352 



THE CIVIL EXGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[October 



ful pictures, freiiueiitly subject tne artist to tlie imputation of a want of 

 skill : — thus, in tlie two mountains siiown in this subject, tliey appear to come 

 forward upon the eye, whilst tlieir bases are at a distance in a straight line 

 from the forejjrounrl, of about thirty miles. Tlie sides of these mountains 

 are covered vitli deep forests, extending from the base to that point where 

 vegetation ceases to exist ; this may be observed in the picture, wliere the 

 grey tone of the forest is succeeded by a warm sand colour, and the higher 

 elevation is distinctly marked by the sno-.v, which perpetually covers the 

 summit. The loftiest of these mountains, called PopocatC]ictl, stands at an 

 elevation of 17,8S4 feet above the level of the sea (nearly three miles and a 

 half), and a( aliont 10,684 feet above the city of Pueb'hi, from whence the 

 crater of tins volcano is plainly visible, the e'dije of winch falls considerably 

 towards the soutli side ; it still burns feebly, and the surrounding country 

 bears the devastating niarks of violent eruptions ; though no records have 

 been kept of these. The neighbouring mountain, called htaccihuatl, is sup- 

 posed to be an extinguished volcano^and these two form the barrier to a 

 direct communication between Puebla and tlie Capital, which places are 

 distant from each other about 70 miles, the former being 1C2 miles from the 

 port of Vera Cruz. The city, a small portion of which only is seen in the 

 picture, is the richest bishoprick in the country, and is celebrated for its fine 

 cathedral, the altars of which are decorated with the most costly magnifi- 

 cence. 



As likely to be interesting to several of our readers, we shall also 

 copy what is said of the Mine of Rayas. 



IN'TEKIOR OF THE MINE OF RAYAS. 



This mine, situated at Guanaxuato, is esteemed the richest upon the Tc/a 

 Madre (mother vein). One of the principal leveh is shown in this plate, 

 " the eafion of San Cayetaao." Tliis excavation has been formed by blasting 

 the rocks, .amongst wiiioli the silver is disseminated in minute panicles ; 

 occasionally threads and lumps of silver are found iu a pure state, hut these 

 form an insignificant proportion to the mass. The principal shaft of tliis 

 mine is of large dimensions, being 31 feet in diameter, of .an octagonal form, 

 and 464 TOr«s deep (1,270 feet). In the lower workings, the air is very 

 confined, and the heat rather oppressive, the mean temperature being 85° of 

 Fahrenheit; in the level represented here it is 80'. The Tenateros (carriers) 

 who convey the ore from the ditferent workings to the bottom of the shaft, 

 from whence it is raised to the surface, are paid according to weight and 

 distance ; they are, from long practice, rendered capalile of bearing great 

 weights — the average ,aIlow,ance is 9 or 10 nrrolias (2251b. and 2501b.) ; but 

 there are instances of their far exceeding this ; and in the Despncho (office) 

 of Santa Rosa, belonging to this mine, there are two m<asses of ore which 

 have been brought up entire liy one man, in successive journeys, one weigh- 

 ing IS arrohus (450 lb.), the other 22 arrobas (550 lb.), which are kept as 

 trophies of human strength. When it is considered that 300 lb. is the ave- 

 rage weight that a mule carries, and that those masses were brought from 

 the level shown in the id.ite, to a distance of 260 varns (nearly as many 

 yards), with an ascent of upwards of 100 vara^, it will appear more extra- 

 ordinary. The miners, who are voluntary workmen, are a very superstitious 

 race : they are subject to many accidents, from blasting, rush of waters, 

 descending and ascending the sh.ift, &c. ; but the limits of a short descrip- 

 tion cannot convey an adequate idea of the life of these singular men, which 

 is full of stirring incidents. 



The Palace of jli-chiUciiire : a Romance of Art and History. By 

 George Wightwick, Architect. Imp. 8vo. 67 Plates and 143 

 Woodcuts. London : Fraser, 1840. 



