from that river. It is one mile and two tenths from Charing, on the left hand of the way as soon as we come upon Charingheath. It is about two miles from Royton Chapel, about a mile from Cale-hill, and very little above a mile from Egerton. — If this is the place (to which the distances between it, and Rochester, and Canterbury, agree) we should have turned on our left as soon as we came upon the Heath, where there runs a bank, which may be the Roman road you told me of. We did go a little way there, as I told you: but, when I go again, I will pursue it till I come to the point; and you shall soon have an account of my proceedings, with drawings, if I find any thing worth preserving. The measures I took in the Map are the distances in strait lines; and allowance should be made for the Roman miles being shorter than ours; but I am convinced the Itinerary wants correcting; for there are certainly a great many mistakes in the figures. I would have sent you the Drawings by our carrier the beginning of next week, if I had not been prevented by a severe fit of the stone, which much tormented me yesterday. I am easier, yet not able to copy my Drawings fair for you, but you shall soon have them. - Pray let me hear from you as soon as possible, if but three lines, to let me know if you can make any thing of this lame account, and if you can guess whether either of the two places mentioned is likely to be that we look for. Mr. Creyk, a learned gentleman, and lover of Antiquities, presents his service to you. I am, dear Brother, "Your humble servant, CYNGETORIX.' "Eastwell, Oct. 14, 1723. "This is to return you, dear Chindonax, abundance of thanks for your present of the Dorchester Amphitheatre, though it is not yet come to my hands; for Mr. Bedford has by the post informed me that an accident made him miss sending it by the carrier last week, and therefore I cannot receive it till next Saturday; but you, supposing I had it already, might have thought me very wanting in not taking notice of it till next week, and that brings you this trouble. I impatiently long to see it, for I am sure you must have designed it very perfectly. My next, I believe, will bring you an account of my farther proceedings near Charing; for, the first fair weather, I shall go upon that which I hinted to you in my last; no pains or diligence shall be spared; and, if I do not succeed, it must proceed either from not finding sufficient marks of the place I look for, or from my want of capacity; but I will do my best. It is late; and I am, Sir, "Your most humble servant, 66 WINCHILSEA, as an Englishman; "And as a Briton, CYNGETORIX." "Eastwell, Oct. 21, 1723. "I shall trouble you, dear Sir, with but a very few lines by this post; and should not have written till the next, but that I cannot defer one moment the paying my thanks for your most agreeable agreeable present, which I did not receive till last Saturday. You have made a very fine design of the Amphitheatre, and it is very well engraven; but your discourse upon it is admirable. There is very good learning, and much ingenuity; your thoughts fine, and extremely well expressed.-Though I expected no less from you, I know not any other man who could have performed this undertaking half so well. Mr. Creyk (who desires me to present you with his humble service) is in great admiration of it. This increases my longings to see Stonehenge and Abury set in their true lights; I hope you are upon that Work. "To-morrow morning I go again in quest of Durolenum; and by the next post you may expect to be informed of the utmost I can do in this matter; no pains shall be spared. I shall make use of your directions for finding the place; and, if I should be so happy as to succeed, O brave Cyngetorar' shall be engraved upon my tomb-stone. Farewell, dear Chindonax. I hope to see WINCHILSEA." you in town within a fortnight; and am, &c. "DEAR DRUID, Oct. 26, 1723. "I promised you in my last an account of my farther proceedings, and did hint to you the difficulties I apprehended in my attempt to find out Durolenum; and I have indeed found them too great for me. No pains have been spared by me and my friend Mr. Creyk. But, alas! all our endeavours have been with so little success, that, instead of the inscription on my tomb-stone mentioned in my last, I doubt you will think I deserve to be deprived of my spurs. "Last Monday we went again upon our quest in my chaise, where that could go; and where not, upon our horses; and where they could not be got into the inclosures, we did not spare our feet. We had for our guide an old gentleman of Charing, who knows every road, every town and village, and every inch of ground, for some miles round about him. When we were about half a mile or less beyond Charing, we turned out of our road on the left hand, and went to Calehill Heath; and near the Warren-house we were shewn a place, where, some