The workmanship.-Masterpieces of Gothic architecture.

manship of some of the pillars resembles, in fineness, Flanders lace

"In regard to what was in part or altogether separated from the body of the church, there was a cloister on the north side, a part of the walls of which are still standing, and where may be observed pleasant walks and seats, with many flowers finely carved, as lilies, &c.; also ferns, grapes, houseleeks, escalops, fir-cones, &c. The door of the north entry of the church is curiously embossed, and the foliage, here and there, in other places, is very beautiful. There were also a vast number of fine buildings within the convent, for the residence and service of the abbot and monks, with gardens and other conveniences—all this enclosed within a high wall, about a mile in circuit. Besides the church, there has been a fine chapel, where the manse now is, and another house adjoining to it, where the foundations of the pillars are still to be seen. On the north side of this house, there has been a curious oratory or private chapel, the foundations of which have lately been discovered, and a large cistern of a single stone, with a leaden pipe conveying the water to it.”

Gothic architecture has undergone many changes since the age in which this pile was erected; indeed, its peculiar genius admits of almost inexhaustible variety.

The minster of Strasburg, the cathedral of Cologne, York minster, Westminster, and Salisbury cathedral, are among the masterpieces of this style.

Moresque architecture.-Mosque of Cordova.-The Alhambra.

Arabian or Moresque Architecture.

BEFORE the appearance of Mohammed, the ancient Arabiar architecture, of which very few examples now remain, was rude compared with the neighbouring Egyptian, Chaldean, Syrian, and Persian. The Caaba of Mecca, the only temple extant of their idol worship, is a quadrangular building, lighted by one window and a door, having three octagonal pillars supporting the roof.

From the latter part of the eighth to the middle of the ninth century, the Arabians made wonderful progress in the sciences.

The finest example of the first period of Moresque architecture, is the mosque of Cordova, in Spain, commenced in 770, by Abderahman, and finished by his son Hisham. It bears, in its arrangements, a striking resemblance to the basilica of Rome, particularly to those of St. Agnese and St. Paola. After the conquest of Cordova, it was converted into a cathedral; and though disfigured by modern additions, it preserves much of its ancient splendor. During the second period, which includes the close of the thirteenth century, the style was greatly improved in elegance, of which the royal palace and fortress of the Alhambra of Granada is a splendid example-the most perfect specimen of pure Arabian architecture that was ever produced. In this period, no traces of the Byzantine or Romanesque are to be found. The whole of the Alhambra is one plain, so arranged as to suit the plateau of the rock. After passing the principal entrance, there are two oblong courts, one of which, celebrated in history, is called the Court of the Lions-the buildings are one hundred feet high, and fifty broad, having one hundred and

Mixture of Saracen architecture with other styles.

twenty-eight columns of white marble. Round these courts, on the ground-floor, are the apartments of the palace—those for state looking towards the country; the others, for coolness and retirement, opening into the interior porticoes. The length of the enclosure is two thousand three hundred feet, its breadth six hundred. The walls are covered with arabesque, and ornaments of fanciful and diversified forms, and of various colours-gold, pink, blue, purple, and white-produced by painting, encrustation, mosaic, and gilding, imparting an air of refined luxury and fairy enchantment.

The third period, which extends from the close of the thirteenth century to the decline of the Saracen power, is marked by an amalgamation of the Saracen architecture with the Gothic, of which the beautiful cathedrals of Seville and Burgos are examples. Towards the latter portion of this period, the Italian orders began to be combined with the other, in detailed parts.

The Arabian and Gothic may be said to have taken their rise from the same origin—the debased Roman; the Arabian from the Byzantine, the Gothic from the Lombard; though in their progress and development they were unconnected and original.

The preceding remarks refer more especially to the architecture of the western Arabians, found in Spain; yet there is a close resemblance between it and that of the Moors of Asia and Africa.

Mexican architecture.-Resemblance to Oriental.-Cholula.

Merican Architecture.

THE specimens of architecture found in Mexico, resemble, in many respects, those of the ancient Egyptians and Hindoos, not only in the vast magnitude of the structures, but in the geeral character, in the use of the pyramidal form, and in hieroglyphic inscriptions on the walls. They were not the productions of the natives found in Mexico by the Europeans, but probably of the Toltecans, a more ancient nation, who had inhabited the country.

The temple of Cholula is one of the largest structures ever erected on our globe. The base is 1440 feet in length, and the height is 177 feet. It consists of eight stories, each forming a platform, on which stands the one above it. The walls are not perpendicular, but are inclined in an angle of 70 degrees, and the terraces are very wide; the upper stories are much smaller than the base. Some of these appear to have contained sepulchral chambers for the priests, and descending galleries lead down to immense dark halls, probably used for religious mysteries.

Cholula much resembles the tower of Belus, at Babylon, as described by Herodotus.

The remains of a palace at Mitla show that it must have been an edifice of great extent and grandeur, and the walls appear to have been sculptured or tooled externally, in imitation of mat or basket work, a species of decoration characteristic of Toltecan taste, and often found in sepulchral chambers. The same building has also a portico, with plain cylindrical columns, differing from any found elsewhere

At Teotihuacan, a few leagues to the north-east of the city

Fifteenth century.-St. Peter's, Ror.e.

of Mexico, are an immense number of pyramids several hundred small ones, ranged in files or lines and two larger ones, consecrated to the sun and moon. Each of the latter was divided into four platforms, the slopes between which consisted of steps, and on the summit was a colossal statue covered with plates of gold, which were stripped off by the soldiers of Cortes, who also destroyed the statue. With frantic zeal the Spaniards endeavoured to destroy every vestige of idolatry, even while they violated every precept of the Prince of peace, in whose name they committed their ravages.

Besides monuments which are chiefly works of magnificence, others exist which attest the high degree of civilization attained by the Toltecans, such as roads and bridges.

Modern Architecture.

WHILE the moderns have invented little essentially new, they have employed the principal parts of ancient architecture in new combinations. The era of modern architecture may be said to have commenced about the latter end of the 15th century. One of the best specimens of modern skill and taste is the cathedral of St. Peter, at Rome. It was begun in 1506, by Bramante of Urbino, by the direction of Pope Julius II., who resolved to construct an edifice superior to any thing then in existence. But death overtook both Pope and architect, in 1514. The work, however, was continued for 135 years, under twelve successive artists. The dome and cupola were designed by