In Howell's _Familiar Letters_, edit. 1726, p. 62., he says that he saw in
the Treasury of St. Mark's, Venice, a huge[2] iron chest as tall as
himself--
"that hath no lock, but a crevice through which they cast in the gold
that's bequeathed to St. Mark in legacies, whereon is engraven this
proud motto:
'Quando questo scrinio S'apria,
Tutto 'l Mundo tremera.'
'When this chest is opened, the whole world shall tremble.'"
Is there any other account of this chest, or of its having been opened, as
it was evidently reserved for some great necessity? Did not the exigencies
of the state, during its decline, compel the Venetians to resort to it; if
not, such a treasure could hardly escape the lynx-eyed rapacity of some one
of the many spoilers to whom the unfortunate city has been subject. At p.
275. he gives an account of having read in _Suidas_, that in his time a
record existed at Tiberius which was found in the Temple at Jerusalem when
it was destroyed, which affirms that our Saviour was in his lifetime upon
earth chosen a priest of the Temple, and registered therein as "Jesus
Christ, the Son of God and of the Virgin Mary." Howell requests the opinion
of Dr. Usher, Lord Primate of Ireland, on the subject. Is there any
corroborative evidence that such a register existed?