years ago, digging in a sandy ground to set up a jossing-block for upping stock, a man found a very large family urn, above two feet high, in which, besides bones, there were several sacrificing-dishes (as they called them). They were given to one Mr. Gardner*, Minister of Charing; but he is dead, and they are gone. May not the town we look for have been near this place? but I could not find any other signs of it. From this place we went to Hunger Hatch; from whence, at about a quarter of a mile, we came down to the river, the same which from near Lenham runs by Royton Chapel; and from hence to Little Chart; and so to Ashford: but here the river is become six or eight feet wide. It runs from North-west by North to South-east by South (no regard had to the variation of the compass). "At this place, where we passed over the river, we saw Egerton Church at about a mile and a half from us to the North * Daniel Gardner, M. A Rector of Charing 1681; died in 1698. west; west; and on our left hand Little Chart Church was a little more than a quarter of a mile from us to the South-east by East. "At the place where we were to pass the river before we went over it, we saw on our right hand a great bank (not belonging to the river as we apprehended) run a little way parallel to it, and we took it for a piece of the Roman road. When we were got over the river into the field, and turning about with our faces to it, we saw more of that Roman road beginning opposite to the place where that on the other side ended. It goes up by the river to the North-west by North to a wood, where we lost it. It was here in length 240 of Ben's paces. And standing over against the passage of the river, with our faces still to it, we found the river keep its course the same as before a little way, till near a farm-house it makes an elbow, and goes by Little Chart. We rode some way by that course, and found more of that Roman road, 74 paces long, in a line with the other, but not near the river, nor has it any ditches by it, which makes me the rather guess that these are several pieces of the Roman road. After having viewed this, we went back to our passage, but without going over, we went up by the river and the road to the wood, where we lost our bank (or Roman road), but we went on by the river, which runs along by the side of the wood, and when we were passed that, we crossed the river again, and at about half a mile, in the middle of a very broad highway, we found more of a Roman road; it bears North-east by East. "From this road, by a place called Park-house (belonging to Mr. Darell of Cale-hill), we went to Charing-heath, and in our way picked out, as we thought, several pieces of the Roman road, and upon the heath we saw that bank which I think I mentioned in my last Letter, where I said, that as soon as we came from Charing upon that heath we saw a great bank on our left hand, which I took for part of a Roman road. I now took its bearing, and it runs from North-north-east to South-southwest. We rode to a place upon the heath, where we saw a watercourse (now dry). It cuts the Roman road. We followed it to see where it runs (when full) into the river. We crossed several fields on foot, and found that it joins the river at about a furlong from the place where we first passed the river; but we met with nothing that inclined us to believe Durolenum could be here; and yet I am of opinion that it was somewhere within the compass of the ground we had traced that day. This is all I can say, or have been able to perform, which I doubt you will think, as well as myself, is nothing to the purpose; and what I have written is, I fear, hardly intelligible for want of the Drawings, which I will shew you when I am in town. Oh, that I could either write or draw like Dr. Stukeley! "I have since been at Canterbury, where I picked up some pieces of Antiquity. And I have been at Julaber's grave, which I have formerly measured only by my paces, but have now taken it with my measuring-chain, and have all its dimensions very right; and I took its bearings with my compass, and from the f top of it I have drawn a prospect of the country, with Chilhamhouse, the Castle, and the Town, which you shall see when we meet. I believe this is the last Letter I shall trouble you with from hence at this season, but may receive one from you. "Excuse blots.