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[Page 5]
after the appropriate motto annexd to it by its inventor was suppressd & continued to occupy the reverse of all our Royal Tokens for 170 years, nor was the slightest alteration ever suggested till the spear was changed into for the trident in 1797 * The Invention is wholly unknown, his talents were surely extraordinary, but he like his cotemporary as we may Presume the Composer of God love the the then popular air of # God Save the King, was satisfied with the good will & respect of those with whom he livd & sought not the unavailing gratification of Posthumous Fame.
The Romans carried on their Monetary Records by the use of a Few Emblematical Figures, Sanctiond from time to time by the tacit consent of the People, These by degrees became by degrees the elements of an hieroglyphical Language, capable of being read with facility, of being understood with certainty & of conveying on the small area of the Reverse of a Roman denarius a Little Chapter which would have occupied a large peice of Papyrus had it been written in Letters & if composd of words & sentences would have been Liable to a thousand mischeivous & wanton criticisms, from which hieroglyphic writing, if the elements have been previously fixd & approvd are is intirely & wholly exempt.
The Romans in general usd Figures to designate nations and Towns, & provided them with subordinate Emblems expressive of events, conquests &c, in this subject it is not practicable to delete with advantage without the assistance of a series of Roman Coins, nor can any one whose Pursuits have not led him to studies of this nature, expatiate upon it with that advantage, however tho they may Labor & Toil as Mr Knight Mr Plante Mr Combe & many others can do with the
* An ill balanced compliment to the Lady as it took from the army that share of the Price of national defence to which it is so justly intitled.
# This air was composd sung at the Play house & in the Street in 1668 when [indecipherable] the 3rd stood holding fleet was on the Point of Landing The words save the King evidently imply the Presence of imminent danger.