m Sancte
Helene_." It is well known that, during the middle ages, many and
various objects were supposed to possess talismanic virtues. Of this
class were the coins attributed to the mother of Constantine, the
authenticity of which is questioned by Du Cange, in his treatise "_de
Inferioris aevi numismatibus_." He observes, also, that the same name was
given, vulgarly, to almost all the coins of the Byzantine emperors, not
only to those bearing the effigies of St. Helena, but indeed to all
marked with a cross, which were commonly worn suspended from the neck as
phylacteries; "hence," he subjoins, "we find that these coins are
generally perforated." It was quite in accordance with the superstitious
character of Henry the Third that coins of St. Helena should be
preserved in his wardrobe, among numerous other amulets and relics. But
what was the peculiar virtue attributed to such coins? Du Cange, in the
same treatise, says, on the authority of "Bosius," that they were a
remedy against the "_comitialem morbum_," or epilepsy. The said
"Bosius," or rather "Bozius," wrote a ponderous work, "_de Signis
Ecclesiae Dei_" (a copy of which, by the by, is not to be seen in the
library of the British Museum, although there are two editions of it in
the Bodleian), in which he discourseth as follows:--"Monetae adhuc
aliquot exstant, quae in honorem Helenae Augustae, et inventae crucis, cum
hujusmodi imaginibus excusae antiquitus fuerunt. Illis est praesens
remedium adversus morbum comitialem: et qui hodie vivit Turcarum Rex
Amurathes, quamvis a nobis alienus, vim sanctam illarum expertus solet
eas gestare; e morbo namque hujusmodi interdum laborat. Nummi quoque
Sancti Ludovici Francorum regis mirifice valent adversus nonnullos
morbos."--Lib. xv. sig. 68.

This mention of the sultan Amurath carrying these coins about his person
as a precaution against a disease to which he was subject, and indeed
the whole passage shows a belief in their efficacy was still prevalent
in the sixteenth century, when Bozius wrote. It only remains to add,
that Du Cange, in his Glossary, does not enumerate the "money of St.
Helena" under the word "moneta;" nor does he allude to the coins of St.
Louis, which, according to Bozius, were endowed with similar properties.

Having sent you a "Note," permit me to make two or three "Queries." 1.
What is the earliest known instance of the use of a beaver hat in
England? 2. What is the precise meaning of the term "pisan