intercessionibus tuis liberari merear a malis que animam et corpus meum subuertant ipso largiente. qui cum patre et spiritu sancto per.1 The other font, which was in one of the Canons' gardens, and is now in the north transept of the Cathedral, is of Purbeck marble, early type, ornamented in flat relief. Height, 2 ft. 9 in.; four square side, 2 ft. 4 in.; diam. of bowl, 1 ft. 9 in.; depth of bowl, 9 in. Mr. Baxter exhibited a printed mug bearing a view of the cast-iron bridge over the Wear at Sunderland, 1790. Mr. Marriage exhibited a Roman vase of spherical body and short circular mouth, recently exhumed. Mr. E. P. L. Brock, F.S.A., Hon. Sec., read the following: THE HOG'S HEAD: THE NUPTIAL CUP OF SUSSEX. BY H. SYER CUMING, ESQ., V.P., F.S.A.SCOT. At some unnoted period a would-be poet, who no doubt fancied himself a second Anacreon, composed the following epithalamium: Bring out the old hog's head, and fill to the brim, And drain to the health of the bride; And ne'er let this custom of yore be forgot, Nor toast to the fair one denied ; And when the glad honeymoon's over and past, And bride to her home doth return, Pray let her remember the hog's head we quaff, And friendship of youth never spurn. Then fill the old hog's head,-a health to the bride; Rude and homely as these lines appear, they seem to grasp and set forth nearly all that is now known of an old Sussex nuptial cup and obsolete nuptial custom. Everyone is familiar with the word "hogshead" as the denomination of a large cask, of varying capacity; but few beyond the bounds of Sussex, and, indeed, in our day few within its bounds, seem to have heard of a drinking-goblet so entitled, though some perhaps remember that Gulliver, in his Travels, tells how the Liliputians "flung up one of their largest hogsheads", and how he "drank it off, for it did not hold half-a-pint". Why a great cask should be called a hogshead has never been rightly explained, but the origin of the title of the Sussex cup is obvious enough, it being in the form of the head of a large Sus. The mystery which attaches to it is why its use should be specially reserved for the guests at the wedding feast to drink the health of the bride. The vessel, like the "loving cup", was always of ample proportions, and, like the Rhyton of the Greeks, the Futile and 1 Titus, D. xxvi, ff. 76-79. 1892 12 solum illis subuenisti sed gloriosissime aparuisti. et ecce adsum respondisti. adesto ergo michi miserrimo . et omnibus his mecum pro quibus preces fundere presumo. exi a me iniquitatis meæ pondus grauissimum. quemadmodum exemisti infam'i'am trium uirginum inopiamque patris carum. que dum uitam suam inopiam coaptam meretricaliter patris iussu constituissent ducere. ut pretio quasi furtim noctu per fenestram domus qua erant proiecte. a tanto illas eripuisti facinore et que diabolice erant iam deliberátæ. domino munda effecisti uascula itaque pater mundum fác ab omni iniquitate et 'a' diaboli uinculo éripe. per eum qui uiuit. III. Cali terréque conditor. deus benignissime. exaudi quaeso deprecationem humilitatis meæ. ut me peccatorem1 quem conscientia coram maiestate tua nimis grauiter accusat. intercessio gloriosimi pontificis tui Nicolai a peccatorum uinculis soluat. at ad eterne mansionis gaudia te domine Ihesu Christe annuente perducat. IV. Ath[1]æta domini nobilissime pater et pastor Nicolae precor te exaudi uocem orationis meæ famili tui3 benignissime et admitte uotum animi mei in conspectu regis æterni intercessor strenuissime. ut michi omnia peccata mea indulgeat. méque quamuis peccatorem sibi dignum et idoneum ministrum faciat. et salutis æternæ requiem post huius uite miseriam. longamque perigrinationem concede1. ac túis piis pater meritis pro me misero assidue coram eius presentia fusis.ille humani generis inimicus in me numquam preualeat. sed in sinu Haburhæ recipi. et cum illo Lazaro quondam mendico feliciter perpetuoque merear letari; Quem enim dominus suscipiet ex merito omnes peccauimus. et eius gloriosissima misericordia indigemus. quam ipse dominus nobis omnibus largiri dignetur . tuis pater Nicolae continuis intercessionibus per. V. Sanctissime et inuicte agonitheta et electe pontifex Christi Nicolae supplex totoque corporis et animæ nisu atque intentu ad te confugio perpeditus facinorum ponderibus et ad té confidentem de mente intende2. peccaui . impie egi. omniumque uiarum 'domini, atque propositi et ordinis nostri prevaricator extiti. uia mea inquam in conspectu domini peruersa est. Cecidit atque debilitata est anima mea in perditione iniquitatum mearum concupiscentia intemperans. libidine impatiens. superbia. invidia. æbrietates. gula. periurium .'ira' mendacium inserens. scurilitas atque inmunditia mentis et corporis contam'i nauerunt uitam meam. Contaminatus sum uisu. auditu gusta. odoratu. et tactu; Qua propter deprecor te domine. ut sicut tres uirgines liberasti a nefario opere stupri . et uelut illos trés stralitates innoxios morti addictos a iugulo impio eruisti. ita sanctis 1 Altered to "peccatricem" by writing overline in a later hand. 2 Sic MS. 3 Altered to "famule tue" by adding e over the last letter of each word. Altered to "concedat", with e expuncted, and at over the letter. 