212 ARCHITECTURE. 
vation the building has, besides the ground floor, a kind of intersole and a 
main story, and is covered with a flat roof. The great windows of the main 
floor are arched and all the stories are vaulted. Through all the vaults an 
open space passes in the middle of the building to the cellar, for experi- 
ments with freely falling bodies. The building is extremely sound, and 
throughout in a pure style, so that it makes a good impression. But a great 
fault is that it is so inadequately planned that on the east side a new build- 
ing was necessary for the astronomical observations. This fault is aseribed 
to Cassini. | 
8. Assempiy Hovsss. 
These buildings, again, depend for their plan upon many circumstances, 
as whether the place is much visited, whether it is for men only, and has 
consequently reading-rooms, billiard, and coffee-rooms, or whether balls 
and assemblies are held there. One of the prettiest edifices of the kind is 
the Casino in Lnége (fig. 10, view; jig. 11, ground plan of the ground floor ; 
jig. 12, plan of the upper story). The building stands upon a terraced 
hill, and has in front a grand double-armed staircase which leads to 
the terrace before the building. In the rear the ground floor divides into 
two parts, between which is the carriage way. Upon the ground floor of 
the front there are great halls and card rooms. In the rear building is the 
staircase and some other assembly rooms. ‘The first story contains in the 
front building the great ball room, and on both sides terraces over the card 
rooms of the ground floor. As the carriage way is built over in the upper 
story, the rooms of the rear building communicate immediately with those 
in front. 
A peculiar kind of buildings for guests are the Persian Caravansaries. 
These buildings are especially devoted to the entertainment of caravans. Erect- 
ing them is a meritorious work, and they are under a public superintendent. 
They take the place of our assembly and coffee-houses. They consist 
generally of a four or eight-cornered court, mostly with a fountain in the 
centre, and surrounded by the building, affording opportunity for exercise 
either under the arcades or in the free air. PJ. 57, jig. 15a@ and 6, are 
ground plans of such caravansaries. The building around the court consists 
only of single cells. The outer ones serve as shops for the traders or as 
coffee-houses, the inner ones for lodging the travellers, who make them- 
selves at home there, and must themselves provide for their wants. The 
beasts are also sheltered here. The institution of caravansaries is very old, 
for Herodotus mentions them and calls them catalysais. 
9. Watcu-Hovsrs, Custom-Hovssrs, Exctsz-Hovsss. 
Custom-houses are situated either at the gates of cities, if they serve for 
the reception of the barrier tax, and are then called excise-houses, and are 
212 
