Trans-Atlantic Notes

TRANS-ATLANTIC NOTES

by Arthur Lee

The granite workers in Aberdeen are waking up to the advantage of pneumatic tools, which have for some time been in use for dressing and carving stone in almost all the granite centers of the United States. The fact that the tools were doing splendid work in the States was not unknown to granite manufacturers in Aberdeen, but it was not until the present month that a fair test was made locally of the tools. The experiment excited considerable attention in the granite city, several manufacturers and engineers being present. The tools were handled by Mr. Wm. Christie, a stone-cutter who left Aberdeen several years ago and has lately returned from the United States. A large piece of Corennie granite was operated upon, this being selected as one of the hardest of the Scotch granites. Those who had never seen the tools at work before, expressed considerable surprise at the effect produced by means of them. It seems from all reports that the tools have "come to stay" on this side of the Atlantic

The Aberdeen Town Council have recently indulged in a battle royal over the recommendations of the committee to adopt tar macadam for general street paving in place of granite setts. A lengthy discussion ensued and in the end the recommendation was defeated by fourteen votes to nine. The fact that one of the principal industries in Aberdeen is that of quarrying, may have had some weight with the council in coming to this decision, but for the most part the question was dealt with on its merits. One of the speakers said that in Leicester and Hull tar macadam paving had been a failure. Its life might be put at eight years, and its cost 4s. 6d. per square yard. An ordinary street laid with granite setts would last for forty years, and cost 7s. per yard, these setts moreover could be taken up at the end of forty years and redressed, and the cost of relaying would not be more than 3s. per yard. The cost of maintenance moreover, would be at least four times as much as that of granite setts. It was very slippery in winter. It radiated the heat quicker than stone, and in consequence, sooner took on a slippery surface. The Surveyor of Leicester said he could not recommend tar macadam as a suitable paving for carriage ways, as it became slippery in frosty weather, liable to wear into holes and it was very difficult to carry out pitching and the needful repairs. Testimony from Hull showed that taking cost only into consideration the most suitable paving for carriage ways where there was heavy traffic, was undoubtedly granite setts. Another member said that there could be no doubt that tar macadam was a much more costly form of street paving than granite, which on the authority of the highest and most competent judges, was the best, the cheapest, the healthiest, and most durable material for street paving yet discovered.

Near Glasgow, at the ancient muir of Colquohoun, some interesting discoveries have lately been made in some detached blocks of white sandstone. Some ancient carvings have been found, and these taken the form of cup and ring marks. The design and execution are of the highest class, the cups especially being beautifully moulded. Besides the carved stones is another singular stone weighing about half a ton. In the center there is cut a cylindrical hole, 7 ½ inches deep and 4 inches in diameter, in the bottom of which rises a cone 2 ½ inches high, round which is a most singular arrangement-a series of cups 1 inch in diameter, and ½ inch deep cut into the dies of the cylinder. On the surface on the top of the block and round the sides are a series of nearly 300 little cups, from ½ to 1 inch and a half. All who have inspected the stone so far, pronounce it as much of a mystery as the cup and ring marks.

The fine weather of the past few weeks has been very favorable to the progress of the work of mosaic decoration at St. Paul's Cathedral. The last installment of the work in the choir is already well advanced. The angelic figures in the pendentives of the westernmost bay are almost complete, and work has been begun on the third saucer dome, which is to represent the third order of creation, that of the beasts. Several beautiful mosaic pictures, illustrative of the creation of birds and fishes, have been added to the previously completed designs of Mr. Richmond, in the panels immediately before the windows north and south of the choir. It is hoped that the whole scheme may be ready for unveiling by next Easter, though by any one who appreciates the artistic difficulties of a London winter this is regarded as a somewhat sanguine estimate. On a sunny morning those who are privileged to have a private view of the work in progress are almost dazzled by the richness and brilliancy of the color effects which are being rapidly and silently wrought out behind the vast disfiguring scaffolding which at present fills the roof of the choir.

The "Robin Hood Stone," a massive piece of millstone grit around which a good deal of tradition has gathered, and which from time immemorial has stood on the rising ground overlooking the Aire valley north of Keighley, has fallen under the hand of the destroyer. The new water conduit of the Bradford corporation from Nidderdale passes along the hillside above the Aire Valley, and sometime ago fears were entertained that the track would pass in such a direction as to cause the destruction of the stone. But these fears were allayed by a deviation of the line so as to miss the nearest angle of this ancient landmark. Holes have, however, now been drilled in the stone, and with the aid of a blast it has been cloven into four parts. An objection was made to the destruction by someone engaged on the job, and the nearest policeman was sent for, but the blasting had taken place before his arrival. There is some ground for thinking that Lord Hothfield, the lord of the manor, had given strict instructions that the stone must not be injured. There is some comfort in knowing that it is possible to repair in some slight measure the mischief already done by inserting cramping irons and filling in with cement, and that it is possible that something of the kind will be done. The removal of the stone was not absolutely necessary, though its continuance would have been somewhat inconvenient to the tram line which runs alongside the conduit.

