was educated partly at Elizabeth College in that island, partly in France (where he acquired a perfect knowledge of the French language), and subsequently at Blackheath, passing on to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1836, where he graduated in honours in 1840. In 1841 he was ordained deacon at Salisbury by Bishop Denison, and held the Curacy of Bradford-on-Avon under Canon Harvey; and subsequently he held successively the livings of East Grafton, Great Bedwyn, and Collingbourne Ducis, all in this Diocese, and lastly Wath, in Yorkshire, to all of which he was in turn presented by the patron who appreciated him, the then Marquis of Ailesbury. In every one of these parishes he either restored the Church or rebuilt the schools, and in most of them he accomplished both these works. He was also an active Rural Dean, as well in the Diocese of Ripon as in that of Salisbury. He died at Wath Rectory, after a prolonged illness, on December 7th, 1892, aged 75. As to his archæological work (which more especially belongs to these pages) Mr. Lukis was indefatigable in his exertions both in this country and in France. While at Cambridge he was one of the early members of the Camden Society, which indeed he helped to originate; and while Curate of Bradford he published a quarto volume of "Ancient Church Plate," which was the precursor of the Instrumenta Ecclesiastica, edited by the Ecclesiological (late Camden) Society, under the able superintendence of Mr. Butterfield, the well-known architect. Next he published two addresses to the rural deans and churchwardens, on the necessity of examining the condition of Church bells, with a view to their preservation, and the security of Church towers. This was followed in 1855 by a paper read before our Society at Salisbury on the same subject, and which subsequently culminated in the excellent volume well known to us all, entitled "An Account of Church Bells." But perhaps it was as a barrow-digger and cromlech explorer that Mr. Lukis laboured hardest as an archæologist. His first diggings were in the Guernsey cromlechs, and he explored many of the Brittany dolmens. Our Magazine contains notes of his excavations at Collingbourne, and we have ourselves seen him and indeed taken part in his work both in opening barrows and investigating the interior of a cromlech in this county. In Yorkshire, too, he did much good Thus well known as an archæologist of no mean attainments, both A. C. S. 1 : Corrections. ROMAN VILLA AT BOX. Since writing the notes on "Roman remains at Box," which were printed in vol. xxvi., p. 405 of the Magazine, I have seen an account of this villa in vol. xliii., part i. of the Journal of the British Archæological Association, in which a plan of the buildings adjacent to the mosaic pavements uncovered in 1881 is given, and some additional details not previously known to me are mentioned. ED. H. GODDARD. JANE LANE. At page 281, line 33, of vol. xxvi. of the Magazine, in my paper on "Jane Lane," for martlets read mullets. C. PENRUDDOCKE. Natural History Notes. FLIGHT OF SISKINS. Mr. H. Toppin reports that towards the end of December, 1892, he saw a flight of Siskins (C. Spinus), some twenty in number, in an alder bed in Blacklands Park, near Calne. He shot two cock birds and a hen. OCCURRENCE OF WHITE MICE AND RATS. Mr. Toppin also states that as some corn ricks at the Manor Farm at Calstone, occupied by Mr. Joseph Maundrell, were being threshed on January 16th, 1893, great numbers of white mice were killed. It is said that some are found on the farm every year. In this connection the Editor is reminded that some twenty-five years ago a large number of white rats were killed on several farms in Hilmarton parish and the neighbourhood. They appeared to be abundant that one year, but few, if any were seen either in preceding or succeeding years. GOLDEN BALL HILL. Mr. C. E. Ponting writes that in 1889 he noticed that this hill appeared from the Pewsey Vale of a bright yellow colour, caused by a mass of yellow Ladies' Fingers (Lotus corniculatus?) in flower, with which the whole hill was covered. ROBINS NESTING IN A BLACKBIRD'S NEST. Mr. A. B. Fisher writes from Potterne :-"A pair of Blackbirds began to build a nest in the ivy growing against the wall of my house early in March of this year; but being disturbed by the cutting of the ivy, though what was growing near the nest was left, they deserted, the nest being just completed. About a week ago I noticed a pair of Robins collecting moss and carrying it into the same ivy, and yesterday (April 4th) I found they had taken up their quarters in the deserted Blackbirds' nest, having well lined it and built it into a comfortable size. This morning (5th) the first egg was laid. Five more were