5 Contamiuit", originally, MS. intercessionibus tuis liberari merear a malis que animam et corpus meum subuertant ipso largiente. qui cum patre et spiritu sancto per.1 The other font, which was in one of the Canons' gardens, and is now in the north transept of the Cathedral, is of Purbeck marble, early type, ornamented in flat relief. Height, 2 ft. 9 in.; four square side, 2 ft. 4 in.; diam. of bowl, 1 ft. 9 in.; depth of bowl, 9 in. Mr. Baxter exhibited a printed mug bearing a view of the cast-iron bridge over the Wear at Sunderland, 1790. Mr. Marriage exhibited a Roman vase of spherical body and short circular mouth, recently exhumed. Mr. E. P. L. Brock, F.S.A., Hon. Sec., read the following: THE HOG'S HEAD: THE NUPTIAL CUP OF SUSSEX. BY H. SYER CUMING, ESQ., V.P., F.S.A.SCOT. At some unnoted period a would-be poet, who no doubt fancied himself a second Anacreon, composed the following epithalamium: Bring out the old hog's head, and fill to the brim, And drain to the health of the bride; And ne'er let this custom of yore be forgot, Nor toast to the fair one denied ; And when the glad honeymoon's over and past, Pray let her remember the hog's head we quaff, Then fill the old hog's head, ,—a health to the bride; May joy and good fortune be e'er on her side." Rude and homely as these lines appear, they seem to grasp and set forth nearly all that is now known of an old Sussex nuptial cup and obsolete nuptial custom. Everyone is familiar with the word "hogshead" as the denomination of a large cask, of varying capacity; but few beyond the bounds of Sussex, and, indeed, in our day few within its bounds, seem to have heard of a drinking-goblet so entitled, though some perhaps remember that Gulliver, in his Travels, tells how the Liliputians "flung up one of their largest hogsheads", and how he "drank it off, for it did not hold half-a-pint". Why a great cask should be called a hogshead has never been rightly explained, but the origin of the title of the Sussex cup is obvious enough, it being in the form of the head of a large Sus. The mystery which attaches to it is why its use should be specially reserved for the guests at the wedding feast to drink the health of the bride. The vessel, like the "loving cup", was always of ample proportions, and, like the Rhyton of the Greeks, the Futile and 1 Titus, D. xxvi, ff. 76-79. 1892 12 Obba of the Romans, and Hounds' Head Goblets of the modern sportsmen, when once filled must be emptied before it could be set down. The Sussex hogshead was made of both metal and earthenware. I have seen a fine, large silver cup of this type; and a friend tells me that among the old pewter vessels long preserved in a farm-house at Elsted, in Sussex, was a large drinking-cup in the shape of a boar's head. At the sale of the collection of pottery and porcelain of J. J. Bagshawe, at Wellington Street, April 1875, lot 43 contained "a Sussex pig, filled at weddings, a 'hogshead' being drunk to the bride's health"; and in the same rooms was sold, on May 22nd, 1891, the effects of the late William Edkins of Bristol, one item in lot 205 being "a curious jug, formed as a pig, once used at weddings, made at Rye, Sussex." We thus get at a few mementos of an all but forgotten custom, but these mementos in no way throw a light on the reason of the adoption of the quaint form for the nuptial goblet. We all know that the boar's head was a grand dish at Oxford, on Christmas Day, but the hogshead cup was to be drained at every wedding and on any day throughout the year. Swine were sacred to Bacchus, but the god of the grape had not much to do with nuptials; and no great stress can be laid on the fact that swine were sacrificed in honour of Juno, the patroness of marriage for the worship of neither Juno nor Bacchus was confined to Sussex, and we must look for some local tradition to explain the origin of the local custom to which attention has now been directed. : Mr. Birch read a paper entitled "A Recent Discovery in Rome in Connection with Mythology and Symbolism in Britain", by Miss Russell, which, it is hoped, will be printed hereafter. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. WEDNESDAY, 4TH MAY 1892. ALLAN WYON, Esq., F.S.A., V.P., Hon. Treasurer, IN THE CHAIR. The Chairman ordered the distribution of the ballot-sheet, and appointed Mr. Langdon and Mr. Macmichael scrutators to examine the same after the usual interval. Mr. Wyon then said: Before proceeding to read my Report as Treasurer, I wish, as Chairman of the Annual Meeting, briefly to mention that since this time last year our society has been strengthened by the accession of the following members as Associates: His Grace the Archbishop of York, D.D. Thomas L. Bush, Esq. Henry Fairfax Harvey, Esq. P. P. Palfrey, Esq. E. J. Renant, Esq. Rev. W. Slater Sykes, M.A. We have also had the satisfaction of adding the names of the following gentlemen to our list of Honorary Corresponding Members: A. E. Clarke, Esq. Rev. R. H. Clutterbuck. J. Curtis, Esq. Ernest R. Dawe, Esq J. M. Jones, Esq. J. Robertson, Esq. Stewart F. Wells, Esq. Rev. Wm. Slater Sykes, M.A. George C. Yates, Esq., F.S.A. At the same time we have to deplore the loss of various members through death. Amongst the many whom we have thus lost I would briefly mention the names of Dr. CARPENTER of Croydon, the well-known and energetic sanitary and social reformer, whose place in our Society, I am glad to say, has been filled by his son, Evan Carpenter, Esq.; W. ROOFE, Esq., who has been an Associate since 1877, and who joined the Council in 1890--a diligent attendant at our meetings, whose face and evident interest in all the proceedings of this Association were well known to those who habitually gather together in these rooms; and WILLIAM FREDERICK LAXTON, Esq., F.S.A., F.R.G.S., who joined this Association in 1884, and was appointed Treasurer in 1890, and VicePresident in the following year-a regular attendant at the meetings of the society, he was ever ready with his advice at the Council meetings, and contributed by his personal activity to the more efficient |