_The Lobster in the Medal of the Pretender._
Your correspondent, Mr. B. NIGHTINGALE, desires an answer to his Query
(in your No. 4), Why is the figure of _a Lobster_ introduced into the
impression upon the rare medal struck 20th June, 1688, in contempt or
ridicule of Prince James Edward, the newly-born son of King James II.?
A reference to the two following works will, perhaps, supply the
answer:--
1st. In Philemon Holland's translation of Pliny's _Natural History_ (a
great authority at the time) this passage occurs in book ix. cap. 30.:--
"Lobsters, so long as they are secure of any fear and danger, go
directly straight, letting down their hornes at length along their
sides; ... but if they be in any fear, up go their hornes
straight--and then they creep byas and go sidelong."