Ameer Dost Moohummud, the actual ruling sovereign of Cabool. The government of Russia, however, disowned any connection with this officer, who subsequently shot himself.

The English army having invested Ghuznec, its commander, Sir John Keane, devised a bold and brilliant plan of attack.* The attention of the garrison having been drawn to the northward part of the fortress by an incessant fire of musquetry and cannon, beginning at midnight, soon after 3 o'clock on the morning of the 23rd July, 1839, Captain Thomson, the chief of the engineer establishment, and his party, made good their passage across the wet ditch and up the steep, defended by loopholes, which led to the gate, against which they piled about two hundred weight of gunpowder † in sand-bags, and fired the hose attached to them, when the gunpowder exploded, shivered the massive barricade in pieces, and through this breach our soldiers made good their entrance, and stormed the city and the citadel; which latter in the medal is seen rising high above the other fortifications. You will observe that under the view of the city is simply the word "Ghuznee;" and on the reverse, within a wreath, is a mural crown, and "23d July, 1839."

the commencing clause to convey the impression that Burnes was speaking of his own opinions, when he was in reality replying to ideas thrown out by Lord Auckland. Lord Palmerston, at the moment when he received from Nesselrode a complete disclaimer of Russian interference in Central Asia, had in his possession the instructions with which Vilkievich went to Affghanistan. To maintain a good understanding with the Court of St. Petersburg the British Government consented to overlook this discrepancy, and, bartering lie for lie, cemented the bond of union by disowning the proceedings and blackening the character of its own subordinate agents. As diplomatists the Russian and the English Minister rivalled each other, but the conduct of both may be best estimated, according to the laws of honour and morality, by the act of him who was less scrupulous only because he was more powerful. We quote Mr. Kaye,

"When the Lieutenant of Cossacks returned to Persia in 1839, after giving a full report of his mission to M. Duhamel, the new Minister at Teheran, he was instructed to proceed direct to St. Petersburg. On his arrival there, full of hope, for he had discharged the duty entrusted to him with admirable address, he reported himself after the customary formality to Count Nesselrode, but the Minister refused to see him. Instead of a flattering welcome the unhappy envoy was received with a crushing message to the effect that Count Nesselrode knew no Captain Vilkievich, except an adventurer of that name who it was reported had been lately engaged in some unauthorised intrigues at Cabul and Candahar.' Vilkievich understood at once the portent of this message. He knew the character of his Government, he was aware of the recent expostulations of Great Britain, and he saw clearly that he was to be sacrificed. He went back to his hotel, wrote a few bitter reproachful lines, burnt all his other papers, and blew out his brains."

*Havelock's War in Affghanistan, vol. ii. p. 70.

Havelock says nine cwt.; but I have the best authority to correct his statement.

The second medal has on its obverse a mural crown, over which is the word "Jellalabad;" the reverse has only "VII. April, 1842."

It will be remembered that on the outbreak of the rebellion in Cabul against Shah Shooja, whom we had restored to the throne, General Sale was sent from that city to occupy Jellalabad for his winter quarters, where he not only maintained his position against a very superior force, until General Pollock's army came to Jellalabad, on its march to Cabul, but previously, on the 7th April, 1842,* he surprised the camp of his besieger, Mahomed Akber, at Char Bagh, totally routed his forces, and recaptured three guns; the Sirdar himself and his friends being barely able to save themselves by flight.

I should think the medal was struck in India, from its extreme barbarity of engraving and coining. (see P.S.)

After the destruction of the British army at Cabul, General Nott maintained himself at Candahar; and when General Pollock † marched by Jellalabad to Cabul, General Nott advanced also on the latter city, and reached it a few days after its occupation by General Pollock.

For these heroic services each body of the forces received medals, the workmanship of William Wyon, R.A., Chief Engraver of Her Majesty's Mint in London, and struck there. The obverses of both medals are the same; a boldly raised bust of Her Majesty, and of very beautiful workmanship, wearing a rich tiara, and inscribed "Victoria Vindex;" a very happy allusion to the honour of the British arms having been retrieved or avenged. More than usual animation is given to the expression of the Queen's countenance, with something of a Minerva aspect. On the reverse of the medal for General Nott's army is a very rich crown, beneath which, within a wreath of laurel, is inscribed "Candahar, 1842." Those for General Pollock's forces having " Cabul, 1842.”

It will be remarked, that from the inscriptions on these medals it would be impossible for any person, not previously acquainted with the events of the war in Affghanistan, to form the slightest idea for what cause either of them had been struck; and if, as is very pro

* Eyre's Operations in Cabul, p. 272.

