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expense of Mr. Robert Luddra; who also at that time restored the chancel, as a curious inscription on the cornice testifies. The tower, like others in this district, is built partly of granite and partly of a sort of inferior serpentine: the light colour of the former, contrasted with the blackness of the latter, gives to the building a strange and variegated appearMr. Davies Gilbert must certainly have had some authority for stating, as he has done, that the tower was erected in 1500. If, however, it were erected at that time, fragments of older work must have been used in its construction. Over the west window, and immediately under the stringcourse, is a piece of granite on which is carved the Crucifixion, treated in a manner common enough in some parts of the kingdom, but of unusual occurrence in the churches of this part of Cornwall, though found on some of the later Cornish crosses. The Father, over whose head is the encircling arc of heaven, holds forth the crucified Son, who has a figure on His right hand and on His left: these, probably, are intended for the Blessed Virgin and St. John.

[graphic]

Crucifix, Mullion Tower.

The hoodmould over the arched doorway springs from two

corbel-heads, one of which represents the mitred head of a bishop. The tower is about 40 ft. high, and contains three bells of modern date, said to have been cast with the metal of older ones. Tradition says that one of the ancient bells was of an unusually large size, and that it was intended for St. Kevern Church, but by some mishap in its carriage, or through the intervention of the patron saint, it fell to the lot of Mullion tower.

The windows of this church originally contained painted glass, representing among other devices the arms of De Ferrers, and of the Erisey family. The fragments that remained were collected

[graphic]

Corbel-head, Mullion Tower.

"Robertus Ludder" is entered as Vicar in the Valor Ecclesiasticus-Return

of Vesey, Bishop of Exeter, June 3, 1536.

together and inserted in the new east window, when the Rev. Francis Gregory, the late lamented vicar, restored the chancel in 1840.

The side windows of the aisles have arched heads, very depressed; the east windows have a kind of rude geometrical tracery.

The door-jambs of the porch are panelled, resembling those at Gunwalloe; and the stoup remains in good preservation. This church is particularly worthy of notice, because it retains a large proportion

[graphic]

Stoup, Mullion.

of the original benches,
carved in a manner much
superior to those in any
other church in the western
part of Cornwall. The de-

signs are varied, and some are remarkable, representing soldiers, monks, heads of Bacchanalian figures, and initial letters quaintly conceived.

Bench-end, Mullion.

In the western part of the nave the arms of the Passion are beautifully represented, following in the order shewn by the accompanying cut. Beginning with the sacred characters

[graphic][graphic][subsumed][subsumed][merged small]

IHC, each shield in the most suggestive manner tells some fact connected with the crucifixion of our Lord. There is the scourge; the symbol of the five wounds; the cross encircled by the crown of thorns; the initial letter of the word "Christ;" the spear of Longinus placed diagonally with the reed, on GENT, MAG. VOL. CCXIII.

E

which is the sponge-arranged triangularly with these are three dice: the ladder, with the torches; the weapons mentioned in St. John's Gospel, (chap. xviii. 3); the four nails, hammer, and pincers; the series most appropriately concluding with a shield bearing the chalice and sacramental wafer.

Shields on other benches bear the fleur-de-lis, St. Andrew's cross, and a Latin cross with the spear on one side and the reed on the other. The cross, in most instances, in this, as well as in other churches, stands on a Calvary of steps, three in number. The Rev. R. S. Hawker says, "The three steps which lead up to a cross are symbolic of those three Christian graces of Faith, Hope, and Charity, which a penitent should seek and find whenever he pleads for pardon there."

The font is octagonal, with panelled sides. On one side the lower part of the bowl is not bevelled, like the others, but the stone extends downwards to the shaft, as if the font had been left in an unfinished state, or had been built against a wall or pillar.

On the front of the altar are two figures carved in wood, each having one hand raised to bless. One of these -evidently intended for St. Clare'stands at the entrance of an ecclesiastical structure, and holds a monstrance in her right hand. These carvings formed part of the roodscreen.

Until recently the church was disfigured by an unsightly gallery at the west end of the nave, erected for the choir; this has been taken down, and other improvements made: still the building is by no means completely restored; two or three ungainly pews should be removed. Indeed, at a comparatively trifling cost it might be made one of the neatest churches in the district.

[graphic]

Carving on the Altar, Mullion.

In this parish is an estate called Clahar (pronounced Clare) Garden, on which are the remains of an ancient chapel, similar to others in Cornwall. This was probably a chapel of St. Clare, and gave name to the estate, whence St. Clare is represented in the parish church.

