“i > S_ Pp > a > ed

WHITNEY LIBRARY,

MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. Ja OOF,

‘ Dy» a! DB Dp D> =e ie toe

po >»

> DD. ID DLE PD D2 geen GEE

* —S . . me =

22

THE

INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER

REVIEW OF NATURAL HISTORY

MICROSCOPIC RESEARCH

AND

RECREATIVE SCIENCE

VOLUME X,

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES IN COLOURS AND TINTS, AND NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD

LONDON

GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS PATERNOSTER ROW

Sw MDCCCLXYVILI.

CONTENTS. ~

eg pe tals PAGE

ALGIERS AS A WinrER Resipence. By M. Beruam Epwarps. With a Oelleorea, LENG So noob oso RO RCO UE CONC OO HOD DOr Se boboeoponacsnoos 1 MopERN JEWELLERY AND ART. By Wituiam DuTwie..........--.---08 7 GAC ORDEAC IS SOU AR ERUE ORIG) .0!.0/5 aero, vieyeiela/eiese/cleie ol « elele ij eeametaieliabeiceie eepetey tc Le PHOTOGRAPHY AS A FINE ART .......... evalisda lobe kalpepeporoseselel vasa akolisrct eee Nays Maa

Deceptive Figures; wiTH REMARKS oN SatuRN’s “ SQUARE-SHOULDERED” HSEPAG To) VPnyg iva Ae OP ROCROR, Ba Ats MRA is) | 3-5) ayn o/e a eps. « Sober aonb ol ea

Ascent or Caprr Ipris. By D. Macxintosn, F.G.S. With a Coloured VETGINE Mera g OMAR MURALS Deets LONER NEE) Re aK ax tA Mn RERUN ARC? 7 Notss on Funet.—No, VI. By the Rev, M.J. Berxerzy, M.A. F.LS.. 82

THe Coming Merzor SHowrr.—Tur Spectra oF METEORS ............ 388 Dr. Curtis's Procuss or PuHoto-Micograpuy. By R. L. Mappox, M.D. 41 Animan Lire in Sourn Arrica. By (H. Curcuester, Esa. ...:....... 42 THE Puaner Saturn (Continued). By the Rev. T. W. Warns, A.M. F.R.AS, 49 assis MOUR- PENDS, CONDENSER (ols slew ajc yoo c/+ sede ets eee eee = oe Sean Oe LAER ON PER ASPECATT ON REE) DE AUD SHAY. 25.0). pause nyoschayplercum evatelaels cic!) (OB Resvtts or MzrzoroLtocican OBsERVATIONS MADE AT THE Krew OxzsEr-

MATRON waive Cran IMO) NVCEDUE PI ena slaielai ae eis. ahe ecapie ao/ «Mies sonlenoi iui th Lavizy’ Siippers. By Suimuzry Hisserp. With Coloured Plate of Cypri-

PE AUUDSVCLECHUGNU MIE 0k) Sena SS ua Sitve eleua lel avekae Sees cde eus ilel venient Gael HyrorumnicaL Continents. By H. M. Jenwins, F.G.8. ........00ssenee 88 TuE Persistence or Luminous Impressions. By the Assi LaporpE .. 98 SOSIDE JAIRO TSIECS MSM gene Lally CVA aveNNAT AC as AD aa Mea SIR Ble = ee beryenists cleo S) JL AUTR/SHE1 J BTR TIE Sef @ MEGS ANT TAO A I eNO On THE Genus Ficus. By Joun R. Jackson. With a Tinted Plate .... 112 IES SUPE Mae RL CL cue Dm Ns aiclwe siete os aly eoelelumealie AERO Ha Gir AND Minsmamss iby, VERVE. Gils vices dela eiee essen «oe ape Loe IECANS, VOR) liao Mann, MONI OING (icy: ceteigiel stains c c/s ojajeiciaieis sei» ereisi.siene's,sayape tees THE Praner Saturn (Continued). By the Rev. T. W. Wess, A.M., F.R.A.S. 142 Por LAcE-DWEULEES: OF OWITZERUANDI [305 .). ie sjeeeme em scenes. se aware se, MAO Prismatic Srecrra or THe Aucust Murzors, 1866. By A. 8. Herscuet.

WE i COLOURED: EURO ie se egsin eons olen) Ncley ven ancy opens akelaiavelsce oie opie <voiay, LOM Tue Linzatep Puzasant or Burman. By Caprarn R. C. Beavan .... 170 LEE StRELT) ARCHITECTURE OF LONDON .cJsge ce cc ceeiticcelss sree ee dune, LAA Tue Buack PorunaTion or THE British Cotony or Natat, Souru

Arnica. By Jamus Mann, M.D.,F.R.AS. With a Tinted Plate, .. 184 THE Puanst Saturn (Continued). By Rey. T. W. Wzzz, A.M.,F.R.AS. 194 eB ence Ee eC AMOS MEE ELAONT DY) 1.0. ''ancass are Le aU Mews lees ouaed ele mbt oc 9 oie! Suelo eae teeig sere

”

Iv } . Contents.

