3G8 
of France, by the sons of Henry the Second, so that we 
cannot be surprised at the remarkable similarity in the details 
of Norman and English structures at this period. It has 
been already noticed (p. 297) that the pointed style advanced 
more rapidly and with more distinctive features in England, 
and those parts of France bordering upon it, than in any other 
country. 
Those who would uphold the superiority of the continental 
cathedrals (at the present time) over those of Great Britain, 
seem entirely to forget one point, — that the impression made 
upon the mind by the former is heightened to a great degree 
by their accessories. Connected with a religion gorgeous in 
all its apparelings, — uninjured by the hands of the destroyer, — 
filled with paintings attractive to the eye, and by congrega- 
tions whose garb is exceedingly picturesque from the variety 
of its colouring, and heightened in its effect by the southern 
sun, what a contrast does the continental structure present to 
our own minster, in which on every side we perceive the effect 
of the puritan spoliator or the modern Alaric, and in which, 
although 
" The stoned windows richly dight 
Casting their dim religious light," 
may to a certain extent instil into the mind the feeling of 
devotion ; yet that feeling has little else to give rise to its 
intensity, than the bold shadows cast by the deeply recessed 
moulding, and the awe-inspiriting grandeur of the edifice 
itself, which is the impress of its sacredness, and declares, in 
silent but eloquent language, that this is none other than the 
house of God ! 
In the works of the middle ages the most refined taste is 
apparent even in the minutest ornament, while the greatest 
science is displayed in the general arrangement. The archi- 
tects of these structures were able, in the emphatic language 
of our great philosopher. Dr. Johnson, to comprehend the 
