LETTERS TO A LADY, &c. &c. My dear Sorillah: HEN we walked through the Architectural Exhibition together the other day, you seemed interested by the glimpses of his tory which became visible through the chinks, so to speak, of a running commentary on the drawings there collected, and asked me to give you some general notion of a study which promised to be more agreeable than you had anticipated. I willingly comply, delighted to have such a pupil, and proceed to put your new-born enthusiasm to the test, beginning from the earliest times, and tracing the progress upward till we reach our own days. Should some parts of the road prove dusty and barren, you must not at once abandon the journey, but trudge over them contentedly for the sake of the prettier and more fertile country they will lead to. The term "Architecture" suggests to you, pro B bably, as to many others, nothing more attractive than a dry study of the most efficient modes of heaping one stone upon another to form a building. But there is a second and totally different point of view whence architecture is seen to afford matter of interest on which the most refined and powerful intellect may exercise itself, and which may worthily occupy the attention of all who possess a cultivated mind. I mean architecture viewed as a fine art,—a producer of beauty; and it would be well if more attention were given to it in this respect by the general student than is usually the case: advantages of no common kind would result, and fresh sources of pleasure would be opened to the inquirer. With this most interesting part of the subject, however, I do not propose to deal now. There is a third light under which it may be considered, namely, historically; and thus it is I intend to place it before you in the following letters. If it fail to interest you, the fault will not rest with the subject, but with me. From the earliest period in the history of the world (when the number of men was few), the love of society, to say nothing of fear of the tigers, led them to congregate in particular spots. Sustenance was of course the first consideration; but this being provided, a protection from the rays of the sun, the wind, or the rain, according to the climate of the country, would be the next object of attention. The shelter provided at first was naturally rude and ARCHITECTURE A PROGRESS. 3 incomplete, and was necessarily regulated by the habits of the people, the nature of the country, and the materials attainable on the spot. As civilization proceeded, brought about by the communion of intellect, the exchange of ideas, and the increased means of transmitting information, so that the labour of one generation served as a foundation on which the next might commence their work-religious feelings induced the erection of certain buildings in honour of their gods, which should visibly convey the importance of their purpose. Principles were ultimately laid down for their construction, ingenuity was exerted, and all the other arts, so far as they were understood, were brought to aid in their embellishment. In tracing the history of architecture, then, we thus, in reality, examine the progress of the various parts of the world towards civilization, and in many cases, their relapse into barbarism. All that remains of many once powerful nations are a few ruins, which, although isolated and dismantled, yet enable us to form correct ideas of the religion, recreations, manners, and ability of the people by whom they were erected. Ideas, expressed in earth and stone by the contemporaries of the Pharaohs, which have exercised strong influence on society, remain to us almost uninjured. How powerful are the images which they raise! A link in a great chain, they serve by association to repeople the wastes wherein they stand, and call back to the mind remembrance of the whole course of past events. We are apt, in the business and bustle of to-day, to forget too entirely the past: everything which serves to take us back to the early periods of the world's history, to force upon our notice the age of prophecy, the foundation of Christianity, the rise and fall of states, must tend not merely to interest but to expand the mind; will enable us to estimate rightly our present position, and, by showing what has been done, assist us in making further advances. You will see at once, too, that by a knowledge of architectural history, and the peculiarities which characterize the works of various people and epochs, the pleasure of travel is greatly increased: every stone is suggestive of an idea, and every old building becomes an open book, wherein, with this knowledge, those who run may read. I must not dwell longer, however, on what you may perhaps consider "the puff preliminary," but which is, in truth, said with strong feeling on the subject. That we may begin at the beginning, let us refer, though briefly, to some statements in the Bible as to our subject before the Flood. According to Archbishop Usher, it was 4004 years before our era when Cain built the first city, and called it after his son Enoch. A considerable degree of skill in the constructive arts seems to have been attained, and artificers in brass and iron are spoken |