226 Architecture in the United States. 



employed : some of their towers are crowned with low pyramids ; 

 but there is nothing which can claim the title of spire, in its proper 

 sense. The towers there are, with great propriety, made either en- 

 tirely distinct from the church or attached to one side; they are never 

 suffered, as with us, to break upon the majesty of the facade, or rather 

 to destroy it, but leave it to its full effect. They are felt to be an 

 appendage, the church itself being the main object presented to our 

 sight; and this is as it should be : with us the church generally seems 

 to be an appendage to the steeple, and the steeple is little more than 

 a thing for bells and for a vane to shew us how the wind blows. 

 As we go northward from Italy the spire comes into use, and is 

 often a most striking and beautiful object. That of the cathe- 

 dral of Vienna is four hundred and sixty five feet in height, and 

 that of Strasbourg four hundred and fifty six : the diminution in both 

 these however commences at the base, as is frequently the case in 

 that part of the continent, and the effect is less imposing than where 

 the tower and spire are combined. England is remarkable for happy 

 combinations of the two, though in that nation also the tower without 

 the spire is frequently to be seen. I return to our own country. 

 There are few parts of architecture in which our taste is so bad as 

 in this. The steeple is almost uniformly thrust forward and made 

 the first and main object of our attention, no matter what the cost 

 may be to the body of the edifice. It stands out either wholly or in 

 part from the fagade, which is thus broken up and is incapable of re- 

 ceiving either majesty or beauty of expression. I need not say that 

 the facade is every thing to the exterior of a building. On it the ar- 

 chitect labors most; to it the other parts are made to conform, and 

 from it the edifice receives the unity and singleness of character 

 which constitutes what artists call a whole. The English architects 

 do better. They make the steeple rise from the front of the edifice, 

 but its lower part is not seen ; the facade is left to take its full power ; 

 the church becomes the main subject of our thoughts, and the steeple 

 is felt to be only a necessary appendage : often it is in good taste and 

 adds greatly to the character of the edifice. This however will do 

 only when the steeple is of moderate height. When the elevation is 

 very great we wish to see the base or support of an object so vast, and 

 beside this, the upper part will be out of proportion unless the whole 

 of the tower is laid open to our eye. But where shall it be put? 

 The question is a perplexing one. There is one place however 

 where it plainly should not be put — in the centre of the fa§ade : 



