W. Collyns.
Harlow.
Inscription near Cirencester.—In Earl Bathurst's park, near Cirencester, stands a building—the resort in the summer months of occasional pic-nic parties. During one of these visits, at which I
was present, I copied an inscription, painted in old characters on a board, and nailed to one of the walls, and as the whole thing had not the appearance of belonging to modern times, and, as far as I could decipher it, it referred to some agreement between Alfred and some of his neighbouring brother kings, concerning boundaries of territory, I send it to you for insertion.
A. Smith.
"FŒDVS . QUOD . ÆLFREDVS . ET . LVTHRVNVS . REGES . OMNES . ANGLIAM . INTOLEBANT . ORIENTALEM . FERIERVNT . ET . NON . SOLVM . DE . SEIPSIS . VERVM . ETIAM . DE . NATIS . SVIS . AC . NONDVM . IN . LVCEM . EDITIS . QVOTQVOT . MISERICORDIÆ . DIVINÆ . AVT . REGIÆ . VELVNT . ESSE . PARTICIPES . JVREJVRANDO . SANXERVNT."
"PRIMO . DITIONIS . NOSTRÆ . FINES . TAMESIN . EVEHVNTOR . INDE . LEAM . VSQVE . FONTEM . EJVS . TAM . RECTA . AD . BEDFORDIAM . AC . DENIQVE . PER . VSAM . AD . VIAM . VETE . LINTIANAM."
Wordsworth.—In Wordsworth's touching "Lament of Mary Queen of Scots," one of the stanzas opens with:
"Born all too high; by wedlock rais'd
Still higher, to be brought thus low!"
Is it straining a point to suppose that the author has here translated the opening words of the well-known epitaph on the Empress Matilda, mother of our Henry II.?