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

and statues , having its fountains , and in the middle of it an open domed erection for shelter ancl for shade . To the croiA r ds of little ones , and their elders who have the ri ght of going thither , hoAv recreating , nay useful , would this be in summer ; and for all , even the humblest foot passenger as

much as to those Avho dwelt in the houses around , how pleasing to have such objects , all executed in coloured burned clay , to look upon , even through the dreamy dullness of a foggy mizzling clay in November . Going into tho parks , instead of that heavy lump of over-strength in the shape of a

suspension-bridge to a foot-Avay across the Avater in St . James's Park , Ave might have had another , light , elegant , and adorned in a manner fitting the situation , and this with the help , in the ornamental part , of burned clay ; for why not have the spandrels of arches in a bridge—this onefor example ; but as a

, betterinstance , thatoverthe Serpentine , Kensington Gardens—filled in with IIOIIOAYS holding busts , or with reliefs , in coloured clay ? Why not , too , have the latter ' s parapet surmounted by statues in the same material ? The refreshment-room close

by Avould be better arrayed , artistically speaking , in a third-rate suburban tea-garden , and is far beneath the dignity of the place in its appearance , which , at a small outlay , might be made to change its actual shabbiness for elegance and beauty . While in these so admirably kept and

chai-ming gardens , it Avould almost seem a Avilful omission not to cast an admiring look upon that small though beautiful building , with its AAnde enclosure , for the waterworks and . fountains at the Bayswater end of the Serpentine . At a glance one perceives that what scant ornament

it has , was given it by an able master of his craft , ancl the hands that wrought , it seem to have been meddling rather Avith the softest Avax than with stone , so nicely ancl so smoothly is everything chiselled ; yet to my eyes , one element of the beautiful , to render it still more beauteous , is Avantmg to it—colour soberly applied . Put

upon its roof a tilting in light green , or blue , or pale pink ; let in , here and there , reliefs in quiet tones ; and methuiks Ave should have in a Avork which , as it stands now , is justly entitled to our applause , a stronger claim upon our admiration . What life ancl variety are thrown into every kind

of park , if a bust or statue , a fountain , or any erected ornament that catches the Avhite li ght , be set up midway , and so be seen at each end in the green avenues ancl shaded alleys formed by trees . Take , as an instance , the trivial thing in the centre of that little sunk garden , once a

hollow filled Avith Avatei , at the east side of Hyde Park , near those lovely flower-borders running , a long way , parallel with Park-lane . Many are the great names Ave have to be proud of noAV forgotten to the people ; yet , Avhile we thus commemorated our country ' s Avorthies , much beauty , at small cost , would be added ' to our public walks .

Among those various purposes to which the material under notice may be easily applied , none is there where it Avould be more suitable than in a decorated dairy . Who has not heard of the many instances in which a fond husband has so contrived thac , during a short absence from

a favomite home , on her return , an agreeable surprise should be waiting to welcome back his wellbeloved Avife . Those who have seen that little gem of elegance and high artistic taste at Windsor Castle—that small chamber there , the Avhole fitting up of which and every ornament in it , even the

hinges to the doors , had , for such a work of love , been planned and wrought after the designs and sketches done by the late Prince Consort's OAVU hand—will understand my meaning . Let us

imagine such a purpose , and that it sp happens that the lady ' s baptismal name or names have a floral significance—that she is called Rose , or Margaret ( Daisy ) , or Lilian—the latter for example . This circumstance may be turned to good account . For the building of his dairy , the architect will look

about him for a little grove of trees lo shade it Avell in summer . If , for the outside walls , instead of stone , he may have bricks , he AA'ill get them of several tones in greyish white , and , to save his elevation from the reproach of tameness , he will checker it Avith the sober use—but not

streakyof red bricks , they , too , in different tones . For the reliefs , in plain burned clay , to be let into the entablature , Avhen cows at pasture or being milked

ai'e thought of , a good artist can have no difficulty in selecting subjects ; and for the caps of pillars , our English meadoAv-floAvers , and our English woodlands Avill furnish appropriate types of ornament . For the roof , the tyles Avill be green , and fashioned to the shape of our native Avater-lily

leaf , slightly crisped at both edges , as it often is Avhen a gentle breeze is curling the water Avhere it grows . Here ancl there among the leaves a Avater-lily Avith its many-petalled head may bo put ; but the cresting all along the roof will be a roAV of these flowers , made large and in the . round .

Thus the Avhole , with its pan-tiles in ridges glazed in green , and its Avhite flower-crest , besides colour , will have erven it the additional charm of

light and shade . Inside , its coved ceiling , its Avails , its pavement Avill be all tiled , and with tiles for the floor as Avhite as morrow milk ; for the walls , of the tone of Witsun cream ; for the ceiling , of the softest yellow buttercup . Made to gurgle by the roughness of its rocky bed nicely

sunk in the floor , down all its length will run a stream of clear spring water , overhung by a border on each side of ferns , forget-me-nots , but most especially of the various floAvers of the water-lily tribe . Upheld by large , bold brackets , in the shape of lily-stemsthe shelves will be thick

, slabs of white glazed clay , bordered with a wreath of lilies of the valley , tulips , fritillaries , and other kindred flowers , not raised but painted ; and of the same material , ancl in the same style , will