452 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[January, 



pedestnl which rises from its apex. On each side of this sham pedi- 

 ment we have a balustrade for no other purpose that I can see, unless 

 to put balusters out of fashion, and if this be the object I sincerely 

 wish it may be successful. It may be observed in this design, how 

 effectually the balustrades and parapets swamp the pediment ; which 

 will afford a good study for those who admire the expedient of con- 

 verting a real pediment into a sham one. 



II. A writer under the signature of J. W. R., in the last number of 

 this Journal, p. 416, objects to the proposal of making an Egyptian 

 facade to the Museum, on the grounds that the style is not European. 

 This line of argument is so like what my good old aunt Marabella 

 would urge, that I trust I shall be excused, if mistaken, in assuming 

 the signature J. W. R., to be that of a fair incognita, and reply, "Ah, 

 ma'am, are you aware that the same geographical reason would apply 

 against the introduction of the beloved congu on your breakfast table?" 

 It is true the Museum is a national one, that is, national property, but 

 the geographical character of its contents have only the limit of the 

 globe itself. What J. W. R. says of a Gothic facade is quite incom- 

 prehensible, for I cannot suppose the existence of such a thing, the 

 style depending upon the development of parts impossible to be 

 brought into a mere facade. 



Of what is called Grecian architecture with its Palladian deformi- 

 ties, we have enough. The Egyptian style is free from the polluting 

 touch of Palladio or his school. In the one case we know what to 

 expect; in the other hope opens a door in the unexplored field of 

 Egyptian antiquities for the expectation of something better. The 

 Greeks are supposed to have learned the art from the Egyptians, and 

 why may not we ? if the like success shall attend our exertions, 

 great will be our reward. 



Oh, Madam, there be edifices called Grecian, which I have seen, 

 and heard others praise, and that highly, that neither having the form 

 of Grecian, nor the proportion of Grecian, Ren i . nor G thic, so 

 pedimented, so rusticated, so bustled, so balustraded, so polytri- 

 glyptaed, so distorted, so perverted, that I thought some architect's 

 journeyman hid designed them, and not designed them well, they 

 imitated the style so abominably. But I would recommend to you, 

 ma'am, and the Palladians, an attentive perusal of the entire charge, 

 of part of which the foregoing is a parody, it is as applicable to 

 architecture as to the drama — to Sir Robert Smirke as to Hecuba. 



III. Although the exterior of the Roman Pantheon, with the ex- 

 ception of the noble portico, is an unsightly mass, yet it affords an 

 important lesson worthy the consideration of us moderns. Where (it 

 may be asked) is the architect who could make anything of it in the 

 way of ornament? Or who could design an edifice of the same form 

 and dimensions, in the Greek or Roman styles at least, anil make it at 

 all ornate without being at the same time absurd? This, it would 

 appear, was the feeling of its architect, and hence, with the exception 

 of the portico, all ornament was reserved for the interior, which, for 

 beauty, when restored in imagination to its pristine state, far surpasses 

 the interior of any edifice in the world, unless it be some of the 

 Gothic cathedrals, if things so dissimilar may be compared. Might 

 it not be well in all cases where, from the required interior accommo- 

 dation the exterior cannot be made in good taste, to follow the ex- 

 ample of the Pantheon and leave it unornamented ? this would tend 

 to save the credit of the architect, the purse of the employer, and 

 the feelings of amateur critics. The beauty of the portico forbids us 

 to suppose that it was a lack either of taste or talent which caused 

 the tambour to be left as we see it: perhaps it was the intention to 

 hide it by other separate and distinct buildings, for no means of in- 

 ternal communication were left in the plan to favour the idea of 

 some antiquarians, that it was intended as a hall appertaining to the 

 baths of M. Agrippa. It need scarcely be remarked that the two 

 excrescences, which rise like asses' ears behind the pediment of the 

 portico, are modern. 



- See interior of the new Exchange. 



A RECENT GLANCE AT THE WORKS AND THE GEOLOGY 

 OF THE SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY. 



The travelling on the Croydon Railway is very smooth and agree- 

 able, an effect which, I understand, is due to the system of construc- 

 tion adopted for the permanent way. The rails on this line are 

 laid upon longitudinal sleepers, which are placed in a continuous un- 

 interrupted line under each rail. The train has, therefore, an equal 

 and uniform support at every point, and is not subject to the jolting 

 motion which is experienced on many other railways. 