CHACORNAC ON CoMETS ............ ietstreyes asia cones eerie BA pots dato ado o0.7 A Srrance Prace ror Rotirers. By Tone J. SLACK, EGS See eects

Faminy Lirk or THE Mippir Cnass .........-- aialal ese seifatelie: 5 Lene ee Rete Tue Stone AGE ry Curva. By M. CuEyrevL ........ a lasesaveltedanehelsheetene OxscuratTiuns or THE Sun. By M. Ep. Rocuz...... AIO Ebon 20 hood

On THE Form, GrowTH, aND CoNSTRUCTION OF Chaeas. By the late Dr. S. P. Woopwarp, £.G.8. With two Plates, one Coloured and one Plain Norzs on tHE Hasrrs or some Luprporrerous Larva. By the Rev. D. C. Trmins, M.A., M.E.S., Lond. et Oxon ......... itis cjeloloeue ate hometetetaley Tron anp STEEL IN THE ConsTRUCTION or Surps AND BripGEs, THEIR AD- VANTAGES AND DisapvantTacEs. By Professor MCGAULEY.........+++ Drinocuaris Conninsir; A Rotireron New to Screncse. By Paar Henry Gosst, F.R.S. With a Coloured Plate........ slisseyplalavedel evened From Kurracwrr to Mootran. By Franxuin Fox .......... duce ona Cometary Licut—Nesvt2—Occurtations. By the Rev. IT. W. Wess, PAM EL aAt Seal aeieis ea Sladart ehalale neta tep Ale mea eens Hen bigae Bee dine ages Witp Karrir Lire anp Witp Kine INTELLIGENCE. By Rozgert JAMES MUNN, MG. BRAS coats as eee eee een <9 mea eas

Arps To Microscopic Inqurry.—No. “VIL —OrGANIC SUBSTANCES AND FORMATIONS ...... site ea cba ayectedisyaltn culate etsT poveme de Li gielieta'e icon ote sie ReEsuLTS oF METEOROLOGICAL Ones MapE at THE Kew OBSERYVA- Tory. By G. M. Wurerin....... ERM sect ie el e yin cbteeebabetatntstene pte THE NEBULAR Eee oe or LAPLACE EXPLAINED BY DELAUNAY ........ OBSERVATIONS OF THE CHANGES OF CoLouL AND MopEs oF TAKING Foop IN THE CHAMELEON. By Jonatuan Coucu, F.L.S. With a Coloured Plate

On THE VARIATIONS OF CERTAIN CRUSTACEA IN RELATION TO THE THEORY OF

THE ORicIn or Species By Naturat Mopirication, By GEORGES.

Jere @ WEI OSV ORNS S560 adaded'sodscu upon base dig uaieuone teeta A New Cuarr rrom Bririsn Cotumpia. By Joun en Lorp, F.Z.S.. PanasiticAL Prants—BaLaNnoPpHoracea. By Joun R. Jackson. With a Minted Plate \\.leieis's -\\e eileen ERMC OHS RRM oraco cado secs PHASES IN THE DEVELOPMENTAL History or Inrusor1aL Anima Lizz, By Jasez Hoae, F.L.S., F.R.M.S., ete. .... Tur NoveMBer Merrzors. By Eee J. Stack, F. G. S. Fatio ON THE Forms AND Cotours oF PLUMAGE.... Neputar anp STELLAR Sprcrra—Sorar Oxservations—Rep Srar— Pranets—Occuxrations. By the Rey. T. W. Wenz, A.M.,F.R.AS .. On Sitx Propucep py Divrnau Lepmorrzra. By Purine Henry GossE, IE ETISS hela. < waterase oe as. SodnB cd taga alose «ies euepainnegeteeaae THE BuireBiae Or Roe By P. L. Scratrzr, M. Me ies, Di, Babise Wath a Coloured Plate... saneenaeks eet: sess Joo foie jo kaa ae Parasitic Berrtzs. By E.C. R¥E ..... BepowIsM AND ITS LEGENDS... ...). sees os ee Seuue cs Hae aee 2 aceite roa Karrin Promise anp CapaBiLiry. iy Dr. Mann, F.R.A.S., F.R.GS., HES. ete. Witha Lmted Plate... jscenoeke eee nena Lunar Drrairs—Occunrarions. By the Rev. T. W. Wxnp, A. M., F.R.A.S. Oxscuration or a Lunar Crater, By W. R. Birt, F.R.S.........2000-- Scumipt on THE Lunar Crater “Linne” and oN THE NovEMBER METEORS

Tue Novemper Suoorine Stars. By the Hon. Mrs. Warp. With an Illustration ........

Ceo ee ee oe oer e eee ee eesers ee eees eee ee Feseeeee

PAGE 209 211 213 221 223

241

2538

449

Contenis. Vv

TuE NovemMBerR Metror-SHOWER aT GuAscow. By A. S. Herscust, B.A.

