BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE.

Fig. 79.—Scroll.

Among the inventions of Gothic architects the division of the interior into three aisles, with the centre one much the highest, was very important. By this arrangement the space was made to appear longer and higher than it really was, and what was lost in the effect of width was more than made up in a certain elegance of form which is very pleasing. The three central aisles of the next cut illustrate this arrangement (Fig. 80).

Fig. 80.—Section of Church.Carcassone.With Outer Aisles added in Fourteenth Century.

The Gothic builders gave loftiness to their edifices by the use of spires and towers. They became very skilful in constructing them with buttresses below and pinnaclesabove, so that the spires should not detract from the apparent size of the buildings to which they were attached (Fig. 81).

Fig. 81.—Spires of Laon Cathedral.

In the matter of design in ornament the Gothic order had no fixed method, except so far as its forms were symbolic. Every form of vegetable design was employed; vines and leaves were abundant. As a rule the use of human forms or animals as supports to columns or other weights was avoided. If they were introduced the animals were not reproductions of such as exist, but the imaginary griffin or other monster, and at times dwarfs or grotesque human beings, were represented as if for caricatures.

Sculptured figures were usually placed upon a pedestal either with or without niches for them, and were not made to appear to be a part of the building itself. The deep recesses of Gothic portals, the pinnacles and niches gaveopportunities to display exterior sculpture to great advantage (Fig. 82). The interiors were also appropriate for any amount of artistic ornament in bas-reliefs or figures that could be lavished upon them.

Fig. 82.—Portal of the Minorites' Church.Vienna.

The most original and effective feature of ornament, however, which was introduced by Gothic architects is that of painted glass. To this they devoted their best talent. It is not necessary to say how beautiful and decorative it is; we all know this, and our only wonder is that it was left for the Gothic architects to apply it to architectural uses. We do not know precisely when stained or painted glass was invented, but we know that it existed as early as 800, and came into very general use in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Fig. 83—External Elevation, Cathedral of Paris.

Before painted glass was used windows were made very small, and it was some time before the large, rich style wasadopted. The following cut from Notre Dame, at Paris, gives the three stages of the change, and it is interesting to see them thus in one church (Fig. 83).

On the left are the undivided windows without mullions or dividing supports; next, at the right, the upper window shows the form with one perpendicular mullion and a circular or rose window above the centre; lastly, on the right of the lower story we see a full traceried window.

The window became one of the most important and characteristic features of Gothic buildings. These largeopen spaces gave opportunity for elegant shapes and splendid colors, both the form of the opening and the dividing ribs, or tracery, as it was called, being made with the utmost beauty and grace. The round windows, called rose windows and wheel windows, were often exquisitely designed, as the following example shows (Fig. 84).

Fig. 84.—Wheel Window, from Cathedral.Toscanella.

The window is illustrative of the influence which climate may have on the development of architectural style. In warm countries where spaces were left open, window forms and painted glass were, of course, never employed; but in more northern lands they became one of the most marked features in important edifices.

A whole book might be written about these windows and be very interesting also, but we can give no more space to them here.

Gothic architecture gradually extended from the centre of Italy to the most northern bounds of civilization, and though practised by so many nations, was as much the architectural expression of a religion as the architecture of a single ancient nation had been the outgrowth of its peculiar religious belief. During the Middle Ages the priests and monks preserved learning in the midst of general darkness and ignorance, and were the chief patrons of all art which survived the decline of the time. They built up the Christian faith by every means in their power. The monks were missionaries. They went to various countries, and selecting favorable spots they founded abbeys; around these abbeys a poor population settled; gradually churcheswere built, and it frequently happened that the monks not only planned the work to be done, but also executed it with their own hands. Many of them were masons and builders, and several bishops were architects. St. Germain, Bishop of Paris, designed the church in that city now called by his name, and was also sent to Angers to build another church, and to Mans to erect a monastery.

The finest buildings being thus made for religious purposes and under the direction of the clergy, they must have been as full an expression of Christianity as were the temple-palaces of Egypt an expression of the religion of Osiris and Isis, when the kings were both priests and sovereigns, and dwelt in these palaces. And this was true as long as Gothic art was in the hands of the clergy and used almost entirely for religious purposes.

Later on, when it was employed for civic edifices erected under the direction of laymen, it became an expression of political independence also. The freedom of thought which came with the decline of the feudal system inspired new aspirations and imaginations in the hearts and minds of men, and these found expression in all the arts, and very especially in architecture. If we cannot always admire the manner in which Gothic art was made to express these lofty desires, we can fully sympathize with the sentiment which was behind it.

The Gothic order held undisputed sway west and north of the geographical line of which we have spoken until the fifteenth century. Then a revival of classical literature took place, and with this there arose also a revival of classic art and architecture; this revival is known as the Renaissance, or the new birth, and the period of time is spoken of as that of the Renaissance. The effect of this classic reaction was very great upon all the educated classes of Europe, and its influence may be said to have endured through about three centuries.

Again, during the eighteenth century, Gothic art was revived. A reverence has grown up for the good that wrestled with the darkness of the Middle Ages and survived all their evils. The rough, strong manhood of that time is now justly appreciated. Perhaps the feeling in this direction is too much exaggerated. While our regard for a rude and weather-stained monument of the spirit and architecture of the past may be natural and proper, the imitation of it which is made in our day may easily become absurd, and is very rarely suited to our purposes.

Spain is one of the countries which are on the Gothic side of the geographical line we have drawn, and among the many splendid edifices in that country some of the finest are of the Gothic order. There is no national architecture there, for though the Spaniards love art and its expressionpassionately, they have themselves invented almost nothing which is artistic.

