The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-14 00:00:00

THE PRINCE CONSORT'S MEMORIAL.

The Times contains a description of the memorial erect-
ing south of Hyde Park to the late Prince Consort. To
one who walks past it, the cross does not yet shine forth
very strikingly. It is covered and surrounded with shed
poles and scaffolding. Beneath the temporary sheds which
surround the base of the monument the sculptor's chisel is,
in point of fact, most busily at work, and high dark canvas
coverings conceal the great mosaics which are now fixed
and in their place. These latter constitute the first
completed portion of the memorial, and as they are of a
kind entirely novel in this country, a short description of
them will probably possess some interest. Hitherto the
metropolis has formed its conception of wall pieces to a
large extent from the frescoes at Westminster— beau-
tiful unquestionably, but so very perishable that it seems
even yet a question whether the water-glass composition
will save them from ultimate decay, and that, too, under
cover, and when watched with the utmost vigilance.
The designs at Kensington arc to brave the open
air, and hence must be of wholly different substance.
Mosaics, no doubt, are familiar enough in this country in
the shape of Minton's tiles and others ; but these are of
clay, whereas the memorial frescoes are of enamel. They
are not only peculiar in their composition, but in their
arrangement, the great difficulty of making frescoes upon
the spot where they are required for use having been over-
come by Signor Salviati, of Venice,who manufactures and ex-
ports frescoes like any other article of commerce. The enamel
is made in cakes, which are then cut up into squares or
tesserm, and of these tessera) of various hues the mosaic is
iomposed. The process of manufacture is not unlike the
act of setting type, except that the compositor puts
together the minute particles which he has to handle with
their faces up, whereas the Italian workman turns the faces
of the tessorm down. These are laid upon and adhere to
brown paper, which is not removed, so that the actual face of
the work is never seen till it reaches its destination and is
about to be fixed in its place. The Italian artist is, however,
enabled to avoid what may be called, by way of illustra-
tion, typographical errors in his work, as the fragments
which he has to place. are uniform throughout in substance,
so that the back of the mosaic is nearly the same as the
front, the gilding alone presenting a point of difference.
It is claimed for the enamel mosaics that their
method of gilding is much more durable than the
ceramic. In the latter, however well pressed or
baked into the clay, the gold must still be on the
surface and exposed to the action of the atmosphere.
With enamel work, on the contrary, the gold is
encased, as it were, between two thin sheets of glass. The
effect of the gilding is just as brilliant, while any acid it
may be necessary to employ in cleaning the surface can
never reach the gold itself. Finally, a cement of very
tenacious character is used in putting together the compo-
nent items of these pictures in stone or glass ; and, after
tests, applied in various ways, the opinion has been expressed
that these mosaics are not unlikely to prove among the most
durable features of the Memorial Cross at Kensington. The
designs for the work, executed in Venice by Signor Sal-
viati—who, it may be added, is at present engaged upon
the restoration of St. Mark's —were furnished in this
country by Mr. J. R. Clayton, and sent out to Italy.
They correspond with what ultimately will be the arrange-
ment of the statuary at the base of the monument—that is
to say, upon ono side Poetry and Music, on another Paint-
ing, on a third Sculpture, and, finally, Architecture.
Thus the compartment devoted to Poetry and Music has
in the centre a female figure with a lyre, the genius, doubt-
less, of those arts, and on either side the executants—the
poet writing and the musician playing. The same idea,
varied in its treatment, repeats itself throughout the
series. The scale of the figures has evidently been calcu-
lated with a view to their being distinctly visible
from below, and in this object [the artist has fully
succeeded. Giving utterance merely to a first impression,
there is, perhaps, too rich a burst of gold in some of these
compositions, remembering the serious purpose of the
structure of which they form so prominent a part; but it
would be obviously premature to express any very confi-
dent opinion until the details of the edifice with which it is
intended they should harmonise are more Nlvanced than
they arc at present ; and, having regard to our trying
climate, the excess, if any, may prove to be on the right
lido after all.

PERILOUS FREAKS ON A BALLWAY. —A few days
igo a company of soldiers were travelling from Salisbury,
cn route to Portsmouth, and when about half way between
Dunbridge and Ron-Isey, one of them got out of the
carriage, and, mounting on to the roof, passed over the
tops of five or six carriages on to the engine. On seeing
'tim there the driver asked him what he wanted. The
soldier replied that he was going to ride on the buffer, and
the driver was compelled to hold him down in order to
prevent him so doing. On arriving at Romsey ho was
handed over to the officer in charge of the train. How-
ever, shortly after leaving that station, the driver, on look-
ing back, was horrified to see the same man standing on
the top of one of the carriages with only his trousers on.
The train, which was only a short distance from a bridge,
was stopped as sppn AS possible, and it took five or six of
.040 mmtissliwadsa Aga Vv.