The Croydon Railway, I need scarcely say, is used in common by 

 the trains of the South-Eastern and the Brighton Railways, both of 

 which approach the metropolis by means of this line, which may, 

 therefore, be considered as the trunk for the south-east of England. 

 The country adjoining the Croydon Railway between the Forest Hill 

 summit and Croydon is delightful. The railway is flanked by several 

 noble woods, the property of Lord Dartmouth and Lord St. Germain, 

 and the whole country is studded over with innumerable pleasant 

 cottages and villas, most of which command an extensive prospect 

 from the elevated position which they occupy. The Croydon Canal, 

 which wis formerly a favourite resort of the angler and a famous 

 place for boating parties and water frolics, for which, indeed, it was 

 more distinguished than for any commercial benefits which it ever 

 realized, has been quite forced out of existence by the railway. Some 

 put of the canal has been tilled up, its bridges pulled down, and its 

 locks dismantled, while in other parts, the railway actually passed in 

 the same line, and the ancient bed of the canal was lowered in order 

 to suit the convenience of the usurper. In a few places, however, as 

 Sydenham and Annerley, short lengths of the old canal still re- 

 main, and these having been stocked with fish by the proprietors of 

 the neighbouring taverns, are still frequented by many metropolitan 

 anglers whose occupations do not alfoid them time for a sojourn at any 

 -i ml fishing station. 



We left New Cross at a quarter before 10 and arrived at Croydon 

 just a quarter past. About half a mile nearer London than the joint 

 station of the South-Eastern and Brighton lines, the Croydon Railway 

 turns off to the right towards its own station north of the town. At 

 Croydon we enter upon the Brighton Railway, which is used by the 

 Dover Company as far as Merstham, where the South-Eastern line 

 branches off. Shortly beyond Croydon there is an interesting section 

 for geologists, in a deep cutting where the Brighton Railway passes 

 through the lower sands of the plastic clay formation. This sand re- 

 poses immediately upon the ch.dk, the junction with the latter being 

 1 in the cutting. After leaving this cutting, which occurs at 

 Coombe Hill, just south of Croydon, the line enters the chalk district 

 of the Surrey Downs. This is a gradually rising tract of country 

 from Croydon to the summit of the chalk range at Merstham. 

 Tiie surface of the chalk is varied by numerous alternate valleys and 

 ridges, the former of which have been washed out by the mighty rush 

 i - ancient ocean long before the earth was peopled by its pre- 

 sent race of inhabitants. These valleys are, notwithstanding, quite 

 dry at the present time, if we except that in which the intermittent 

 stream called the Ravenshourne occasionally breaks out and Hows for 

 a few weeks. This chalk district is distinguished by a very light and 

 shallow soil, and the land is much covered by flints. Except in some 

 of the valleys the soil is much too shallow and porous for the growth 

 of corn, and is, therefore, devoted to pasturage, the grass being very 

 short, but of a Bweet flavour, and well adapted for sheep like that of 

 ordinary mountain districts. Few tracts are more difficult of im- 

 provement than one with a dry absorbent subsoil of chalk with a very 

 shallow covering of mould. The clay and sand proper ior mixture 

 with such a soil for the object of improving its mechanical structure, 

 have to be conveyed up lull from valleys which are already too low, 

 and from which the earth can ill be spared out of any occasional ex- 

 cavations. Nevertheless, the judicious application of capital to the 

 object of strengthening the soil and rendering it more retentive of 

 moisture, would effect great improvements even in the most unpro- 

 ductive chalk districts. 



Between Croydon and the Merstham tunnel there are several minor 

 stations at which only the Brighton trains stop, those of the South- 

 ii company making no stoppage till they arrive at the other end 

 of the tunnel. 



From Croydon to Merstham, at which place is the summit of the 

 chalk country, the Brighton Railway rises all the way at the rate of 

 ■20 feet in a mile, and very heavy cuttings through the chalk have 

 been found necessary to secure even this, which, in the language of 

 engineering, is by no means a favourable gradient. Before entering 

 the Merstham tunnel particularly, the cutting is very deep, and the 

 sides of the excavation being nearly upright, have a very formidable 



