348 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



I Nov. 



they mast have been very dear. Tliey were perhaps made in a soft state. 

 In this case are small jugs, phials, and vases of coloured glass, made for 

 toilet use. Likewise earthenware imitations, painted or enamelled. The 

 pattern is chiefly a wavy line, each line of a dill'erent colour. One phial 

 is to t).- noticed an inch long, but thick, and of a brown colour with white 

 streaks. It is a very pretty toy. The glass blowing and cutting are good, 

 but do not seem to have been carried out on such a large scale as among 

 the moderns. The specimens in Case 40, found in England, are very 

 good. 



The case No. 03, gives some very interesting specimens of Greek wood 

 work, a lyre and two Uutes from a tomb at Athens. ICach flute has a 

 mouth hole and four linger holes. One flute is of a single piece, about a 

 foot long, and the thickness of a piccolo flute ; the other is rather lunger. 

 The outside is smoothly turned, and the holes are cleanly bored, seem- 

 ingly with an auger of the same size. The lyre is much broken. 



The contents of Case 8G are mostly Greek. They are sn.all bullie or 

 balls of glass and stone, chiefly blue. There are some bone bodkins, large 

 but well finished. 



In No. 104 are small metal ladles, scoops, spoons, and spatulae. Here 

 are also a small pair of pincers or tweezers, jointed like scissors, BQd a 

 tish-hook. 



In No. 105 are several pairs of compasses ; among them a small pair o( 

 carpenter's compasses, four inches long ; a pair eight inches long, with 

 jointed legs ; and a pair of double compasses. These instruments are not 

 so well finished as in these days, but the joints and workmanship are 

 good. A large assortment of Roman stamps and brands is of various 

 goodness ; some very neatly cut. Here are some spike nails, well forged. 

 The staples are good. The hinges are among the most interesting speci- 

 mens of Roman smith's work. Some are as well finished as can be de- 

 sired, particularly a large and heavy pair made with a double joint. 

 There are some strong door sockets. 



In No. lOG are locks and keys. The keys are very clumsy. 



No. 112 contains a variety of signet rings, some with stones set. These 

 are mostly common things, not equal to the jewellery of gold and silver in 

 other cases. A chain or necklace, enamelled gold and blue, is one of the 

 neatest pieces of work in the whole collection. Every piece is of the 

 same pattern, and well linked together. 



The assortment of buckles is large. They of all shapes and sizes — 

 square, oblong, round, oval, and horse-shoe among others ; some few or- 

 namented, one with two rams' heads. Many are embossed, but badly. A 

 ring buckle, of the size of a shilling, is neatly wrought. The tongue of 



the buckle is often made of a bit of wire, with the head twisted round. 

 The rivetling is often clumsy. There are buckles made to sew on; oue 

 like a good stock buckle. There are many brooches with a spring catch • 

 some very large and clumsy, as if made by common smiths. 



The collection of metallic mirrors and mirror-cases fills several cases. 

 The mirrors are from three to eight inches diameter, and cleanly turned. 

 It is a pity that some of them are not polished, to show the use of them, 

 for most of them are dull and rusty enough now. All the mirrors are made 

 with a handle to hold by, so thai some look like fryingpaus. Some have 

 their faces and cases engraved, sometimes done in the lathe and sometimes 

 with the graver. The cases are often beautifully embossed or engraved, 

 though some are very common. In No. 74 is a mirror-case of bronze, 

 found at Toscanella. It is nine inches across, and delicately chased iu 

 very high relief. Two women are sitting opposite to each other. They 

 are dressed like Pallas Athene, wjth a Medusa's head and snakes on the 

 breastplate, and a snake on the shield. This case is much damaged. 

 Another case, also found at Toscanella, is five inches across. The subject 

 is Bacchus and Ariadne. Both are naked, Ariadne with her back turned 

 clasping Bacchus round the neck. He holds in his left hand a large wine 

 jar. A panther is behind him. There are several cases engraved in the 

 style of the vases, some with Etruscan countenances. The engraving re 

 mostly a bad attempt at anatomical drawing. In No. 75 all ihe engraved 

 cases show bad drawing. Here is one mirror-case seemingly cast, which 

 is a piece of beautiful workmanship. It represents Hercules and Om- 

 phale, in the early Greek style. The drapery and details are highly 

 finished. 



In No. 90 are mirrors from Athens and Ithaca, all of them small. 



The above remarks, though they embrace only an imperfect view of the 

 collections in the Museum, may still give some idea of ancient workman- 

 ship. It will be seen that they were acquainted with hammering, forging, 

 turning, filing, casting, boring, drilling, rivetling, polishing, tempering, 

 die-sinking, glass blowing and cutting, and enamelling. In many uf these 

 they had made much progress. It is impossible to avoid rellecting how 

 much the work of the ancients was limited by their want of power, '1 he 

 ditference is great between the mechanical resources of the Romans and 

 what the steam-engine has done for us in the forge-hammer, the saw, the 

 boring, the planing, and the rivetling machines. We cannot, however, 

 help admiring how much they did with small means. 



(To be continued. J 



STONE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER MEUSE FOR THE NAMUR AND LIEGE RAILWAY. 



iii-iaiiSi:; 



!.:|lt",Jiff'l'.a>" 



The ahove engraving is the centre arch of a handsome stone bridge now 

 in course of lieitii; constructed on the Namur and Liege Railway, over the 

 liiver .Meuse, in France, from the designs of George Uennie, Esq. The 

 bridge consists of five arches, 82 feet span, with a rite of 10 feet ; the pieu 



are 8 feet thick at top and 11 feet at bottom, and 24 feet higli from the top 

 of the footings to the springing of the arch. The roadway ij 20 feet wide 

 to the outside of parapets, and will carry two pairs of rails. 



