St. Asaph.
The Broad Arrow (Vol. iv., pp. 315. 371. 412.; Vol. v., p. 115.).
—I can see nothing to connect this symbol with the worship of Mithras, but I have always fancied it of much earlier date than that commonly assigned to it. A coin of Carausius with a Greek legend would be an object of great interest to our English numismatists, but nothing of the kind has ever been seen! My reason for thinking that the symbol of the "broad arrow" is one of considerable antiquity is, that the name by which sailors and "longshore" people designate it, namely, the "Broad Ar," is clearly not a vulgarism, but an archaism. In the north of England "ar" or "arr" is still used for a mark. It occurs on very early Danish coins, and I entertained a hope that some northern antiquary would have told me how it originated; but my enquiry has ended in disappointment. Query, When was the Pheon, which it is supposed to be, first used as an heraldic device? I have before me a coin of Stralsund, minted in the fourteenth century, with the Pheon for the principal type. By German writers this object is called a fishspear, but I cannot help thinking that its origin may be connected with the broad arrow.
J. Y. AKERMAN.
Miniature of Cromwell (Vol. iv., p. 368.; Vol. v., pp. 17. 92.).
—In addition to those already mentioned, I have seen in the possession of a gentleman connected with a Presbyterian trust, a miniature of Oliver Cromwell by Cooper. The building connected with the trust, is one of those built after the passing of the Five Mile Act, and is near Yarmouth; with which place, as is well known, Cromwell was much connected.
X. Y. Z.
The Sinaïtic Inscriptions (Vol. iv., p. 382.)
have been deciphered by Dr. E. F. Beer. Vide his Studia Asiatica, Leipsic, 1840.
S. W.