6+3 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tical lines lead the eye upward from the richly decorated ground-panels 

 to the gorgeous walls, which are of crystal, for the stone-work is seen 

 only as the framing of the glass, as the division between the windows. 

 The light of day is not admitted plain and undivided, to show up fresco 

 or canvas, but, resolved into its constituent colors, it is forced itself to 

 paint, in rainbow tints which no surface pigment could produce, the 

 chief events connected with the religion of the worshipers. First 

 we see depicted the scenes of old Bible story. Past these pictures 

 through them the lines flow up, and show us the corresponding inci- 

 dents and revelations of the New Dispensation. Type is succeeded by 

 antitype, and the dim teachings of the Law are seen perfected in the 

 clear light of the Gospel. Still upward fly the lines. Drawn in dull, 

 heavy stone as they are, they can not lead us up to heaven, but, having 

 helped to point the way, they divide into branching curves, and bound 

 our upward vision with a canopy or roof of spreading fairy fans. This 

 roof is really a vault of solid masonry, in some places more than three 

 feet thick, yet there is not -a single pillar to indicate that it needs sup- 

 port from below. Not an inch of the material is hid, but by simply 

 chiseling its surface the ponderous mass is completely veiled by the 

 cobweb texture of the tracery. To appreciate the solidity of the 

 structure, we must ascend and inspect the rough upper surface of the 

 stone. Only then do we become sensible of the weight of the huge 

 blocks, some of them weighing over a ton, which, by the masterly sys- 

 tem of vaulting, are made, simply by the force of their own gravity, 

 to bridge over the awful abyss beneath. To find the source from which 

 the enormous weight of this roof derives its support, we must go out- 

 side the building and examine the buttresses which flank the building 

 on either side. The strength of these is not apparent at first sight, for 

 the lower parts, of course the most massive, are massed by connecting 

 walls, and the intervening spaces thus inclosed are utilized as chantries, 

 leaving only the upper and lighter portions visible. On comparing 

 this chapel with some of the richest Italian interiors, the peculiar char- 

 acter of beauty already referred to as distinguishing Gothic art is at 

 once perceptible ; the decoration, instead of being superadded, is bound 

 up with the construction ; the parts themselves are made to provide 

 the ornament. From an aesthetic point of view this noble chapel is a 

 consummate work of art ; as an example of mechanical ingenuity it is 

 a triumph of engineering skill. 



This work was commenced in the middle of the fourteenth century, 

 but not finished till the fifteenth century was far advanced. By this 

 time, however, there were unmistakable signs that the reign of the up- 

 ward-pointing principle was drawing to a close. Arches were depressed, 

 right angles abounded, and square-headed windows were used, not only 

 in situations where they might be convenient or appropriate, but in 

 such important positions as the east end of a cathedral, as at Bath 

 Abbey. 



