MOSAIC, 
breadth, and the attributes of the hunters 
and animals represented on a moiintaiuous 
country, in the upper part, left him no rea- 
•on to doubt that the scene was intended 
ibr Egypt. Greek characters inset ibed be- 
neath the animals give their names. “ In 
the lower part of the mosaic, we perceive 
the Nile,winding round several small islands ; 
boats with oars, or sails; Egyptians in pur- 
suit of croeodiles, which conceal themselves 
among the rushes; rustic cottages; superb 
buildings; priests performing religions cere- 
monies in their temples ; Egyptian women, 
reclined niitler a bower on the borders of a 
canal, with cups or musical instruments in 
their hands ; and, lastly, a magnificent tent, 
. near which a general, followed by several 
soldiers, armed with lances and shields, ad- 
vances towards a female with a palm-branch 
in her left hand, and in her right a speties 
of garland, which she holds out to him. It 
was natural,” adds this learned writer, “ that 
the sagacity of antiquaries should be em- 
ployed on so rich a composition. Father 
Kircher discovered in it the vicissitudes of 
fortune ; Cardinal Polignac, the arrival of 
Alexander in Egypt; and Father Montfau- 
con, exhibitions of the Nile, of Egypt, and 
of Ethiopia.” Barthelemy, with more pro- 
bability, thought it represented the arrival 
of the Emperor Adrian in a province of 
Upper Egypt. 
Very few, if any, pictures in mosaic have 
been found in England ; but numbers of 
pavements of Roman origin have often 
been, and still are continually discovered. 
Those necessarily differ considerably from 
the delicate and beautiful works already 
noticed , and yet the neatiiess of their com- 
ponent parts, and the elegance' of their fi- 
gures, obtain and deserve admiration. Of 
more modern performances, there are still 
a sufficient number remaining in our abbey 
and cathedral churches, to prove that we 
have not been deficient in this branch of the 
arts, although no instances occtir of our 
having adopted this method of decorating 
walls, which is rather singular, as prudence 
seems to suggest the propriety of giving 
stability to the performances of our artists, 
whose works are suhjcct to constant damps 
from tlie humidity of the climate. Of all 
the pavements in mosaic left in our churches, 
uot one can be compared with that placed 
by Richard Watc, Abbot of St. Peter’s, 
Westminster, before the high altar of the 
church, in 1272, which is thus described by 
Malcolm, in the first volume of “ Londinium 
Redivivum.” “ The materials are lapis- 
lazuli, jasper, porphyry, alabaster, Lydiait, 
and serpentine marbles and touchstone. 
The centre of the design is a large circle, 
whose centre is a circular plane of porphy- 
ry, three spans and a quarter in diameter; 
round it stars of lapis-lazidi, pea-green, red 
and white, which being of most beautiful 
colours, have been subject to depredations ; 
tliose enclosed by a band of alabaster; and 
without, a border of lozenges, red and green ; 
the half lozenges contain triangles of the 
same colours. A dark circle held brass let- 
ters, the places of which may be seen ; but are 
now reduced to six: 7?.e.cr;.A/.ra: 
The extreme lines of this great circle run 
into four smaller circles facing the cardinal 
points : that to the east, a centre of orange 
and green variegated ; round it a circle of 
green and red wedges ; without that, lozenges 
of the same colours ; and completed by a 
dark border. To the north, the circle lias 
a sexagon centre of variegated grey and 
yellow; round it a baud of porphyry and 
a dark border. The west cirele nearly 
similar. Tlie south, a blaek centre wilhin 
a variegated oetagon. A large lozenge in- 
closes all the above circles, which is formed 
by a double border of olive-colour ; within 
which, on one corner only, are 138 circles 
intersecting each other, and each made by 
four’oval pieces, inclosing a lozenge. The 
other parts vary in figure; but w'ould take 
many pages to describe. 
The above lozenge has a circle on each of 
its sides, to the north-west, south-west, north- 
east, and south-east The first contains a 
sexagon, divided by lozenges of green ; with- 
in which are forty-one red stars. In the in- 
tersections red triangles. Green triangles 
foi\in a sexagon round every intersection. 
The second contains a sexagon; within it 
seven stars of red and green, forming seve- 
ral sexagons, containing yellow stais. The 
third has a sexagon, formed by intersecting 
lines into sexagons and triangles; within the 
former stars of red and green. The latter 
sixteen smaller ti iangles of red, green, and 
yellow. The last a sexagon, with thirty- 
one within it, filled by stars of six rays, 
green and yellow. The spaces within the 
great lozenge round the circles is composed 
of circles, stars, squares, lozenges, and tri- 
angles, the com()ouent parts of which are 
thousands of pieces of the above shapes. 
The, whole of the great lozenge and circles 
is inclosed by a .square ; the sides to tlie 
cardinal points. It has held otlver parts of 
the inscription, of this O and only re- 
main on tlie eastern side, N O on the south, 
