MINOR WORKS 
the mistake of saxo instead of saxa, and the cor- 
rection of adiisse (which is necessary for the 
scansion of the line) in place of adysse. ~ 
A restless, uncontented care of doing better, 
which is the hall-mark of genius, is proclaimed in 
the spirit of the craftsman who thus turned again 
in his maturity to improve, and, if he could, to 
perfect the theme he had attempted in his youth. 
I'he same spirit is evident in the similar develop- 
ment of a theme which we find in the case of 
two bronze inkstands formerly in the possession 
of the late H. Fortnum, Esq., of Stanmore, and 
now forming part of the Fortnum “Collection, 
bequeathed by him to the Ashmolean Museum 
at Oxford. The first was picked up by the col- 
lector in Paris; the second in Genoa. (Il. 21 
and 22.) They are mentioned by Christoph von 
Murr? in 1778 as being in the collection of 
Dr. Silberrad at Nuremberg, and are called by him 
‘two admirable bas-reliefs in bronze by Peter 
Vischer.” He further describes the second, that 
is, the later, in the following terms: “It repre- 
sents the reminding of the future life. Near an 
urn, which might serve as an inkpot, stands a 
naked female figure, about six inches high, point- 
ing towards heaven with her finger. In front of 
her a skull is lying, behind her a small shield and 
dagger. A beautiful idea. Leaning against the 
urn is a tablet with the inscription ‘viTam Nox 
' “Beschreibung der vornehmsten Merkwiirdigkeiten,” 
quoted by Seeger. 
35