of a defert. Some of the Tartars fay it was built by Tamerlane, called by the Tartars Temyr-ackfack or Lame-temyr; others by Gingeez-chan. The building, according to the best information I could obtain, is of brick or ftone, well finished, and continues ftill entire. It confifts of feven appartments under one roof, from whence it has the name of the Se ven Palaces. Several of thefe rooms were filled with ferolls of glazed paper, fairly wrote, and many of them in gilt characters, Some of the fcrolls are black, but the greatest part white. The language in which they are written is that of the Tongufts, or Kal. mucks. While I was at Tobolky, I met with a foldier in the fireet, with a bundle of these papers in his hand. He asked me to buy them; which I did for a fmail fum. I kept them till my arrival in England, when I diftributed them among my friends; particu. larly to that learned antiquarian Sir Hans Sloane, who valued them at a high rate, and gave them a place in his celebrated mufeum. Two of these scrolls were fent, by order of the emperor Peter the firft, to the royal academy at Paris. The academy returned a tranflation, which I faw in the rarity chamber at St. Petersburg. One of them contained a commiffion to a lama, or priest; and the other a form of prayer to the deity. Whether this interpretation may be depended on I fhall not determine. The Tartars efteem them all facred writings, as appears from the care they take to preferve them. Perhaps they may contain fome curious pieces of antiquity, particularly of ancient history. Above the Sedmy Palaty, towards the fource of the Irtish, upon the hills and valleys, grows the best rhubarb in the world, without the leaft culture. Of fame ancient monuments in the fame country. From the fame. ten days ABOUT eight or journey from Tomíky, in this plain, are found many tombs and burying places of ancient heroes; who, in all probability, fell in battle. Thefe tombs are eafily diftinguished by the mounds of earth and ftones raifed upon them. When, or by whom, these battles were fought, fo far to the northward, is uncertain. I was in. formed by the Tartars in the Ba raba, that Tamerlane, or Timyrack-fack, as they call him, had many engagements in that country with the Kalmucks; whom he in vain endeavoured to conquer. Many perfons go from Tomíky, and other parts, every fummer, to thefe graves; which they dig up, and find among the ashes of the dead confiderable quantities of gold, filver, brafs, and fome precious ftones, but particularly hilts of fwords and armour. They find alfo ornaments of faddles and briddles, and other trappings for horfes; and even the bones of horfes, and fometimes thofe of elephants. Whence it appears, that when any general or perfon of distinction was interred, all his arms, his favourite horfe and fervant were buried with him in the fame grave; this custom prevails to this day among the Kalmucks and other Tartars, and feems to be of great antiquity. It appears from the number of graves, that many thoufands muft have fallen on thefe plains; for the people have continued to dig for fuch treasure many years, and ftill find it unexhaufted. They are fometimes, indeed, interrupted, and robbed of all their booty, by parties of the Kalmucks, who abhor the difturbing the afhes of the dead. I have feen feveral pieces of armour, and other curiofities, that were dug out of thefe tombs; par. ticularly an armed man on horfeback caft in brafs, of no mean defign nor workmanship; alfo figures of deer caft in pure gold, which were fplit through the middle, and had fome fmall holes in them, as intended for ornaments to a quiver, or the furniture of a horse. While we were at Tomíky, one of thefe grave-diggers told me, that once they lighted on an arched. vault; where they found the remains of a man, with his bow, arrows, lance, and other arms, lying together on a filver table. On touching the body it fell to dust. The value of the table and arms was very confiderable. Some account of a remarkable monument in the Isle of Purbeck; known by the names of Agglefton, Stone Barrow, the Devil's Night-cap, &c. THI HIS prodigious ftone, hardly equalled by any in England, and the greatest piece of antiquity in this county, ftands in the N. E. extremity of theifle of Purbeck, in an heath on the east fide of Studland bay, in that parish, on the estate of John Bankes, of Kingfton-hall, Efq. about a mile N. W. from Studland and fix leagues from the isle of Wight. It is furrounded on all fides by feveral little hills, or rifing grounds, which form a theatre, except on the east, where they open, and give an agreeable view of part of Pool and Studland bays, and the ifle of Wight. The name Aggleston feems to be derived from the Saxon halig, or hælig, holy; and ftan, a ftone; which is expreffive of its ancient fuperftitious ufe, for it was, no doubt, a rock-idol or deity in the British age. The country people call it the devil's night-cap, and have a romantic tradition, that the devil, out of envy, threw