288 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[Sept. 



ave eiamincd the choir with Mr. Sandys's book in our hand, but confess 

 ourselves unable to form a decisive opinion on this question. There is no 

 doubt that Professor Willis's reply will clear up many apparent difliculties : 

 at the same time Mr. Sandys has the merit of arguing his case acutely, and 

 of duly acknowledging the learning and research evinced by his opponent. 

 The following extract from the publication before us is selected rather as a 

 specimen of the general style than as referring to the particular question 

 above alluded to— there is little in it which will gratify the lovers of mongrel 

 architecture. 



" The Dark ylgen C\(Jlh to \9l/i Cen/ury.^— England at the commence- 

 ment of the sixteenth century possessed in its cathedral and parochial 

 churches, abbevs, priories, and other monastic and conventual structures, 

 the most splendid specimens of the Saxon, Norman, early English, decorated, 

 and perpendicular styles of architecture; whilst Henry VII, in his newly 

 erected chapels at Westminster and Cambridge, had carried the floiid Tudor 

 style to the utmost perfection. These temples were, however, the abodes of 

 the most abject and degrading superstition, of the most revolting and dis- 

 gusting idolatry. Hence arose the fierce and hitter contest between truth 

 and error, between the pure and undefded religion of the gospel, and the 

 legends, Iving miracles, and extravagant pretensions of the See of Kome. 

 This struggle terminated in the Reformation. Glorious as was the emanci- 

 pation of the human mind from the degrading influences of superstition and 

 Papal tyranny, yet we cannoc but deplore the iconoclastic zeal of the re- 

 formers and puritans, which, not satisfied with removing the idolatrous 

 shrines, altars, and chantries, violated the sacred reiiositories of the dead, 

 destroyed the tomlis and sepulchral monuments which pity had raised to the 

 memory of departed worth, and levelled to the dust some of the most beauti- 

 ful rem'ains of the architectural skill of our f„refathers. Then also arose the 

 Royal Ruffian, at whose name humanitv shudders, and religion herself grows 

 pale '. This ruthless tvrant having dissolved the monasteries, extorted from 

 his parliament a grant of the possessions which were annexed to them, a 

 large portion of which he afterwards parcelled out amongst his courtiers and 

 flatterers. This led to the rapid decline, and at length, total extinction of 

 English ecclesiastical architecture, and the revival of the classical style, 

 (shortly afterwards introduced from Italy,) comphled the downfall ot a 

 science which hsd for many centuiies been the pride and glory of our coun- 

 trv In these more enlightened days we are astonished that men of the 

 greatest genius should so long have continued blind and insensible to the 

 sublime beauties of our native architecture. But to show their utter igno- 

 rance and contempt, they have even branded it with the approbiious name 

 of 'gothic' Inigo Jones (the English Palladio) with most inha-monious 

 taste added a Corinthian portico to the west front of the venerable gothic 

 cathedral of St. Paul, London ; and Sir Christopher Wren (struck with its 

 want of harmonv) afterwards wished to replace the whole of the gothic 

 church by another to accord in style with Inigo Jones's classical portico. 

 This scheme, though opposed at the time, was afterwards rendered inevitable 

 bv the great fire of London, which involved both the gothic cathedral and 

 it's classical portico in one common ruin. So great indeed was the darkness 

 of this period, that even Addison's cultivated and enlightened mind could 

 not appreciate the exquisite beauties of Gothic architecture. It is at once 



amusing and instructive to hear hisremarks If to the illustrious names 



of Inigo Jones, Wren, and Addison, we add those of Somner, Battely, and 

 Gostling, (the learned historians of Canterbury Cathedral), no aomirer of 

 that venerable and exquisitely beautiful church will censure us for appro- 

 priating to the last three centuries the opprobrious appellation of ' the Dark 

 Ages.' " 



Our author might have added that the ignorance of the true principles 

 of architecture extended to the Classic as well as the mediaeval styles. It 

 is not so many years since a great architectural authority expressed his 

 opinion that the Parthenon would he improved if surmounted by a 



steeple ! 



