But to return to the uses of this pottery. Those who have observed the rich effect of the majolica sparingly displayed in the late Mediæval Exhibition at the Adelphi [1850] may readily admit that, on a buffet lit up by Italian suns, its glowing tints and attractive forms were no mean substitute for the as yet scarce precious metals. Ingenuity was taxed to invent designs and adaptations of an art in which fashion ran riot:--Tiles for floors or panelling; vases of mere ornament; beakers; epergnes; wine-coolers; perfume-sprinklers; fountains, whence there flowed alternately, as if by magic, water or wine of nine varieties at the bidding of the bewildered guests; wine-cups clustered with grapes, through an orifice in which the liquor was sucked, anticipating the American device for discussing sherry-cobbler. Of drug-bottles and pots we have spoken. Sauce-boats, salt-cellars, and inkstands gave rise to endless caprices, in the guise "of beasts, and of fowl and fishes"; and to these may be added figure-groups of saints, grotesque characters and animals, fruits, trees, and pilgrims' bottles. In the decorations there was generally a consistency, too often lost sight of by modern artificers. Thus, toilet-basins were painted with marine deities, water-nymphs, or aquatic allegories; fruit-stands with fruit and vintages; wine-cups with vine-festoons. Among the oddities may be mentioned tiny tea-cups, into the paste for which was mingled a portion of dust carefully gathered in sweeping out the holy house at Loreto, their sanctity being vouched by the inscription, _Con pol. di S.C._, "With dust from the Santa Casa." The effigy of the Madonna of Loreto is often affixed, in colour and design on a par with the superstition. A pair of these was shown at the Mediæval Exhibition of 1850, No. 562 of the catalogue, belonging to a Mrs. Palliser. * * * * *