Modern Greek Names of Places.

—It is commonly stated in books of geography that the modern name of Athens is Statines. In Hennin's Manuel de Numismatique Ancienne it is stated to be Satines or Atini; and Mr. Akerman, in his most excellent Numismatic Manual, makes the same statement. We find it stated also universally that the modern name of Cos is Stanco; and this has been repeated in all maps and charts until the recently published Admiralty Chart, No. VI. of the Archipelago series, where it is called Cos.

The origin of this and other similar blunders is curious. Athens retains its plural termination, and is always used with the article,αι Αθηναι. If you ask a peasant walking from the Piræus whither he is going, he will answer you,Εις τας Αθηνας, but will rapidly enunciate it as follows,'σ'τ'σΑθηνας, whence Statines, lately reduced to Satines.

I am surprised that Cos was not set down as Stinco rather than Stanco, for if you hail a Coan vessel, and ask whither it is bound, theκαραβουκυρι, or skiff-master, would certainly replyστην Κῳ, if Cos were his destination.

I find that both M. Hennin and Mr. Akerman assert that Thebes is now called Stives. I conversed with a noble-looking youth on the ruins of Eleusis, and asking him from what part of the country he came, I shall not easily forget the stately dignity with which he tossed his capote over his shoulder, and answeredειμι Θηβαίος—I am a Theban. The bold Bœotian would have stared in amazement had I spoken to him of Stives, although, if homeward-bound, he would have said he was going'σ τας Θηβας.

The Turks have made Istambol or Stamboul out ofστην πολιν; and we may, perhaps, hear from our friends, the Nepaulese ambassadors, that the capital of England is called Tolondon, and that of France Apari.

L. H. J. T.

"There is no mistake."

—The Duke of Wellington's reply to Mr. Huskisson, "There is no mistake," has become familiar in the mouths of both those who remember the political circumstances that gave rise to it, and those who have received it traditionally, without inquiring into the origin of it. You may perhaps think it worthy of a "Note" that this was not the first occasion on which the Duke used those celebrated words. The Duke (then Earl of Wellington) in a private letter to Lord Bathurst, dated Flores de Avila, 24th July, 1812, writes in the following easy style:

"I hope that you will be pleased with our battle, of which the dispatch contains as accurate an account as I can give you. There was no mistake, everything went on as it ought; and there never was an army so beaten in so short a time."

The whole letter is well deserving of insertion; but my object is simply to draw attention to the occasion on which the Duke first used the sentence now so well known.

F. W. J.

Remarkable Prophecy.

—The following prediction of St. Cæsario, Bishop of Arles, in the year 542, may not be considered void of interest at the present moment. It is taken from a book, entitled Liber Mirabilis, printed in Gothic characters, and deposited in the Royal Library, Paris:—

"The administration of the kingdom, France, will be so blended, that they shall leave it without defenders. The hand of God shall extend itself over them, and over all rich; all the nobles shall be deprived of their estates and dignity; a division shall spring up in the church of God, and there shall be two husbands, the one true, and the other adulterous. The legitimate husband shall be put to flight; there shall be great carnage, and as great a profusion of blood as in the day of the Gentiles. The universal church and the whole world shall deplore the ruin and destruction of a most celebrated city, the capital and mistress of France. The altars of the temple shall be destroyed, the holy virgins outraged shall fly from their seats, and the whole church shall be stripped of her temporal gods; but at length the black eagle and the lion shall appear hovering from far countries. Misery to thee, O city of philosophy! thou shalt be subjected! A captive humbled even to confusion, shall at last receive his crown, and destroy the children of Brutus."

ALPHA.

The Ball that killed Nelson (Vol. iv., p. 174.).—

"The musket-ball that killed Nelson is now in the possession of the Rev. F. W. Baker, of Bathwick, near Bath. A considerable portion of the gold lace, pad, and silk cord of the epaulette, with a piece of coat, were found attached to it. The gold lace was as firmly fixed as if it had been inserted into the metal while in a state of fusion. The ball, together with the lace, &c., was mounted in crystal and silver, and presented by Captain Hardy to the late Sir William Beattie, the surgeon of the Victory."

I have extracted this from the Illustrated London News, First Number. If this relic be now in the possession of Prince Albert, I presume it became his by purchase or presentation from the above-named gentleman.

BLOWEN.

Gypsies.

—The Indian origin of the numerals of this people is evident from the following comparison:

The Sanscrit must be read with a French pronunciation, being from Balbi's Atlas Ethnographique; the Hungarian Gypsy as German, and the last as Spanish; the two latter are from Borrow's Zuicali, vol. ii. p. 118.

T. J. B UCKTON.

Lichfield.