With an Illustration.........6. Misha sierensciineh set oystohs| Venere atess SAU Scie »» 409 Tue Pranet Mars. By RicHarp i Proctor, BA F.R.A.S. With an

TRMUSER AON a asa. deine ee see + oe“ - Sores tela Plsictevtonsnstns Ra Sienarcteisns poubo 466 IAROHPAOLIOG LAS. /aceieicvopeparene rate a doh eee ase Serena an, Be eae 72, 225, 394 Lrrerary Notress.—‘ Charles Waterton; His Home, Habits, and Handi-

work,” 227; “On Force; Its Mental and Moral Correllates,’ 229 ;

““Tapeworms; Entozoa,” 231; ‘ Hlectricity” 281;-‘ Dictionary of

Science, Literature, and Art,” 231 and 316 ; “ Anthropological Review,”

231; “Date Stones,” 231; “ Wayside Flora,” 232; ‘‘ Handbook of the

Stars,” 232 ; “‘ Elementary Treatise on Physics,” 233 ; ‘‘ Birds of Mid-

dlesex,” 233; “ Reliquiz Aquitanice,” 315 ; “ Brief Account of Scholar-

ships and Exhibitions at Cambridge,” 316; “Scientific and Literary

Treasury,” 316; “ Chart of the Characteristic Tertiary Fossils,’ 316;

“ Benedicite,”’ 476 ; “ Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection,”

477; “Elementary Treatise on Heat,” 478 ; ‘‘ Easy Introduction to the

higher treatises of Conic Sections” ................000000- stale tne 478 PP ROGHESS A OEM N VEN LIONS ol abersvelelolsiicicrsjotersreveinioncieicteesiale ¢ 73, 156, 234, 317, 473 ProcEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES ..........00000e ser ajecalalniaeenete 317, 396 Nores AND MEMORANDA ......... ENE NEverne 71, 159, 239, 318, 398, 479

ILLUSTRATIONS

ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOURS.

PAGE PAGE Scene from Algeria, Hvening Prayer 1) Recent Shell Forms ........ hocguannnde 241 AAS GEO OLE (Ce ere IGA) San aae cdaeoneenee 277 | Dinorcharis Collinsti ..............4... 272 Cypripedium Veitchianum ......... 81 | Chameleon . pe sieaessune) OU Prismatic Spectra of August Meteors 161 | Naked-Thr oated Cotinga, Booby smeeude 401

TINTED PLATES.

GentuspHicusama inte avsemescncses eres Zi MBalanopMoracerey.cwcisasscce sewers: 353 Prey ORIOL Hass sacs snescindisvstedéats 185) Zulu Keafiirs Vie haxensjdaeacoccss gecneuioes ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.

Diagram of Deceptive Figures ...... 23) Dios Wilken tetas. aaevaa BAe e Bee 247 Diagram of Herschel-Browning’s Common belo Teiseenaea. scesacrene= 248

Meteor Spectroscope.........-..... 38 | Fresh Water Mussels and Mela- Ross’s Four-Tenths Condenser...... 59 TUNES 5 ped woo aad odooesocoHNobaceUACoONOO 248-9 Longicorn, Astinomus cedilis ...... 129 || Portion of Shell Wall..........-....--. 201 HEMT OF MEATS ill oheleok hn ecisins else 190 | Cometary Light, Diagrams ......... 282 Planet Saturn, Diagrams ......197, 200| Head of Bell-Bird ..................04. 401 Wnito MBP ICE USE aks se ee 242 | Lunar Details, Diagram ............ 441 WieerasvartetimaMa) 2.) ss eb sie aoc oe 243 | Mare Serenitatis .......... Dahaastte 447 Requienia Lonsdalei .................. 243 ue ee Passage through the Stream STreistie eli 8 002 eRe Ore 244 E MNBotap rele we auto meats 456 Operculaand SectionsofSpiral Shells 245 Bee Tilo C1SS3 Ae em pao neumne codeocoe 463 Carychium minimum.,..............066 247 | Tracks ot Shooting Stars ............ 464

Cyclostoma élegans ............0.000s 247 | Diagrams of Planet Mars ...,........ 468

SCENE

THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER,

AUGUST, 1866.

ALGIERS AS A WINTER. RESIDENCE.

BY M. BETHAM EDWARDS. (With a Coloured Plate.)

Very few people are aware of the riches and beauty of the French colony that lies only two days’ journey from Marseilles. To the artist, Algiers offers quite an unrivalled field for picturesqueness of costume and gorgeousness of colour; to the tourist, a diversified and wonderful country peopled by distinct races, each having a historic and romantic interest ; and to the invalid, a climate which without any extravagance, may be called perfect during six months of the year. ~ The journey from London to Algiers is pleasant enough, oc- cupying four or five days. To those who are fortunate enough not to suffer from mal de mer, nothing can be more agreeable than to skim across the blue Mediterranean in the light Messagerie steamer. One generally finds a company of talkative, genial French officers on board, and from them learns something in advance, of the country which has suddenly become the most interesting of all others. It is easy to see that Algeria is not a strong point in national vanity, and that by universal opinion the colony has no brilliant future before it. The country is fertile to a fable, the climate is superb, the situation of the port could not be better; yet all these advantages are as nothing weighed against such grievances as undue taxation, Arab incendiaries, the want of good roads, and so on, ad infinitum. It is, therefore with some sort of preconceived sympathy that one sees the first silhouette of the Libyan coast, thinking less of Dido and her story as we scanned it in our schoolboy days than of Abd-el-Kader, marauding Arabs, and French families striving to get a scanty living in the once-famed granary of Hurope. The first view of Algiers is sufficiently striking. Built upon a hill, its sunny green terraces of Moorish houses glisten VOL. X.—wNO. I. B

2 Algiers as a Winter Residence.

as if of marble against the bright blue sky. To the left of the city stretches a chain of olive-clad hills, plentifully dotted with white villas; whilst beyond, so pale in outline as almost to be mistaken for clouds, le the far-off snow-peaks of the lesser Atlas.