Mr. Sandys scolds Professor Willis for not describing the restorations 

 which the present Dean and Chapter have efl'ected in the cathedral, under 

 the supervision of Mr. Austin, their architect. Mhy did not Mr. Sandys 

 supply the omission ? He is an inhabitant of Canterbury, and probably 

 has had ample means for fulfilling the task. 



Description and uses of the Byrnegraph, or neii- propnrlional comrassrs, 

 an instrument /or viultiplying. dividing, ami comparing lines, angles, sur- 

 faces, and solids: by Oliveu Byrne, formerly Professor of Mathematics, 

 College for Civil Engineers. Adlard, 1816; pp. 38. 



The purposes of this publication are the explanation and illustration of 

 the uses of an instrument invented by Mr. Byrne, to which the British 

 Association has given the not very descriptive appellation of the " Byrne- 

 graph." The object of this invention is to attain increased accuracy in 

 the use of proportional compasses, or rather, to so extend the use of them, 

 that the improved inslrumeut bears to its prototype much the same relation 

 as a Manton to a matchlock. 



With the old proportional compasses, lines could not be reduced with 



even tolerable accuracy to less than one-ninlh their original size ; but, by 

 combining with them the vernier scale, the new instrument not only eflects 

 much greater reductions with perfect accuracy, but may be made to indi- 

 cate proportions which extend to several places of decimals. For instance, 

 at page 20 is explained how the compasses may be set to the proportion 



1 : 31110, the ratio of the diameter of a circle to its circumference. 

 These refined adjustments are perfectly unattainable with the old instru- 

 ment. I'ig. 1 is a side view of Mr. Byrne's invention, of which fig. 3 re- 

 presents the plan when the instrument is open ; fig.4, when it is shut. Fig. 



2 is a separate view of one end of the compass. 





t\ ;. 



ti.. s'V^fT 



! 



The principal feature of the invention is that the moveable centre E F, 

 about which the two arms turn, is provided with a vernier, and that the 

 points X, I/, are moveable and also provided with verniers. Beside this, 

 there are tightening screws to fix all the points when they have been ad- 

 justed. 



" The framework of this instument may be made to assume differeot 

 proportions and forms for the sake of ornament, compactness, or conveni- 

 ence, according to the fancy or design of the maker; the first completed 

 was constructed by Cary, 181 , Strand, London, and explained at York, 

 before the iSritish Association, in 1844. A view of the instrument, which 

 ive shall describe, is given (fig. 1) ; it diflers but little from that construct- 

 ed, according to the directions of the inventor, by Desire Lebrun, of Paris. 

 The two boxes E^ ^, F/i g, are so adapted to the beams AB, CD, that 

 they may be moved together by sliding to any part and fixed in that posi- 

 tion by tiglitening the clamp screws E and F. When the moveable centre 

 E pq F, is clamped in any position, the instrument turns on an imaginary 

 line or axis passing through EF, perpendicular to a plane passing through 

 P <], the junction of the boxes E p 9, F ;> 9, the friction of the planes meet- 

 ing at pq renders the motion uniform. Connected with the brass boxes at 

 K and L are two points of the instrument meeting at x : at K and L there 

 are two clamp screws to fix the boxes, which must be moved together. 

 M hen the points are in their proper places, the proportions of the instru- 

 ment that we are describing are these : — Suppose st — \, then (k:^24, and 

 «i'=5. The points at .T are represented in proper adjustment, but those 

 at If must be moved till y comes up the liue r u', and then made fast by the 

 clamp screws at Q and K." 



The faces of the arms are graduated to four scales, which mark the pro- 

 portions for straight lines, circumferences of circles, surfaces, and solids, 

 respectively. Tables of the numbers corresponding to these graduations 

 are given in the publication before us, and as instances of the applicatioo 

 of them, we quote the following problems, taken at random: — 



"In the circumference of a circle A B B' it is required to lay off aa ar« 



