is.}n.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



:«7 



CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK. 

 FASCICULUS vin. 



I must have lihnrty 

 AVithal, as larp;e a charter as the winds, 

 To bh)\v on whom I please. 



I. If any reliance may be placed upon what is said in an article in 

 the Otli No. of the Art Union, on the " State of the Arts in New South 

 Wales," arcliitectiu-e is looking up in that remote region of the globe. 

 The Roman Catholic Cathedral at Sydney is there spoken of as being 

 a building nuich superior to "most of the places of public worship in 

 this metropolis," (London, we presume;) which it certainly may be 

 without taxing admiration too largely. After all, however, the infor- 

 mation positively aftbrded amounts to no more than that tlie laiilding 

 is of freestone, the interior "graced by splendid Gothic cohunns," and 

 that it is capable of containing at least 30U0 persons. Hence it may 

 be supposed that it is in the Gothic style, but of what period or class 

 we are not informed. As to that, we "are left entirely to conjecture, 

 and can tlierefore only guess that at any rate the interior is of an un- 

 usually rich character; for how else can we account for the splendour 

 of the columns, which in themselves are hardly ever tlie most striking 

 or decorated features in Gothic architecture. Again, the capacity of 

 containing three thousand persons is but a very vague and unsatis- 

 factory criterion as to dimensions ; since it very much depends upon 

 whether the congregation are packed together and piled up in galleries 

 or not. I do not question the fact itself, but I certainly do question 

 very strongly whether its being made to contain that number of per- 

 sons, is not altogether fatal to the architectural effect. If not, they 

 manage things \ery much better among the antipodes than they do 

 here at home. The only other building expressly spoken of is Mr. 

 M'Arthur's residence at Cambden, an "extensive and elegant villa, 

 built in the best and chaaest Italian style, with a large and graceful 

 colomiade." Could we but know what are the writer's ideas as to 

 elegance and gracefulness, and what he considers the best and chastest 

 Italian style, we might be able to form some opinion as to the value of 

 his commendation. At present we are wholly in the dark, his account 

 being not a whit more lumino\is than the definition I have seen some- 

 where given of a horse, namely, that it is a creature with four legs 

 and tail behind it, with a thing upon its back, called a saddle, for 

 people to sit upon. "There are other fine buildings," the writer adds, 

 "in the colon}-, but this certainly reflects the greatest credit on the 

 architect." Why, then, I ask, is his name kept a profound secret ; — 

 almost as if it were one quite unmentionable — not fit to be even whis- 

 pered to ears jjolite ? Surely architects do not swarm already to that 

 extent in New South Wales as to render it matter of great difficulty 

 to ferret out the author of such a building. 



II. There is one thing in respect to which almost all arcliitectural 

 works are more or less defective, some most deplorably so, and scarce- 

 ly any perfectly satisfactory, namely, sections. Very few are to be 

 met with of any of the buildings in the volumes of the Vitruvius Bri- 

 tannicus and most other works of that class; while in publications 

 consisting of mere designs, it seems to be made a rule never to show 

 anything whate\-er of the kind. One might therefore imagine that 

 the interior of a building is of comparatively little, if any, importance, 

 that it offers nothing for study with regard to design, decoration, con- 

 struction, or contrivance ; whereas the fact is, that without complete 

 explanation by means of sections, there will be a great many particu- 

 lars, as to which we must remain in doubt — perhaps be entirely at a 

 loss. One of the most complete series of illustrations of any English 

 building, is the second edition of Brettingham's work on Holkliam 

 House, the seat of the Earl of Leicester, and one of the most princely 

 residences in this country. Yet although tliat monograph contains an 

 unusual number of sections, several others are still required in order 

 to explain various parts of it; among the rest, another transverse sec- 

 tion on a line through the centre of the statue gallery and the two 

 iimer courts, and another through the state dining-room from north to 

 south, to describe the alcove. Neither \vould it have been andss had 

 there been two more plans, one to show tlie mezzanine floor on the 

 east side of the house, and over some of the rooms in the north front; 

 another of the attic floor in the centre of each of the wings ; besides 

 which, a section through at least one of these latter would not have 

 been superfluous. Again, though there is a plan of the attic in the roof 

 of the body of the house, none of those rooms are shown in any of the 

 sections, except one immediately above the tribune at the rnd of the 

 hall, and which must be on a much lower level than the others, in fact, 

 on that of the mezzanine floor. Owing to this omission, it is inqjos- 

 sible to tell how those rooms are lighted — whether by dormer windows 



or not, since nothing of the kind appears in the external elevations. 

