Terra-Cotta And Luca Della Robbia Ware, Considered On The Principles Of Decorative Art.

clay for decorative purposes , and that , too , under the forms of highest art . Here , then , the most stirring passage , whole and unbroken , in the legend of the nation's patron saint would find a fitting place . To hide the stairs at each side , ancl yet afford room enough above for the lecturer and

all his possible requirements , throAV up a grand well-broken front of massive rock fringed with ferns ancl foliage ; show St . George on horseback , duly armoured , Avith spear in rest , ancl his steed properly caparisoned , bounding , full tilt , at the rageful dragon , as it hurries from its den to

swalloAV up alive the fair princess at prayer on her bended knees hard by , with the king ancl queen , her parents , looking doAvn upon their child from the turrets of their castle 0 A erhead : Avhy not a streamlet of Avater , too , trickling noiselessly among the flowers ? In such a place the other patrons

of our empire are not to be forgotten : St . Patrick , therefore , must have his legend properly and artistically set forth ; so , too , St . Andrew ; so St . David , each in his OAVH conspicuous spot . All men

of mark in the arts , the sciences , and literature , may be gratefully remembered in a bust , or statue or a low relief . Saying , with the poet , — " Let merry England proudly wear Her blended roses bought so dear ; On favour'd Erin ' s brow be seen The floAv ' r she loves of emerald

green , Let Albin bind her bonnet blue With heath , and hare-bell dipped in dew , " with free full hand will the architect sprinkle all about the walls the peculiar floral emblems of our different peoples , so that Celt and Saxon may find shining there the flower that each loves best , and

all of those symbols blended into one harmonious garland . Outside , the roof-tiles for such a building might be very fine , handsome , and gay by moonlight , as under the glare of sunshine : instead of the kinds hitherto in use , let them be coloured lightish blue , stared with gold , and brightly glazed . Talking of roof-tiles , what can be so unartistic , so very ugly as those now in general use upon our houses ? True is it that for their thinness and

lightness slates are valuable substitutes for the old heavy red tile , flat or ridged , ancl its colour a pleasing variety ; but at best its tones are dull . If Ave had tiles—glazed of all colours , and furthermore , some of them streaked Avith two or three tones of the same tint—then would the

present ugliness be got rid of , and we might have roofs tiled or slated in patterns and after designs more or less elaborate ; and when dulled by dust or befould with smuts , the first good shower of rain would make them clean and sparkling . Till a feAV years back our shops , large ancl small ,

Avere of the p lainest with regard to their ornamentation inside and out , however valuable the goods in their Avindows and upon their shelves . Now , besides the splendours of large plate-glass , a few display great ' architectural taste ; and some of these might be pointed to as little gems of elegance , especiall y for their internal decoration and

arrangement . But very much still remains to be done among them . If a single picture can draw crowds of travellers a thousand miles to gaze upon it in the town where it happens to be kept , a man in trade may be assured that , to make his place of business inside and ont as artistically beautiful as

he can afford , is one ofthe best and readiest modes of advertising the wares in which he deals . Though the shutters be up , a fine shop-front , if well and properly designed , immediately tells the business " of its owner ; and , while bespeaking the favour , may secure a visit , some other day , of the passer-by .

For such shop-ornamentation , nothing can be better than coloured burned clay , especially in the dust and dirt of a great thoroughfare . From many let us select but one as an example . Take a large fishmonger ' s , with its fine white slabs of marble . Suppose a bold wide border , composed of all sorts

of seaweed , among which are lurking fish of various kinds—fish such as Bernard Palissy would have done—along with branches of coral and sea-shells . Such shops , and others like them , are often seen with all their inside walls sheathed with simple Avhite tiling , well lazed ; ancl most cool ancl cleanly

g do they look , besides being so wholesome for the eatables sold there . Divide the shining wide walls into panels by other flat glazed tiles , figured in colour AA'ith subjects connected with the owner ' s trade ; giA'e them , as a cornice , an appropriate

wreath in relief , and , from being plain , the whole place becomes beautiful . Imagine , again , the master of the house to be a royal tradesman , and allowed to have above his shop the royal arms ; make those arms , as well as the supporters , artistically done in the round , in coloured burned clay ,

and the flat shield properly blazoned . A bucket of Avater and a sponge at the beginning of the London season will be quite enough to cleanse the whole from the griminess laid on them by the dirt of the last twelve months , and leave them as bright and glittering as everto enliven the appearance of

, the street . If nothing beyond the owner's name and trade be thought of , let it not be done , unless for an undertaker , in mournful black and white , but in gladsome tones and garlanded witb flowers . I say nothing of the numerous pretty fountains —never forgetting the poor dogs—which Ave

might have everywhere erected ; but , hasteningaway from our streets , and getting into our fine Avide , well-planted squares , and our lovely unrivalled parks , IIOAV many are the opportunities we find there of employing this material in all its decorative forms and beauty . In no one city in

the world are there to be found such magnificent open spaces with grass and trees , as London can show in her many grand squares ; yet of them all , hardly is there one as flowery as it might be with , the floAvers that are known to stand a London

atmosphere ; not one among them can boast of the slightest adornment saving a solitary statue , and that as black as smoke can make it . Suppose one of these squares dotted all about with busts