In the chancel is a tablet to the memory of Thomas Flavel, at one time vicar of the parish. Beneath the tablet on a piece of brass are the following lines:

"Earth take thine Earth, my Sin let Satan havet ;
The World my Goods; my Soul, my God, who gavet.
For from these four-Earth, Satan, World, and God-
My flesh, my Sin, my goods, my Soul I had."

This church is dedicated to St. Melanus, an abbot of Bretagne, born in South Wales, and the bosom friend of St. Sampson; he died about 617. St. Mellion Church, near Southill, in East Cornwall, is also dedicated to him, Southill Church being dedicated to St. Sampson.

In the Taxation of Pope Nicholas IV. Mullion Church is entered as "Ecclesia Sancti Melany," but in the Valor Ecclesiasticus (temp. Hen. VIII.), as "Vicaria de Melyan;" a connecting link this, between the orginal dedication, "Melan," and the curious modern corruption, "Mullion."

THE ETRUSCAN TOMBS.

M. DESVERGERS, in a recent number of the Revue Contemporaine, gives a description of the discovery of a tomb on the Pontifical frontier, in the neighbourhood of Vulci. M. Desvergers is himself an explorer, but his attention was directed to this tomb by M. François. The latter stated that on the embankment of Fiora, at an altitude of 90 ft. above the river, he had bored the ground, and found an artificial grotto presenting none of the characteristics of a sepulchre, and which was therefore most probably intended to protect a more important crypt from the effects of infiltration. A shaft was therefore sunk to the depth of 36 ft. below the surface, when a subterranean passage was discovered 9 ft. in breadth, and at the entrance of which there stood a cippus, two sides of which displayed long Etruscan inscriptions. This passage, 99 ft. long, being cleared, the pioneers at length arrived at the door of the hypogenm. No trace of any previous visit was perceptible, and the tomb appeared to be one of some powerful lucumon, or chief, judging from the length of the passage, the importance of the cippus at the entrance, and the precautions taken for the preservation of the crypt. When the first gleam of light from their torches revealed the interior to mortal eyes for the first time after the lapse of twenty centuries, they saw warriors clad in armour lying on their sarcophagi; the forms, the vestments, stuffs, and colours remained visible for a few minutes, until the air from without, gradually penetrating into the crypt, effaced the whole. All that remained to the persevering explorers was the weapons, jewels, bones falling to dust, and a few threads of gold and silver which had been woven into their garments. The walls were, however, covered with paintings representing an episode of the Iliad, and of very superior execution, evidently pointing to the influence of Greek civilization in Etruria. The crypt had eight entrances, all adorned with the peculiar Etruscan mouldings which Vitruvius calls barycephala, or top-heavy. The inscriptions were ascertained to be of a period anterior to that of the conquest of Etruria by the Romans. M. Desvergers therefore concludes that this tomb dated from the fourth century before our Some of the treasures of the Musée Napoleon III. belonged to this tomb.

era.

THE LOAN MUSEUM AT SOUTH KENSINGTON.

A LETTER FROM W. BURGES, ESQ.

MR. URBAN,-Some short time ago it fell to my lot to give you a few notes on the Medieval Exhibition at Florence. I have now the pleasure of doing the same with regard to a similar exhibition now on view at the department of Science and Art at South Kensington. In one respect our own show has a great advantage over the Florence one, for there is no distinct charge for admission to it: that is to say, for the time being it forms part of the Government Museum, being open to the public on the free days, and only liable, in common with the whole collection, to the entrance-fee of 6d. on students' days. It is always difficult for an outsider to give the true history of the rise and progress of such movements as the present one, but I believe I am not very far out in saying that very much of the success is due to the exertions of Messrs. Robinson and Smith, the Curator and Sub-curator of the Kensington Museum, and upon whom has devolved the very arduous duty of the arrangement; but at the same time we must not ignore the efforts of a committee of noblemen and gentlemen, among whom Mr. Beresford Hope, faithful to the art traditions of his family, has taken a very active part. The arduous task of making the catalogue of so many hundred objects has devolved upon the Rev. J. Beck, who will doubtless furnish us with the results of his labours in a shorter time than the Florentine committee took for their catalogue".

As the said catalogue is still a desideratum, and as indeed the arrangement of many of the objects is still going on, it will probably be as well to follow a somewhat chronological order in the description, without regard to the numbers of the cases.

JEWELLERY.

I question whether so many beautiful specimens of jewellery have ever been brought together before as we have the advantage of seeing in the present Exhibition. For there is an

Two catalogues will be published at different intervals: the first, which will probably appear in three weeks, will give very few particulars, but it is to be followed by a much more extended one, containing photographs, &c.

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