PIG'S HEAD OF DELFT WARE. The sauceboat of which an illustration is here given exhibits some originality of design and unique workmanship. The color of the enamel of this piece is exceedingly peculiar, it being of a dull purple hue unrelieved by decoration except at the top, where a single morning-glory breaks in with its bright tints. In ornamentation and in the character of her wares Holland followed closely after the Orientals-the Chinese, Japanese, and India wares being considered patterns of excellence and perfection; —indeed the Delft and India wares are often and easily confounded, owing to their similarity. Holland was for a long time in the exclusive enjoyment of intercourse with Japan, and the advanced stage to which the Eastern nations had carried the art became an incentive to the Delft workmen. The very In the matter of ancient pottery England has a distinct local history, which, through the persevering efforts of the English "Society of Practical Geology,"* has assumed extraordinary importance and interest. foundations of London itself rest upon the wreck of the industry of ages; and so nicely defined are the different strata that the periods of occupation by various peoples, their household arts and economies of life, are all revealed to the antiquarian. History is re-enforced and authenticated by these curious illustrations. The accompanying plate conveys some idea of the nicety and perfection to which the society has carried its work. What the evidences of the rocks are to the geologist, these evidences are to the historian of England. *Such a society in our own country would serve us vastly as an intelligent collaborator with the historian; and if we are ever to boast of a museum it will be thus obtained. The necessary facts and illustrations can only be collated by means of systematic and scholarly efforts. D Properly this does not come within th province of our consideration regarding th historic progress of pottery, since we a dealing principally with the methods of a lat civilization when the art is continuous fro the time of its introduction into Spain. B this digression tends to show by what mear our subject is made available to contribu to the fund of general knowledge. Early in the sixteenth century, through th commercial intercourse of England wit Flanders, stoneware was introduced upo British soil, and toward the close of the ce tury England herself had enlisted as a prod cer. In 1561 Queen Elizabeth granted p tents for the settling of various Dutch arti cers, and in 1588 a Delft potter commence to carry on business at Sandwich. These early works were very similar those imported-the first innovation, upo English soil, being the use of salt as a m dium for glazing. This was introduced abo 1700. But little advancement was made beyon this until the establishment of the great Sta fordshire potteries, which were destined to b come the center of progress and improvemen in this interesting industrial art. Astbury seen to have been about the earliest of the nativ English potters, and to his son is attribute the discovery of calcined flints as a valuab ingredient. "While traveling in London o horseback, in the year 1720, the younger As bury had occasion at Dunstable to seek remedy for a disorder in his horse's eyes, whe the ostler of the inn by burning a flint r duced it to a fine powder which he blew int them. The potter, observing the beautif 0 A. is the present level of a street in London. B. Paved roadway in situ before the London fire of 1666. C. Ground in which the Norman and early English pottery is discovere 1. D. Transition period between the Roman and Saxon, with a piece of Roman tesselated pavement. E. The Roman stratuin. Here the remains are most profuse. F. A fine soil, resting upon G. Gravel. white color of the flint after calcination, instantly conceived the use to which it might be employed in his art." Here was a rapid stride in the direction of improvement,-strength, hard ness, and compactness of material being obtained by this simple BOTTCHER TEAPOT, WITH means. DECORATION COPIED FROM THE ORIENTAL We now approach a period when the English workmen are noted for the excellence of their work. The great field of fictilia at this time offered extraordinary opportunities for the display of skill and taste and the exercise of the inventive faculty. The name of Josiah Wedgwood is almost as familiar to Americans as it is to his own countrymen, though the same cannot be said of his works. He commenced his labor as an experimenter in imitating variegated stones, the agate and jasper being most frequently used as examples; these pieces were mostly small, however, and perhaps unsatisfactory to the eager artisan himself. Considering his limited education, the rapid progress he made in the solution of the difficult problems which must have frequently presented themselves