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NOTES.
passage in Gildas (§ 7), recording that after some great rebellion of the natives (apparently that under Boadicea), the Romans changed the name " Britannia " into " Insula Bomana ;" and ordered that all the metals it possessed should be stamped with Caesar's image : " et quidquid haberi potuisset aeris argenti vel auri imagine Cœsaris notaretur."
THE "HALL-MARK'' STANDARD OF GOLD, p. 112.
The " Hail-Mark," so called because impressed at the Goldsmiths' Hall, is the stamp authenticating the fineness of the metal sold. It consists of four punch-marks, struck upon some inconspicuous part of the article, con­taining respectively the initials of the maker, the head of the reigning sovereign, the number of the carats fine, and a letter of the alphabet. The last is a relic of a clumsy and truly mediajval mode of declaring the date : twenty letters from A downwards complete a cycle of as many years, which ended, the same letters but of a different type, recommence a fresh cycle. By referring to the list of these letters (obtainable at the Hall) the date of any piece of plate can be ascertained as far back as the year 1696. But the custom dates from unknown antiquity. Until the present century no gold was allowed to be Hall-marked if of lower standard than 22 carats ; then that of 18 (or one quarter alloy) was permitted, as being a quality best adapted for watch-cases, chains, and jewelry designed for hard wear. But some few years ago a Bill, inspired by the Birmingham interest, was smuggled through Parliament, the collective wisdom of the three kingdoms not being sufficiently practical to espy its true object, that of legalising the grossest fraud. By this Bill it was allowed to Hall-mark gold of 15, of 12, and (it sounds incredible) as base as 9 carats ! mere aurichalcum or billon. This concession, wheedled out of ignorance by roguery, has fully answered the ends of its promoters ; articles in this vile alloy, strongly gilt, are sold under the time-honoured prestige of the Hall-mark. Few pur­chasers are aware of the change in the law : the carats are marked, it is true, but the minute numerals are unobserved, or purposely obscured.
Our standard for silver (both coin and plate) from the Norman times down, has been very high, only 18 pennyweights alloy to the pound Troy, or less than one-twelfth. Under William III. this standard was, for a few years, raised to quite fine for plate alone, to prevent, it would seem, the melting-down the coin for that purpose. Plate of this quality is stamped with a figure of Britannia in one of the punch-marks. But to the disgrace of our times, the Bill above-mentioned also legalised a similar imposition upon the buyer (the exact extent however has escaped my memory) in the quality of silver plate, disguised by the proviso " for exportation."
TURQUOIS, p. 140.*
" The Turquois " (De Boot loquitur) " is believed to strengthen the sight and spirits of the wearer ; but its chief commendation is against falls, which everybody believes it takes upon itself, so that the wearer escapes hurt—a
* This quotation illustrates a nutt at p. lto,—(', \y, K.
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