added, and all were hatched, and the young birds got away in safety. "Within a few days of the flight of the young birds the hen began to lay again in the same nest, and is now (May 25th) sitting on five eggs. "I fancy that it is unusual for Robins to take to other birds' nests, and so I communicate this note. "I saw a Jack Snipe on the 3rd of April, but could never find him again. I believe that this is very late to see the bird." LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA FOUND IN THE MARLBOROUGH DISTRICT. The Report of the Marlborough College Nat. Hist. Society for 1892 contains an extremely useful list of one thousand and ten species of Lepidoptera which have occurred within ten miles of Marlborough. It is compiled by Mr. E. Meyrick, F.Z.S., an acknowledged authority on entomology. Archæological Notes. HUISH CHURCH. Mr. G. E. Dartnell reports that during the digging of the grave for the interment of the late Rector, at Huish, what were apparently the ancient foundations of the Church, some 5ft. to the east of the present chancel wall, were found-some of the stones being sarsens weighing two or three hundredweight. During the restoration of the Church in 1879 these old foundations were also found on the north side of the chancel, on the site of the present vestry, which was then built. Some bits of moulding, a portion of the robes of a probably recumbent figure, and also another fragment which evidently formed part of a dog with curly hair-which probably lay at the feet of the figure-were also found; pointing to the existence of a sepulchral monument, and possibly to a chapel on the north side of the chancel. Some of these fragments are now built into the vestry wall. GREEK COIN OF ANTINOUS. The large brass Greek coin of Antinous, the favourite of Hadrian, now presented to the Museum by Mr. H. N. Goddard, was found many years ago by a labourer whilst turnip-hoeing at Bupton, in the parish of Clyffe Pypard, and was brought by him to Mr. Goddard. This coin is rare. SEAL OF WOOTTON BASSETT. The seals which belonged to the former Corporation of Wootton Bassett had disappeared for many years, and all attempts to recover them had proved fruitless until a month or two ago, when at the sale of the effects of an old gentleman who had long lived in the High Street of that ancient borough, an ivory-handled steel-headed seal turned up among a lot of "sundries," which proved to be one of the long lost seals of the borough. It bears the arms of Wootton Bassett : a chevron between three lozenges, surrounded by the inscription : " Minor sigillum Wootton Bassett als Wootton Vetus." It is also inscribed round the neck: "Ex dono Prenobil. L. Comitis Rochester 1682." It was purchased by Mr. E. C. Trepplin with the intention of placing it with other objects of interest connected with the town in the picturesquely-restored Town Hall. STONE CIRCLE NEAR SWINDON. Mr. A. D. Passmore, of Swindon, has lately called attention to what appears to be the remains of a hitherto unnoticed circle of stones at Day House Farm, at Coate, about two miles from Swindon. The stones themselves are not large, but the circle when complete must have been of considerable dimensions. The Editor hopes that a full account of this circle may be printed in the next number of the Magazine. SCULPTURES IN THE SOUTH PORCH OF MALMESBURY ABBEY. In vol. xvi. of the Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaological Society is printed a paper by Mrs. Bagnall-Oakeley on these well-known groups of sculpture, in which she argues that they are of much earlier date than that (the early thirteenth century) commonly ascribed to them. From their style, the character of the key carried by St. Peter, and other features, the writer contends that they belong to the earlier Saxon Church built by Athelstan in 937, which preceded the present Norman building. EXCAVATIONS AT MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE. The Report of the Marlborough College Natural History Society for 1892 contains an account of recent excavations during building operations on the site of the ancient castle moat, with illustrations of the principal objects discovered, keys, horseshoes, iron arrow-heads, ring, pin, &c. FLINT IMPLEMENTS. In the same report is an account by Mr. J. W. Brooke of the many localities in the neighbourhood of Marlborough where he has found flint implements in such large numbers, and of the different classes of implements found on the several sites on which he supposes they were originally manufactured. Mr. Brooke has been extraordinarily successful in the search for flints, having acquired during the last five years no less than five thousand four hundred and twenty specimens from the Marlborough neighbourhood alone. |