Notes On Literature, Science And Art.

must ever stand at the head of all the nations of the old Avorld for their pottery . "It is from Egypt that sound principles of pottery-making seem to have spread to the different nations ; first to the Phoenicians , who in their turn became famous for their knoAvledge in the art of

vitrifying mineral substances ; and then to the Assyrians , AVIIO seem to have applied pottery more especially to tbe ornamentation of their buildings . Gieece , who shortly after received her first notions of art from

the two former nations , did not deA'ote her energies so much to improvement of material and richness of colour , as to the refined beauty of the shape and the excellence of the painting . In pottery , the material is of little value , and it is only by

the art displayed iu shaping and decorating it that its price can be increased . In this respect the Greeks proved to what enormous value it could be raised , by making it the groundwork of their art , since sums equivalent to several thousand pounds of

our money were readily paid by Roman patricians for a single Corinthian vase . " For seven or eight hundred years the Greeks seem to have been the only people worth naming for the production of pottery ; and in the ceramic artsas in

sculp-, ture , they have never since been surpassed . " Although vessels of the same descri ption ivere largely produced in Italy , it was invariably by the Greeks , folloAving closely

the traditions and mode of decorations of their own country . It Avas only about a century before Christ that the Romans began to create a pottery on which they impressed their stamp , a pottery really their own . " I mean , " says Mr . Arnoux ,

" that which is so improperly called Samian , and so easily known b y its reddish colour and the embossed ornaments with which it is profusely covered . It is , however , genuine and characteristic , neatly executed , and possessing some standing

qualities which did not belong to the Greek . On the other hand , the refinement is deficient ; the forms are derived from the circle instead of the ellipse ; the plain surfaces are replaced by embossments , and the painting is absent . For four centuries

the Romans seem to have made this class of pottery in several of their European settlements , chiefly in Italy and in the provinces adjoining the Rhige , In the

operation they seem to have required some special material unknown to us , which imparted to its real surface a semi-shining lustre or glaze , and which has proved remarkably durable . " Then came " a time of darkness " for pottery in Europe . " Art was not quite dead , but it scarcely

breathed . " The revival of the art of pottery in Europe will afford us matter sufficient for a future Vote . In the meantime I Avould advise my readers to procure , not only the volume I am noticing , but the whole series of the " British Manafacturig ,

Industries . " Every volume , however , is complete in itself , and may be had through any bookseller for three-and-sixpence . Every Masonic Lodge Library should have the whole thirteen volumes of the series . The following beautiful verseson the

, death of our late beloved Brother , William Romaine Callender , appear in Ben Brierley ' s Journal , from the pen of the Edicor , and Avill be Avelcome to every Mason , especially those of my mother-province nf East Lancashire : —

" Bring out the flag , and hoist it halfmast high ; Muffle the bells , and let their solemn peal Wake mournful cadence ' neath this Avintry sky , And give expression to Avhat all must feel !

For Death , Avho values not affairs of State But commoner , and lord , and king , doth slay ; Who swerves not at the mansion ' s golden gate , Hath glean'd tbe land , and held hi gh harvest-day .

And one fair stalk bath fallen ' neath his blade , That in its summer promised a full ear , — Whose virtues might the reaper ' s hand have stay'd , Had angbt avail'd that human love holds dear .

He for whose fate we ask the mournful peal , Was meant for more than we have seen him do , Much as that may have been . Nerved to his steel , And to the plummet-line and compass true .