An interesting discovery has been made in the Cathedral of Angers, where repairs are being carried out in the choir. One of the workmen accidentally broke through the roof of a vault, at the bottom of which two coffins could be seen. The discovery being reported, the vault was explored in the presence of the Bishop of Angers and other church dignitaries by M. Dussauze, Inspector of Diocesan Edifices. It was found to contain the remains of King René of Anjou, and of Isabella of Lorraine, his first wife. The floor of the vault was strewn with debris, chiefly mouldering wood, and the two metal coffins were exposed. The leaden one containing the skeleton of King René was torn at the top showing the skeleton inside. King René had been buried with his regalia. The coffin of his queen was of white metal the nature of which could not be made out during the few minutes the inspection lasted. The interest of the discovery for Englishmen lies in its historical associations, as in 1445 King René gave his daughter Margaret in marriage to Henry VI, of England, whereby he obtained the restoration of his territories of Anjou and Maine, then in the possession of England. After the inspection the vault was sealed, and a report of the circumstances drawn up and signed by those present.

The agony which Martinus Scriblerius endured when he found the housemaid had scrubbed the piece of metal which he imagined was a Roman shield, and removed the rust which increased its value, has been often caused, if in a lesser degree, by officials of museums. But the Louvre would shortly exhibit a figure in which the cleaning operations were followed by an unexpected advantage. Among the Egyptian antiquities was a statuette of Queen Karomama, of the twenty-second dynasty. It was thickly covered with green rust. The conservators suspected it was no ordinary example of bronze and it was resolved to carefully remove the coating. As the operation went on the character of the metal changed. Finally it was discovered that the bronze was damascened with gold and silver, and that much ornamentation was spent over the royal robes. Instead of being one of a numerous class of subjects of an almost commonplace character, the statuette is now seen to be an example of skill which hitherto was not credited to the Egyptian metal-workers. In addition to the ornamentation, the hands were gilded and the plinth was adorned with enamels or paintings. When it appears in the Egyptian department the figure is sure to become attractive.

One of the principal subjects discussed in scientific circles is the new Egyptian race of which Professor Flinders has found traces in the excavations of upper Egypt. Two large cemeteries of the new race have been thoroughly explored, and have yielded some 2,000 tombs, and besides this the remains of two considerable settlements of the same people have been identified, full of objects of exactly similar character to those found in their tombs. The relative age of this civilization is fixed by the fact that some of the tombs break through into recognizable sepulchers of the Fourth Dynasty, while others are themselves overlaid and distributed by burials of the Twelfth Dynasty; some of the latter also occur in and over the ruins of the settlement itself, which must, therefore have been then already quite deserted. Now this period of Egyptian history, extending from the Fourth and Fifth to the Twelfth Dynasty, has been hitherto an almost complete blank. Though the names of the kinds of the intermediate dynasties are traditionally known almost no monuments remain which can be attributed to them, and all that is preserved of their history is a hint that their dominion was limited to Middle Egypt, and the fact that the Sixth Dynasty seems to perish in some national disaster, and that the Eleventh appears to represent the beginning of a national recovery from a period of prostration.

Professor Petrie claims that in the discovery of the new race we have a clue to the mystery. He represents a people (who were, to judge from their skeletons and from the portraits of themselves which adorn their furniture, of North African origin and affinities) sweeping eastwards into Egypt, overwhelming the Old Kingdom and extending perhaps even into Syria. From the fact that they borrowed nothing, either of culture or of the products of industry from the Egyptians, it seems probable that the invaders absolutely exterminated the natives from the area which they occupied; for had they preserved any of their captives, even as slaves, it would be almost impossible that some trace of Egyptian handiwork should not have been recognizable in the fashion of their pottery and ornaments.

Their proficiency in stone work is one of their most characteristic features; even the long series of vases cut from marble and slate, and even from harder stones, like diorite and basalt, is far surpassed by the delicacy and beauty of their flint-working. Daggers and spear-heads, sometimes six or eight inches long, and as thin as a paper knife, and bangles large enough to be worn yet less than half an inch in width, cut from the compact flints of the desert and the gravels, and finished by flaking or sand-polishing with the greatest precision. Most peculiar among them are the forked spear-heads, to be thrown among the legs of deer to bring them to the ground. It is impossible as yet to anticipate the more detailed study which will make the whole life and history of this "new race" intelligible, or to do justice to the variety and completeness of the collections which have been already made. It is enough to point out the extreme intrinsic interest, and their great importance as a contribution to the early history of Egypt, and to the ethnology of that part of Africa.

Arthur Lee.

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