exact account is given of, the former. We read of a canopy supported by eight figures, each five feet in height, the Saviour seated in the centre with the twelve apostles-weighing above three thousand pounds of massive silver, ordered by the emperor. He also presented to the Church of St John de Lateran a large lamp of gold, weighing, with its chain, twenty-five pounds; besides innumerable golden plates, chalices, vases, cups, candelabra, altars, and bowls; so we may well suppose that the goldsmiths of that period formed the richest community of all trades. They followed the emperor to Byzantium, when he removed the seat of his government thither, leaving the pope without a rival to establish the Holy See; and from Byzantium came many marvels of art and beauty as presents to the western churches. Nor were the guild wanting in gratitude to so liberal a patron, for at his death they made a golden coffin, in which his body was displayed to the people, raised on a balustrade, and surrounded by a multitude of golden candelabra. Well might Chrysostom cry out bitterly: "All our admiration is now reserved for the goldsmiths!" Turning to the other section, they also were subdivided into different branches. Those who made bracelets and rings never interfered with the makers of helmets and bucklers; others confined themselves to the hanaps or cups used at table; others to chains and crowns of gold. The jewellers attached as much value to the lightness of their work as others did to the weight; and there is an elegance and delicacy in the women's ornaments of those early times, which show as much taste on the part of the designer as on that of the sex which has always been so skilful in the arrangement of the toilet. In every nation, and in all ages, the perfection of jewelry proves that women have had the sanie end in view, that of pleasing; and made use of the same means to secure it, that which ornament affords to beauty.

There were certain cities which gradually became the centres of these varieties of handicraft. Limoges, which could boast of skilful artists in the time of Julius Cæsar, sent her workmen into every country, and, adopting the models which came from Rome and Byzantium, improved upon them. Here was the great focus for the

manufacture of church plate; and the art of enamelling was almost circumscribed to that immediate neighborhood. By the twelfth century it was so flourishing as to have absorbed the old renown of Constantinople. Yet, though these works enriched almost all the churches in Europe with the art that is so closely allied to painting, and reliquaries, shrines, crosses, chalices, and statues poured from the ateliers, scarcely the name of a single enameller has been preserved. To St. Eloi or Eligius they paid the highest veneration; school of art founded by him in his native city about the year 600 was religiously perpetuated. His name is inseparably connected with that of his friend and patron, Dagobert I., for whom he executed many splendid works, and whose Prime

Minister and Master of the Mint he eventually became. Profiting by the great riches he thus acquired, he founded many monasteries, and induced the monks to spend there time in the art he loved so well. He also took advantage of the arrival of a holy virgin, Aurata, who came from Judea, preaching the Gospel to the Jews, to establish a convent; where she taught her nuns the eastern art of embroidering in gold upon silk and stuffs, which was much used for ecclesiastical robes. Eloi himself, when at court, loved to wear the splendid dresses he designed; they were covered with precious stones; his girdle set with the most costly jewels, and the border of his robe embroidered with gold; under all which he mortified his vanity by wearing a haircloth shirt. In his old age these costly habits were laid aside; he became a monk, and, with the liberality that had always distinguished his character, gave all his wealth to the poor. He died at Soissons, after having had the happiness of seeing his great art established in prosperity. From this time he was the patron saint of the goldsmiths; and the gorgeous gifts that were made to his tomb where only equalled by the miracles which were said to be performed there.

But if Limoges excelled in its enamelling, we must turn to the German artist for superior talent in modelling large groups of chiselled figures and engraved ornamentation. Nuremberg and Augsburg were the principal centres of this work; and as specimens still existing it is only necessary to point to the well-known shrine of the three Kings at Cologne; to that of

Notre-Dame, given by Frederick Barbarossa to the same cathedral; to the large chalice in the abbey of Weingarten, in Suabia, executed by Conrad de Huss; to the beautiful portable altar of gold in the King's Chapel at Munich; and the famous incensor in the form of a circular chapel at the Vatican. How numerous such works must have been may be gathered from the fact, that every jubilee gave work to all the goldsmiths in Christendom for ten years previously

As for filigree-work, which oriental nations and especially the Moors knew how to execute with such rare delicacy of taste and handling, it was chiefly made at Granada, Seville, Florence, and Venice. The latter two cities added to it the arts of niello and engraved work; whilst Parisian workmen, then as now, were famous for setting precious stones in the most elegant form. The English, as a rule, went abroad to learn these arts, or foreign artists were sent for. The tomb of Merton, Bishop of Rochester, was made in 1276 by a Limoges workman, who came express ly to execute it in enamelled metal.