 What renders the omissions of this kind the more provoking is, that 

 they might have been supplied without at all increasing the number 

 of the plates, because several of those of ceilings and chimney-pieces 

 might have been very well retrenched, as might also some of those of 

 the lodges, &c., which have scarcely any merit or interest whatever, 

 certainly none in comparison with the particulars here mentioned, the 

 latter being indispensable to a full explanation of the House itself. 

 One extraordinary — indeed quite unaccountable — circumstance is, 

 that the second edition of the work gives a totally different design of 

 the interior of the chapel from that contained in the first one, and not 

 only different but decidedly inferior also, and in qvute another style 

 from any other part of the interior, notwithstanding which, no notice 

 is taken in the letter-press to that edition of this most singidar dis- 

 crepancy ! 



III. As to books of " Designs for Villas," et hoc genus omiie, they 

 invariably make it a point to s/itr/c sections altogether. A mere ele- 

 vation with a ground plan, generally of the most common-place de- 

 scription, is considered quite sufficient for a design, and indeed what 

 is so shown is oftener than not of such quality as to extinguish all 

 regret that no more of it is exhibited. One is puzzled to guess wliat 

 class of persons tliey are who purchase the rubbish that has been pub- 

 lished under the title of "Villas and Cottages in various styles," — cas- 

 tellated included; things that absolutely make one sicken at the name 

 of architecture, and almost ready to forswear it for ever. Look, again, 

 at the samples of dowdiness and ugliness that have had their portraits 

 taken because they happen to answer to the name of gentlemen's seats! 

 Not one in fifty of things so shown are worth representation; yet, had 

 the sums that have from time to time been stpiandered away upon many 

 of them, been employed with economy and real taste combined, (hey 

 might have been as beautiful as they are now the reverse. It is won- 

 derful that people who are as anxious about the make and cut of a coat, 

 as if it was intended to last them their whole lives, bestow no more 

 study and foresight in selecting a design for a house, than if it was a 

 thing that would be worn out in a fortnight. 



IV. Or rather is not strange at all, but perfectly natural that such 

 should be the case, seeing that people in general, even of that class, 

 are perfectly ignorant of arcliitecture as of fine art, and have never 

 had the slightest taste for it instilled into them during their education. 

 "Good heavens 1" methinks I hear some fine lady mamma exclaim, 

 " surely the fellow does not imagine that the children of people of 

 fortune are to be educated as if they were to be house-builders V 

 Certainlv not : I recommend no such thing. I do not desire to see 

 people of fortune study building, yet I do wish to see them study 

 architecture ; nor even that as professional men, but as the gentleman, 

 the man of education, and the man of taste ought to do. Such, how- 

 e\ er, are the odd misconceptions and the obstinate prejudices most 

 persons labour under, that it is impossible to bring them to view the 

 matter in such light. You may attempt to convince them and correct 

 their misapprehensions, and after having reasoned with them two 

 hours, find that their first notions are iuunovably fixed. The conse- 

 quence is that out of a becoming horror lest their sons should be sus- 

 pected of having ever talked with a carpenter or mason, they suffer 

 them to associate with grooms and jockeys, who may initiate them 

 into all the mysteries of the turf, and from the turf they proceed to 

 the green of the gambling-table. 



V. As part of liberal education, the study of architecture is not 

 only beneficial as far as it tends to form the taste generally, but highly 

 advantageous inasmuch as it furnishes a pursuit that is a never-failing 

 resource. But it will be said that persons may employ their time 

 quite as innocently and far more profitably both to themselves and to 

 others than in any such pursuit, let the gratification be as great as it 

 may. I am silenced : heaven forbid that with a view of recommending 

 a pursuit as harndess as it is elegant, I should divest any one from 

 enq)loying his time, his fortune, his talents in any way that would 

 inunediately benefit society. All that I ask is why do not those who 

 have both leisure and fortune, so employ them, instead of squandering 

 away both, as too frequently happens, in pursuits disgraceful to them- 

 selves, and injurious both to themselves and to others ? Why are 

 there so many idle time-killers in that class of society — votaries to ex- 

 citement, and victims to ennui ? The man who has a sincere taste for 

 architecture may at least defy the fiend Ennui. 



RAMBLES BY PHILOMUSyEUS.— No. 2. 



PARIS. 



One of the first things which strikes the visitor to Paris is tlie 

 rapid change in style which has taken [ilace within the last two years. 

 The Louis Quatorze and Louis (^ninze have gone to the tombs of 



2 B 