—Mr. Creyk's humble service attends you; and I am, Sir, your humble servant, CYNGETORAX; or (if I have lost that title for insufficiency) WINCHILSEA." "SIR, Marlborough, Oct. 31, 1723. "After so long a silence, I not only am, but ought to be, ashamed; and, had I not experienced your good-nature, I should have gone still farther, and not dared to have set pen to paper, for fear of my merits, even no pardon. But hold; I would not have you imagine from hence that I fancy any thing I can write, or say, deserves more than thanks, for the escaping the trouble of either reading, or even hearing, what I am able any way to express; but, stuff such as it is, take it, and use it as it deserves. "I please myself not a little with the progress you have made, and hope to have an account of it from you when we meet at London, which I, with great satisfaction, promise myself may be in company with my Lord Winchilsea and Roger Gale, an old acquaintance that I shall have the utmost pleasure in renewing. You tell me, you saw the inscription of the Temple of Neptune at Chichester; you would oblige me if you would send me a copy of it; for that I had from Lord Winchilsea is very imperfect, some words being entirely wanting. As to the Amphitheatre at Dorchester, I am sure you were pleased with it. "My Lord Winchilsea went with me to Cadbury; I shall say nothing of what we saw; his Lordship, I doubt not, having given you a better account than I am capable of. I am sure you will not let next summer pass without seeing Avebury; and as I will contrive to be in this country, if possible, at the same time, no information that I can get shall be wanting to make Wiltshire agreeable to you. I envy much the time you spent with Carvilius Magnus. I remember so well the pleasure I had there four years ago, that I am sure the innumerable additions since made must be inexpressible, as would be my pleasure again to go. I will mis-spend no more of your time, but assure you that 1 am, your obedient humble servant, SEGONAX [HARTFORD]." Dec. 23, 1723. 66 SIR, "Since what you told me of the late discovery of Hippocrates upon some of the Medals of Smyrna, I have examined mine, and on the other leaf of this sheet have written a Catalogue of such as I think have that figure, with the names of persons-that, if Dr. Mead designs to take notice of those sort of Medals, and finds among these any names of persons that he has not yet met His Lordship has there given a description of six Smyrnean Medals in his possession, which have the figure of Hippocrates. T 1 with, he may have the perusal of them, and have them engraved E: if he thinks fit.-I hope it will not be long before you and I meet again. I will endeavour to call upon you in a few days.—I am, Sir, your very affectionate humble servant, WINCHILSEA." "DEAR DRUID, Jan. 1, 1723-4. J "I shall begin with wishing you a happy new year, and ten thousand more; and now I am to tell you, that next Monday morning, at about ten o'clock, Lord Hartford and I intend to beat up your quarters (if it will not be unseasonable to you), having something to discourse with you. He sends you his service; and I am your most humble servant, WINCHILSEA." Monday night [1723]. "SIR, "I did not intend to have wrote to you, thinking every moment of your time mis-spent in reading any thing I either shall or can write; therefore will only say that I am not a little obliged to you for the very few days you were with me, who have had too much pleasure in your conversation not to wish it had been longer. I hope next winter to enjoy more of your company, and to be esteemed by you as I really am, your very humble servant, "MOST VENERABLE DRUID, AND MY DEAR DOCTOR, HARTFORD." Eastwell, Oct. 26, 1724. "Though I hope to see you very soon (but not till next week) I will not defer my thanks for your very obliging and most entertaining Letter, and for the favour of your company here. What could be kinder, than to come out of your way, and let me enjoy your company for a week, in a house till then very solitary, where we had nothing to divert and entertain you so well as I would have done, and yet I should have been glad to have lengthened your mortification, if I could but have adjourned St. Luke's day* for one fortnight.—I am glad your weather was so favourable for your journey; we have had wet enough since. I long to discourse with you upon the fine things you saw; you have described them enough to make me long to hear more of them.-Our Society friends will, I doubt, be disappointed, by finding my acquisitions not come up to the ideas you have raised of them. You was not displeased, I believe, when you saw your Sister (the Cleft Doctor) at Elham. I am glad my old friend Dr. Wagstaff is not dead, as was reported. I question not but Dr. Hales made you a fine speech, with his belli homines, whether you was meant or no. I shall be impatient to see Dr. Mead's Dissertation; but I must wait with patience for the sight of that and other things. Oh, why did not I take my degree in your Faculty, instead of the Civil Law? but I was not fated to be great.-I am glad you saw our dear President†, and that he has a reasonable prospect of improving the discovery in his neighbourhood to something very considerable. Last Wednesday my fac-totum, after a ramble of four days on foot in all our bad wea* The grand Anniversary of the College of Physicians. + Lord Hartford; see p. 770. - - -- ther, |