Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-01-22
GeIctte0 4fltstrIIonp.
4 TARDY APOLOGY.

most fortunate The story have to tell
you would otherwise not be half so inter
esting; for il is concerning old coins, of
the science of which I know absolutely
nothing and I shall therefore doubtless
make mistakes that would disgust an
archg )logist, but will pass undetected by
a less-ghOul-like intelligence.
There was a certain amateur collector
called Crawshay, VINO took as much pains
to gather together ancient coins as jew
attorney devotcs to current money. He
had more gold in the coinage of Tiberius
Caesar than | ever had in that Of Victoria
He had some excellent Greek and He
brew Talents His personality might
have been very literally described rs H. $
d. He valued none of these riches for
their intrinsic worth but rather in inverp
proportion to their usefulness The more
tamished and old world they were, the
better he liked them He was the most
famous numismatologist in England /;
what you and | would call "mad about
coins OF course, there were other mani
aCs OF The same persuasion, both male and
female. One Mrs. Trevor and Sir Archi-
bald Lowell were, in particular, his friends
and daAies, and kept opposition collections of
the same sort OF rub - mean of disused
metal They would have murdered one
another to gain possession of half Grown
of the period Of Socrates, or a sixpence of
the currency OF Darius. They quarrell
worse than Whig and Tory over the rel
ative value of their respective cabinets.
But they were on the most intimate and
cordial terms.
The three were on one occasion invited
by the superintendent of the numisma-
tological department in the British NIu-
tn hat har ,,I
especially with the view of investigating
a certain Galba coin of the emperor of
that name, price twOpence. hafpenny per-
haps in Roman currency, but Of absolute
ly incalculablc value, since it was the only
one known to be in existence. A brand
new thousandpound note would not have
pleased any one of the three so much as
the possession of this probably battered
piece of metal. They accordingly APP
preached its shrine with beating hearts.
The cabinet, looking like a cucumber
trame-with a separate space, lined with
white paper and covered with glass, for
every specimen-was carefully unlocked,
and the precious coin displayed. / can
not describe it, because l never saw it
but let us imagine small round object,
Jagged at the edges, and with an inscrip-
ton only to be made out with a magnify
ing glass.
"This is THE GALBA ~ said the Curator.
1t was passed from one to the
other, and then returned with rev.
erent hand to its casket. Other
coins were taken out, examined,
praised and appraised. The exhibition
was concluded, aud the Curator was
about to lock up. when he suddenly ex.
claimed, "Why bless me" Though it
was more striking expression than that
where's the Galba?"
"Don't look at me like that, sir" an
swered Mr.. Orawshay angrily, for he read
suspicion in the officials eye; " am not
a rogue and vagabopd. My pocket is
not a Galbalunzie's wallet"
Somebody's got it," observed the Gu
rator darkly chats certain the coin
is no longer in its place. Lady and gen.
tlemen, it's very unpleasant, but it was
here minute ago, and now it's gone.
It's as much us my place is worth Ito use
rather vulgar phrase) to have lost that
Galba What's to be dOne?"
"Sir," said the lady promptly, eff there
is a Female Searcher maintained by the
establishment l am quite willing to be
searched" .....-.-.
"And 1 also" exclaimed Sir Archibald.
But Mr.. Crawshay grew very white.
"Neither male nor female shall search me-"
said he .
"You are my personal friend" OBJ
served the Curator, signing cor at least
you were so, before this uncomfortable oc-
CurrenCe; | cannot, therefore, permit
force to be employed. You perceive my
difficulty, Mr.. Crawshay."
IL perceive everything except the Gal
ba," answered that gentleman (they had
looked for it everywhere in the mean
time); but cannot submit to be searched" I"
So the Curator bowed the party out,
with feelings more easily imagined than
described, and sat down to make his re-
port to the directors, r. .#
Now, although, as before hinted, the bar
onet and the lady would have gone to
great lengths themselves to gain posses.
sion of any ancient piece of metal with
scQtches upon it, they had no idea of
other people yielding to such temptations.
They felt positively certain that friend
Crawshay had stolen the Galba, and tAey
cut him accordingly. The Curator also
omitted TO invite him las he had been
used to do), when anything very old and
admirable was turned up at Pompeii or in
Central America TO come and inspect il
and he never unlocked his cabinet for
anybody, but let folks gloat over his
bANdHulNo IulpuEl hut GldoSs hllhOuBu,
said he with a sad smile, it is like shut,
ting my stGble-door after the steed is
stolen"
Crawshay was a numismatologlst,
Crawshay was thief,
Ctawshsy had come to his house.
And THE GALBA had come TO grief;
that was agreed upon on all lands, for the
space of five years
At the end of that period, halfnenny
of the time of Valerius AIaximus wa,
picked up in MesOpotamia, secured by tb,
British Consul in those parts for a few
hundred purses of sequins, and Forwarded
10 the Museum. The Curator, though
still depressed, was sufficiently recovered
by this time 70 enable him to bear to SEE
another precious coin lying in the com
partment that had been occupied by hi,
iGar departed, and the Valerius was ae
cordingly placed in that sacred spot
While this was being effected, with due
care and reverence, he felt some hard sub
stance under the white paper, lifted the
paper, and there was the Galba
A few minutes were doubtless devoted
To thankfulness and affection, and then the
ghost of that broken friendship with pool
Crawshay began to haunt him. Money
does much mischief every day, but it L
rare, let US hope, for a threepenny Dit (oI
so) to sever human hearts after lapse o.
so many centuries. The man Of science
had s'ill heart, and twas touched you
may say, perhaps that his head must have
been also touched, to take so great an in
teresI IA extinct curTencies, but that is "a
adopt a superficial view of mems pursuits
There are melsphysicians in the world
and even persons who devote themselve,
20 what they call the science Of Heraldry
q" the couple Of iackssses lighting for /
- IL. Do L