June3] PROCEEDINGS. [1890.
gaverise to the Christian angels,and as such haveeversinceretained
theirartisticplace;so obviousis this, thatmerecomparisonis the only
proofit needs. It is a remarkable instance of the permanence of
art-formsonceestablishedin the world, thatthe Assyrian palm-tree,
thoughseparatedfromthe winged deitieswhoseofficewasto make
it fruitful, has nonethe less made its way also overthe world.
Fromthe time of the early Assyrian discoveries,it became evident
thatits conventional form hadgiven rise to the Greek ornament
oftencalled the " honeysuckle," but the real nature of which is
now acknowledged in the term " palmette." Reduced to mere
decoration,thispatternpervades modern buildings and furniture,
repeatedwithwearisomeiteration by craftsmen fromwhoseminds
the sense of original meaning in ornament has long sincediedout.
It is curious to see sometimes on a church wallthe honeysuckle
patternborderinga space roundsculpturedangels,and to remember
howfar off and how longago it was that the ancestor of the angel
tendedthe ancestor of the plant.
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