The Sun.
London, England, 1804-02-18 00:00:00

(I)ERBY3HIREL FEB. 12.

isTx little town, from its central and inland situa-
tion, having been fixed upon by Governmentfor the
reception of French prisoners, the place has in con-
sequence assumed a new complexion. The sight
of forty-five French Officers, with tricoloured
cockades, and immense whiskers, at first astounded
the natives. Some affrays soon after took place,
and the national animosity would have manifested
itself, if it bad not been for the prudence and pro-
priety of the Mal-9r. General ROCHAMBEAU
arrived here at— three'-o•tlikk this day, with his
•
suite, and set . down at the Green Man Inn. The
General is a man,.of, middling stature, between
forty and fifty years of age, and of a very swarthy
complexion.

ROMAN ANTIQUITIES.

THE following is a description of the Roman Sa-
crificial Vases found lately at Carlisle :—These -an-
tiquities are so valuable, both from their rarity, and
from 'the elegance. of the workmanship, that they
must be extremely precious in the eyes of the anti-
quary.—The name that the vase is generally dis-
tinguished by is preefe?iculum,• and is understood to
have been appropriated to holding the incense, &c.
used in the sacrifice. Many of these have been
brought from Greece and Sicily, and have„ been
highly estimated by the curious for the elegance of
the workmanship, and the beauty. of the relief in the
ornaments. But the Grecian vessels are principally
of fine clay or bronze. The vases we are speaking
of, we believe, are the first which have been disco-
vered in Britain ; and the sculpture of such a vessel
but once appears among all the altars found in this
country.: it is on a beautiful Roman Altar, disco_
vered at Ellenborougli, which was removed to Fiat
Hall, at Whitehaven, and is now in the possession,
of Lord Viscount 1_,6%;%,THE R. . This altar is in..
scribed, " Gerro /oci, Fortuna. redue; Roma, iE ter.
nth, et Fat hod, &c. and is 'said to be the most,
curious Roman Altar that ever was discovered in
Britain. This is particularly described both by
Camden and Horsley, who go into a long train of
conjelures regpeding the instruments sculptured on.
its sides, which are the prafericulum, the Patera,
the axe, and-the knife. The metal which the vases
in queStion are formed bf seems to be a composition
of refined brass, capable of receiving a very high.
polish, and so flexible, that it allowed the artificer
to form them excessively thirr. At the top and
bottom of the vases it is evident that they have laen
turned and finished in a lathe. From there being no
accompanying altar or inscription, we regret that
we cannot suppose exaaly the time of the Empire
when these sacred. vessels have been used. The
only guide is the elegant sculpture of the 'handles,
which consists of four tiers of groups of figures, in
excellent workmanship, and all apparently illustra-
tive of sacrifice. The uppermost seems to be two
people holding, or preparing, a cow or bullock for
sacrifice ; the next, a person taking hold of a bear for
the same purpose ; the third a priest clothed in his
robes, standing at an altar, holding something on
it; the lower one, which is the most beautiful, is,
on the one side, a man clothed in complete armour,
holding a knife, as, if going to sacrifice a sheep or
a lamb, which another person below holds up for that
purpose ; on the other side the priest stands, with.
another knife or sword, attending the ceremony.
They are, from their extreme rarity, and from Odle.:
causes unquestionably of great value. This piece
of antiquity has been preserved, because it fell into
the hands of a judicious mechanic; but we have'
heard it asserted as a fad, that some remain of anti-
quity, found in that neighbourhood, was a few years
ago carried to a founder, who consigned it to the
furnace, because no one present understood that such
a thing was of the smallest value!

About nine o'clock on . Tuesday evening, as a
Gentleman was returning from Pimlico, through
the Birdcage-walk, St. James's Park, he was ac-
' coated by a soldier, with the usual salutation of—" a
cold night, Sir." After walking a little time by his
side, he, in a peremptory kind of -way, demanded
something. to drink. The Gentleman, who is a
Military Officer, remonstrated with him on the im-
propriety of his condud, observing, that the soldiery
were too well paid to be under the degrading neces-
sity of supplicating eleemosynary aid. The soldier,
however, persisted in his demand. The Gentleman
perceiving a bayonet in his hand, which he repeat-
edly shifted from one to the other, as if waiting- a
favourable opportunity to make use of it, had the
presence of mind to temporize with him, until they
arrived within hail of a sentry, when he called for
assistance.' Much to his credit, the soldier on duty
attended the sumnions.with willingness -and alacrity;
upon which the assailant immediately took to his
heels, and ran off. To this may be attributed the
Gentleman's escape from robbery, as the, behaviour•
too clearly bespoke the intention of the soldier.