Hotels are not too plentiful im Algiers; and for travellers who are spirited enough to venture upon oriental housekeep- ing, it is advisable to take one of the pretty furnished villas in the suburbs. Once established, the traveller will find ample distraction in wandering among the narrow streets of the old city, and studying the unalloyed element of oriental life that still prevails there. We see scene after scene out of the Arabian Nights—here a youthful Aladdin in crimson fez and orange- coloured vest, truanting with idle companions—there a dark- cheeked Morgiana bound on some special behest—now some veiled princess, accompanied by her negresses bound to the bath—or a gloomy door is opened by some grave Moor, and you catch glimpses of an airy court, planted with bananas, and having a fountain in the midst.

In the ugly French arcades which have been built upon the site of picturesque old streets are to be found all the civiliza- tions of modern life, such as omnibuses, shops, and cab-stands. Indeed, but for the stately Arabs passing by, and the bronze skins of the negroes shinmg in the sun, you might fancy yourself in some small town of the provinces. ,

In the country, the two elements, French and Arab, are mixed in about the same proportion. You meet group after group of handsome, tawny-skinned fellows driving im donkeys laden with wood, oranges, or poultry; or a stately, well- mounted caid, leaning back in his embroidered saddle; ora camel from the interior, ridden by a wild-looking Ishmael, wrapped in white burnouse. It would be hard to say whether the town or the country offers most interesting matter for observation ; both to the student of Arab or colonist life, the ~ field is large and varied.

Alike striking and impressive is the spectacle of Mahomet worship, whether seen as we saw it, in the lighted Mosque during the Rhamadan, or out in the ficids at sunrise, where a couple of solitary worshippers raise their hands towards the east, “‘ out of which cometh our help.”

The coloured plate prefixed to this ar ticle is from a sketch by Mrs. F. Le Bridell, and represents a scene of evening prayer.

Again, there are the ceremonies of the Mahometan Sabbath, when all the women betake themselves to the cemeteries, and pray to the souls of the dead. Nothing can be more oriental and picturesque than the groups of white-robed

Algiers as a Winter Residence. 3

figures among the palmetto shrubs. And whether the cere- monial has become one of mere custom or not, one can hardly help associating some sort of solemnity with it. Then there are religious festivals among the negroes by the sea-shore, which, for weird effect and wonderful show, surpass anything we have ever seen—dances of exorcists, sacrifices of calves, and cocks to the ginns, or evil spirits, celebrations in honour of Hysona, a lesser Mahomet, and, in fine, sufficient matter for speculation to all interested in the present and future of Islamism.

No one can refrain from a feeling of sympathy with French colonist life. As one travels from one French port to another, and rests for refreshment at little oases of civilization on the way, itis easy to learn a great deal both as regards the past, pre- sent, and future of the settlers. Things are certainly not promis- ine’; rich as is the country in natural resources, admirably as it is placed with regard to the mother country, and much as the Government has affected to take its interests to heart, Algeria offers no EH] Dorado for the poor or enterprising of the French people. And something is to be laid to the door of the peo- ple themselves. The French do not make good colonists. They do not carry their Lares and Penates with them, with the intention of founding a Latium, having lost Troy. They come over to Algiers with the hope of making a speedy fortune, and then returning to France.

Of course this sort of view has a deteriorating influence upon the moral and material influence of the colony, and upon the colonists also. They do not build and plant for posterity, but for the day, and having little interest in the adopted coun- try except as a sponge to suck money from, it is hardly likely that they will serve her interests save as they fall in with their own. Yet we might apply Sidney Smith’s speech regarding Australia to Algeria, ‘‘ But tickle the soil with a hoe, and it laughs into a harvest.” Anything, everything, can be done with it. And besides the sources of cereal wealth, are an in- finity of others, as yet unworked and offering quite a new field for enterprise.

Weare by no means disposed to overlook counterbalancing difficulties. ‘The incendiaries of the Arabs alone have ruined many a hard-working farmer, and we, have only to glance at the Rapport dela Commission d’ Hnquéte on this subject, pub- lished in Paris last year, to be sensible of the fatal antagonism still existent between Arab and Frank, Mussulman and Roumi. ;

Not entering upon this intricate and interminable subject, however, we will say afew words about Algeria from a tourist’s point of view, and then speak more especially of the climate.

4 Algiers as a Winter Residence.

Place yourself within a day or two’s journey from Algiers, and you are as completely out of the world as the most blasé tourist could desire. If you are a sportsman, there is plenty of game from the plover to the panther; quails, partridges, hares, gazelles, jackals, hyenas, filling the space between the Alpha and Omega of the list. To catch sight of the panther, one must travel a hundred and fifty miles from Algiers, and there having reached the snow-tipped Atlas Mountains, may, perhaps, find a lion too, if benighted in the cedar forests.

