as well by the bearing upon other occasions as by the areas of Ireland, which before occupied the same escocheon, that nothing was meant thereby to the dishonour of the other arms; but that being now established, it is the English method of so marshalling arms in cross or circle, or rather that they have no certain method. Until the union with Scotland, the dexter was the fourth escocheon; from that time the bottom one was fourth; now the dexter was again the fourth. Such is the force of precedent in perpetuating error, that the practice has prevailed even to the present time and it may be inferred, that fancy and effect are studied by the engraver before propriety. No valid reason can be advanced for placing the arms in _separate_ shields after their declared union under one imperial crown. J. [Footnote 2: Evelyn's _Discourse_, edit. 1696, p. 121.] [Footnote 3: London, 8vo., 1745, 2nd edit., then Clarenceux King of Arms, and afterwards Garter.] * * * * * CHRONOGRAMS. (Vol. viii., p. 351. &c.) The banks of the Rhine furnish abundant examples of this literary pleasantry: chronograms are as thick as blackberries. I send you a dozen, gathered during a recent tour. Each one was transcribed by myself. 1. Cologne Cathedral, 1722; on a beam in a chapel, on the south side of the choir: "pIa VIrgInIs MarIæ soDaLItas annos sæCV- LarI renoVat." 2. Poppelsdorf Church, near Bonn. 1812: "paroChIaLIs teMpLI rVIxIs æDIfICabar." 3. Bonn; on the base of a crucifix outside the minster, on the north side. 1711: "glorifiCate et portate DeVM In Corpore Vestro. 1 Cor. 6." 4. Bonn; within the minster. 1770: "CapItVLVM patronIs pIe DICaVIt." 5. Aix-la-Chapelle; on the baptistery. 1660: "sacrvM paroChIaLe DIVI johannIs baptIstæ." 6. Aix-la-Chapelle.--St. Michael: front of west gallery. 1821: "sVM pIa CIVItatIs LIberaLItate renoVata DeCorata." 7. Aix-la-Chapelle, under the above. 1852: "eCCe MIChaeLIs aeDes." 8. Konigswinter; on the base of a crucifix at the northern end of the village. 1726: "In VnIVs VerI aC In CarnatI DeI honoreM posVere. ------ Joannes Petrus Mümrer et Maria Gengers Conjuges 2 d[=a] Septembris." 9. Konigswinter; over the principal door of the church. 1828: "es Ist seInes MenCher WohnUng sonDem eIn herrLIChes haUsz Unseres gottes, i. b. d. ker. er. 29. c. v. i." 10. Konigswinter; under the last. 1778: "VnI sanCtIssIMo Deo, patrI atqVe fiLIo spIrItVIqVe sanCto." {61} 11. Konigswinter under the last. 1779: