24 THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 
and crossing branches of the forest.” These remarks will, I think, 
particularly appeal to any one who has spent any time in the forest, 
for he cannot but have noticed Nature’s aisles and columns with all 
their ornaments and intertwining arches and tracery. But the point 
I would like especially to dwell upon, though in a rudimentary way, 
is, as I have intimated, the parallelism between Literature and Arch- 
chitecture, especially as found in Great Britain and its history. To 
begin with the early British and Roman periods, of these there are 
but few traces, but what architectural remains are to be found are 
characterized by a solidity which the hands of Time and the storms 
of ages cannot break down. So also we have in our literature, certain 
marked features which might well be termed immortal, for in every 
age they have been utilized, even as we find many modern buildings 
which present the characteristics of several periods of architecture. 
The literary features which have been so especially well preserved 
particularly in English literature, but also in Continental, are the 
various legends associated with the name of King Arthur and the 
Holy Grail. If now we pass to the Anglo Saxon style which pre- 
vailed from the mission of St. Augustine at the close of the sixth 
ceutury to the Norman conquest, we find the buildings are plain but 
substantial and serviceable, the arches being either semi-circular or 
triangular, while there is little or no attempt at ornament or decor- 
ation. So also with the literature of the period which is equally plain 
and unadorned, but very serviceable and practical. Noteworthy 
amongst the authors of the period I would mention Bede, so gener- 
ally known as the Venerable, Caedmon the poor herdsman, who, 
unable to join in the ordinary songs of his companions, found scope 
in his beautiful account of the Creation, and above all, I would speak 
of Alfred, the king who wrote and compiled books on so many useful 
subjects. The Norman period, which came next and prevailed till 
the close of the twelfth century, was noted for an architecture devoted 
to much ornamental tracery with also a tendency to imitation of the 
styles in vogue on the continent even as the customs of the period 
showed a similar tendency. Towards the end of the period the 
pointed arch came into favor, and the architecture also became simp- 
ler, the columns were lighter and showed the first tendency towards. 
a pure Gothic or better English architecture, hence called Early 
English. So also at the same time we find the English language 
