Gothic style, first adopted, as it would appear, in the vast empire of Germany, where the arts were at that period most successfully cultivated, was recommended by various considerations, which could not fail to weigh on the minds of the great corporation which then swayed public opinion. It was admirably adapted to the prevailing form of worship, its vast assemblies, its solemn processions, its splendid and imposing ceremonies. It awed by the magnificence of its conception, and the power and science required in its execution. It formed an enduring memorial both of the skill and the resources of those under whose auspices it flourished. Besides all this, it was consistent with the principle which the Church of Rome affected, that all the nations under its dominion should display a uniformity, not merely in their ritual, but in the very character and taste of their edifices. This passion for uniformity was increased by the intercourse established by means of the Crusades; and doubtless some of the grand conceptions which the view of conquered Constantinople, and the once mighty cities of Palestine, inspired, were embodied in this new and favorite architecture.

From Germany, the taste for Gothic architecture quickly spread into France and Italy; and, by means of the powerful fraternity of free-masons, who, if not the originators of this style, enthusiastically adopted it, was soon diffused over the whole boundaries of the Latin Church. This remarkable corporation, which was invested by the Popes with very important exclusive privileges, spread themselves throughout Europe, carrying with them at once the science and the authority that enabled them, in those dark ages, to form works of so much magnificence; and being aided, wherever they went, both by the countenance of the clergy, and by the wealth which a mistaken piety placed at their disposal, they supplied the demand which the zeal of the times had excited.

It is remarkable, that of the original designs for these mighty monuments of art, very few traces have been left, probably because the jealousy of the free-masons concealed them from the public eye. Some, however,

have been recently discovered among the archives of German monasteries, which show the deep science, the long forethought, and the complicated calculations employed in their formation.

ELEVENTH WEEK-WEDNESDAY.

ARCHITECTURE.-ITS

MODERN HISTORY AND PRACTICE

BRITAIN.

THE decline of the pointed style of architecture, at one time so universal throughout Europe, was owing to a change of taste in the influential quarter of Italy, where the antique style of the classic ages again suddenly came into fashion. It was then, for the first time, that the pointed style received the name of Gothic. This was a title of contempt given to it by the Italians, and adopted by other nations. In the fifteenth century, learning and the arts, which had been chiefly confined, as I have said, to ecclesiastics, began to revive, and the new impulse was accompanied with an excusable reverence for the school of the ancients, which quickly spread to their edifices.

From this time the architectural taste of Europe experienced a rapid change, commencing in the seat of the ecclesiastical government, and spreading, by degrees, to the utmost extent of the Roman Church. Early in the fifteenth century, Filippo Brunelleschi, a Florentine, born in 1377, whose ardent and liberal mind led him to form his taste by studying the remains of ancient buildings at Rome, undertook and completed the cathedral of Florence, with an octagonal cupola of great dimensions, which a convocation of the architects of that age had pronounced impracticable. The completion of this edifice, the example of the other excellent works in which he was employed, and the perusal of the writings of Vitruvius, created a general disposition to this style of architecture. It was increased by a treatise of Alberti, a learned canon of the metropolitan church of Florence,

who, like many other monks of the preceding ages, also practised architecture. These circumstances were preparatory to the great undertaking which fixed the epoch of the revival of this art, and gave to the Christian world a temple, which, in magnitude and variety of parts, far surpassed every Grecian and Roman work of a similar description. In the pontificate of Julius II., Bramante, a native of the duchy of Urbino, having been distinguished by various architectural works at Rome, was employed, first to design the great theatre between the Old Vatican and Belvidere, and afterwards the original plan for St. Peter's church; and the latter magnificent structure, altered, however, and in some respects deteriorated, was carried on under the direction of Raphael de Urbino, the friend of the designer. Various other eminent men flourished at the same time, who adopted similar views, and, by their labor, contributed to establish the taste which had thus been introduced. Among these was Michael Angelo, eminent alike in the three kindred arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture, who, with mighty genius, was deficient in taste, and in the pursuit of novelty often lost sight of propriety; but who has, notwithstanding, left behind him a name which succeeding ages have not eclipsed.

