attention to it; the head was lying to the west, the feet pointing
to the east, according to the Greek custom. These accounts raised
the curiosity of the rector of the parish; and in order to ascertain
how much truth was connected with the tradition, he resolved to
examine the supposed coffin of Palæologus; 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 Palæologus, 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 Palæologus, 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 Palæologus to seek his fortunes in the New World,
after his father's death in 1636.