royal seed,_"
concluding with "_living like gods, to die like men,_" from Jeremy Taylor's
_Holy Dying_; and from Francis Beaumont--

"_Here's an acre sown indeed_
_With the richest royalest seed._
. . . . . .
_Though gods they were, as men they died._"

Which of these twain borrowed the "royal seed" from the other, is a manner
of little moment; but the correspondence of living as gods, and dying as
men, both undoubtedly taken from Holy Scripture; the phrase occurring in
either Testament: "I have said, Ye are gods ... But ye shall die like men"
(Psalm lxxxii. 6, 7.); quoted by our Saviour (John, x. 34.): "Jesus
answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are Gods?"

J. G. M.

Hallamshire.

_Cause of Rarity of William IV.'s Copper Coinage._--The copper coinage of
William IV. is become so scarce, that possibly a doubt may some day arise,
whether any but a very limited issue of it was ever made; it may be well,
therefore, to introduce a _note_ on the cause of its disappearance, while
the subject is comparatively recent.

When the copper coins of the last reign appeared, a slight tinge in the
colour of the metal excited the suspicion of those accustomed to examine
such things, that it contained gold, which proved to be the fact; hence
their real value was greater than that for which they passed current, and
they were speedily collected and melted down by manufacturers, principally,
I believe, as an alloy to gold, whereby every particle of that metal which
they contained was turned to account. I have been told that various
Birmingham establishments had agents in different parts of the country,
appointed to collect this coinage.

R. C. H.

_Burnet._--In the list of conflicting judgments on Burnet, quoted by your
correspondents (Vol. i., pp. 40. 120. 181. 341. 493.), I find no reference
to the opinion of his contemporary, Bishop Nicolson. That writer takes a
somewhat partial view of the character and merits of the historian, and
canvasses, by anticipation, much of what has been urged against him by our
more modern critics. But, as the weight of authorities already cited
appears to militate against Burnet, I am induced to send you some of Bishop
Nicolson's remarks, for the sake of those readers who may not have
immediate access to them. I quote from his _English Historical Library_,
2nd edition, p. 119.:

"In the months of December and January in the year following (1680