The floor of the Rotunda is composed of inlaid woods, disposed in form of it ma•iner's within a border of Greek fret, and in its appearance is beautiful in the extreme. In its construction are employed upwards of 4.000 pieces of wood of various kinds, comprising black ebony. black oak, common and red English oak, wainscot, white holly, mahogany, American elm, red and white walnut, and mulberry. The whole of these materials have been prepared by Messrs. Davison and Symington's patent process of seasoning woods, to which we have alluded under the word DESICCATION.
The same desiccating process has been applied to the wood work throughout the building. The black oak introduced is part of an old tree which was discovered imbedded in the river Tyne, where it had unquestionably lain between four and five centuries. The mulberry wood, of which the blade of the dagger in the shield of the City-arms is composed, is made of a piece of a tree planted by Peter the Great, when he worked as a shipwright in Deptford dockyard.
The coloured decorations of the Exchange are peculiarly characteristic, and the entrance vestibule, in particular, is ex tremely rich and picturesque in its embellishments. Terminal figures, vases with fruit, arabesque foliage, &c.; all of the richest and most glowing colours, fill up the vault of the ceil ing, through an aperture in which is seen that of the lan tern, adorned with a figure of Plenty scattering riches, and surrounded by fiyurini. Over the entrance-doorway, within a sunk panel, are painted the City-arms. Within the Rotunda the polychromatic decorations immediately arrest the eve. Tile range of panels at the base of the dome, and the piers Which carry the dome, are all fully and harmonionsly deco rated. Commencing with the piers in the lowest story : it will lie seen that the Raffacilesque decorations arc' very rich in character. In each pier a scroll supports and encircles four compartments ; the lowest are semi-circular panels, within which are painted sym6die figures of the principal coal-bearing rivers in England : the Thames, the Miirsev. the Severn. the Trent, the Il umber, i e Aire, the Tve, &e. panels, with marine subjects, are a little above the symbolic figures just described ; and above these again, within borders of flowers of every kind, are figures symbo lical of Wisdom. Fortitude, Vigilance. Temperance, Perse verance, Watchfulness, Justice, and Faith. These figures are the most prominent objects in the decorations of the piers in the lower story, and in circles above theta are groups of shells ; whilst at the top, in semicircles correspond ing, with those at the base of the piers. snakes, lizards, and
other reptiles, arc introduced. In the first story, the leading feature in the arabesques is a series of views of including the air-shaft at Wallsend. Percy Pit Main Colliery, Wallsend Regent's Pit Colliery, &e. Groups of fruit and flowers are in small circles just above the views, and in oblong panels beneath the latter the series of nautical " bits" is At the base, in each pilaster, are repre sentations of different specimens of Sigillaia—a fossil found in coal forinations. In the second story, the largest panels contain figures of miners engaged in different pal is of their labours, but these figures we think are not so well executed as other portions of the decorations. Nautical subjects, clus ters of fruit and flowers, are int nal neeil among the arabesques. The third story contains, within oval panels, miners at work, picking the coal. &c. : flowers and small landscapes add to the richness and variety of the decorations on this floor; and both in this and the lower, calanil les, (fossils from the coal ffirmations,) are depicted amongst the arabesques. The t wenty-ffiur panels at the springing of the donee, of which we have before spoken, have oval compartments painted in them, surrounded by a gracefully flowing border of extremely rich and varied design, being light ornaments on a dark ground. The spaces within the oval borders arc coloured of a turquoise blue tint, on w hi•h is painted a series of representations of different fossil plants met with in the coal ffirmations. This portion of the decoration is extremely striking and appropriate ; and, we need scarcely say. the representation of the plants are strictly correct. These were painted in encaustic by Mr. Sang, from the drawings of Mr. Melhado, (a pupil of the architect,) taken 11'010 spe cimens in the British Museum. A staircase leads to the hypocaust, which was discovered in excavating for the foun dation, a remnant of the time when the Romans ruled here. A visit to this will amply repay the lovers of antiquity, and its minute agreement with the details of such constructions given by Vitruyius, should be noticed.
The artificers' work generally were perffirmed by Mr. Trego ; the iron-work by Messrs. Dewer ; and the wood work was seasoned by Messrs. Davison and Symington's patent desiccating process. The floor of the merchants' area was laid down by the first-named of these gentlemen, Mr. Davison.
The cost of this Exchange was about £40,000.