The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-08 00:00:00

Interesting Antiquarian Relic.

Under this heading a paragraph appeared in The
Sun of December 16th, in reference to the finding
of a curious old gold cross and chain in the process
of excavations in Castle Bailey at Clare,:in Suffolk.
The discovery was a matter of great interest and
curiosity to the lovers of antiquity throughout the
kingdom, and at length Mr. Stephen Jenner, the
owner of the Castle Bailey, forwarded particulars
of the discovery to her Majesty's Treasury, where-
upon her Majesty was pleased to express a desire
to possess the curious relic. Accordingly it was at
last delivered up by the person who had taken pos-
session of it to the Treasury for her Majesty, and
the Queen now possesses it as her own, it being
claimed as " treasure trove." Iler Majesty ex-
pressed a wish for the true history of this curious
relic to be searched out, and directions were ac-
cordingly given by the Treasury for that purpose,
and the investigations prove the account we pre-
viously published as to its supposed history not to
be correct. The Secretary of the Treasury has now
favoured Mr. Jenner with the following very inte-
resting particulars of their research, which are this
week made public by that gentleman :—By a re-
ference to the will of Countess Philippa, dated the
21st of November, 1378 (proved 11th of February,
1381, and registered at Lambeth Palace, and also
by the will of Edmond, Earl of March, also regis-
tered at Lambeth Palace), it is clearly proved that
the gold cross found in the ruins of Clare Castle is
not the jewel bequeathed in the will of Countess
Philppa to her son Edmond, nor that bequeathed by
Earl Edmond to the Abbey of Wigniore ; but there
is strong reason for believing that it formed at one
time a part of the Royal collection of jewels belong-
ing to King Edward 111., for it is recorded that he
had among his jewels, kept for safe preservation in
the Tower of London, " un croys d'or double ov ere
de triffure que est de la crDys Jhesu Crist, et ne puit
estre preise,—" a cross of gold which represents the
cross of Jesus Christ, set with pearls, and cannot be
valued." This description exactly answers to the
cross found at Clare, for that, it will be remem-
bered, had four large pearls, one at each tranverse
section of the cross, while the cross itself, with the
figure of our Saviour upon it, was most beautifully
foliated, and the chain, about two:feet long, was of
the richest description. How this precious Royal
jewel came to be found in the ruins of Clare Castle
is thus accounted for :—lt was the common practice
of our Sovereigns, in former ages, to bestow on their
children and grand-children, as wedding gifts, rare
jewels and relics ; and as Edward lll.'s grand-
daughter Philippa was married to Edmund Mor-
timer, the Lord of Clare, and upon her marriage
came to reside at the Castle, she in all probability
had this jewel given to her on the occasion, and
it was by her taken to the Castle, where it got
lost. What confirms this history, almost beyond
all doubt, is the fact that this particular jewel,
before-described in old French, disappeared
from that 'very time from the numerous inven-
tories which are extant of the Royal jewels. Thus
this once Royal jewel, which has been buried at
Clare, lost for 500 years, has once more come into
Royal possession in the person of ourbeloved Queen.
The real finder of this curiosity was a poor lad of
Clare, named Walter Lorking, and recently, upon
the representation of Mr. Jenner to her Majesty,
through Sir T. M. Biddulph, the Keeper of the Privy
Purse, she has been pleased to forward to Mr. Jen-
ner a donation of £3 for Walter Lorking, who has
rightfully become the possessor of the reward.

EXTRAORDINARY LARGE STURGEON.—On Wed-
nesday last the crew of a Harwich fishing smack captured
a noble royal sturgeon within a fow miles of the shore.
It was found to be of the extraordinary length of 12ft. 2in.,
girth 40 inches, and ;entire weight 156 lbs. This superb
fish was forwarded to Mr. Smithers, of Duke-street, Lon-
don-bridge, where it has been exhibited during the past
two days, attracting a vast number of spectators.
" There is no shame to our manhood if we distrust
our own ability to endure the anguish of the body. . . It
is no secret that of late local anmthesia has been produced to
such a degree that the patient, retaining his consciousness,
can watch the surgeon's knife as it cuts to cure, and yet be
without the slightest sensation of physical suffering."—Daily
1 elegraph, July 13, 1866. "To none is the public more in-
debted than to Mr. Day."—lllustrated News, page 826, June
9. "Mr. Day has succeeded in robbing tooth extraction of its
horrors, and we think we are only fulfilling an act of duty in
giving publicity to the fact."—Court Journal, p. 882, May 25.
Painful teeth, or diseased stumps extracted without pain.
No chloroform, and perfectly safe. Every description of
teeth, combining the latest inventions and improvements in
dental mechanism, may be procured from Mr. DAY, dentist
(late principal assistant to Mr. Eskell, of 8, Grosvenor-street,
291; Regent-street (3 doors from the Polytechnic).