1859.] on Modern Gothic Architecture. 57 



mode of building as rapidly as possible. By degrees the contest 

 seemed to settle itself between the Flowing or late Decorated, and the 

 Geometrical or early Decorated styles, and the early one gradually 

 prevailed ; and I am certainly far from complaining of that victory. 

 But now that it is gained, have we made the proper use of it ? The 

 other four styles were one by one dismissed, or abandoned, not so 

 much because people were dissatisfied with the genuine old specimens 

 of them, but because the new ones were manifestly defective ; and is 

 not the same thing now taking place with the Geometrical? Never 

 mind whether you agree with me that it was the best of the old ones, 

 but assume whichever you like to have been the best : still the same 

 question may be asked, was that best style ever fairly tried by modern 

 architects who had really mastered its principles and spirit, before it 

 was thrown aside to try something else ? If it was, let them tell us 

 where we are to find the specimens. I confess I do not know them. 



A few years ago came in the marble and colour mania, imported 

 principally by Mr. Ruskin from Venice ; a magnificent discovery for 

 the architects, but not so certainly for architecture just at present ; for 

 the apparently inevitable effect of a rage for colour seems to be that 

 it makes people more careless about form than ever ; and no one I 

 think will say that the knowledge of architectural form and pro- 

 portion is in such a highly advanced state that we can afford to let it 

 take its chance for a few years while we are speculating in some other 

 element of beauty. I am far from objecting to the introduction of 

 marble shafts, or granite pillars, wherever people like to pay for them : 

 but if they fancy that a building otherwise bad, feeble, and in short, 

 ungothic, will be made into a good one, capable of giving lasting satis- 

 faction or pleasure, by putting in a certain quantity of marble instead of 

 stone, they will be mistaken, and will find that the choir of Selby, and 

 the nave of St. Alban's, and fifty other whitewashed churches, are still 

 perversely admired, while all their beautiful colours are despised. A 

 Jortiori, the same is true of painting ; for marble being composed by 

 nature is sure not to be bad in itself, whereas painting has an unlimited 

 capacity for badness in itself, and unfitness for its place besides. The 

 Lady Chapel at Chester is just disclosing a pleasing prospect for our 

 cathedrals, if the painting mania lasts a few years, and is cultivated 

 with the same moderation as we usually display in following whatever 

 happens to be the fashion. For, to begin with, they are painting and 

 gilding some of the arches in the style of that splendid daub in the 

 Crystal Palace on the copy of a door at Rochester, which at any rate is 

 directly contrary to Mr. Ruskin 's apparently correct remark that in 

 nature colour never follows the lines of form, but rather runs across 

 them ; to say nothing of its hiding the stone entirely, and making it no 

 better than plaster. But they have far surpassed this ; for the wall 

 itself is painted stone colour, and marked out into an uncommonly 

 good imitation of our old friend the churchwarden style of the Geor- 

 gian era ; only to redeem it from that character, a red Aries, cyo^ is 

 painted on every joint, of course of the most uniform and exact pattern ; 

 from which the beholder is to understand that these very stone-like 