Last, but not least, the cities of Belgium held the first place in the manufacture of those large pieces of plate used for the decoration of the table, which were cast, embossed, and then finished by the chisel -as well as for the sumptuous ornaments used in the dress of the nobles. Under the patronage of the Dukes of Burgundy, they received the greatest encouragement; from the days of Philip the Hardi to Charles the Bold, a kind of worship was offered to art seconded by their immense riches and power. Ghent was the brilliant centre around which sprung up the guilds at Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp, and Tournay. They borrowed their coat of arms from the French, but changed the motto to "Omnibus Omnia"-meaning that every kind of work for the use of all passed from their hands. A most absolute government was established by the corporations; any goldsmith convicted of using false metal was taken bareheaded to the market-place, and his ear nailed to a pillar, where he remained till he tore himself loose. Nor were they only dependent on the nobles for patronage. Of all the arts, this was the most popular among the industrious Flemings; the intelligent vanity of the worthy citizens supported their artists munificently; and whilst, during

the fifteenth century, the more precious works were ordered for the Burgundian treasury, the gold and silver plate engraved and worked in niello adorned the buffets and coffers of the proud burgesses.

ure.

Nor was this extraordinary; for in general the rank and fortune of a family were estimated by the amount of its silver plate and jewels, which were scrupulously transmitted as heirlooms. After the death of a king, the successor redeemed his gold and silver, which, according to ancient law, belonged to his servants. When a bishop or ecclesiastic died, the church or convent to which he belonged inherited his treasA noble family would never part with this kind of property, but held it a point of honor to save it through periods of the deepest distress. When the Marchioness of Grignan had recourse to heavy loans, in order that her husband, the Lieutenant-General of Provence, might hide the decay of his fortune, she refused to part with some worthless old plate, which she could not use, but which formed a part of the patrimonial property, and bore the arms of Adhemar or Ornano. Its great value was to swell the inventory made after death; and the more it was worn and darkened by age, the more it testified to the ancient descent of the family. It was the custom also to mark every occasion by a present of plate or jewelry. A marriage, a baptism, a departure, a return, served as a pretext for noblemen to send an order to the goldsmiths: not a bishop was consecrated, but he must have his gift; nor the pope an embassy, but it carried presents in its hand.

Nor did those who thus provided ornaments for the wealthy forget to vie with each other in the richness of their own apparel, or the magnificence of their banners at the fêtes of the guilds. The annual gift of the " May" to Notre-Dame of Paris had gradually become a most imposing ceremony, and may serve as a specimen of other festivals. Originally, the "Confrérie du Mai" had for its principal object the planting of a green tree at midnight on May-day, in the parvis before the grand entrance of the cathedral. chief, who was elected each year, and called the Prince du Mai, brought the tree, decorated with streamers, devices, and emblems in honor of the Vrigin, and solemnly put in its place, to the sound of instruments and bells. Later in the day,

The

additional offerings were made, and the tree with its ornaments remained standing for the year. But in course of time, the whole of the goldsmiths, with their apprentices, joined in the procession, dressed in their livery of crimson velvet, bearing their embroidered banners, and wax-lights surrounded by escutcheons. They no longer carried a whole tree, but a large green branch fastened to a pillar, in the form of a shrine, in which were niches filled with silver groups of figures; below which hung small pictures, with inscriptions in French verse. It was carried into the cathedral, and hung before an image of the Virgin for a year; after which period, it was removed to the chapel of St. Anne. These votive offerings increased to such an inconvenient extent that it was thought better to offer a picture every year, by some good painter, which would form a durable decoration. It was thus the cathedral was enriched for above seventy years by large pictures, which unfortunately perished at the Revolution. The best artists in the city strove for the honor of being chosen, and at that time there was no public place of exhibition but Notre-Dame.

It was generally acknowledged that of all the guilds in Paris, that of the goldsmiths was the most generous. It gave liberal help to the distressed members of its own community, founded a hospital, celebrated the festivals of the church by alms and visits to prisoners, gave an annual repast to the poor of the Hôtel-Dieu every Easter, besides food and linen to the mendicant orders. They founded the celebrated chapel of Notre-Dame de Blancmesnil, about two leagues from Paris, which attracted the people for a hundred miles round. Solemn masses were said there, to which the Parisians were invited by the sound of a silver bell, which was rung through the streets. This valued possession was carried away by the English or Burgundians in 1448. Another was provided, but in those troublous time it shared no better fate, for Henry II. laid sacrilegious hands upon it. Again replaced, it was broken about the end of the sixteenth century: the last having the good fortune to survive until the guild itself was dissolved. The shrines of St. Marcel and Ste. Geneviève, which were carried through the streets at the festival of the Ascension, and in the general processions which took

place on the occasion of any great public calamity, such as famine, pestilence, inundations, or drought, were only intrusted to the goldsmiths. That of St. Marcel was treated with particular honor by the Parisians; it was believed to be the work of St. Eloi after he took orders, and was in old gold-work of the seventh century, raised in mid-air behind the high altar, and supported by four columns fifteen feet high, on a base of copper.

