leading to the outer court, is said to have been built by Maurice Fitzharding, who died in 1189. Some calcareous tufa was observed in the archway, and in the crown of the vault are three square holes, meurtrières. The outer court, or barbican, is a triangular platform covering the main inner entrance. It contains a large and curious Chinese bell, weighing 1 ton 7 cwt., with inscriptions in Chinese characters, which was taken from a Buddhist temple at Tsckee in China, December, 1864, and was presented by Capt. Dew, H.M.S. Encounter. Upon the right of the outer court a low battlemented wall, overlooking the terraces and lawn, serves as a parapet. Another arched gateway in the walls of the castlebuilding leads to the inner court. This gatehouse is of the same date as the outer gatehouse, and grooves for the portcullis are here seen. The inner court, roughly rectangular in shape, contains on the immediate left the Shell-keep, on the right the domestic apartments and the Chapel connected with the kitchen, billiard room, &c., opposite, by the fine baronial hall, having on this inner side four deepmullioned windows. At the entrance to the great hall is an archway formed of two ribs of a whale which was captured in the Severn in the year 1620. The seven-ribbed roof of the hall, facetiously described as like the ribs of a ship, when in process of building, turned bottom upwards, is of the period of Edward III. Armorial bearings of the Berkeley family from the year 1115 to 1785 are represented in the stained-glass windows; the walls are covered with family portraits and stags' heads; a large chandelier is formed of antlers of stags; and over the fireplace are suspended banners carried at Culloden. A broad oak staircase leads from this hall to the private apartments and the Chapel. The Chapel retains its original square-panelled roof. It has a rather flat apsidal east end of three faces. The gallery at the opposite end, of more recent date, serves as the family pew. On the south side the outer wall, probably portion of the original Norman building, fourteen feet thick, is pierced by a mural passage, opening into the Chapel by four foliated arches. On one of the walls is an inscription in black letter, in Latin and Norman French, of passages from the Holy Scriptures, ascribed to Lord Berkeley's chaplain, Trevisa. John Trevisa, of Cornwall, who was Vicar of Berkeley between 1350 and 1412, known as the translator of Higden's "Polychronicon," one of the first books printed by Caxton, undertook the translation of the Scriptures from the Vulgate into the English tongue. He was a cotemporary of Wycliffe who held the Prebend of Aust in the Collegiate Church of Westbury-on-Trim in the same county. The inscription on the wall may have been seen by the Martyr William Tyndale, who is supposed to have been born in this neighbourhood. A monument erected to his memory in 1865 on Nibley Knoll is visible from the castle heights, but the entire revision of the New Testament in 1534 remains his noblest monument. Although the place of his birth is disputed it is known that his brother Edward received a grant in 1529 of the manor of Hurst, in the parish of Slymbridge, and that the same Edward was appointed receiver of the rents and other payments due to the Crown from the Berkeley lands in 1519 during the alienation of the estates to the Royal Family. (Patent Rolls. 11, Henry VIII., Part 2; Membranes 19, 20.)

The cellar below the Chapel is not exhibited to visitors, but it is said that

the roof is vaulted and groined in three hexagonal bays springing from three shafts of late Norman character.

Access to the Shell-keep is obtained by a flight of stone steps, over which is a small room, evidently originally a guard room, which is exhibited as the bed room occupied by King Edward II. when a prisoner in Berkeley Castle from April 15th, 1327 until his murder on September 21st of the same year. The once elaborately embroidered Arras tapestry covering the walls is faded and discoloured; the worm-eaten narrow couch of the attendant is still exhibited; so also the quilt and the time-worn bed-hangings of leaves of black velvet, embroidered with gold, on a crimson ground, are all carefully preserved from even the touch of visitors; but as regards the wooden four-poster bedstead we must confess that the mouldings, especially the upper lozenge carvings, savour very much of work of the Tudor period. The entrance to the platform of the Shell-keep is under a handsome full arched doorway with tympanum through a vaulted passage in the wall of the keep, entering the keep under an archway with Norman mouldings; the adjacent building on the right, now used as the muniment room, is an ancient Chapel. In the tower which projects into the court on the south is a circular dungeon, 25 feet deep, into which it is said that King Edward II. was thrown.

