330 MAR 
portion of the gall mud be found by trying them ; for 
there mud be juft fo much as will fuffer the fpots of co¬ 
lour, when fprinkled on the folution of the gum-traga- 
canth, to join together, without intermixing or running 
into each other. 
When every thing is thus prepared, the folution of the 
gum-tragacanth mud be poured into the trough; and the 
colours, being in a feparate pot, with a pencil appropriated 
to each, mult be fprinkled on the furface of the folution, 
by (haking the pencil charged with its proper colour over 
it ; and this mull be done with the feveral kinds of colour 
deli red, till the furface be wholly covered. When the 
marbling is propofed to be in fpots of a fimple form, no¬ 
thing more is neceffary; but where the whirls or fnail- 
thell figures are wanted, they muft be made by means of 
a quill ; which muft be put among the fpots to turn them 
about, till the effeft be produced. The jagged lengths 
muft be made by means of the comb above defcribed, 
which muft be palled through the colours from one end 
of the trough to the other; and will give them that ap¬ 
pearance; but, if they be defired to be pointed both ways, 
the comb muft be again paffed through the trough in a 
contrary direction ; or, if fome of the whirls or fnail-lhell 
figures be required to be added, they may be yet made by 
the means before directed. The paper Ihould be previ- 
oufiy prepared for receiving the colours, by dipping it 
over-night in water; and laying the (beets on each other 
with a weight over them. The whole being thus ready, 
the paper muft be held by two corners, and laid in the 
molt gentle and even manner on the folution covered with 
the colours; and there foftly prefled with the hand, that 
it may bear every-wbere on the folution. After which, it 
muft be raifed and taken off with the fame care, and then 
bung to dry acrofs a proper cord, fubtended near at hand 
for that purpofe; and in that Hate it muft continue till it 
be perfectly dry. It then remains only to give the paper 
a proper polilh ; in order to which, it is firlt rubbed with 
a little foap ; and then muft be thoroughly fmoothed by 
the glafs polilhers, fuch as are ufed for linen, and called 
the calender-glajfes. After which it Ihould be again rub¬ 
bed by a burnilher of jafper or agate ; or, in default of 
them, of glafs ground to the higheft polilh ; for on the 
perfeff poll fit of the paper depends in a great meafure its 
beauty and value. Gold or fiiver pow'ders may be ufed, 
■where defired, along with the colour ; and require only 
the fame treatment as them, except that they muft be 
firft tempered with gum-water. 
Marbling of books or paper is performed thus : Diffolve 
four ounces of gum-arabic in two quarts of fair water; then 
provide feveral colours mixed with water in pots or fhells ; 
and, with pencils, peculiar to each colour, fprinkle them by 
way of intermixture upon the gum-water, which muft be 
put into a trough or fome broad veflel; then with a (tick 
curl them, or draw them out in ftreaks, to as much variety 
as may be done. Having done this, hold your book or 
books clofe together, and only dip the edges in, on the top 
of the water and colours, very lightly ; which done, take 
them off, and the plain impreflion of the colours in mix¬ 
ture will be upon the leaves ; doing as well the ends as 
the front of the book in the like manner. Marbling a 
book on the covers is performed by forming clouds with 
aqua-fortis or fpirit of vitriol mixed with ink, and after¬ 
wards glazing the covers. See Book-Binding. 
In the third volume of the Repertory of Arts, we find 
the “ Defcription of a Method of Vein-marbling and 
Staining Silk, Linen, Cotton, Paper, &c. in a Letter to the* 
Editors, from Mr. Samuel Toplis, of Gainlborough.”. 
