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jl^ 1 1 c e s of ifl c tu ^publications. An Inquiry into the Difference of Style observaisle in ancient Glass Paintings, especially in England; avitii Hints on Glass Painting. By an Amateur. " Proba est Materia, si prubum adhibeas arlificem." Erasmi Adagia. 2 vols. Oxford, Parker. We cannot rise from the })erusal of these volumes without having- arrived at the conclusion, that the treatment of a subject apjiai'ently limited in its nature may possibly afford scope for the developement of wide and compre- hensive views ; and also that such views are by no means inconsistent with the closest and minutest examination of details. Although the writer has not wandered for the space of a single paragraph from the subject he has taken in hand, we are much mistaken if his work will not exercise an im- portant influence not only on the art and study of glass painting, but also on other arts more or less immediately connected with it ; and it will prove especially valuable at a time when it seems the most difficult to steer between two opposite evils ; a slavish obedience to conventionalism and formality on the one hand, and a reckless disregard of all authority and experience on the other. From the very great condensation of matter, it is impossible to give an abstract of the contents of this work ; nor indeed is it desirable. We feel that we shall not be consulting the true interests of art by facilitating the intrusion of that too numerous class who are content " To catch the eel of science by the tail." But by giving some idea of its order and arrangement, we may perhaps encourage the reader to study it with the attention it demands. The Introduction treats briefly of the manufacture and method of work- ing glass ; the materials used by the glass painter ; and the different systems of glass painting, viz., the Mosaic, the Enamel, and the Mosaic Enamel. The former of these prevailed to the middle of the sixteenth century ; thus comprehending all the ancient glass found in our churches. A painting in this method consists of pieces of glass each of which is of one colour, which pervades the whole substance of the material in pot-metal glass, or forms a coat upon the surface in the ruby and occasionally some other colours ; but may be varied by the application of the yellow stain, or the scraping away of part of the coating, and is shaded and pencilled with enamel brown ; the only kind of enamel used in Mosaic paintings. The two latter kinds, in which enamel colours are laid on with the brush, and burnt in, were in use from the, middle of the sixteenth century, up to the present attempt at reviving the art. On the comparative merits of these systems the author remarks, " The Mosaic system of glass painting, as now practised, may, I think, be considered a revival of the system which prevailed throughout the middle ages, and until the middle of the sixteenth century. The glass employed during this period is similar to the modern in its general character, but materially diflers from it both in texture and colour. These differences are