For an artist, there is such inland scenery as few people ever associate with “ Afric’s burning plains,” as Bishop Heber has it; delicious orange gardens, sunny plains sprinkled with wild flowers, gorges of almost Alpme grandeur, olive-groves glossy green, rivers wandering amid a flame of oleander blos- soms, mountain scenery vivid and varied as only African skies can make it; and lastly, the ever-picturesque element of Hast- ern life. Of course, we cannot enjoy such a feast of nature without some hardships. The traveller must make up his mind to ride over very rough roads, to sleep in caravansaries or in tents as the case may be, and not always in clean beds, to eat any dish that comes in the way, without too much inquiry as to the matter or manner of it, and not to expect much intelligence from such Arab guides as he may have to deal with.

With regard to the Algerian climate, there is not a doubt that it is in some respects Incomparable from October till May. The air is soft and moist, and slightly bracmg. When the sun would otherwise be too hot, there are refreshing breezes blown off the sea, and the nights are invariably clear and cool. On the hills, too—we are now speaking of the suburban part of Algiers—the weather is uniformly fresh and invigorating even when the summer is advanced, and the inhabitants of the town are suffering from the heat. Never shall we forget spending last Christmas-day in a Moorish villa at Mustapha Supérieure, one of the prettiest, healthiest, and most elevated spots within an hour’s walk of the city. Theskies were bright and cloudless, the hill sides were clothed with foliage and flowers, and ladies were plucking roses and violets in their gardens bareheaded. Tt was, in fact, a June day. And with the exception of rains, the winter of Algiers is uniformly mild, though every day is not, of course, like that just recorded. At night, one is glad of a little wood fire, and especially in the airy country houses, which are admirably built for coolness and air. In fine, we should say that for diseases of the chest and lungs, the climate of Algiers offers all the advantages without the draw- backs of other and more popular resorts. The fresh sea-breeze, the elasticity of the air, the absence of any depressing atmo-

Algiers as a Winter Residence. 5

spheric influences, are certainly arguments in favour of this statement, and there are other minor considerations not to be overlooked. The charming scenery, the agreeable English society, the moderate price of hotels, and the practicability of conducting a ménage on one’s own account, the abundance of fresh vegetables and delicate game wherewith to tempt dainty appetites—all these things are so many items necessary to an invalid’s comfort.

We only hope that any words of ours may induce those to whom east winds are emissaries of destruction, and fogs poisons deadly as Socrates’ draught, to escape from both, and wing their way southwards with the nightingales and swallows. It is not pleasant to all to cross the Mediterranean, and not prac- ticable to many, to quit England for six months im the year, but those who make the effort for health’s sake will not do it in vain.

And we can hardly imagine any clouds that could not be dispersed from the mental horizon by a little sojourn in so lovely a land. Southern skies, oriental associations, majestic cedar-forests, sunny plains, snow-tipped mountains, and gold- green valleys—surely such combinations as these are seldom found outside the charmed circle of Algeria?

And the best of all is that as yet these things are unknown.

[Nore sy tae Hprror.]—A very interesting collection of pictures of Algeria, by Mrs. F. Le Bridell, and Madame Bodi- chon, was recently on view at the German Gallery, Bond Street, where, we believe, a few of them still remain. Mrs. Bridell supplhed a series of figure pieces, and Madame Bodichon illustrated the landscape scenery of the French colony. ‘Two pieces by Mrs. Bridell, one m water-colour, and another on a larger scale, in oil, illustrated one of the most pathetic and pleasing of Mahometan superstitions, and which is alluded to in the preceding article. Itis believed that the spirits of the dead visit their tombs on the Sabbath (Friday), and are able to hold commune with their relatives and friends, who resort to the cemeteries for this purpose. In one of her pictures Mrs. Bridell represents with much beauty of os and colourmg, and with a depth of expression rarely equalled, a young girl at the tomb of a relative, and addressing a departed spirit; while in the companion piece, the same girl is in an attitude of reverential attention listening to the answers which the spirit is believed to give. The figure-drawing in these pictures is excellent, and the landscape accessories bear the impress of fidelity, and harmonize admirably with the sentiment of the subject.

6 Algiers as a Winter Residence.

Amongst the other pictures by Mrs. Bridell, an “ Arab Girl at an Embroidery Frame,” the “ Head of an Arab Girl, her hair Dyed with Henna,” “ ‘Arab Musicians Chanting a Benediction on the House of a Bride,” “ Sidi Ben Cassim taking Coffee,” and an “ Arab Woman by the Sea Shore,” possess a high degree of merit, and are likewise valuable as illastrating picturesque forms of life. By a resolute perseverance in over- coming difficulties, and with the friendly aid of the Duchess of Magenta, who highly appreciated her labours, Mrs. Bridell saw Arab and negro life in Algeria to an extent permitted to very few strangers, and she succeeded in obtaining sitters im cases where most artists who have made'the attempt have failed. The result is that she has returned from Algeria with materials for very striking pictures, which our readers will no doubt find opportunities of seeing. Sacred and secular associations—the Bible and the Arabian Nights—give an undying charm to good delineations of Hastern life, and in Mrs. Bridell’s pictures we see that combination of the actual with the ideal which proves the artist to have felt and understood her theme. Madame Bodi- chon’s landscapes transport the spectator to the beautiful scenery of Algeria, and amongst many of much merit, one especially, a twilight scene, with a heron amongst tall rushes, is remarkable for its harmonious colouring, and its exquisite sensation of calmness and repose. In another piece, dark, weird-looking cedars stand in a rolling sea of rising mist, with very picturesque effect ; while other sketches show us “‘ Algiers from the Sea Shore,” a wild romantic scene in Kabylia, ete. The coast of Algiers, with its red rocks, bears some resem- blance to parts of South Devon, but a peculiar and striking character is given to the landscape by palms, cactuses, and other plants foreign to the English eye.

