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longer remain a mystery, and it was for the Exhibition, which took place at the Mechanics' Institution, in the year 1840, that I engaged Mr. Mollart, an acknowledged proficient in that part of the art, technically called throwing, (which is the first process used by the potter, it is the formation of the vessel from a lump of raw clay,) to exhibit his art, which was the first time it was shewn to the public. In this I was encouraged by the help of my brothers, Messrs. Thomas, John, and Jos. Mayer, who lent me a potterswheel, and presented me with some casks of clay, ready prepared for use, With these Mollart set to work making all sorts of forms and sizes of vases, cups, bowls, &c., as suggested to him by the bystanders. By his practiced hand and correct eye, he produced some of the most elegant and beautifully formed classic shapes that can be conceived, alike delighting, and at the same time astonishing the visitors, by the facility and rapidity with which he made them. Many of these articles were afterwards fired in a tobacco-pipe maker's kiln, in Hurst Street, there being at that time no pottery in Liverpool.

After the closing of this Exhibition, seeing the great interest the people took in the hitherto unseen art, I sent Mr. Mollart to various other places where similar Exhibitions took place, namely, to Manchester, Preston, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, &c., and, finally, to the Anti-Corn-Law League Bazaar, held in London, where he drew large companies around him, to witness the skill and dexterity which he displayed in his art, and the surprising power he had over the clay.

I need scarcely say that I am much indebted to several persons who have presented me with authenticated specimens of Liverpool pottery, and for their valuable aid in my endeavors to form a collection of this ware. To all of them, I beg to offer my best thanks.

REMARKS ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ARCHEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY.

By Joseph Clarke, Esq., F.S.A., Hon. M.H.S.

(READ 22ND MARCH, 1855.)

When I pass in review through my mind, the men of mark and likelihood who have gone before, who have, in a pre-eminent degree, combined the two, and after exhausting one science as far as their limits of observation

and research permitted them, have almost naturally turned to the other, I am led to the conclusion that the connection between these two scientific occupations must be closer than is at first imagined; and that the same faculties of mind which qualify any savant for the pursuit of one, equally fit him for the study of the other. Thus for an example in remote ages, Pliny, celebrated for a noble work on natural history, has introduced us to a profound knowledge of antiquities, and from him we learn the history and construction and decorations of those edifices which, even in this country, where from its distance from the Roman capital they must be considered as inferior, occasionally astonish us by their beauty, when excavations have accidentally brought any of them to light. And in mentioning this production of Pliny, it is to be regretted that there is no scholar of the present day, who is conversant enough with the above two studies to give us a new translation of this great work; but from the rapid strides now making by learned men, who are becoming naturalists and antiquaries, it is to be hoped that this will not be much longer a subject of regret.

A little knowledge of natural history would be a great acquisition to a literary antiquary, would prevent many misconceptions, and enable him to avoid many a blunder. As an illustration I will begin with the medieval antiquary, the idolizer of Shakspeare, who, when the harmless and inoffensive toad is mentioned or alluded to, in his misconstruction of the matter, starts off with the celebrated and hackneyed lines,

"The toad, ugly and venomous,

Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."

Sentences more at variance with nature and common sense could not have been penned, and their absurdity is still often heightened by their application in quotation. Let us remark on the different points in order.

1. Art may fashion monsters, credulity may be frightened by its own conjurations, and imagination shadow forth hideous forms, and people its world with demons; but there is nothing placed upon earth by the creator which we have a right to call "ugly." Nevertheless there are forms even in nature which it requires the eye to be accustomed to to appreciate. But our poor toad has had to encounter the ignorance of nursery-maids, and the ill-grounded fears of weak and over credulous mothers, who impart to the young susceptible mind a horror of it, and the moment it is seen it is either shunned or often cruelly persecuted, whereas a little watching of its slow

and harmless motions, a little accustoming of the eye to its form, would soon familiarize it to the senses, and it would appear anything but ugly. A pet of ours was frequently introduced upon the tea-table, just at the time of evening when it began to shake off its drowsiness. At first it was looked upon with that sort of dread which unenlightened parents, in their ignorance, had succeeded in instilling into infancy; but it soon became very palpable that there was nothing to be feared from the creature, and after a while it began to be considered very amusing. As the eye became accustomed to it, all idea of ugliness vanished, and even admiration was accorded to some of its parts; in fact, of its kind it was a beauty. The proverb "as ugly as a toad" has done a great deal towards keeping up the absurd notion, and fairy tales, too, often deal largely in poisoning by toads.

2. Who ever knew from his own observation, or from reliable or respectable authority, of any body or any thing ever being poisoned by a toad? or of any injury that ever accrued from one? It is true that I once did, but it was not the fault of the creature itself, but that of the animal which swallowed it. A sow swallowed a toad alive, which is under all circumstances exceedingly retentive of life, (for I once knew one live in a pot of turpentine all night, and crawl off, apparently unharmed, in the morning.) Here in its uncomfortable porcine prison, in its endeavours to free itself, it forced one of its claws through an intestine, inflamation ensued, and the sow died. But venom was out of the question, nor ought the death of the animal to be laid to the charge of the poor incarcerated toad, for you may depend upon it, it is incapable of doing the slightest injury. The toad has the advantage of being able to exist in the two elements of air and water, but activity on land it has none. Hide itself it may, and its means of protection from its wanton tormentors and pursuers is increasing its size by distending its skin to the utmost, evidently that a blow may fall with less violence upon its bones; the inflation also tending to protect its lungs and viscera from being crushed. Its only means of defence is the expulsion of a very disagreeable liquid, secreted against the time of need,