is remarkable. Wedgwood applied himself assiduously to a systematic study of the work before him, reading extensively and engaging in an investigation of the chemical combinations necessary to the attainment of satisfactory results. Unlike the laborers of former ages, he was sure of such a conclusion before he put his hand to the work. Six different kinds of pottery appeared simultaneously from his workshop in Staf fordshire, and his marvelous success secured for him at once the coöperation and patronage of both the nobility and royalty. The records of ceramic art do not contain a more brilliant page than this. Sir William Hamilton offered to Wedgwood his great cabinet of the wares of Herculaneum for the further prosecution of his studies, and the Duchess of Portland yielded her claim upon the Barberini-Portland vase while he engaged himself in making copies which alone would have rendered him famous. In the person of Flaxman this potter found an invaluable colleague-in fact Wedgwood called to his aid the very highest talent both of artist and artisan. He had the gratification of seeing his wares eagerly sought in foreign countries. His beautiful reproduc tions of the antique cameos found great favor abroad, until at last foreign governments in some cases prohibited. their importation, while into other countries they were only admitted under heavy impost. His genius culminated in those graceful figures, designed after the old Greek school, in bas-relief upon a ground of delicate blue. Most of the pot VASE OF AUGUSTUS REX WARE, IN tery which has been in long use in America is either from India and other Oriental markets, or from Delft and Staffordshire. As most of my readers are aware, the predominating color used in the decoration of this ware is blue; and many of the present day can remember the comfortable old tea-fights of years ago, where all sat down to a table spread with this immemorial blue ware. Proud indeed were the matrons of those days of their "crockery." Compare it, gentle reader, with the modern sepulchral style. Your table, nowadays, looks like a graveyard in winter. One more species of ware detains our attention as being also a part of our household economy: this was made in Liverpool, where Mr. John Sadler discovered the art of printing on the glaze. Of this art Wedgwood also availed himself. Decorated with American emblems, this ware appealed directly to American sentiment, and met with much favor here. I have two pieces before me, one of which bears the inscription, "Success to the United States of America," over the arms MANUFACTURE, BUT RESEMBLING THE BERLIN AND DRESDEN WARES. of the then new republic. SATYR VASE, OF UNKNOWN Another has a picture of Mount Vernon and over it, "Mount Vernon, seat of the late General Washington." A vast number of these pieces were made with various designs and mottoes; the ware was unique, but the method of treatment was too mechanical to have much artis tic merit. Yet the fact that considerable of it was made during or shortly before the war of the Revolution will give it peculiar value to Ameri cans. I have dwelt at length upon fayence, or pottery, as offering .the broadest field for our contempla tion, it having brought us through a period of six hundred years, or from the thirteenth to the closing of the nineteenth century, where we will leave it to continue its own useful history, and pass to a brief consideration of SEVRES VASE, IN POSSESSION OF SIR A. PORCELAIN.* China was conversant with the art of making porcelain many centuries before it was known among Christians. The other Oriental nations were contemporary workers or immediately succeeded her with their discoveries. When Pompey brought his spoils of war from Persia, and Augustus Cæsar from Alexandria, they brought also the "Vasa Murrhina" mentioned by Pliny. These were finely decorated porcelains which had been conveyed by caravans over the tedious wastes of Asia and Egypt to these localities, the commerce of the Red Sea not yet being renewed by the Europeans. his crucibles from the effect of repeated heating had assumed all the characteristics of Oriental porcelain. of Oriental porcelain. Augustus, appreciat ing the value of the discovery, had him conveyed with all his apparatus to the Castle of Albrechtsburg at Meissen, where he was allowed every luxury and comfort except freedom, and pursued his investigations under the strict surveillance of one of the Elector's officers, the outer world remaining in complete ignorance of both the man and his discovery. During the Swedish invasion Böttcher was kept faithfully beyond reach of the approaching armies by frequent removal under escort, and through fidelity to his royal retainer was soon given greater liberty. In 1707 we find him again at Dresden pursuing his occupation under more favorable auspices. His first prison companion