Modern Jewellery and Art. 7

MODERN JEWELLERY AND ART. BY WILLIAM DUTHIE.

AurHoucH the associations which connect jewellery with art are very strong, it does not necessarily follow that the con- nection itself is an intimate one. These associations are in part traditional, and in part the result of the charm which the materials of jewellery in themselves, by their natural beauty, exert over the mind in an esthetic sense. Gems, gold, and silver suggest ornament, and ornament implies art, but the union between the two things—the harmonious blending of form and material—is often sadly imperfect. Perhaps no work- man, in modern times, has employed the materials placed at his hand to so little advantage, in an artistic sense, as the jeweller. What art has done within the last quarter of a century in stone and wood, and the coarser, cheaper metals, is something admirable. It has moved the architect, the sculptor, the wood-carver, the modeller and founder in brass and iron, to efforts and results which will assuredly be remem- bered in future days ; and has helped on the nation in its great course of esthetic progress and refinement. But nothing of this kind can be said of the jeweller, who has been content to produce lame, mongrel copies of ancient art productions; has dealt in the slang and vulgarities, as it were, of daily life, epitomized into gold, and garnished with gems to serve as pin or brooch; or who has gone to the ironmonger and the brass- founder for his newest patterns.

It is surely time that this cause of reproach should be removed. Something has already been done in the way of improvement in design in jewellery—not a word of fault- finding should be said as to execution—and it is only necessary to arouse the public themselves to the deficiencies of this branch of art, to ensure their correction. It is, in fact, the public who are chiefly to blame for the monstrosities which disfigure the jewellers’ show-windows, and with which they, the public, esteem themselves to be adorned. The artizan must, as a matter of necessity, produce that which will sell, or the shopkeeper will not accept of it; and the shopkeeper’s chief art is to discover the idiosyncrasies of taste of his customers, and this he does with a wonderful aptitude. The jeweller may appear in some cases to lead the public taste, but he can only do. so by pleasing it; and if he make what m commercial phrase is a “‘ hit,” in the production of some grotesque article of jewellery—grotesque in its attempted originality, or vulgar in its imitation of something in ordinary use—it is the taste of

8 Modern Jewellery and Art.

the customer which rules the market, and not that of the shopkeeper, who has simply detected the weak points of his patron’s fancy.

It is not here asserted that the jewellery daily exposed for sale, or made to order, is not showy, pretty, and even handsome in one point of view; or that there are not meritorious efforts made to produce works of artistic skill, sometimes with considerable success. The better class of shop- keepers would not admit within their show-rooms the paltry, meretricious class of jewellery, upon the sale of which others again chiefly live; and it is by this better class, who claim to have a style of their own, and who do indeed collect together excellent specimens of tasteful combination and workmanship, that anything like a state of art 1s maintained in the manufacture of articles of personal ornament. Butitis contended that there is an absence of real art, and of that knowledge of first prin- ciples upon which all true artis based, among those whose busi- ness it is, and whose assumption it is, to be the interpreters of esthetic outseekings in the domains of personal adornment, in gems and in the precious metals. Great advances have doubt- less been made in the general effect of the jewellery produced of later years, as compared with that of the times of the Georges, but this effect is attributable to other causes than artistic beauty of form, or even combinations of colour, and im too many cases the effect is a false one.

If we seek for examples of the styles of art produced at different periods since the medizval ages, what do we find ? Coarse, plump, and awkward outlines; little discrimination in the mingling of colours; and very inferior workmanship. Indeed, in our own country, since the reign of Hlizabeth, there is scarcely a specimen of jewellery proper extant, which can serve as a model to us of the present day. ‘There has been much good embossing and chasing throughout that period, and occasionally the enameller gives us glimpses of the best — efforts of his art; but there are few works in which a unity and completeness of design, a refreshing contrast in the colours of the gems or enamels employed, and a harmoniousness of effect in details, which make up the perfect specimen, to win our praise or excite our emulation. ‘There are not wanting, here and there, isolated details which are charming; as if all the materials for a perfect work were at hand, but that there failed the master-mind to select and mould them together. There are no evidences of the controlling taste of a Benvenuto Cellini, the tracings of a Holbein, or the minuteness and per- fection of finish of the Brothers Miller, shown in many an example in the Grine Gewilbe of the Zwingler at Dresden. Even on the continent, during this period, there is not very

Modern Jewellery and Art. 9

much to boast of ; and the best specimens of jewellery there, as at home, take the shape of pure diamond-work.

