298 
" and in the provinces of France which were connected with 
" England : in this country, however, its course is the most 
" marked, and its advances are the most easily traceable." 
Nay, more than this, at the very period at which classic archi- 
tecture was revived in Italy, the most gorgeous structures 
in the pointed style were erected in England ; and we have 
sufficient proof, in the works of the sixteenth century, of the 
reluctance with which it was ultimately abandoned. It is more- 
over an undisputed fact, that the revival of Gothic architec- 
ture, at the present time, is peculiar to Great Britain. 
Upon the various hypotheses which have been raised as to 
the precise origin of the Gothic style, it is almost needless to 
pass comment ; many of them are sufficiently ingenious, but 
their very ingenuity increases in proportion to their probable 
departure from the simple truth. One circumstance is, how- 
ever, especially deserving of notice, that every practical 
architect who has written upon the subject, is in favour of a 
scientific origin for the pointed arch. 
Dr. Milner first directed public attention to the intersect- 
ing and interlacing arcades (so frequent upon Norman 
buildings) as probably originating the idea of the lancet or 
Early English style. This opinion is daily increasing in 
public favour. But however plausible the opinion, its cor- 
rectness cannot be proved by perspective views, or without 
the reduction of these arcades to their elementary georae" 
trical forms ; and a careful examination of them will enable 
us to classify them very satisfactorily. Having devoted 
much attention to the subject, I think I shaU be enabled 
to prove a constant recurrence to the intersecting principle 
throughout the whole series of windows of the Lancet or 
Early English style. In double, triple, and multiple windows 
I find that the acuteness or obtuseness of the curves forming 
the lights (i.e., the glazed parts) depends upon their con- 
nection with each other as a continued series of intersecting 
