GERMAN MARBLES.—166. Germany abounds in marbles, and affords many kinds which are remarkable both for beauty and singularity. Of these the kind best known is
167. Lumachelli Marble.—This exhibits beautiful iridescent colours, which are sometimes prismatic internally, but more commonly of various shades of red or orange; whence it has also obtained the name of fire marble. Few kinds of marble are more generally admired than this. It has a dark ground, and is marked throughout with the appearance of small whitish shells, which, in certain parts, refract the most beautiful and brilliant colours. This marble is cut into the tops and bottoms of snuff-boxes, and several other ornamental articles. It is found in veins at Bleyberg, in Carinthia.
168. Many beautiful kinds of marble are obtained from the island of Sicily, particularly one called Sicilian jasper, which is red, with stripes like ribbons, white, red, and sometimes green. Switzerland abounds in marbles; Portugal, Sweden, and Norway afford few. In the Russian empire many have been noticed, particularly among the Uralian mountains. The late Empress Catharine caused an immense palace to be built for her favourite Orloff, which is entirely coated, both inside and outside, with marble. She built the church of Isaac with marbles of different kinds, on a vast space, near the statue of Peter the Great, in Petersburgh. We are at present very imperfectly acquainted with the marbles of Asia. Dr. Shaw mentions a red marble obtained from Mount Sinai; and Mr. Morier, in his journey through Persia, speaks of a beautiful translucent kind which he calls marble of Tabriz, and the colours of which are light green, with veins sometimes of red, sometimes of blue. He says it is cut into large slabs, some of which he describes to have measured nine feet in length, and five feet in breadth.—No account has hitherto been published of the marbles of Africa.—In the United States of America many kinds of marble have been discovered, some of which have been wrought, and polished; but very imperfect descriptions have yet been given of them.
169. Few countries produce a greater variety of excellent marbles than the British Islands. Although these marbles are seldom noticed much beyond the limits of the districts in which they occur, many of them are admirably adapted for ornamental purposes; particularly for slabs and chimney-pieces. It is much to be regretted that we should send to foreign countries for stones which, in many instances at least, could certainly be as well supplied from our own. The following is an enumeration of a few of the most important kinds.
ENGLISH MARBLES.—170. Petworth Marble, when cut into slabs, is equal, both in beauty and quality, to many of the marbles imported from the Continent. The Earl of Egremont has, at Petworth, several chimney-pieces formed of it. Much of this marble was used in the cathedral church of Canterbury. The pillars, monuments, vaults, pavement, and other parts of that venerable structure, have been formed of it. The archbishop’s chair is an entire piece of Petworth marble. This marble is found in greatest perfection upon an estate of the Earl of Egremont, at Kirdford. It lies at the distance of from ten to twenty feet under the surface of the ground, and in flakes or strata nine or ten inches in thickness. Petworth marble is also an excellent stone for walls; and, for paving, it cannot be excelled. When burned, it also constitutes a valuable manure, superior, as some farmers imagine, even to chalk.
171. Purbeck Marble is obtained from the island of Purbeck, in Dorsetshire. It is of dark colour, and contains numerous small round shells, which, when it is cut and polished, mark it with roundish variegations of brown, dark green, and grey. This marble was formerly more used than it is at present. Several of the small columns, and many of the monuments, in the churches of Dorsetshire, and the adjacent counties, are formed of it. But it is not so durable as many other kinds. Wherever it is long exposed to the weather, the surface cracks, splits off, and becomes defaced.
172. Babbicombe Marble is one of the most beautiful kinds that is found in any country. It varies in colour, from light brown to deep red; and large slabs of it have been obtained that are elegantly and diversely marked, some in streaks, others in spots, and others in different coloured shades.
This kind is quarried at Babbicombe, in Torbay, Devonshire, and is extensively manufactured into chimney-pieces in the West of England. An attempt was lately made to introduce it in London; but, from its not being the production of a foreign country, this has failed of success.
173. Derbyshire Marble.—There are, in Derbyshire, several kinds of marble, most of which contain an abundance of fossil shells, and other remains of marine animals. At Wetton, near Ashbourne, a beautiful kind is obtained, of greyish black colour, which contains a vast number of whitish and very minute shells. This has the name of bird’s eye marble. Near Monyash a beautiful variety is found, of a cheerful colour, inclining to brown red, and full of large marine figures in all directions; these, when the marble is cut, appear white, and afford a pleasing contrast.
174. Kendal Marble.—Some varieties of black, grey, and brown marble, are wrought near Kendal, in Westmoreland. These somewhat resemble the Derbyshire marbles; and, like them, are manufactured into chimney-pieces, and ornamental slabs for houses. Several of the slabs are found to contain corallines, and the remains of other marine animals, which vary their appearance in a very pleasing manner.