As was naturally to be expected, it was in the arrange- ment and manufacture of diamond parure that the best display of really artistic progress was shown. There the draughtsman and the modeller were thrown back upon their own resources ; for, seeing that little was to be effected, as a rule, by contrast of colour, so much more devolved upon grace of form and boldness of relief, for ultimate effect. The diamond-workers were always a better trained, and better paid class of men, than the goldsmiths, and the costly material upon which they were employed permitted an outlay, and demanded a degree of attention, which the labours of the goldsmith could dispense with. But even the diamond-work made on the continent from the beginning of the sixteenth century, down to within the last fifty years, was heavy, imartistic, and, considering its value, ineffective. Perhaps the Venetian diamond-work was the best, and much of this excellence resulted from the manner in which the gems were cut, viz., rectangular, with deep, single facets, and a broad flat table. Venice then led the way in most of the arts, and it is not surprising that her diamond jewellery should excel that of all other countries. In England, till within the last half century, diamond orna- ments, in common with all kinds of jewellery, were simply execrable. Perfectly flat, and although usually imitative of some kind of foliage, with no more relief or modelling (move- ment, the French call it), than a platter, the jewel was rather a rude mass of silver, in which diamonds were here and there set, than a piece of work with any traceable design. It was usually a cast block with a rounded back to each stone, and no gold whatever upon it beyond what was necessary as a means of fastening it to the dress. Where the pattern was not clearly floral, it was a mere jumble of grotesque shapes, not traceable to any original on the earth, or in the heavens.

The first real improvement in the design of diamond-work originated in Vienna, and from its very character led to new and more artistic development. It began in a parure of slender grass leaves, from which were pendent small stars, or dew-drops, and its best feature was a conscientious desire to follow closely upon nature. For a long time the simple field flowers and long grasses were the ruling models of diamond-work in the Austrian capital. The new fashion soon spread from Vienna to Paris, and thence, through French and German workmen, to London. At this time what is tech- nically called “thread setting’? was little used in London. The English workman prided himself upon his “ grain setting,” t.e., his work, whether leaf, flower, or nondescript orna-

10 Modern Jewellery and Art.

ment, was pared away on the edges, leaving long round- topped grains between, and on the side facets of the stones. All ornaments alike were subjected to this treatment, which gave a rounded appearance to the work, and destroyed all outline. This style of setting is described as ‘ cut down,” from the manner in which it is effected, and the Hnglshman was proud of his “cutting down.” ‘Thread setting,” on the contrary, preserves a fine filet, or line of silver on the outer edge of the portion of the leaf or flower, the sharp outline of which itis desired to preserve, and by a judicious use of the two methods, an admirable degree of relief is given to the whole ornament.

The advance of the Viennese in their search for art in the footsteps of nature led to most important results. The simple grass leaves were succeeded by foliage of a more ornate cha- racter; flowers of most complex construction were made the prominent features in the tiara, the brooch, or the stomacher, till no object was considered too difficult of imitation in the plastic silver, to be afterwards encrusted with diamonds so thickly as to leave little but a shell or skin of the original material to bind them together. It may truly be said that jewellery, in its employment of the diamond chiefly, attamed perfection in these floral ornaments. The taste of the draughtsman and the modeller, and the skill of the workman, were combined to produce them, and the result was the creation of works of true art. Many of the best specimens of | this class of workmanship were made in London, but, it must also be said, by foreign artizans, chiefly French and German. The style of the present day is no longer the same, but the skill and the taste remain, although scarcely employed so advantageously. The fashion of the moment runs in favour of a species of Arabesque or Byzantine interlaced work, to which it would be very difficult to give a name, but which is effective - in so far that it allows of the massing of stones on a rounded surface, broken up by narrow interstices, and a few gems are made to produce the dazzling effect of many. Diamond-work finds a further development in simple five-pointed stars, placed at intervals on an interlaced band.

There is little to be said for the goldsmith’s handicraft from the time of Hlizabeth to within the last half century. The old skill and artistic aptitude of the workman, derived from Italy, and developed under the Tudors, did not imme- diately die out in England, but it was not likely to gain an accession of strength in the more prosaic and unsettled times of James and of the Charleses. There was doubtless plenty of work to be done for both jeweller and goldsmith in the latter part of the reign of Charles II., but it was more showy than

Modern Jewellery and Art. 11

artistic, and has not lived. What did live, however, and give repeated signs of healthy vitality, was the art of chasing and embossing—in its result more often called repoussé-work—and. many fine specimens of the art, executed at this and at a later period, are to be found. But repoussé-work is scarcely appli- cable to jewellery proper, and was chiefly employed on tazzas and other silver plate, but oftener still on the gold cases of watches, and the principal portions of chatelaines.

