THE CRYSTAL PALACE. 417 



Let us assume, however, that the architect is always con- 

 scientious always willing, the moment he has done what in 

 strictly necessary for the safety and decorous aspect of the 

 building, to abandon his income, and declare his farther ser- 

 vices unnecessary. Let us presume, also, that every one of 

 the two or three hundred workmen who must be employed 

 under him, is equally conscientious, and, during the course of 

 years of labour, will never destroy in carelessness what it may 

 be inconvenient to save, or in cunning, what it is difficult to 

 imitate. Will all this probity of purpose preserve the hand 

 from error, and the heart from weariness? Will it give dex- 

 terity to the awkward sagacity to the dull and at once in- 

 vest two or three hundred imperfectly educated men with 

 the feeling, intention, and information, of the freemasons of 

 the 13th century ? Grant that it can do all this, and that the 

 new building is both equal to the old in beauty, and pre- 

 cisely correspondent to it in detail. Is it, therefore, altogether 

 toorth the old building ? Is the stone carved to-day in their 

 masons' yards altogether the same in value to the hearts of 

 the French people as that which the eyes of St. Louis saw 

 lifted to its place ? Would a loving daughter, in mere desire 

 for gaudy dress, ask a jeweller for a bright facsimile of the 

 worn cross which her mother bequeathed to her on her death- 

 bed ? would a thoughf ul nation, in mere fondness for splen- 

 dour of streets, ask its architects to provide for it facsimiles of 

 the temples which for centuries had given joy to its saints, 

 comfort to its mourners, and strength to its chivalry ? 



But it may be replied, that all this is already admitted by 

 the antiquaries of France and England ; and that it is impos- 

 sible that works so important should now be undertaken with- 

 out due consideration and faithful superintendence. 



I answer, that the men who justly feel these truths are 

 rarely those who have much influence in pu blic affairs. It is 

 the poor abbe, whose little garden is sheltered dy the mighty 

 buttresses from the north wind, who knows the worth of the 

 cathedral. It is the bustling mayor and the prosperous archi- 

 tect who determine its fate. 



I answer farther, by the statement of a simple fact. I have 