With reference to the murder of King Edward, the family of Berkeley is absolved from any responsibility. The monarch was first delivered into the hands of Thomas, Lord Berkeley, who had espoused the cause of Edward's disloyal Queen, Isabella, sister of the King of France, and open favourite of Roger Mortimer, but owing to the humane manner in which he was treated, he was withdrawn from Lord Berkeley's charge, and delivered into that of Lord Maltravers and Sir Thomas Gournay who exposed him to most cruel treatment, and finally justified themselves for his murder by their interpretation of the following words written without any punctuation by Adam, Bishop of Hereford:Edvardum occidere nolite timere bonum est,

which may be interpreted either as

Don't slay Edward, to fear to do so is good,

or Don't be afraid to slay Edward, to do so is good.

In the fourth year of Edward III., Roger Mortimer was condemned for treason and executed. During an interval of seven years judgment upon Thomas Lord Berkeley was postponed from Parliament to Parliament, and finally he was acquitted, being found not guilty save of " some fault of negligence." A quotation from Bacon will happily conclude these reflections :-"It is a pleasant thing to see an ancient castle or building not in decay, or to see a fair timber tree sound and perfect; how much more to behold an ancient family which hath stood against the waves and weathers of time!"

From the Castle, the members proceeded to the Church, over which they were conducted by the Vicar, Rev. J. L. Stackhouse, and the Curate, Rev. E. A. Addenbrooke. The Church is a fine and beautiful building, with various

styles of architecture, the south door and font are of Norman character. The clustered pillars with foliated capitals supporting seven well proportioned arches give an imposing character to the nave, whose north walls are relieved by the restoration of the geometric and arabesque designs in red and black distemper. These and the central part of the west front were probably built temp. Edward I. by Thomas II., Lord Berkeley, A.D. 1281 to 1321. Fine alabaster tombs bearing effigies of members of the Berkeley family are found in the beautiful sepulchral chapel on the south side of the chancel, built A.D. 1417 to 1463 by James, the eleventh Lord Berkeley. The rood-screen and the Perpendicular windows in the chancel are of a later period. There is a memorial of Dr. Edward Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination, who was born at Berkeley, and died there in 1823. During the restoration of the Church a Roman tile was discovered at a depth of nearly four feet beneath the soil in the chancel. It has been preserved by being built into the south side of the chancel arch near the lectern. It bears the inscription

DCLVI,

which has been rendered as Decurio Legionis Sextæ. We cannot call to mind any record of any sixth legion in our island. The legions brought over by Aulus Plautius were the 2nd, 9th, 14th, and 20th. A Roman legion consisted of about 6,000 foot soldiers, with a large force of cavalry, augmented by any number of auxiliaries recruited from the locality. Vespasian, in command of the 2nd of these legions, was sent against the Belge and Dumnonii in the south-west, which part of the island, together with the Isle of Wight, he reduced to submission; afterwards under the command of Pænius Postumus, this legion took up its quarters in South Wales at Isca of the Silures (Caerleon), at Glevum (Gloucester), or at Corinium (Cirencester). The 9th legion, under the legate Petilius Cerealis, proceeded against the Iceni to defend their frontier against the Brigantes. The 14th, under the proprætor Suetonius Paullinus, after destroying the Druids in the Isle of Anglesea, re-kindled the war against Caractacus and the unconquered Britons who had retired into the fastnesses of Gwynedd (North Wales). The 20th legion, under Agricola, A.D. 60 to 77, was engaged in Anglesea and North Wales, and in the celebrated action against Boadicea. The City of Chester still preserves durable memorials of this legion, styled "Valens Victrix."