As the costly articles which were made in those days differed much from what are in present use, it may not be uninteresting to describe some of the ornaments which decked the tables of our forefathers. There was one which was considered indispensable on the king's table, the nef, a kind of coffer in the form of a ship, containing the knife, fork, spoon, and goblet for royal use. Beside these lay the horn of a rhinoceros, then called a unicorn, to which they attributed the virtue of neutralizing poison in the food. Then came the indispensable salt-cellar, the position of which marked the division between the gentleman and the menial. Sometimes we read of its being in the form of a man seated on an engraved gold plateau, holding in the right hand a crystal ornamented with silver, and in the other the branch of a cherry-tree, with leaves and fruit, the birds flying in the branches. A device of this sort was made for Charles VI. a flying serpent, with enamelled wings, bearing on its back a little tree with green leaves; before it stood a chandelier, supported by two apes, painted their natural color, an enamelled salt-cellar forming the apex. With these gardens and animals, a fountain was considered proper for a centre dish. Here a whole history was given in gold and silver; armed men were attacking a castle standing on a high green hill; trumpeters and ladies defended the bastions; and above all was the turreted bowl from whence the wine or water flowed.

On certain grand occasions the whole of the family plate would be remodelled; as at a collation offered by the Duke of Savoy to the eldest daughter of the king of France, when every article was made in the form of a guitar, because the lady played well on that instrument. When Henry III. of France was so unpopular that he had to flee from his capital, there was found in the castle of Vincennes a

piece of plate which induced the superstitious people to denounce him as a wiz ard. It consisted of two silver-gilt satyrs resting on a club, each carrying in the right hand a bright crystal cup. It was doubtless used for the burning of perfumes -a cassolette, as it was called; but prejudice refused to believe that the figures were anything but demon idols, to whom the king gave heathenish worship. A very fashionable taste, early in the fifteenth century, was for golden pictures, embossed and finished with the chisel. The Crucifixion, the Annunciation, and similar subjects were chosen for representation. Gold statuettes were much valued, set with pearls and precious stones; or "pourtraiets" of gold, which men wore in their hats, and women in their hair. In these there appear to have been many figures, the bodies of silver, the robes of gold or agate, the ground of lapis lazuli, and they probably bore some resemblance to a large brooch; but not a single specimen has been spared through the revolutions of fashion to the present day.

At a later period, the idea arose of incrusting ebony, sandal, cedar-wood, and ivory with gold, silver, and precious stones; and cabinets, which are said to have been invented at Augsburg, were the rage. As for personal ornaments, the gold girdle was a passion with both sexes; it was forbidden to the citizens; but the nobility lavished the utmost skill. and taste on the gorgeous buckel which fastened it. Nor did the Dukes of Burgundy forget to ornament their hawks with vervels, their jesters and dwarfs with golden bells, their grooms' robes with golden hop leaves, their horses' saddles with the same precious metal and enamel, or their trumpets with carvings. It is impossible to describe the elegant caprices of those days, or the grandeur of the fêtes where they were displayed. It is equally sad to reverse the picture, and see how the peasants were ground down to provide for such extravagance.

It may easily be imagined that, in the midst of such prodigality, the trade in precious stones, especially diamonds, increased a hundred-fold, and produced enormous profits. Almost all travellers to the East directed their special attention to this point. Gems were classed and described by the jewellers themselves, as in the work of Berquen, and other treatises

by Andrea Bacci, in Italian; Morales, in Spanish; and Boetius de Boot, in Latin. Bernier, Tavernier, and Thevenot contributed by their travels to give exact notions on the quality and quantity of pearls and precious stones which the East produced, and which the West purchased at such an immense cost.

It is impossible to close this paper without regretting how few of these splendid works have survived the many causes of destruction by which they have successively disappeared. Descriptive inventories are the only witnesses to the marvellous works of art which we scarcely know in the present day. Every time that war broke out, the valuables of the king and nobles were pledged or sold to meet expenses. The wars between France and England were especially to be deplored. The princes and lords who were taken prisoners at Agincourt had no resources for paying the ransom but to melt down their plate. Charles, Duke of Orleans, sold his in 1417 to free his brother, a prisoner, like himself, in England; and in 1436 he was again parting with a gold cross and ruby at Bruges, "pour le bien de ses affaires." The English and Burgundians had pillaged the country; famine and plague desolated the cities; Charles VII. had not a gold piece left in his coffers, and the goldsmiths saw their most cherished works of art sent to the melting-pot. Then followed the Wars of the Roses, and the still more terrible ones in Italy, when, as a climax, Rome was sacked by the Duke de Bourbon, and so many treasures fell into the hands of the ignorant soldiery. The wars of religion and the zeal of the iconoclastic Protestants were not more favorable to religious art. Crosses, cups, crosiers, were detestable in the eyes of the Calvinists, who regarded them as so many symbols of popery ; and it is impossible to calculate how many ancient works of art disappeared, more from fanaticism than love of booty. It is to this period especially that we may refer the loss of the most precious chefs-d'œuvre of the time of St. Eloi, Charlemagne, and Suger. Not only were the Protestants making war against the shrines, but robbers soon stepped in; and an immense clandestine commerce sprung up among the refiners, gold-beaters, gold-lace makers, and second-hand clothes-dealers, for the coveted articles. Nor were the times