The Kalida venture. [volume] (Kalida, Ohio) 1841-1865, 1853-10-28
TEE LOST ARTS.

eler, IS an ABSTRACT OF ah Ih'o'eo""5 Nv
,ure delivered before the Boston Mercan-
tile Library Association, by WINDALL
PHILLIPs.
Every antiquarian knows, that scattered
up aud down ancient history there are
accounts Of strange things done by mes
chanic, of olden time. Many Of these
we find described in the whiting OF Ho>
rodotua, who lived 400 years B. c., and
50 wonderful are some OF The things that
are described, ,hat he is often known as
Father Of Lies. But Champolon and
Dr.. Young have liFied up the veil and
given repeated proofs Of many Of Hero
di!us' assertions.
II wiIl only be possible to touch upon
few points, such as glass metals, and
the mrchOnic arts. ...........
Glass is one of those articles which are
nus, useful in common life, and in some
oFirs forms has extended indefinitely the
fange Of scientific inquiry. Did the an
clients know anything Of ;he use OF IhIs
article! Seventy years ago learned
Neapollan wrote great volume 10 prove
that the a1cionls bad no e'aos. Shortly
after laborcr in Pompeii broke into
room, filed with glass in many shapes
The ancients, it appears, far exceeded US
in some respects, for we reed of maIloa~
ble glass, that cou!d be hammered, and
ol in who, in presenting beautiful
glass vaso 10 a Roman Emperor, dropped
il, thereby causing it TO be I'D; he took a
hammer and reduced again to its proper
shape.
They had a perfection in the ait OF col
oring glass that we have not been able to
attain: and one writer tells Of funeral
hall btoken into, where banqncting tables
ind been sci for 1000 years, covered with
numerous articles Of glass, inIaid with
pold, with colurs struck through with the
richness of Raphael, beyond anything we
know. There is IN the old windows in
Enropa glass which has been broken and
pieccd by later artists, who have endoav-
ored in vain 20 initiate The perfection OF
The older work. In the Roman Catholic
Cathedral in GeEoa, was llrge vase,
said TO have been brought by the queen
Of Sheba TO Solomon, and subsequently
used at the Lords Supper, composed Of
single emerald. 1t was deemed crime
! for any but the priests to touch il; and Il
| ITS Frpnceman was imprisoned sever
or eight years for attempting to test i
with diamond. The Jews at one time
Of government need, offered loan Of sew
etal million Ao,ins on the security of lla
vase, bnt il was refused. But when i
fell into the hands of Napoleon the Grea
his savans decided after close testing
,hat it was Egyptian glass Of grcut an
'iqnily; and Of its workmanship nothing
| nccd be sold, since il deceived even 'h'
Jews.
Did they know aught Of the tclcscnp
or microscope? Some authorities sa
lhat the Hebrews were acquainted wit
the rouudness of the world, whlo th
EIindoos kucN Of the procession Of tn
cq,iuoxes. This they could not have as
cer;ained without telescopes. The thcate
was capable of containing eighty ,housan
persons around the great central arena
whero the gladialoral shows and nava
fights took place, The imperial box wa
at one end-and Pliny says Nero had
circle with n gem it peculiarly shaped, b
which he could criticize the performers
!, il so ho mad single opera glass. In III
museum of tho Old World there arc fou
OF five thousand an,iquated gems carvee
and you have 10 use glass TO look at th
fac lines carved on them. One which
supposcd 10 be the signet ring of Cheop'
oGO years old, has upon il carved line
> which cannot be appreciated without
microscope; and so how could it hav
Ibeen engraved without microscopeg
! Color is q great ties, Of chemical AT
, and uf all the Egyptian colors green oni
, has faded. Now this is what is wante
in our times. The coors Of Sir job
: Reynolds and of Raphael grow dim i
The coulse of time; but eater the vault q
Nero, and ftom the arabesque designs o
+ the ceiling A,sh back brilliant hues ofpu
: pie and crimson, and many antique palnte
rclics, such as portraits Of queens be
f Iieved to have been painted in ancier
days, have freshness that ou,livcs til
composition ofthe present day.