If the singularity of its title is well calculated to excite curiosity, 

 and the splendid appearance of the volume itself is likely to secure for 

 it admiration, the author's aim is by far more singular than the one — 

 more admirable than the other; while some of his opinions and re- 

 marks are so striking as to be absolutely startling. Jt is not tlie least 

 extraordinary circumstance of all that, although a professional luan, 

 Mr. Wightwick is so free from professional prejudices, so ultra-liberal, 

 in fact, that he is in danger of being considered highly illiberal in many 

 parts of his book by his brother architects. That he is not at all 

 anxious to have the art kept, as heretofore, a sort of close borough, is 

 evident from the very first: nor is tliere any mistaking his object, 

 which is nothing less than to divest the study' of architecture of that 

 kind of freemasonry, mystery, and mystification, in which it has 

 hitherto been kept shrouded from the million. Nay, he even goes so 

 far as to express the hope "that quackery may no longer practise its 

 meretricious frauds, to the delusion of ignorance ; " a pretty broad 

 hint that there has been a good deal of quackery in architecture ere 

 now, and that such quackery has succeeded mainly in consequence of 

 the inability of the public to detect it, and to discern plodding 

 feebleness and sterility of mind just plaUd over with the specious, yet 

 superficial surface of art. In time, perhaps, the plating wears off; and 

 people begin to be ashamed of the sorry stuff which they had been 

 taught to look upon as sterling metal ; but in the meanwhile the mis- 



chief has been committed, and the public have no other means of con- 

 soling themselves for the despicable specimens cf taste foisted upon 

 them, thin by sneering at the want of discernment on the part of the 

 generation which could allow itself to be so duped, notwithstanding 

 that they themselves are probably gulled to the very same extend 

 although after a contrary fashion. ' Had the course here recommended 

 by .Mr. Wightwick been adopted a century ago, and had the study of 

 arcliitecture been consi.lered one of the requisites towards a polite 

 education, the art itself wouU!, in all probability, have been in a very 

 ditferent condition among us from what it now actually is. If exe- 

 cuted at all, many things that have in their dav obtained praise, would 

 have incurred derision at the very first. Hardly would such men as 

 Tavlor and Wyatt have obtained the celebrity they did — more to the 

 astonishmejit of the present time than to the credit of their own — for 

 their talent, more especially that of James Wyatt, is now beginning 

 to be better understood, and rated at its actual worth, which is ex- 

 ceedingly low indeed, for he was at the best a complete maimerist, 

 while his manner was at the best completely insipid. Nash's repu- 

 tation is now scarcely worth a bawbee ; nor would we give much for 

 the reversion of that of .Sir R. Smirke, whose frigid soulless classicalitu 

 has impnverisheil our modern architectural style most deplorablv. 



Should Mr. Wightwick's counsel be followed, the next generation 

 will not, we conceive, be put to its shifts, so much as tlie present one, 

 to find competent judges in mailers- of architectural taste; wliereas 

 now it is universally complained that hardly two or three non-pro- 

 fessional jiersons can be found at all qualified to be entrusted with the 

 selection of designs at competitions. So far, therefore, Mr. W.'s book 

 is eminently calculated to be of service, by inducing people to discard 

 the fatally absurd prejudice that the study of architecture concerns 

 architects alone. Either it is, or it is not, a fine art ; iu the latter case, 

 of course it deserves to he applied to only by those who jiractise it; 

 but in the other, it claims the attention of all who make |)refensions to 

 taste, and the more extensively it is cultivated the better, else how 

 can the public sympathize with it ? — how can they appreciate or 

 enjoy it ? — how should they encourage it properly, or wherefore should 

 they encourage it at all ? because a public without taste for architecture 

 does not need architects, but merely builders. All this we take to be 

 pretty self-evident, whether it be exactly palateable or not. 



To ourselves it is most satisfactory to find that there is at least 

 one individual in the profession, who, with no ordinary degree of elo« 

 quence and persuasion, strives to induce non-professional persons to 

 apply themselves to architecture as one of those pursuits which of 

 themselves reward the student. We do not say that others have 

 actually dissuaded from such attempt, or that they have not occa- 

 sionally acknowledged the ability and services of amateurs; but it has 

 been as if they looked upon the latter as a cla-ss necessarily limited to 

 a very few individuals, and those chiefly wealthy ones. Never do 

 they seem to have contemplated tlie possibility of that class— if it 

 now deserves the name of one — becoming a numerous one ; for never 

 have they uttered any exhortations to that effect ; never have they 

 recommended that architecture should be taught at schools and col- 

 leges ; never have they pointed out what course of study in it would 

 be most suitable for such purpose. Without doubt every one has 

 always been at liberty to make architecture his hobby if he pleased, 

 but then, whenever it has been taken up at all, it has been entirely 

 through accident or fortuituous circumstances, and not in consequence 

 of any provision made for tlie study in the usual coiu'se of pre'dous 

 education. The question, then, is, why has no provision of the kind 

 been made ? how happens it that architecture lias been completely 

 overlooked as a branch of education ? And to this question no one, 

 we will venture to say, is prepared w ith an answer, for the reason 

 that no one has ever tho'.ight of its being ever asked. Shall we say 

 it is because architecture has iiolliing wdiatever to recommend it as an 

 elegant and liberal pursuit to those who do not intend to follow it as 

 a profession ? and because, although nominally accounted one of the 

 fine arts, it has nothing iu common with the rest, being, in fact, no 

 better than a dry, plodding, mechanical calling, fit to be left entirely 

 to those whose trade it is ? It may be so ; at any rate such is the 

 light in which it is generally considered, though architects woidd fain 

 have the world believe quite the contrary. 



Let us disguise it as we may, the truth is, there is very little relish 

 for art in this country ; for instead of any pains being taken to instil a 

 taste for it into young persons, they and all others are left either to 

 pick up their notions of it as well as they can, or else to remain all 

 their lives in a "gentlemanly ignorance" of it, while they find more 

 congenial food for their taste in dandyism or politics, or on the turf 

 and at the gaming-table — perliaps in amusements a la Waltrford.* 



' It would not be amiss were we to look at some of the portraits drawn of 

 us by foreigners. It was not very long ago that we met with a very long 