Make a middling-thick lize, or palte, of flour and water, 
to which add a little powdered alum, and then boil it in 
the manner of glover's pafte. Put fome of the fize, when 
cool, into feveral pots; and mix with it fuch kind of co¬ 
lours, or other matters ufed in ftaining and dying, as are 
had in elteem. Have ready a painter’s brulh to each pot, 
and, with any of the brulhes, fpread a quantity of the fore- 
mentioned coloured fize, very even, on aflat piece of mar- 
M A It 
hie, or other fmooth ftone, or on a fmooth board, or a ta¬ 
ble, according to the length and width of the piece of filk, 
linen, cotton, or Iheet of paper. On the coloured fize, 
thus fpread, lay a ftrong plate of glafs, or one of tin or 
copper, or a thin piece of board, prefling the plate (of what¬ 
ever fort) gently with the hand on every part. Raife the 
plate, by lifting up one end ; and it will be found veined, 
in every direction, by the adhefivenefs of the fize; imme¬ 
diately lay the plate, thus prepared, on the filk, linen, or 
other article, and with the hand again gently prefs on 
every part of the plate, which will vein or marble the filk, 
linen, &c. with the fame figures as were on the fized plate. 
If the plate of glafs (which is preferable, but exceptiona¬ 
ble on account of its brittlenefs) be not prefled too hard, 
a fecond impreflion, with a beautiful fort of fmaller-fized 
veins, may be had from the firft colouring ; and, if two 
different colours are defired on the fame furface, there 
needs only a repetition of the procefs with the fize, con¬ 
taining the ftaining ingredients, and other favourite co¬ 
louring fubftances. A neat fort of tortoife-lhell appear¬ 
ance, and a great variety of expreflive figures, may be pro¬ 
duced this way, as alfo by various afiions of the fingers 
upon the plate, before the fize lofes its inoilture, and like- 
wife by many times folding the filk, linen, or other mate¬ 
rial of flexible texture. 
Marbling is a curious procefs applied to a fpecies of 
porcelain or china-ware, by which it feems to be full of 
cemented flaws. It is then called by the Chinefe, who 
who are very fond of it, tjou tchi ; by us, marbled china-ware. 
It is generally plain white, forneti.mes blue, and has exaftly 
the appearance of a piece of china which bad been firft 
broken, and then had all the pieces cemented in their places 
again, and covered with the original varnilh. The manner 
of preparing it is eafy, and might be imitated with us. 
Inltead of the common varnilh of the china-ware, which 
is made of what they call oil of ftone and oil of fern mixed 
together, they cover this with a fimple thing made only 
of a fort of coarfe agates, calcined to a white pow der, and 
feparated from the grofler parts by means of water, after 
long grinding in mortars. When the powder has been 
thus prepared, it is left moift, or in form of a fort of cream, 
with the laft water that is fuffered to remain in it; and this 
is ufed as the varnilh. Our cryftal would ferve full as 
well as thofe coarfe agates, and the method of preparation 
is perfectly eafy. The occaiionof the lingular appearance 
of this fort of porcelain is, that the varnilh never fpreads 
evenly, but runs into ridges and veins. Thefe often run 
naturally into a fort of mofaic work, which can fcarcely be 
taken for the effect of chance. If the marbled china he 
defired blue, they firft give it a general coat of this colour, 
by dipping the veflel into a blue varnilh ; and, when this 
is thoroughly dry, they add another coat of this agate-oil. 
MARBGiUT, a town of France, in the department of 
the Eure : twelve miles north of Conches. 
MAR'BOS, a town of France, in the department of the 
Ain : eight miles north of Bourg en Brdffe. 
MAR'BROOK, a river in Shroplhire, which falls into 
the Severn below Bridgenortl). 
MAR'BURG, or March'eurg, a town of the duchy 
of Stiria, on the Drave, which had formerly counts of its 
own : thirty-one miles fouth of Gratz, and one hundred 
fouth of Vienna. Lat.46.40.IM. Ion. 15. 37. E. 
MAR'BURG, or Mar'purg, a town and capital of 
Upper Heffe, on the weft fide of the Lahn, defended by a 
caftle, which was once the refidence of the landgraves of 
Heffe. In this town is an univerfity, founded in the year 
1527 by the landgrave Philip the Magnanimous; here is 
alfo an academy lor clafiicai learning, and three proteftant 
churches. Marburg, from a village, was raifed to a town 
about the beginning of the thirteenth century. In the 
years 1261 and 1319, it was wholly deftroyed by fire. In 
1529, a folemn but fruitlefs conference was held here be¬ 
twixt Luther and Melanfthon on one fide, and Zuinglius 
and Oecolampadius on the other. In 1759, the French, 
when overrunning Weftphalia, put a garrifon of 800 or 
1 900 