In the churchyard, the tower is detached from the Church at a distance of about 50 yards. We have similar instances of detached towers in our own county, no less than six, namely, Bosbury, Holmer, Ledbury, Pembridge, Richard's Castle, Yarpole. The tower of Marden originally was detached, and at Garway the tower is connected with the body of the Church by a covered passage, but in no instance do we find them separated by so large an interval as at Berkeley. The selection of this site was evidently with the view of preventing archers on the summit of the tower commanding the Keep of the Castle. As a matter of fact the attack in the Civil wars was made from the churchyard; the old oak door of the Church retains traces of damages then inflicted; and the large breach in the wall of the Keep is directly opposite the churchyard from which the siege was conducted.

From the Church the Vicar conducted the members to inspect the massive arbour in the Chantry garden in which Dr. Jenner laid the foundation of the system of vaccination which has since proved so great a blessing to mankind of every nation all over the globe.

The members afterwards assembled in the Vicar's garden, where, amongst other plants, the following more rare specimens were observed:-A healthy Rambusa metake or large Bamboo of fifteen years growth, also Arundinaria falcata or lesser Bamboo. Rudbeckia californica and Harpalium rigidum two finely grown plants, probably both North American, of the sunflower type. Rhus toxicodendron or poison ivy, and at the foot of trees on the lawn were plants of Cyclamen hederifolium. Near the greenhouse flourished a handsome specimen of the laterflowering Christmas rose Helleborus colchicus with strikingly handsome foliage.

To the members assembled in the garden was read the following paper:

"ON THE

NAMES

OF PLANTS."

[By REV. SIR GEORGE H. CORNEWALL, Bart.]

THE subject on which I propose to make a few remarks to-day is one for which no apology is needed. The origin of Plant names possesses an interest to those of our members who have devoted attention to scientific botany, no doubt; but apart from these, all persons who, without entering thoroughly into the classification of plants, have occupied themselves in the cultivation of them, or can be in any sense described as lovers of flowers will be glad, I believe, to take advantage of any light which may be thrown upon the matter.

Such persons must often have found it difficult to commit to memory the barbarous collection of syllables which in so-called Latin goes to make up the specific name of some, maybe, insignificant plant, and may be tempted to agree with the little boy who, walking in an arboretum with his father, could not help asking him why such a very small tree should have such a very long name.

But when we attempt to propound some system by which the source of such names may be reached, or to discover well marked divisions in which they may be conveniently arranged, the magnitude, I might almost say the impossibility, of the task soon becomes apparent; and it will be noticed that botanists, aware of the difficulty of giving distinctive names to new genera, have been content, in compliment to some notable inquirer in the same branch of study, to name the plant after him. There is no doubt some difficulty in pronouncing some of their names correctly, such as Fuchsia, Dahlia, Eschholtzia; nevertheless the system has its merits, and has immortalized the leading botanists of their day by plants named after them.

But a curious and inquiring mind is not altogether satisfied with these, and would, if possible, find in those names the use of which is familiar to him (and which cannot be so explained) some distinctive character claimed by the plant under notice, handed down from remote antiquity, and preserved on account of its fitness and its truth. If such be his expectation he will no doubt be disappointed. The scientific botanist has little to gain from the study of Plant names, and the vastness of the task before him will soon be appreciated.

In the first place in seeking the origin of Plant names he will have to make himself acquainted in a measure with languages the most varied, tracing some names up to the Hebrew and Sanskrit, and even when dealing with languages more familiar, such as the Greek and the Latin, he will be met with descriptions of the loosest and vaguest kind; whether he is examining Pliny's Natural History, or Virgil's Georgics, he will hardly be able to identify any plant with certainty; he will find that later botanists have confused the ancient names of plants of the Mediterranean region with plants of a more northern land, and often enough the name, in discovering the real meaning of which he hoped that he was bringing to light matter of great interest, he finds is one which owes its origin to