me of the twentieth-century reader of the "Chats" series, as they did
the "withdrawing" rooms of their original owners in the eighteenth
century.

[Illustration: FIG. 55.--BLACK AND GOLD DERBYSHIRE MARBLE VASE.

(_In the Author's collection._)]

Derbyshire Spars.

The Derbyshire spars and inlaid marbles just referred to were very
popular, some exceedingly ornamental and decorative pieces being
produced. Others were stiff and formal, and can scarcely be regarded as
beautiful. The variety of marbles quarried in Derbyshire gave the artist
ample opportunity of displaying taste in colour. The most beautiful are
those made of fluor-spar, the celebrated Blue John Mine providing the
most beautiful specimens. The purple shades present delightful tints,
and some of the old workers in Derbyshire mosaics were exceptionally
fortunate in their schemes of arrangement of the tiny pieces they inlaid
so carefully. The marble workers in this country have never been able to
produce those beautiful effects for which the Florentine school of
artists was famous, although it has been claimed by some that the
artists of the Peak produced in their larger works some equally as
effective. Among old household ornaments small Roman mosaics, so called,
are often met with. At one time the Florentine artists used gems and
real stones, whereas the Romans chiefly employed glass. Many will be
familiar with the Vatican pigeons and the fountain so frequently copied.
It is said that the Derbyshire workers in mosaic excelled themselves in
the production of a beautifully inlaid vase covered with flowers,
foliage, and birds, prepared for the late Queen Victoria, in 1842. Half
a century ago fancy shops were filled with the products of the
Derbyshire mines, but most of the best pieces are now among household
curios. The wide-topped vase shown in Fig. 55 is made from Derbyshire
black and gold marble, and was produced in Matlock about sixty years
ago. It may be interesting to collectors to mention that although the
Romans are believed to have worked the Blue John mines, it was not until
1770 that the lovely purple spar was rediscovered in the Hope Valley, a
workman passing through the Winnats being attracted by the pieces of
spar he saw lying about, eventually bringing them under the notice of
the owner of a Rotherham marble works. Besides the smaller objects there
are the larger tables, worked in the same materials, some of which are
sometimes met with secon