t among the
Greeks. They made two kinds--neither of them glazed, of course,
because at that time nobody knew how to glaze pottery. The first kind
was a pottery of red clay on which were placed decorations of black
pigment; the other was a pottery on which they painted figures in red,
afterward filling in the background around them with black. These two
varieties of ware are briefly known as black on red, and red on
black. The black portion of this pottery possessed a wonderful polish
which came from the black pigment mixed with the clay; the red part,
on the contrary, had no lustre, evidently being smoothed and polished
with some hard tool after the vase was finished. These vases were
very beautiful in form and design, no two of them being alike. Each
was made by an individual artist who pleased himself as to the
arrangement of the birds, animals, and gracefully draped figures
with which he decorated it. The famous Francois vase at Florence is a
marvelous example of this sixth century workmanship; every inch of its
closely adorned surface is covered with carefully drawn figures in
black, white, and purple. This particular piece was probably made by
two Athenian artists, as it shows two distinct types of work. Think
how fortunate we are to have had it come down to us unbroken through
the tumult of the years!"

Mr. Croyden gazed thoughtfully into the fire.

"You know that at the time these exquisite vases were made the entire
Greek nation was devoting itself to the fashioning of beautiful
things. Sculptors were carving wonderful statues, toiling eagerly to
make each piece more perfect in form; architects were rearing such
buildings as the world has never since seen; and in the centre of
Athens a district was reserved which was entirely occupied by the
shops of potters and painters and known as the _ceramicus_. It is from
this ancient word that our present day term ceramics is
derived. Within this area devoted to the making of pottery the artists
worked, each one reverently bending his energy to give to the world a
thing which should be as nearly perfect in form and decoration as he
could make it. Thousands of vases went out, many of them into the
homes of rich, beauty-loving Greeks; many into the temples; and many
into Athenian tombs; for the people of this nation always loyally
honored their dead. In addition to these vases there were smaller
articles--perfume bottles, jars for wine or water, utensils used at
ceremoni