
118 ARCHITECTURE. 
pieces joined together without any regular system, which is considered a 
merit by the Chinese, and is painted. The aspect of the forest of posts, 
pillar, beams, and ties, is indeed surprising; whilst it is evident that the 
waste of work originated only in the ignorance of the Chinese of the noble 
simplicity in construction and decoration which gives our modern buildings 
their strength and beauty. The principal hall is lighted through the large 
door on the east side. The tower standing at the side of the hall is octa- 
gonal, with a diameter of about 40 feet. Above the first story it has a glazed 
roof resting on columns, and having an elegant gallery. The whole consists 
of nine stories, divided by small roofs projecting under the windows about 
3 feet, and gradually less towards the top. They have no galleries or 
columns. The walls of the tower are 12 feet in thickness below, gradually 
reduced to 8 feet at the top, and are faced with porcelain slabs, which have 
suffered considerably from rain and dust. The stairs in the interior are 
narrow and uncomfortable, the steps being very high. The stories are 
divided by strong beams supporting floors. The tower has thus nine cham- 
bers, whose walls are covered with the fantastic painting so characteristic 
of Chinese art. In the upper stories they have numerous small niches, in 
which idols are placed, which produce a singular effect. The walls seem 
to be faced with slabs of burnt clay, with bas-reliefs, and gilded throughout. 
The first story is higher than the others, which are all alike in height. The 
steps are 190 in number, each being 10 inches high. The whole height of 
the tower, including the substructure and the bell-shaped roof of the ninth 
story, is somewhat over 200 feet. The roof is very ornamental, and pierced 
by a mast, which commences in the eighth story and projects 30 feet above 
the top. It is surrounded by an iron spiral, wound at some distance from 
the wood, and its highest extremity carries a large gilded ball. 
This structure is one of the strongest and most ingeniously executed 
among this kind of edifices, which are found in all parts of China, and 
known by the name of Ta. 
10. American ARCHITECTURE. 
We have stated above that America has no modern architecture of her 
own. This view is based upon the examination of the monuments of a 
peculiar kind found in Central America and Mexico, and belonging to a 
much earlier period than the discovery of America, and probably dating 
even further back than the Christian era. The buildings erected on this 
continent at a later period and in our days bear no affinity whatever to the 
style of those monuments, but belong essentially to the European schools of 
art, modified to suit the convenience or taste of the builders. The monn- 
ments of antiquity must therefore be regarded as the only representatives 
of American architecture proper, and are therefore the only ones that claim 
our attention in this place, whilst we shall hereafter have occasion to mention 
several important edifices erected on this continent in modern times. A few 
stones with alleged Runic inscriptions found in the northern part of the 
United States (Rhode Island and Connecticut) have been designated by 
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