Besides the distinctions of supreme power, or honorary reward, there are other symbolic ornaments of the head, observable on some Roman coins. Such is the veil, or, more properly, the _toga_ drawn over the head, to be seen on the busts of Julius Cæsar, when Pontifex Maximus, and others. This shews that the person bore the pontificate or the augurship; the augurs having a particular gown, called _laena_, with which they covered their heads, when employed in observing omens. Latterly the veil is only a mark of consecration, and is common in coins of empresses, as Faustina, Mariniana, and others. In the coins of Claudius Gothicus we first find it as a mark of the consecration of an emperor; and it continued in those of Constantius the first, Maximian the first, and Constantine the first. The remarkable part of the Roman head dress among the ladies, was the _sphendona_, or sling, on the crown of the head; answering to the modern hair cushion. But it was of gold, and so prominent as to be even remarkable in a coin. The hair appears in many fashions, as now. Sometimes the bust of an empress is supported by a crescent, to imply that she was the moon, as her husband was the sun of the state. Generally, only the bust is given on ancient coins; but sometimes half the body or more. In the latter case the hands often appear, with tokens of majesty in them. Such is the globe, said to have been introduced by Augustus, to express possession of the world. The sceptre, sometimes confounded with the consular staff. The roll of parchment, symbolic of legislative power; and the handkerchief expressing that of the public games, where the emperor gave the signal. Some princes even hold the thunderbolt, shewing that their power was equal to that of Jupiter in heaven. Others hold an image of victory. Most queens of Egypt, on their coins, have the sceptre. It appears at the top of their head; and would seem part of the dress, were it not that in other coins, it passes beneath the neck transversely, so that both ends appear. The victors, at the sacred games among the ancients, had bound round the head, an ornament called _anadema_, which has sometimes been confounded with the diadem worn by the ancient Persian kings. THE TRADESCANTS. The Tradescants, father and son, were among the first eminent gardeners, and were the very first collectors of natural history in this kingdom. John Tradescant the elder was, according to Anthony Wood, a Fleming, or a Dutchman. We are informed by Parkinson, that he had travelled into most parts of Europe, and into Barbary, and from some emblems remaining upon his monument in Lambeth church-yard, it appears that he had visited Greece, Egypt, and other Eastern countries. In his travels, he is supposed to have collected not only plants and seeds, but most of those curiosities of every sort which formed his collection, which afterwards became celebrated, and is now the Ashmolean museum, at Oxford.