Swine are very voracious, and will devour almost anything that comes to hand. Animal matter of any kind is generally much to their taste; snakes they eat with avidity. Thus in the backwoods and uncleared regions of North America, the first care of the settler is to locate on his wild woodlands a herd of pigs, which at once busy themselves in freeing his newly acquired possessions from that dangerous denizen of the wilderness, the rattlesnake, as well as others of the genus.

which, when teazed or attacked, it readily ejects. This liquor is supposed to be poisonous. Not many years ago, a beautiful spaniel, fond of catching anything that shewed signs of life, frequently amused himself by catching and carrying a frog about, no doubt to the great inconvenience of the reptile; and often have I seen him pick up a toad, and smiled to observe how quickly he set it down again, and to get rid of the ejected offensive matter he suspended his tongue from his jaws, most copiously lubricated with saliva; but no harm came of it, nor did it deter him from doing the same thing again. Moreover, that this fluid is innocuous I can give personal evidence, having tasted a considerable quantity of it, without, it is needless to say, any harm accruing; but I can also bear testimony to its being indescribably nauseous, so much so, that it was a long time before I could get rid of the abominable flavour from my mouth. Yet it had not the effect upon my tongue that poisonous matter would have had.*

Yet we sometimes hear strange things from eye-witnesses. An old friend of mine, and a sensible man too, has several times indulged me with the recital of what he asserted to be a fact; that he had witnessed a large spotted toad seize a poor snake by its head, and while the snake was screaming with pain and terror, the venomous brute dragged it to a pool of water, and plunged in with it. Though my friend was of a temper not easily exasperated, he was so incensed on this occasion, that he threw stones after it, but he feared not with precision enough to save the snake. So convinced was he of all this, that is was quite useless for me to explain to him that the toad (Bufo vulgaris, FLEMM) and the frog (Rana temporaria, LINN.) were the natural food of the snake (Natrix torquata, RAY.), whose capacity of swallow is enormous, almost beyond conception, and which is often found lying in wait for its prey by the side of rivers and pools and in swampy meadows. The snake had really siezed the toad, (frog, I suspect; I am not aware that toads scream as frogs do,) which was strong enough

A worthy professor now living, saw a man in the fens of Ely catching snakes; on enquiring what he did with them, the answer was that he sent them to London, and on being asked how purchasers could be found for them, or what became of them in that city, he said he did not know, but he had orders for four or six dozens at a time occasionally, and he sent them up with their skins off! The professor's curiosity being roused, he determined, if possible, to ascertain their destination, and found it to be a celebrated eel pie establishment; and he came to the very reasonable conclusion, that when eels were scarce, these snakes were partially or wholly substituted. The Indians of North and South America consider snakes as delicacies; why should they not be thought so in Europe?

to drag its captor into an element where it could better deal with it, and thus instinctively rid itself of its antagonist. The adder or viper, (Vipera communis, LEACH), as well as the common snake, often visit water-meadows and fenny-lands in search of amphibia; and in the fen counties, where frogs, tritons, and toads abound, there snakes and adders abound also.* The authority of the ancients would bear my friend out in this error; for attached to a finger-ring, some six centuries old, in the cabinet of Lady Londesborough, is a toad, well sculptured, swallowing a serpent, though possibly this might have been connected with the notion then entertained, that a serpent must eat a serpent, to become a dragon." If so, it would appear that our forefathers, supposing it to be noxious, put the toad in the same category, and considered it as one of the race of serpents.

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3. I now come to the "precious jewel in its head;" and here will be found a little piece of the superstition of the age in which the poet lived; and probably the immortal bard himself, when penning these lines, was under the influence of a myth. That the toad has two beautiful eyes, may be ascertained by any one who is disposed to look at them on a bright sunny day; and after having noted the rich colour of the iris, the elongated pupil, and their general mild brilliancy, he will not easily forget them. I should recommend all persons to judge for themselves, for it would be an approach towards softening down the vague ideas of ugliness, and would engender a more kindly disposition towards this harmless animal in future. It would be a first step towards that familiarity of vision, which, in this case, seems requisite to admiration. But the bard of Avon alluded not to the eye. From remote ages there has been a belief in spells and counterspells, and charms and anti-charms; superstitious notions have ever been rife, more than one attaches itself to the reptile in question. Thus Pliny says, in his days, if a certain little bone taken from the right side of a toad were put into boiling water, "it would presently boil no more," and the bone from the left side would cause the water to become warm again.

There is a lurking notion still among some portion of the educated classes, that the exudations from the follicles or tuberculated excrescences of the covering are venomous, and cause irritation of the skin, like the stinging of a nettle. I have picked up so many, and seen others in the delicate hands of ladies, that if this had been the case we should have found it out; therefore, this also may be consigned, as an error, to oblivion. As to the toad being capable of inflicting any injury by biting, this is another fallacy, as it has no teeth, and the horny consistency of its jaws would not enable it, by any effort, to make an incision in the skin of the most delicate finger; added to which, during the severer season its mouth is naturally closed, nor could it be opened without positive laceration.

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