was still in company with him, having turned his talents toward perfecting Böttcher's discovery; but in 1708 death cut short his labors, and Böttcher was left alone. At last the end approached: for five days and nights without sleep our eager inventor sat before his furnace; on the fifth day he was pensed for his devotion by complete success. I say complete; it was complete so far as substance was concerned, but its color was red,-chocolate red,—and it had no luster. This latter was afterwards added by application to the lapidary's wheel. The accompanying sketch is taken from Böttcher's recom first work, the decorations being copied from Oriental wares. One secret yet remained undiscovered, that of making white porcelain. But one day Böttcher, worried by the weight of his peruke, gave it a shake, when there fell from it a fine white powder. Happy thought! He tested it, and the result we have before us in perfected porcelain. This is known as Augustus Rex ware, because marked with the monogram “A. R.” It immediately succeeded the favorite and beautiful Dresden ware. were last sold. In our own country we have a number of specimens of this Sèvres ware, and the vase which is illustrated here is one of a pair presented to Gen. John A. Dix by Napoleon III. These are exceedingly large and elegant vases of bleu de roi enamel with medallions of decoration. We have thus far passed through a measure of about three thousand years, bringing the reader from the souterrains of dead Egypt by rapid steps up to the progress and enlightenment of the nineteenth century. We pass by the rare and famous Capo di My little paper-weight and ink-well still Monte ware of Italy, and give Vincennes and stand here in most intimate companionship, St. Cloud the cold shoulder to arrive at Sèvres, yet so unlike that scarcely any one would -well termed the royal factory of France, acknowledge their relationship. These thirty where, under royal patronage and supervi- centuries are too vast a space through which sion, everything that art, ingenuity, or science to trace a genealogy, yet it is certain that could devise has been concentrated. If this modest scarabæus is the Adam of our money value be any criterion, we must cer- proud Sèvres. tainly concede to the fictilia of Sèvres an eminence far above that of any other factory. One pair of vases, each standing fourteen inches in height, brought at auction in the Bernal collection nearly ten thousand dollars in gold. Perhaps, uninitiated reader, you will be inclined to remark, "A fool and his money are soon parted;" but you must not judge too hastily, for if these same vases were offered for sale to-day they would bring as much as, and probably more than, when they Interest in the art of pottery and porcelain has of late years been greatly stimulated in this country by the observations of American travelers abroad who have brought home with them a taste which will go far toward advancing the culture so much needed in our own land. The day is surely coming when those now much-despised old blue tea cups of our grandmothers will occupy the place of honor on our sumptuous modern sideboards. THE WAIF OF NAUTILUS ISLAND. "LAND sakes alive! Miah Morey, I'd as lives sleep with a log!" And Aunt Thankful sat up in bed, listening to the howling of the storm and the booming undertone of the breakers on Man-o'-War Reef. "I'm sure I hearn a yell," added the irate dame, as she shook her sleepy husband by the shoulder. She peeped about the dingy room, which was lighted only by the smouldering coals on the hearth, and listened anxiously for a repetition of the sound which she fancied she had heard in the wild tumult of the March gale that sobbed and shrieked about the island. With her double-gown over her shoulders, Aunt Thankful opened the door and looked out into the night. Sheets of rain drenched the soggy turf; far out in the watery blackness small patches of melting snow gleamed ghastly on the rocky ledges; giant breakers, white with foam, flashed dimly up into sight along the shore, like strange wild shapes, and then sank suddenly down again. The VOL IV.-5 angry ocean smote the island with a thunderous hand, and far out along the cruel reef the hungry waves showed their white teeth in the blackness of the night. The air was raw, and drenched with spume and flying scud; and through the thick drift the feeble gleam of the light-house across the harbor struggled like a yellow stain in the night. "I haven't seen a wuss night sence we lived on Nautilus," said the old man, who had joined the good wife at the door. "The gulls flew low yesterday, and arter sundown I hearn the crows hollerin' over to Somes's Sound; I knowed there wuz a gale a-brewin'." "Hold yer clack, can't ye? I can't hear nothin' for your jaw. Hearken!" And, as she spoke, a cry of distress came faintly on the gale from