Peale.l 



432 



[June. 



dence, aud to add my mite of novelty and interest, as it ap- 

 pears to me, to the subject. 



And, first of the forms, which the plainest of these ceramic 

 efforts assume, whether derived from the contemplation of the 

 natural objects around, such as gourds, &c., which are always 

 pleasing to the eye (and which were possibly used as moulds), 

 or suggested by the forms of flowers, we find them nearly 

 always graceful, and, in many cases, those lines and curves, 

 which we call classic, exist in some of the parts, and not un- 

 frequently in the whole structure. 



The simple forms alluded to above, have been figured by 

 Mr. Charles Ran ; they abound in the places examined and so 

 carefully described by him. The specimens from the banks of 

 the Delaware are very similar, but they are also varied to a 

 considerable extent, and if the expression can be allowed, are 



more pretentious, being frequently curved gracefullj- near the 

 brim or moulded into a band, sometimes also scolloped in a 

 manner somewhat difficult to describe, and in the absence of 

 perfect or whole examples, impossible to figure. 



The above outlines are fac-similes of some of these forms. 



