It is very generally supposed that the ancients greatly excelled the moderns in gem engraving, and that the art has never been carried to the highest perfection in this country. Mr. Henry Weigall, however, states that "this supposition is erroneous, and has probably arisen from the fact of travellers supposing that the collections of gems and impressions that they have made in Italy, are exclusively the works of Italian artists,; such, how-ver, is not the case, and I have myself had the satisfaction of minting out to many such collectors, that the most admired specimens in their collections were the works of English artists. Selections may be made from the works of Wray, Burch, Mar-chant, and Charles Weigall, which will bear a comparison with the finest works that have been produced in any age or country."

Mr. Henry Weigall could not, of course, speak of his own performances, but the reputation his works have acquired in this and other countries would fully justify the insertion of his name in the above list.

The engraved surfaces of ordinary works, such as armorial bearings, are commonly left from the cutting tools, and are not afterwards polished; but in superior specimens of gem engraving, when it is desired to give the work the highest possible finish, the engraved surfaces are all polished in the most careful manner. For this purpose the surfaces are first smoothed with copper tools, made of the same shapes as the finishing tools used in engraving, and charged in the same manner with diamond powder and oil; but the diamond powder is ground finer than that used in engraving, and the copper tools being softer than those of iron, the particles of diamond become more deeply embedded in the surface of the tools, and therefore leave a much smoother surface. After all the engraved surfaces have been smoothed with copper tools, similar tools made of boxwood, charged with still finer diamond powder, are employed to complete the smoothing. The boxwood tools cut very smoothly, and leave almost a semi-polish, which is completed with copper tools, charged with rottenstone and water.

The process of polishing minute works with much detail is, however, very tedious, as every one of the markings requires to be operated upon separately, and the process demands much skill and attention to prevent the sharpness and delicacy of the engraving from being deteriorated. To economise time in polishing common works, where precision of form in the details is not considered of primary importance, scratch brushes are sometimes employed; these are made of fine copper wire fixed in the end of a tool, and sometimes bent up at right angles to the axis, to make a small wheel brush, which is charged in like manner with rottenstone and water, but the practice is not to be recommended, as it obliterates the delicate forms.

The process of seal engraving is applied to all gems inferior in hardness to the diamond, and even this is said to have been engraved in some rare instances. The sapphire cuts very slowly but smoothly; the ruby cuts slowly, but small pieces are liable to break off in flakes; carnelian and bloodstone are close in their structure, and admit of being cut with very smooth surfaces. Softer stones admit of being cut more rapidly, but do not when finished present such smooth surfaces as the harder and more compact materials. The amethyst is, perhaps, as soft a stone as can be cut very smoothly, nevertheless, glass and even marble are sometimes successfully treated by the seal engraver, but the tools soon become deteriorated, owing to the diamond powder becoming embedded in these soft materials. When the stones consist of layers of different degrees of hardness, increased caution is required to prevent the tool penetrating more deeply at the softer parts. An onyx engraved in intaglio, so that the device is seen from the surface in the colours of the lower stratum, is called a nicolei.

The very excellent proof impressions of seals, taken in wax by the seal engravers, are produced in the following manner. The stone is first thoroughly cleaned with a moderately soft brush, it is then warmed over the flame of a candle, the stone being traversed in a circle at a moderate distance above the flame, that it may be heated uniformly. If the stone were held stationary above the flame it would be liable to be cracked, from one portion being heated more rapidly than another. The usual test for the proper degree of heat, is the placing of the seal upon the naked hand, and if the heat is about as great as can be borne by a tolerably sensitive hand without causing pain, it is considered to be suitable. The engraved surface of the seal is then coated with a very thin layer of clean tallow, applied with a small brush, such as a rather soft nail brush, and the tallowed surface is again coated with a thin layer of vermilion, applied with a camel's hair pencil. This completes the preparation of the seal, and when the impression is made, the vermilion becomes attached to the surface of the wax, and materially heightens the beauty of the impression.

The sealing-wax is prepared by holding the stick of wax at a little distance above the flame of the candle, until it is thoroughly softened, but it is only so far heated as is necessary to allow of a sufficient quantity of wax being detached to form the impression, and care is taken to avoid blackening the wax, either by smoke, or allowing it to become ignited. The softened wax is deposited in a small heap upon a piece of stout paper, and when enough to form the impression has been placed on the paper, the fusion of the wax is completed by traversing the under surface of the paper above the flame of the candle, at a sufficient distance to avoid scorching the paper.

When the wax has become thoroughly softened, it is stirred with a small stick, to drive out all the air bubbles, and work it into a uniform mass of a conical shape; the paper is then laid upon the table, and when the surface of the wax has become bright and quiescent, the seal is applied to give the impression. In order that both the seal and wax may be at the requisite temperatures, the preparation of the two is carried on almost simultaneously, and usually the seal is held over the flame of the candle for a few seconds to restore the heat, while the wax is assuming the quiescent state.

In applying the seal to the wax, the seal handle is held between the thumb and the first two fingers, applied as near to the seal as convenient. To give steadiness to the hand, the wrist is rested upon the surface of the table, and the position having been carefully determined, the seal is quickly dabbed upon the wax, with a firm perpendicular stroke, but with only moderate force. Some little practice is necessary to attain sufficient dexterity to give the impression with precision; but the method of z2 quickly dabbing the seal upon the wax, yields far more defined impressions than the mode sometimes adopted of applying the seal with quiet but considerable pressure, which not only fails to copy the most delicate of the lines and angles, but the imperfect copy thus produced is also liable to be further deteriorated by the seal sliding on the gradually yielding wax, which then receives a double impression.

In this, as in similar processes, the most sharply defined impressions are produced by employing sufficient momentum to drive the wax at the same instant into all the minute crevices of the seal, exactly as in the clichee casting and type founding, alluded to at page 324, Vol. i.