It is no part of my design to enter into a minute description of modern buildings. In referring, however, to the progress of the art in Britain, it would be culpable neglect to omit the name of Inigo Jones, who flourished at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and who was the first English architect that, having cultivated the Grecian style, established it in his native island. Of him it is remarked, that besides the classical elegance which he introduced into public buildings, we are indebted for much of the convenience and comfort, then, for the first time, introduced into private buildings.

The only other British architect whom I shall name, as giving permanence to the modern style of architecture, is Sir Christopher Wren. This eminent man came into notice about the middle of the same century. It is to him that London is indebted for the plan and rebuilding of the present cathedral of St. Paul's, after the former

structure had been consumed in the great fire of 1666. It is proper to observe, however, that, great as this effort of architectural art undoubtedly is, it does not equal, either in simplicity, elevation, or boldness, that which he originally conceived, and was desirous to execute. The commissioners interfered with and checked his magnificent views, and he was under the necessity of cramping his genius, from the want of liberality in his employers. In the church of St. Stephens, Walbrook, there is an admirable specimen of his skill. It consists, internally, of a cupola, resting on Corinthian columns, the whole distributed and adjusted with the utmost elegance and correctness. Besides many other works which the devastation of the fire subjected to his genius, in the Monument erected to commemorate that calamity, he constructed a column, equal in design and execution, and superior in elevation, to any of antiquity. The height of this column is 202 feet; that of Antoninus, at Rome, was 175; and that of Trajan only 147.*

I need say little of the present state of architecture in England, as relates either to public or private structures. The principles of the art seem to have been long fully developed; and the application is as various as the varied taste, rank, and resources of the individuals who require its aid, or of the architects, whose taste and skill are employed in furnishing plans for its execution. The increasing intelligence and refinement of the age, with which the prosperity of the country has kept pace, have given rise to edifices of all descriptions, magnificent or elegant, commodious or useful. The taste for beauty, convenience, and comfort, is obviously on the increase. In their private residences, the houses of English gentlemen and merchants are fast advancing to a rivalship with the villas and castles of the nobility, and these again with the palaces of princes. Nor are the dwellings of persons in the less wealthy ranks in a stationary state. Every year brings additional accommodations to the farmer and his dependants, while the houses in the towns are becoming more commodious and elegant, the shops more

* Edinburgh Encyclopedia, article Civil Architecture.'

rich and tasteful, the warehouses more numerous, extensive, and convenient. With regard to manufacturing buildings, as they have rapidly increased in perfection and extent of machinery, they have made equal progress in accommodation and in magnificence. The establishments of this kind, in Lancashire and other counties, overwhelm the mind with astonishment, and exhibit views of wealth and facilities to industry, which, previous to experience, we might be inclined to think could only be found in the fancies of an Eastern tale.

Of all European countries, in Britain, especially, are strongly marked the happy changes consequent on the progress of society in arts and civilization; and none of these changes are more striking than what belongs to the practice of architecture. Other nations studiously display their means of warlike defence. Every town is fortified, the bridges are built with a view to military defence, -the rocks and rising grounds bristle with towns and battlements. It is not so in Britain. Its insular situation and command of the sea, secure it against foreign invasion. A contented population is its defence against internal commotion. Except a few ruined towers, the relics of a more barbarous age, and here and there a dismantled castle, every thing breathes peace and prosperity. Look down from some elevated situation on the surrounding country, and what do you behold ?—the noble mansion, rising in the midst of a wide-spread lawn and stately woods; the neat farm-house, with its quadrangle of commodious offices, its threshing-mill, and its well filled stack-yard; the clean and healthy village, with its smoke rising from every chimney, to indicate domestic comfort within, and its hedge-enclosed gardens, where flowers, mingling with useful vegetables, pleasingly indicate the same prosperous condition; perhaps, in the distance, some tall chimney pours forth its volumes of dark smoke, speaking of manufacturing industry; but, above all, the church-spire, or belfry, blesses the scene, and directs the mind to higher and holier musings; while, all around, the green pasturegrounds meet the pleased eye, intersected with hedgerows, and mingled with variously tinted fields, where