLI VINDICIS
After the Roman names there is evidently a gap of very many
centuries. Nobody will ever know now what was the history of the
relic during those dark ages, or how it came to have been
preserved in the family. My poor friend Vincey had, it will be
remembered, told me that his Roman ancestors finally settled in
Lombardy, and when Charlemagne invaded it, returned with him
across the Alps, and made their home in Brittany, whence they
crossed to England in the reign of Edward the Confessor. How he
knew this I am not aware, for there is no reference to Lombardy
or Charlemagne upon the tile, though, as will presently be seen,
there is a reference to Brittany. To continue: the next entries
on the sherd, if I may except a long splash either of blood or
red colouring matter of some sort, consist of two crosses drawn
in red pigment, and probably representing Crusaders’ swords, and
a rather neat monogram (“D. V.”) in scarlet and blue, perhaps
executed by that same Dorothea Vincey who wrote, or rather
painted, the doggrel couplet. To the left of this, inscribed in
faint blue, were the initials A. V., and after them a date, 1800.
Then came what was perhaps as curious an entry as anything upon
this extraordinary relic of the past. It is executed in black
letter, written over the crosses or Crusaders’ swords, and dated
fourteen hundred and forty-five. As the best plan will be to
allow it to speak for itself, I here give the black-letter
fac-simile, together with the original Latin without the
contractions, from which it will be seen that the writer was a
fair mediæval Latinist. Also we discovered what is still more
curious, an English version of the black-letter Latin. This, also
written in black letter, we found inscribed on a second parchment
that was in the coffer, apparently somewhat older in date than
that on which was inscribed the mediæval Latin translation of the
uncial Greek of which I shall speak presently. This I also give
in full.
_Fac-simile of Black-Letter Inscription on the Sherd of Amenartas._
“Iſta reliq̅ia eſt valde miſticu̅ et myrificu̅ op̅s q̅d maiores
mei ex Armorica ſſ Brittania mi̅ore ſecu̅ co̅veheba̅t et q̅dm
ſc̅s cleric̅s ſe̅per p̅ri meo in manu ferebat q̅d pe̅itus illvd
deſtrueret, affirma̅s q̅d eſſet ab ipſo ſathana co̅flatu̅
preſtigioſa et dyabolica arte q̅re p̅ter mevs co̅fregit illvd i̅
dvas p̅tes q̅s q̅dm ego Johs̅ de Vi̅ceto ſalvas ſervavi et
adaptavi ſicut ap̅paret die lu̅e p̅r̅ poſt feſt beate Mrie vir{g}
anni gr̅e mccccxlv.”
_Expanded Version of the above Black-Letter Inscription._
“Ista reliquia est valde misticum et myrificum opus, quod majores
mei ex Armorica, scilicet Britannia Minore, secum convehebant; et
et quidam sanctus clericus semper patri meo in manu ferebat quod
penitus illud destrueret, affirmans quod esset ab ipso Sathana
conflatum prestigiosa et dyabolica arte, quare pater meus
confregit illud in duas partes, quas quidem ego Johannes de
Vinceto salvas servavi et adaptavi sicut apparet die lune proximo
post festum beate Marie Virginis anni gratie MCCCCXLV.”
_Fac-simile of the Old English Black-Letter Translation of the
above Latin Inscription from the Sherd of Amenartas found
inscribed upon a parchment._
“Thys rellike ys a ryghte mistycall worke & a marvaylous yᵉ
whyche myne aunceteres afore tyme dyd conveigh hider wᵗ yᵐ ffrom
Armoryke whᵉ ys to ſeien Britaine yᵉ leſſe & a certayne holye
clerke ſhoulde allweyes beare my ffadir on honde yᵗ he owghte
uttirly ffor to ffruſſhe yᵉ ſame affyrmynge yᵗ yt was ffourmyd &
confflatyd off ſathanas hym ſelffe by arte magike & dyvellyſſhe
wherefore my ffadir dyd take yᵉ ſame & to braſt yt yn tweyne but
I John de Vincey dyd ſave whool yᵉ tweye p̄tes therof & topeecyd
yᵐ togydder agayne ſoe as yee ſe on y{s} daye mondaye next
ffolowynge after yᵉ ffeeste of ſeynte Marye yᵉ bleſſed vyrgyne yn
yᵉ yeere of ſalvacioun ffowertene hundreth & ffyve & ffowrti.”
_Modernised Version of the above Black-Letter Translation._
“Thys rellike ys a ryghte mistycall worke and a marvaylous, ye
whyche myne aunceteres aforetyme dyd conveigh hider with them
from Armoryke which ys to seien Britaine ye Lesse and a certayne
holye clerke should allweyes beare my fadir on honde that he
owghte uttirly for to frusshe ye same, affyrmynge that yt was
fourmed and conflatyed of Sathanas hym selfe by arte magike and
dyvellysshe wherefore my fadir dyd take ye same and tobrast yt yn
tweyne, but I, John de Vincey, dyd save whool ye tweye partes
therof and topeecyd them togydder agayne soe as yee se, on this
daye mondaye next followynge after ye feeste of Seynte Marye ye
Blessed Vyrgyne yn ye yeere of Salvacioun fowertene hundreth and
fyve and fowerti.”
The next and, save one, last entry was Elizabethan, and dated
1564. “A most strange historie, and one that did cost my father
his life; for in seekynge for the place upon the east coast of
Africa, his pinnance was sunk by a Portuguese galleon off Lorenzo
Marquez, and he himself perished.—John Vincey.”
Then came the last entry, apparently, to judge by the style of writing,
made by some representative of the family in the middle of the
eighteenth century. It was a misquotation of the well-known lines in
Hamlet, and ran thus: “There are more things in Heaven and earth than
are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio.”[3]
[3] Another thing that makes me fix the date of this entry at the
middle of the eighteenth century is that, curiously enough, I have an
acting copy of “Hamlet,” written about 1740, in which these two lines
are misquoted almost exactly in the same way, and I have little doubt
but that the Vincey who wrote them on the potsherd heard them so
misquoted at that date. Of course, the lines really run:—
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.—L. H. H.
And now there remained but one more document to be examined—namely, the
ancient black-letter transcription into mediæval Latin of the uncial
inscription on the sherd. As will be seen, this translation was
executed and subscribed in the year 1495, by a certain “learned man,”
Edmundus de Prato (Edmund Pratt) by name, licentiate in Canon Law, of
Exeter College, Oxford, who had actually been a pupil of Grocyn, the
first scholar who taught Greek in England.[4] No doubt, on the fame of
this new learning reaching his ears, the Vincey of the day, perhaps