Man-o'-War Reef. "It's a human critter's cry, as sure as I'm a livin' sinner," said Aunt Thankful; and almost before the words were uttered, she und her husband, hurrying on their garments, vere struggling against the storm as they an down to the reef which made out into Penobscot Bay from the little island where they had their solitary home. A huge black bulk loomed out of the seadrift when they reached the rocky shore, its dark sides relieved against the yeasty waves which broke all around. "It's an East Injiman, out of her reckoning," muttered Miah Morey, when he saw the unwieldy craft, fast wedged upon the outer extremity of the reef. "God help 'em all," whispered Aunt Thankful; "we can't, in such a sea as this ;" and the old couple stood wistfully gazing upon the helpless wreck, as the fierce sea rushed over it and tore it where it lay. "She's a wrack, sure enough;" and the cooler calculation of the man was turned to consideration of the flotsam and jetsam which the falling tide might bring him. Longingly and pitifully the old couple looked across the waste of waters in which no boat could live, and the salt tears trickled down the weather-beaten cheeks of the dame as she heard again and again the despairing halloo of the drowning mariners. Her thoughts were once more with her beloved Reuben, her only son, who had sailed as second mate on a fishing voyage, years ago, and never had been heard of since, though no day ever passed but she cast a weary glance seaward for the white sails of the William and Sally. But they never came. So she stood there, tearful at last, sheltered behind her husband's stalwart figure, waiting for the end. "A spar! a spar!" shouted Miah, as a fragment came tumbling through the surf. A line from their fish-flakes, close at hand, was soon around Miah's waist, and Aunt Thankful held the slack, while he plunged in and made for a white object which they saw clinging to the tangle of rigging on the spar. There was a fierce buffet with the breakers, a hurried, sobbing prayer from Aunt Thankful, who saw the strong swimmer reach the plunging bit of timber, and then she screamed through the gale: "Ware o' the stick, old man; it'll mash ye ef yer not keerful." But Miah had left the spar, and the wiry fingers of his wife tugged nervously at the rope as she hauled him in, hand over hand; and he dragged a heavy burden with him. Miah, breathless and spent, crawled up the stony beach, pulling the half-clad body of a man. Stooping over her sinking hus band and his pitiful load, Aunt Thankful beheld a male figure, half dressed as if surprised in sleep, and in its loosening arms, wrapped in a sailor's pea-jacket, an infant. "The child is alive, as sure as I'm born," said Aunt Thankful, lifting the tiny waif from the figure where it lay. And there, beneath the angry sky, his feet licked by the halfrelenting sea which ran far up the shelving shore, the father gasped out the little remnant of his life as his child was gathered to the motherly bosom of her who should henceforth stand instead of those who were no more. The child wailed while good Aunt Thankful bore her swiftly to her cottage, but soon sank into rosy slumber when, wrapped and warm, she was laid carefully by the side of little Obed, Thankful Morey's orphaned nephew, who slept tranquilly in his trundlebed, happily unmindful of the tragedy which was darkening the coast of Nautilus Island, and casting thereon a mystery which should perplex his life from that hour. Hurrying back to the shore, Aunt Thankful took the family rum-bottle and warm blankets for the drowned man's relief. But it was vain. No chafing nor restoratives could call back the flutter of the heart. "He's tripped his anchor, sure," was the figurative speech of Miah, and so they covered him decently, and set themselves to watching for more waifs from the wreck. None came; and when the gray dawn struggled up in the East, and the sea sank moodily down, the beach was strewn with fragments of the wreck; and far out on Man-o'-War Reef only a few bare ribs of the broken ship, a pitiful sight, thrust their dark lines up through the rising and falling of the tide. A low moan came over the remorseful waves as the rising sun broke redly through the ragged clouds. The night rack faded away, and the blue sky looked down in patches on the bay, but no human sign came up from the secrets of the sea, save a bit of quarter-board, on which had been painted the name of the doomed ship. These were the last three letters of the name-" -"USA;" and that was all. And so that great sum of life and hope melted into the cruel sea and was heard of no more. The child was apparently about two years old; she knew no name but "Mamie," and took to her new surroundings as though she had never known any other. Curious citizens and eager 'longshoremen from the little port across the bay came over |