escape by running around, till he contrived to pre pare his net to cast a second time. His opponent, the Secutor, was armed with a scymetar and a buckler; his name was given him from the pursuit he made of the Retiarius, when flying; the best moment for the Secutor to attack him was, whilst he was preparing his net to throw a second time; a fish was carved on the Secutor's helmet, which further exhibited the nature of this combat.

Here also appear the Rudiarii, or veteran gladiators, (No. 26, Letter C.) who, having been presented with a rod, as a token of manumission, instructed the young beginners, and regulated the combats. This compartment seems designed to represent four different scenes, in which the parties are engaged. In one, they are preparing for the combat, (No. 27, Letters G. H.;) in another, just engaged in it, (No. 28, A. B.;) in the third, the Retiarius is wounded, and the Rudiarius is coming to his assistance, (No. 29, E.;) in the last he is fallen, disarmed, and wounded in the thigh. (No. 30, K.)

The Rudiarii were those gladiators, who, having long gallantly displayed their resolution in the arena, as prize-fighters, to delight the Roman audience with their dangers and their narrow escapes, had at last received the rudis or foil, a rod without

This figure (29) is much mutilated, by the giving way of the floor. No. 30, partially injured in the leg.

edge or point. After this they presided at these sanguinary amusements, and were no longer exposed to the dangerous casualties of such public representations. In allusion to the Rudiarii, Cicero says in a letter, being so good a gladiator, have you so quickly received the wand?

gladiator rudem tam cito accepisti?'

Tam bonus

The semi-circular division at the north end of this pavement, is surrounded by a grand display of foliage, falling from a goblet, similar to No. 23, Plate 104, which encloses a circular compartment, wherein is represented the head of a female, ornamented with flowers; tresses of hair appear on her shoulders, which are naked. The head is surrounded by a nimbus, like that of Christian saints, of a light blue colour; consequently, must have been designed for the head of a deity; and, from the circumstances of the shoulders being naked, it was probably intended for that of Venus. On each side of the circular compartment are cornucopiæ and festoons of foliage and birds, (No. 31, Plate 105.)

At about thirty-five feet south of this last room, (No. 37, Plate 104,) are some remains of four octagonal divisions, each including a star, formed by two interlaced squares; within was an octagon.

Only one of these remains entire, which represents the head. of Winter, (No. 41, Plate 103;) all but the face is enveloped in clothing; and a

The

leafless branch appears in the right hand. other divisions, no doubt, were filled up with emblems of the other seasons. The borders round No. 41, are described in Plate 104, No. 34. No. 38, Plate 104, represents a ground plan of the bath, with steps that descended into it, which rude remains are described in ground plan, No. 9, Plate 102. No. 39, Plate 104, contains the groundplan of the pavement, representing the head of Medusa, as described by No. 15, Plate 103.

No. 40 is introduced into various corners of the pavement.

An account of the Composition of the Roman colours found at Bignor, examined by Sir Humphrey Davy, was communicated in the following Letter to Samuel Lysons, Esq.

I have examined the colours found on the walls of the Roman house discovered at Bignor in Sussex, and I find that they are similar in chemical composition to those employed in the baths of Titus at Rome, and in the houses and public buildings at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Two of the reds, of the dullest hue, prove to be ochres. The brighter red, which you put into my hands yourself, is vermilion. The yellows are ochres.

The blue is a frit, or artificial ultramarine, composed of peroxide of copper, silica, and alkali, and is of the same kind as the colour said by Vitruvius to have been discovered in Egypt, and which was manufactured in his time at Puteoli. There are two greens; one is a green earth of the same kind as that of Verona, and the other a carbonate of copper, the colour known to the ancients by the name of chrysocolla.

The walls of the houses in the Roman and Greek cities in Italy are covered with a stucco composed of powdered marble, of different degrees of fineness, and lime. The fragments of the stucco from the Roman house in Sussex, exhibit a similar texture to those of the houses in Italy; but powdered brick and stone have been used, instead of powdered marble.

H. DAVY.

The above remarks of Sir Humphrey Davy relate to the colours found upon the walls of Bignor, which were anciently covered with paintings: the designs upon the walls, in different parts of the villa, were probably not of equal interest, and some of them were covered with stucco, others perhaps with a plain coat of paint. At this period, no trace of the fresco painting can be discovered, except mere fragments of the different colours.

It may be expected that a conjecture should be

hazarded in this place, as to the builder of the Roman house at Bignor. We shall simply refer its erection to the reign of Claudius, the Roman Emperor, about A. D. 50; there being several corroborative circumstances to countenance the idea, that many elaborate works of architecture were edified in Britain in his time. After the successes of the famous generals, Plautius and Vespasian, over the most warlike of the British tribes, Claudius came in person to Britain, to conclude the conquest with a fresh army, after Plautius had borne all the brunt of a doubtful warfare, and when, in consequence of his victories, no danger could any longer be apprehended; otherwise, that timid Emperor would scarcely have ventured to appear personally in this command. All historians agree that Claudius behaved with gentleness to the vanquished; a temple was erected to him in consequence by the Britons; and, upon observing the civilized manners of the Romans, on the settlement of the sudden peace which followed this conquest, and the luxuries hitherto unknown in Britain, which the commanders of their forces indulged themselves in, the people were probably not displeased with this sudden, face of prosperity. On their part, the Romans thought highly of the value of their acquisition; and, it is probable, after the grand military and naval triumph of Claudius, on his return from Britain to Rome, that men of