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1312

GLOSSARY.
but white marble is finished witli calcined tin. The Italians polish with lead and emery.
The sawing uf marble, preparatory to polishing, is by a saw of soft iron, with a con-
tinued supply of the sharpest sand and water. The Belgian marble chimneypieees,
toilet-table top<, and such like articles, are finished with a liquid which gives a polished
appearance
;
but it is not lasting.
The varieties of marble used in modern times are very numerous, and a classi-
fication of them would occupy a larger space than can be here given. Except tlie finest
specimens of white marble, they are mostly opaque. Some extremely fine specimens
of white marble are to be seen in the Borghese Palace at Rome, which, on being sus-
pended by the centre on a hard body, bend very considerably. It is found that statuary
marble exposed to the sun acquires, in time, this property, thus indicating a less degree
of adhesion of its parts than it naturally possessed. Two books have been written on
the subject : Marble and Marble Workers, by Arthur Lee, and Marble Decoration, by
. G. H. Blagrove, both dated 1888.
Margin. That part of the upper side of a course of slates which appears uncovered by
the next superior course.
Marigold Window. The name given to a circular window in which radiating mullions
prevail. See Cathehine-wheel Window
;
Rose Window.
Market Cross. A cross set up in a market-place. The primitive form was a long shaft
with a cross stone, set upon a number of steps. Subsequently it was constructed in an
elaborate manner ; and later, a sort of arched structure was erected around the central
pillar. In Scotland many were finished with a crowning work.
Mahmoratum Opus. (Lat.) A fine stuff used by the ancients, formed of calcined gypsum
with pulverised stone, or for finest work with pounded marble, well beaten together,
and rubbed to a fine marble-like surface, examples of which still exist at Girgenti,
formerly Agrigen'um.
Marquetry. (It. Intarsiatura. Fr. Marquetrie.) Inlaid work, consisting of thin plates
of ivory, or of various coloured woods, glued on to a ground, usually of oak or fir
well dried and seasoned, which, to prevent casting and warping, is composed of
several thicknesses. It was usd by the early Italian builders in cabinet work, and
represented by its means figures and landscapes. See Buhl Work
;
Inlaid Wohk
;
Parquetry.
Mason. An artificer who practises the science of cutting and setting stones in building
walls. Formerly the workman who worked the stone was called a free-stone mason,
hence the term freemason
;
while the man that set the stone was called a rough
mason.
The terra
"
master mason" was during the media-val period equivalent to the more
modern term "architect." He designed and carried out the monastic, cathedral, or
regal buildings. Later, the designer taking the name of surveyor, the master aiason
became the head of his trade.
Masonry. (Fr.) The science of combining and joining stcnes for the formation of walls
and other parts in constructing
^__
buildings. When applied in the -r^'
construction of domes, groins, and
~~
X
circular arches, it is difficult and
"~7
"'
complicated, and is dependent on a
'
thorough knowledge of descriptive 4^^_l_,
^-^ ^.__,^^,^^^yj<-^*^
geometry.
U-Ji^V^ .
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X
^"^
""C
Among the ancients, several sorts {
of masonry were in use, which are
described by Vitruvius as follows, -
in the ciglith chapter of his second ir
book:

"The different species of--,


walls," he observes, " ave th.t rcti-
^
T^-' >^">[^Vw'
V'^
'''^^^^^?T'^*^
cidatum {net-\\k&)
{fig.
\\n A), a
^-
'C^Vi'Vl^v uUrV
.^^^^^
method now in general use, and the
'
1^
<:h
,^"i 3^1
/-<TR^"^T^^'^T^'~
incertum (B), which is the ancient
^'- -'"
,
'
rf^^'Ps^^^^c'^:^
mode. The reticulatum is very
'-
'
"; ' -
--^^-^^"'^TVtI^:"'^''^^'^^
very
'-'
";
-
,--^-^^-y^Y{r'^r-'"T''^
beautiful, but liable to split, from
the beds of the stones being un
stable, and its deficiency in respect
'_:_^ i. lj^\;::^l^:-^ZLiz^:Mi^:^^^iE^^^^^^t^^i^^
of bond. The incertum, on the con-
trary, course over course, and the
^'=- ^^l^.
whole bonded together, does not present so beautiful an appearance, though stronger
tluin the reticulatum. Botii species should be built of the smallest sized stones,
that the walls, by sucking up and atUiching themselves to the mortar, may last the
longer: for as the stones are of a soft and porous nature, they absorb, iu dry-

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