it from the isle of Wight, with a defign to have de. molished Corf Castle, but it fell fhort, and dropt here. It is a red heath, fand, or moor. ftone, which, though very common over all the heath, does not abound hereabouts, or at least of any big. nefs. It stands on an high barrow, or tumulus its prefent form is that of a pyramid inverted; or an irregular triangle, one of whose fides is placed uppermoft, though it is probable it was originally quadrilateral. On the east front it is convex or gibbous, on the weft nearly flat. On the top, a ridge or bulge runs its whole length from north to fouth, whence it flopes away to the east fix feet, to the weft five. There is a confiderable cleft croffes it in the middle from eaft to weft. On the furface are three hollows or cavities, no doubt + rock bafons, in which ravens have bred. The furface is overgrown with heath, and turves have been cut there. * See Dr. Borlace's Antiq. of Cornwall, lib. 3. cap 3. p. 161. All All the ftone is rough, full of cracks, fiffures, and inequalities, and parts into horizontal layers, or lamina, efpecially on the eaft fide, and at the ends. The dimenfions are as follow: The girt or circumference at bottom is 60 feet, in the middle 80, at or near the top 90. But thefe measurements, by reafon of the inequality of the furface, cannot be very exact. The quarriers compute it contains 407 tuns. On the top of the barrow lie feveral ftones, one of which contains 16, another 9 tons. On the fides and bottom a multitude of others, of various fizes, moftly covered with heath, furze, and fern. Some tuns have been broken off, and carried to Pool and Studland, for building. If we confider this, and the detached ftones before-mentioned, which were certainly fragments of the great one, feparated from it by violence, time, and weather, it muft have been a prodigious one indeed, not inferior to the Tolmen at Conftantine in Cornwall, the measurements of which, in Dr. Borlace, fall fhort of this, though he makes it contain more tuns. There is little doubt but that the ancient Britons had skill to lift great weights, and fpared no pains to erect fuch vaft rude monuments, many of which are extant at Stone Henge, Abury in Cornwall, and other parts of the three kingdoms. Yet the enormous bulk of this ftone, in its primitive ftate, may incline one to imagine it to be a natural rock, and that the barrow was formed by a collection of earth thrown up round it; or if the barrow be thought too large to be artificial, perhaps the ftone might grow here on a natural hil lock, and the earth at top might be removed, and the ftone laid bare, to a depth fuitable to the ufe it was defigned for, and then the hillock might be shaped into its prefent regular form. Yet Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, and many other vaft barrows allowed to be artificial, mentioned by Dr. Borlace, lib. 3. c. 8. p. 205-207, are much larger than this, and are ftrong evidences of the labour and time beftowed by the ancient Britons, and other nations, on fuch works. 'The etymology of Aggleston, and the rock bafons on it, determine it to be a rock idol, erected in the British age, and the object of their fuperftitious worship. The barrow on which this ftone ftands is very large. Its diameter on top is 60 feet, at bottom it occupies half an acre and 14 rood of ground. Its flope on the eaft fide, where it is fteepeft, is 300 feet, the perpendicular height 90 feet. On the north and fouth, it is nearly of an equal height. On the west, it is much lefs teep. It is all covered with heath, furze, and fern. On the top it is concave, worn down by fheep lying there, as by attempts to break off ftone. Round the bottom appears traces of a fhallow ditch, almoft filled up, and covered by heath, &c. About it are feveral other barrows of differens forms and fizes. On one, a little north from it, called Puck ftone, is a ftone thrown down ten feet by eight. This monument, standing in an unfrequented part of the country, and hid by the hills that almost environ it, was fcarce known or obferved, till it lately drew the attention of James Frampton, of More. it to the notice of the public, as it deferved. The Tolmen at Conftantine is of an oval form; its long diameter, which points due north and fouth, is 33 feet, its fhort one 14-6. Its breadth in the middle of the furface, where it is deepeft, from east to west, 18-6. It circumference 97 feet, and about 60 crofs in the middle, and contains 750 tuns.-Dr. Borlace, ibid. 1. 3. c. 8, p. 168, plate II. Silbury hill, is a large barrow, without any stone on it. Its diameter at top is 105 feet, at the bottom above 503, its perpendicular height is 170. See Dr. Bor. lace, 1. 