+ Eyre, p. 316.

Private information from an officer.

bable, some of them escape the melting pot, they will add to the already numerous class of English medallic records that will be unintelligible to posterity, without the assistance of another class of history. The plate of metal must be dependent on the sheet of paper for being understood, when the heroes who have so nobly earned these military distinctions shall have passed away from their busy scene of life, and are no longer at hand to explain their meaning, and the medal sinks to the worthlessness of a button or an epaulette; it was once some sort of distinction, but no one can now tell what. A few lines on the blank space of the reverses of these medals would have clearly told the story of each, as long as it preserved what we may call its medallic existence. This however is too humble a circumstance to induce consideration. We put in requisition all the ability of genius, and all the capabilities of mechanism, that may be within our reach, to form a splendid medal, but we cannot condescend to remember that a few common letters in addition would render it historically useful, by making it simply intelligible. Let us exemplify this.

The first medal, obverse and reverse, presents us with this inscription:

"GHUZNEE

23RD JULY 1839."

Now, between the lines on the medal insert five or six words, thus,

GHUZNEE

(STORMED BY THE ANGLO-INDIAN ARMY) 23RD JULY 1839.

and the cause of striking the medal will be rather less of a riddle, though not quite so clear a record as I could wish. I should have proposed this inscription:

"Ghuznee, in Affghanistan, stormed by the Anglo-Indian Army, commanded by Gen. Sir J. Keane, 23rd July, 1839."

And you would have had a record requiring, I think, no further reference as to locality, who were the parties, what they did, and when?

It may be objected that my proposed inscription would not have room on the Ghuznee reverse. Omit the wreath, and there would

be space enough. At present they are very barren laurels, the spectator being in utter darkness as to whether they were merited, of which my record would leave no doubt; so that if a mere inscription were less picturesque it would be more valuable, as it would render "Honour to those to whom honour is due."

How I do wish that the Queen of Sheba could have carried this medal with her to Jerusalem, by some second-sight anticipation, as one of the "hard questions" with which she came up to prove King Solomon. And if the person who, some thousands of years in advance, designed the medal, had been in her train, we can imagine (and even excuse) his ecstatic enjoyment when the queen demanded its meaning. To have witnessed the sage of Judea fruitlessly bringing all the concentrated powers of his wisdom to bear on the incomprehensible puzzle, and vainly endeavouring to divine the possible connection of its obverse and reverse. We are more favourably circumstanced than King Solomon in this matter, and it therefore neither derogates from his undoubted penetration, nor gives us any reason to be conceited with our supposed acuteness, if we should succeed in an endeavour to amend it.

R. S.

POSTSCRIPT, A. D. 1852.-The Governor-General (Lord Ellenborough) was so dissatisfied with the Indian Jellalabad medal that he requested the Directors to have another engraved in England, which was done accordingly, and a notice of it will be found in a subsequent paper (William Wyon and his Works).

ROMAN SMALL-BRASS COINS, FOUND IN A MINE

IN CORNWALL.

THE late W. Williams, Esq., of the 54th Regt., presented me with about sixty coins (usually termed small Roman brass, though struck in copper), accompanied with a note of information as to their very singular discovery:

"These small Roman coins were found in a copper mine, near Perrenworth, in Cornwall, which mine is situated in the centre of a small creek of the Falmouth harbour. When the tide was out they succeeded in forming a small island; afterwards they bored down through it. At thirty fathoms below the bed of the river the coins were found, about two or three handfuls. I obtained them from a very respectable person, whose relation was present, and helped himself to a handful. I have made every inquiry as to the others, but was unable to learn anything of them.

"At thirty-six fathoms a piece of an elk's horn and of its skull, similar to those found in this country (Ireland), were also found, which I have in possession at home, in Cornwall.

ths of

These coins are extremely small; some of them are only an inch in diameter, weighing four grains, and few are double that size. They appear to me to have been struck in comparatively large dies, and, consequently, have received impression of only a small part of obverse or reverse, so that scarcely any inscriptions or the subject, on either side the coin, can be made out. Of those that can be appropriated, all belong to the Emperor Tetricus, A.D. 267, except one of his son, P. Pivesus Tetricus, A.D. 276. Their workmanship is extremely rude, more particularly the reverses. I should imagine that they were coined in England, and were intended for and had

local circulation in our island.

Cork, 4th September, 1846.