The eighteenth century was the age of snuff-boxes, etui-cases, bonbonniéres, scent-bottle mounts, and a host of similar pro- ductions, in which great cleverness and some taste was dis- played ; and of paste waist-clasps, and shoe-buckles. What is more to our purpose, however, is the fact that at this period several kinds of finger rings of great taste, and very careful workmanship, were made. One kind is called the “ Giar- dinetti” ring, and consisted of a sprig of leaves and flowers, formed of diamonds and garnets, the latter set to imitate rubies, but among which other stones are very often introduced. These rings are in endless variety, and often have an ease and grace which make them deservedly prized. There were also what are commonly called Queen Ann’s rings, made of a single stone, an amethyst, a topaz, or a table diamond, in a close cramp setting, with a peculiarly light scroll shank, and an exquisitely fluted gold back. The double scroll on the shoulder of the rmg was sometimes of silver, and held in its folds a small square cut gem, usually a ruby or a diamond. Then there were the crystal memorial rings, in which a single crystal, with a narrow facetted edge, was set over a gum-plait of hair, in the centre of which was a minute cipher made of twisted gold wire. ‘The crystal was cut with a broad culasse, which rested directly upon the cipher, and allowed it to be seen clearly through. It: must be especially noted that the pride of the setter at this period was that his work, whether of real gems or paste imitations, should be “‘ sound,” that is, capable of excluding air and water; which is much more than can be said of the setting of the present day. Some of the paste ornaments, m imitation of diamond work, of this time, although utterly devoid of beauty of design, were wonderful specimens of clean, close workmanship, and often retain their lustre un- tarnished after the lapse of a hundred years.

At the latter half of the eighteenth century, engine-turning was much employed to ornament large surfaces, and was made available as the ground-work for the enameller whereon to place -his translucent glasses. The enamelled work of this period is very good, more especially the dead white and the purple, and a kind of dark puce (piewse?) which has since been called mauve. Engine-turning was brought to great

12 Modern Jewellery and Art.

excellence, but has now fallen into comparative disuse, together with another kind of machine tooling, at one time in great request for rings and ornamental edgings, called nerling. This nerling was the pressing of a pattern engraved on a small steel wheel, by means of a lathe, on to any metal wire or edge prepared to receive it. Then we come upon what may be called the garnet period, a distinct era in the history of jewellery, and which was of long duration. So far as design went, nothing could be more bald and tasteless than the smgle rows of round or oval garnets, or the occasional jumbling together of several stones in a cluster to give variety to the pattern. By this time the jeweller’s art, as implying a know- ledge of drawing, and the moulding of his materials into relief, was at its lowest ebb ; but his garnets were of the finest claret colour, were carefully cut, and set and foiled to perfection. The diamond-jeweller still maintained his supremacy, and although his designs were flat and meagre in spirit, he managed to display considerable cleverness in small works, as in rings— la bague marchise, for example—and in ciphers; but here again the effect was im a great measure marred by the use of the cramp, or “‘ cut down”? setting, instead of the “ thread,” which did not permit of the modelling, so to speak, of the letters. The garnet period only gave way to the period of filagree work, and the substitution for the garnet of the pink and yellow topaz, the jacinth, the chrysolite, the chrysoprase, the use of the zircon, or jargoon, instead of rose diamonds; the introduction © of stone-cameos, set, in imitation of Roman work, in bright red gold, with yellow nerled edges; and last, though not least, the amethyst. . The filagree work which now came into fashion was simply a revival, under modifications; for this use of twisted and screwed wire dates from the oldest times. But it was a vigorous revival, and held its ground for some years. When at length it yielded it was to the superior attractions of a spurious ‘Elizabethan, and an equally spurious Renaissance, scroll work. That taste dying out, there was awakened a passion, puffed into flame by a wind from Germany, for turquoise pavé, in balls, half balls, oval and round excrescences, perched upon and dropped into all kinds of uncomfortable places where they had no business to be. Conjointly with the tur- quoise pavé, came the fashion for large plain wire work—a sort of golden maccaroni, involved and knotted, but to what end no mortal could tell. Sometimes this wire work tookthe shape of simple round or oval rings, mexplicably interlaced, lke a conjuror’s puzzle ; at other times it resembled most a huddling of earth-worms. The turquoise pavé and the plain wire work have still their admirers; and the latter was but the precursor

Modern Jewellery and Art. 13

of a series of monstrosities. Among them came the horse- shoes, the straps and buckles, the jockey caps and whips, the screw-heads, the folded copies of Bell’s Infe, the padlocks, door-plates, bolts and bars, and cups and balls, which have long been the fashion. The jeweller’s art in short fell among the pots, pans, and kettles of every day life, and, to a great extent, it is among them still. There has been, it is true, in the mean time, a Roman revival, here and there decidedly successful ; and an Anglo-Saxon revival, which has somehow made rock crystal its principal medium of interpretation, and which has some very good features joined to its natural plump- ness and heaviness; and a partial medizval revival of a moukish character, which speaks in monograms and alpha- betical puzzles. A great deal of good may be said for all these revivifications, unfaithful copies as they are of their quaint originals, but for the sporting, and what may be called the poker and shovel jewellery, there is only one word—it is simply despicable.

But cannot something really original be designed in our personal ornaments? Or, if we must be copyists, can we not choose good models, and copy faithfully and conscientiously ? Is there no leaf or flower that may serve to give us new ideas of form or combinations of colours? It would appear as if the baser the material, the more was the artist drawn to rescue it from oblivion by his genius; ard the more precious