Thou stoodst; nor sent’st one bill unpaid away.
To the westward of Temple-bar the only other house was that of Messrs. Middleton and Campbell, goldsmiths, who flourished in 1692, and is now continued with great credit by Mr. Coutts. From thence to the extremity of the west end of the town there were none till the year 1756, when the respectable name of Backwell rose again, conjoined with those of Darel, Hart, and Croft, who with great reputation opened their shop (afterwards the house of Devaynes, Noble, and Co.) in Pallmall.
ELUCIDATION OF THE ORNAMENTS WITH WHICH THE GREEKS AND ROMANS ADORNED THE HUMAN HEAD ON COINS AND MEDALS.
THE DIADEM.
The chief of these ornaments is the diadem, or vitta, which was a ribband worn about the head, and tied in a floating knot behind. This was anciently the simple, but superlative badge of kingly power. It is observable upon the Greek monarchical medals, from the earliest ages, to the last, without any other ornament, and is almost an infallible sign of kingly power, and that the portrait, if there be no other characteristic, is that of a prince. In the Roman coins it is seen on the Consular ones with Numa and Ancus; but never afterwards till the time of Licinius. So great an aversion had the Romans to this kingly distinction, that their emperors had for more than two centuries worn the radiated crown, peculiar to the gods, before they dared to assume the diadem, which was considered as the symbol of tyranny. In the family of Constantine, the diadem becomes common, though not with the ancient simplicity, being ornamented on either edge with a row of pearls, and various other decorations.
The Greek queens used the diadem, but the Roman empresses never appear with it; however, the variety of their head dresses more than compensates for the want of this ornament.
THE RADIATED CROWN.
The radiated crown was, at first, as on the posthumous coins of Augustus, a mark of deification, and in little more than a century after, was put upon most of the emperors’ heads on their several medals.
THE CROWN OF LAUREL.
The crown of laurel was at first the honorary prize of conquerors, but was afterwards commonly worn, at least on their medals, by all the Roman emperors, from Julius Cæsar, who was permitted by the senate to wear it always, to hide the baldness of his forehead. This perhaps gave rise to the first emperors always appearing with it on their coins, a circumstance continued even to our times, and looking at its origin is now a little laughable. The laurel employed by the ancients in forming their crowns, is apparently what we term the Alexandrian laurel, a most beautiful evergreen, of a fine tender verdure. In the lower empire the laurel is often held by a hand above the head as a mark of piety.