ARCHITECTURE. 
horizontal ones. It was formerly customary 
to make the mouldings of the balusters fol- 
low the inclination of the plane ; but this is 
difficult to execute, and, when done, not 
very pleasant to the eye : though in orna- 
mental iron-work, where it is confined to a 
general surface, passing perpendicularly by 
the ends of the steps, it has a very handsome 
appearance. The breadth of pedestals, 
when placed over an order, is regulated by 
the top of the shafts, the die being always 
equal thereto. When balustradeuare placed 
upon the entablature of an order, over the 
intercolumns or interpilasters, and the base 
and cornice of the balustrade continued, so 
as to break out and form pedestals over the 
columns or pilasters ; the breadth of the 
die of the pedestals should be equal to the 
breadth of the top of the shafts ; and where 
there is no order, the breadth of the die is 
never more than its height, and very seldom 
narrower ; and the dies of the pedestals are 
frequently flanked with half dies, particu- 
larly when the range of balusters is long. 
This is not only apparently necessary, but 
is in reality useful in shortening the range, 
and forming a better support for the ends of 
the rail. 
Attics. An Attic is a part of a building 
standing on the cornice, similar in form to 
that of a pedestal ; and is either broken or 
continued. The use of an attic is to con- 
ceal the roof, and to give greater dignity to 
the design. The Romans employed attics 
in their edifices, as may be seen in the 
remains of the triumphal arches, and piazza 
of Nerva. In the arch of Constantine 
pedestals arc raised over the columns as 
high as the base of the attic, and these pedes- 
tals are again surmounted with insulated 
statues. In the ruins of Athens there are 
no attics to be found : there is one, how- 
ever, over a Corinthian colonade at Thes- 
salonia, with breaks forming dwarf pilasters 
over the columns ; and with statues placed 
on front of the pilasters, as in the arch of 
Constantine. The attic carried round the 
two courts of the great temple of Balbec is 
also broken into dwarf pilasters over the 
columns and pilasters of the order ; and the 
dwarf pilasters have blocking courses over 
them, on which statues are supposed to have 
been placed. Attics are very dispropor- 
tional in the ruins of these ancient edifices ; 
some of them being nearly one-half of the 
height of the order. The moderns make 
their height equal to that of the entabla- 
ture ; as to the proportion of the height of 
the members it may be the same as that for 
pedestals. 
Doors. Doors are apertures in exterior 
walls, used for passage into public and private 
buildings ; and in the interior for communi- 
cation from one apartment to another. In 
the fourth book of Vitruvius rules are laid 
down for Doric, Ionic, and Attic doors, all 
of which have apertures narrower at the top 
than at the bottom. These trapazoidal 
closures of apertures have the property of 
shutting themselves, which, perhaps, might 
have occasioned the introduction of this 
form, and are useful in modern times for 
raising the door above the floor in the act of 
opening, in order to keep it clear of the 
carpet. Examples of them are to be found 
among the ruins of ancient edifices; they 
have also been introduced by a few modern 
architects. The apertures of doors of small 
dimensions are most commonly closed with 
lintels. Doors, in general, are regulated in 
their apertures by the size of a man, so as 
never to be smaller than that he might pass 
freely through them ; they are seldom less 
than two feet nine inches in width, by six 
feet six inches in height, except in confined 
situations, and where utility is beyond any 
other consideration. 
Doors of entrance vary in their dimen- 
sions according to the height of the story, 
or magnitude of the building in which they 
are placed. In small private houses four 
feet may be the greatest width, and in most 
cases three feet six inches will be sufficient. 
The lintels of doors should range with those 
of the windows; and the width of their 
aperture should not be less than that of the 
windows. A good proportion of doors is 
that where its dimensions has the ratio of 
three to seven ; their height should never 
be less than twice, nor more than twice and 
a half their breadth. In the entrance doors 
of public edifices, where there is a frequent 
ingress and egress of people, and often 
crowded, their width may be from six to 
ten feet. Inside doors, or doors of commu- 
nication, should be in some measure propor- 
tioned to the height of the stories ; however, 
there is a certain limit for the dimensions of 
their apertures, which they should not ex- 
ceed ; for the difficulty of shutting the door 
will be increased by its magnitude ; there- 
fore the apertures of doors which are intend- 
ed to shut in one breadth should never ex- 
ceed three feet six inches. In palaces and 
in noblemen’s houses, where much company 
resort, and in state apartments, all the doors 
are frequently thrown open : they are made 
much larger than other doom, being from 
four to six feet in width, with folding leaves. 
The proportion of the apertures of such 
