Ornamented And Stained Glass.*

like marble . They are , as it were , small square stones from which are made works inlaid in gold , silver , and copper . There are also found various little vessels ofthe same colours , which the French , who are skilful in this manufacture , collect ; they fuse the sapphire in their furnacesadding to it a

, little clear and AA-hite glass , and they make tables of sapphire , which are precious and useful in windows . They make tables of purple and green in like manner .

The supply of coloured glass by the Pagan mosaics Avould not have gone very far in supplying the demand for the great manufacture of thirteenth century windoAvs . The French , there is reason to suppose , were quite able to make all the coloured glass they Avanted , and to supply the wants of

others even beyond the seas . In the seventh century they were noted for their glass work . At the end of that century Bishop Wilford brought glass-makers from France to glaze the windows of Hexham Church , and also those of the cathedral of York . The materials necessary

for the construction of a thirteenth century AYI ' UdoAY were a flat table , the size of the window , to work upon : on this the design of the AvindoAV Avas drawn , and most likely coloured ; great care was taken in arz-anging * their colours . Then small sheets of glass , of about seven colours , AA-ere obtained .

You will not find many more colours in any early window , and these sheets AA-ere made out of cylinders of glass split open and flattened . They Avere thicker than our AvindoAV glass , very uneven , and more like horn than glass . Out of these sheets Avere cut to shape each separate item of the wincloAv ; the heads , hands , and feet Avere cut out of flesh glass , the tunic , say , out

oi green , the girdle broAvn , the legs red , and shoes blue , perhaps . When these pieces Avere laid doAvn on the drawing they fitted almost close together , and would look very much like a dissected puzzle that children play Avith—only that the lines of junction Avent round the hand instead of across it ;

butif the hand or dress were larger than the sheets of glass , they did nofc care much Avhere the joints ran , excepting in large faces , Avhen they Avould make lines of junction round the eyes , nose , mouth , beard , hair , & c . Each piece of glass Avas brought to shape Avith a red-hot iron and a grazing iron . If

you lay a red-hot poker on the edge of a piece of AvindoAV glass , you will soon hear and see a slight crack in it ; IIOAV move on your hot iron , keepingit on the glass , and the crack will follow until you may bring ifc round to the place it started from . The cracks that sometimes occur in our OAVII plate lass windows

g , and which Avould eventually run across the square , are led round with a hot iron in a small circle , and rendered harmless . By these means the men of the thirteenth century fashioned their thousands of bits of vitreous horn in making windoAvs . It Avas long before the use of the diamond in cutting glass Avas discovered . If the piece were not truly fashioned with the hot iron ,

workmen chipped aAYay pieces from the edge with a piece of iron with a square notch in it . This AA as the grozing-iron . Then followed the process of copying on the glass , Avith the dark-colour enamel , the features , hair , drapery , lines , & c , and in all cases using a .

little what you may , by a stretch of imagination ,, call shadow , but which Avas only a thin film of the tracing colour , used in a very conventional manner , to assist the traced lines in giAi ' ng expression to the faces and drapery . The pieces of glass painted with enamel were then placed on iron

trays , over which had been sifted dry ashes , to prevent the glass sticking to the iron , and put into a close eartheirware box , around Avhich the fire played until the Avhole Avas red hot . Then the fire Avas AvithdraAvn and the box and its contents were alloAYecl to cool graduallfor the of

y purpose annealing the glass . The pieces were then placed in their former position on the draAving , and the Avorkman put a band of lead round each piece . The bands of lead were cast in a mould , and had a . groove on each side , into Avhich the glass fitted . . Each jointand wherever one lead touched

, another , Avas soldered together on both sides of the glass ; and the window was completed by rubbing into the interstices some cement to keep out the wind and rain ; oil and Avhiting ,. possibly .

The completed AvindoAV was then fixed in its place ; and , if of moderate dimensions , had simply iron saddle-bars set into the stonework on each side , and to these the Avindow was tied with strong , strips of lead , soldered to the leadAvork of the AA * indoAA .

If the AvindoAV AA-as large , an iron frame , an inch or tAvo in thickness , AYUS Avroughfc to the leading , lines of this design , and to this the { window Avas . tied , in a similar manner to the saddle-bars . This was the construction of a

thirteenthcentury AA'indoAV , and with some few modifications , it is the construction of the AvindoAYS of the present day . These old Avindows presented several excellences . Firstly , of material—because the thick , uneven glass AA-as the cause of Avhat Ruskin calls "palpitation of colour

, " a rich jewelry effect which cannot be produced by a thin material . Secondly , excellence of workmanship , because the painting Avas Avell and artistically clone ; it also presented great individuality , unskilful painting being a rare exception . Thirdly , excellence of construction . The

division of the glass into small pieces tended to subdue the glare Avhich stained glass , however thick , has in some degree . It also very materiall y strengthened the fabric , and it has heen the cause of so many specimens being left to this day in such good condition . The Avrought iron frame not onl

y gave strong leading lines to the design , but was a most workmanly Avay of construction . Fourthl y ^ excellence of colour ; because , with not more than about half-a-dozen colours , they were well coloured ,