3. c. 8, p. 206; and Dr. Stukeley on Stone Henge. Moreton, Efq. who recommended feft and ileftinde in alle thinge abutan ænde, and the heaten alle ure treowe in the treowthe thet heo us ogen, that heo ftede-feftliche healden and weren to healden and to fwerien the ifetneffes that beon makede and beon to makien thurg than to foren ifeide rædefmen, other thurg the moare dæl of heom alfwo; alfe hit is beforen ifeid. And that æhcother helpe that for to done bitham ilche other agenes alle men [paucula quædam hic dresse videntur, hæc fcilicet aut fimilia: in alle thinge that] ogt for to done and to foangen. And noan ne mine of Loande ne of egetewher thurg this befigte muge beon ilet other iwerfed on oniewife. And gif oni ether onie cumen her ongenes we willen and heaten, that alle ure treowe heom healden deadlichistan. And for that we willen thet this beo ftedefæft and leftinde, we fenden gew this Writ open ifeined with ure Seel to halden amanges gew ine Hord. Witness us faluenæet Lundænthane egtetenth day on the Monthe of Octobr, in the two and fowertigthe geare of ure crunninge. And thirwes idon ætforen ure ifworen redefmen, Bonefac. Archebifchop on Kanterbur. Walter of Cantelop, Bifchop of Wirechester,, Sim. of Montfort Eorle of Leicheftre, Rich. of Clare Eorl on Glochester and on Hartford; Roger Bigod Eorl of Northfolk and Marefcal on Engleloand, Perres of Sauueye, Will. of Fort Eorl on Aubem, John de Pleffe Eorl on Warwick, Joh. Geffereeffune, Perres of Muntfort, Rich. of Grey, Rog. of Mortemer, Iames of Aldithel, and ætforen othre moge. A charter of King Henry the Third, in the old English of that time; with a tranflation of it into modern English, by Mr. Somner. From the Appendix to Lord Lyttleton's Hif. HB King on Rot. Pat. 43. H. III. m. 15. n° 40. ENRY thurg Godes fultome Engleneloande Lhoauerd on Yrloand Duk on Normand. on Acquitain and Eorl on Anjou. fend I, greting to alle hife holde ilæarde and ile wede on Huntindonnfchierre; that witen ge wel, alle that we willen and unnen, that ure rædefmen alle other the moare del of heom, thet beoth ichofen thurg us and thurg that Loandes Folk, on ure Kuneriche habbeth idon, and schullen don in the worthness of Gode, and,ure treow the for the freme of the Loande, thurg the befigte of than to foren ifeide rædefmen beo ftede AND all on tho ilche worden is ifend in to aurichte othre Schire Ouer ouer al thare Kuneriche on Engleneloande and ek inter Irelonde. Tranflation. [ENRY, by God's help, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy, and of Aquitain, and Earl of Ánjoy, Greeting to all his faithful Clerks and Laics of Huntingdonshire: This know ye all well, that we Will and Grant that which our Counsellors, all or the most part of them that be chofen by us, and the People (or Commons) of our Land, have done, and fhall do, for the Honour of God, and of their Allegiance to us, for the Benefit (or Amendment) of the Land, by the Advice and Confide, ration of our forefaid Counsellors, be ftedfaft and performed in every thing for ever. And we command all our Leige People in the Fealty that they owe us, that they ftedfaftly hold, and fwear to hold [or keep] and to defend [or maintain] the Statutes [or Provifions] which be made, and fhall be made, by thofe aforefaid Counfellors, or by the more part of them, alfo as it is beforefaid; and that they each other affift the fame to perform, according to that fame Oath, againft all Men, both for to do and caufe to, be done: And none either of my Land, neither from elsewhere, may for this be hindered, or damnified in any wife And if any man or woman oppofe them againft, we Will and Command that all our Liege People them hold for deadly Enemies; and becaufe we will, that this be ftedfaft and lafting, we fend you this Writ open, figned with your Scal, to be kept amongst you in Store; witnefs our felf. at London the 18th day of the Month Oc tober, in the two and fortieth Year of our Coronation; and this was done before our fworn Counsellors, Boniface Archbishopof Canterbury, Walter of Cantelow Bishop of Worceftcr, Simon Montfort Earl of Leicefter, Richard of Clare Earl of Glocester and of Hartford, Roger Bigod Earl of Norfolk and Marefchal of England, Peter of Savoy, William of Fort Earl of Aubemarle, John of Pleffeiz Earl of Warwick, John Gefferifon, Peter of Montfort, Richard of Grey, Roger of Mortimer, James of Aldithly, and before others more. AND all in thefe fame Words is fent into every other Shire over the Kingdom of England, and alfo into Ireland. Hiftorical remarks on ancient architecture. From the Grecian Orders of Architecture; by Stephen Riou, Efq. he vanity of man, when he muft be an effectual check to confiders that by the decrees and difpofitions of fupreme wifdom, neither the corporeal nor the mental faculties are ever all united in one perfon; but that for the main tenance and good order of fociety, the gifts of nature combined in a continually varied proportion, are with a marvellous œconomy divid ed and diftributed amongst the feveral individuals of our fpecies; fo that, how extenfive foever his capacity may be, how prompt his apprehenfion, how mighty his ftrength, with the moft exalted ambition, man will nevertheless ftand in need of man. From the powers of the human being thus limited it is, that when we furvey the |