parish; and in order to ascertain how much truth was connected with the tradition, he resolved to examine the supposed coffin of Palaeologus; it was consequently opened on the 3d of May 1844, in presence of Mr R. Reici, jun.; Mr. J.G.  Young; and Mr J. Hinkson.  The coffin was of lead, and in it was found a skeleton of an extraordinary size, imbedded in quicklime, which is another proof of the Greek origin of Palaeologus, as it is the custom in Greece to surround the body with quicklime.  The coffin was carefully deposited in the vault now in possession of Josiah Heath, Esq., of Quintyer’s and Redland.’

In the above discovery and examination, the coincidences are so numerous and so remarkable as to leave no doubt whatever that the Ferdinando Palaeologus, whose body lies interred in St John’s church, was the same individual mentioned in the Landulph inscription as a son of Theodore.  The size of the skeleton, the envelope of quicklime, the position of the body, are corroborative of an Eastern descent.  The name of the mother, Mary Balls, is an additional presumption, as among the earliest proprietors in the island several of that name occur; and three estates are given in Oldmixon’s list as belonging to the family of the Balls.  It has been assumed, therefore, with good reason, that a relationship may have existed between the mother of Ferdinando and the Balls in Barbadoes, which—­at a period when so many families emigrated from England, chiefly from Kent and the southern and western counties—­might have induced young Palaeologus to seek his fortunes in the New World, after his father’s death in 1636.

Of the residence of Ferdinando in the island for thirty years, ample evidence exists in various documents.  Sir Robert Schomburgk was shewn by the rector of the parish, the Rev. J.H.  Gittens, an old vestry-book of St John’s, in which various entries occur of the name of Ferdinando Palaeologus, from 1649 till 1669, as vestryman, churchwarden, trustee, surveyor of the highway, sidesman to the churchwarden, and lieutenant, &c.  The last entry is that of his burial, ‘October 3d 1678.’  His name also appears in a legal document respecting the sale of some land, executed in 1658.  But the most important evidence of his identity with the Cornwall family is his will, in which the names of his sisters, Maria and Dorothy, occur.  It was entered in the Registrar’s Office, the 20th of March 1678, and proved before the deputy-governor, Colonel Christopher Codrington.  The widow became the sole survivor and heiress of the property, Theodorious having died in his youth, so that the last of the Palaeologi reposes in the parish church of St John, in the island of Barbadoes; and the estate which once belonged to the descendant of the Greek emperors now forms part of Clifton Hall and the Plantation Ashford.  Laying these circumstances together, and considering how completely the will of Ferdinando corroborates the Landulph inscription, of which he probably knew nothing,