Fig. 85.—Collegiate Church, Toro.From Villa Amil.

But while it is true that the Spaniards invented no styles, they did modify those which they adopted, and there are peculiarities in the Spanish use and arrangement of the Gothic order which give it new elements in the eyes of those who understand architecture scientifically. To the uneducated also it appears to have a personality of its own, something that is suited to Spain and the Spaniards; so that, while we know that Spanish Gothic architecture was borrowed from France and Germany, we yet feel that if the cathedrals of Paris and Cologne were to be put down in Valencia or Madrid they would look like strangers, and not at all well-contented ones at that; and if the churches of Toledo or Burgos were copied precisely in any othercountry, they would have an air of being quite out of keeping with everything around them (Fig. 85).

Fig. 86.—St. Paul.Saragossa.

We call the architecture of Spain before 1066 the "Early Spanish," and from that time the Gothic order prevailed during nearly three centuries.

Meantime in the south of Spain the Moresco or Moorish order had sprung up, of whichFig. 86gives an example. It was gradually adopted to a limited extent, until finally some specimens of it existed in almost every province of the country. The Gothic order was affected by it, inasmuch as the richness of ornament of the Moorish order so pleased the taste of the Spaniards that their architects allowed themselves to indulge in a certain Moorish manner of treating the Gothic style. We cannot describe these differences in words, but Figs.86and87will make it plain.

Fig. 87.—Cloister.Tarazona.

As has been said, the interior decoration of all Gothic churches was very rich and abundant. It is also true that all church furniture was made with great care; the matter of symbolism was carefully considered, and each design made to indicate the use of the article for which it was intended. No altar, preaching-desk, stall, chair, or screenwas made without due attention to every detail, and the endeavor to have it in harmony with its use and its position in the church. The following cut shows a rood-screen, which was the kind of screen that was placed before the crucifixion over the high altar (Fig. 88).

Fig. 88.—Rood-Screen, from the Madeleine.Troyes.

The fantastic sculptures and wealth of ornament in Gothic decorations produce a confusing effect on the brain and the eye if we look at the whole carelessly; but when we remember that each separate design has its especial meaning we are interested to examine them, and we find that the variety of forms is almost innumerable. Where there are trailing vines and lions, faith is indicated; roses and pelicans are the symbols of mercy and divine love; dogs and ivy, of truth; lambs, of gentleness, innocence, and submission; fishes are an emblem of water and the rite of baptism; the dragon, of sin and paganism; a serpent, too, typifies sin, and when wound around a globe it indicates the power of evil over the whole world; a hind or hart signifies solitude; the dove, purity; the olive, peace; the palm, martyrdom; the lily, purity and chastity; the lamp, lantern, or taper, piety; fire and flames, zeal and the sufferingsof martyrdom; a flaming heart, fervent piety and spiritual love; a shell, pilgrimage; a standard or banner, victory; and so on, and on, we find that meaning and thought were worked out in every bit of Gothic ornament, and that what at first appears so wild and hap-hazard is full of a method which well repays one for the study of it.

The Gothic order was also used in building municipaledifices, palaces, and even for the purposes of domestic architecture. The finest remains of this kind are in Germany, the most interesting of them all being the castle on the Wartburg. This castle is large, grand, and imposing. It is also well preserved. A few years ago it was discovered that many windows and arched galleries, of very beautiful style, had been filled up, and that frescoes and other decorationshad been covered. The Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar caused its restoration, and the ancient halls are now quite in their original state. (SeeFig. 89.)

Fig. 89.—Palace of Wartburg.

There are very interesting legends and historical facts connected with this castle of Wartburg. As early as 1204 to 1208, when Hermann, Count of Thuringia, dwelt there with his wife, the Countess Sophia, it is related that the "War of the Minstrels" occurred. This was a contest between several of the wandering minstrels or Minnesingers of that time as to who should excel, and he who failed was to suffer death. The penalty fell on Henry of Ofterdingen; in his despair he begged the Countess to gain him a respite so that he could go for his master, Klingsor. Her prayer was granted, and in the end Henry of Ofterdingen saved his head, though the legend says that Satan aided him. This story is without doubt founded on truth, but has much of fancy mingled with it.

The next remarkable story connected with Wartburg is the residence here of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, as she is called. This wonderful woman was the daughter of the King of Hungary, and when four years old she was betrothed to Prince Louis, son of Count Hermann, mentioned above. At this tender age she was given to his family. Her life at Wartburg was very remarkable, and I advise you to read about it, for it is too long to be given here. At last, her husband having died in Jerusalem, where he had gone with the Crusaders, his brother Henry drove her out with her children to seek a home where she could. She suffered much, and supported herself by spinning wool. But when the knights who had gone with her husband returned, they obliged Henry to give the son of Elizabeth his rights. She received the city of Marburg as her dower, but she did not live long. Miraculous things are told of her, and she is often represented by painters and sculptors.

Again, Wartburg was the residence of a remarkableperson; for Luther dwelt there after escaping from the Diet at Worms. He was called Ritter George, and the room where he wrote and spent much of his time is shown to travellers who visit the castle.

We come back now to Italy, the country we left when we passed from the Romanesque to Gothic architecture. In the north of Italy where the Gothic order had prevailed after the eleventh century, it had been modified by the Romanesque influences and Roman traditions, in some such degree as the Moors had influenced the Gothic order in Spain. But, on the whole, the mediæval buildings of Northern Italy were Gothic in style.

Rome, as we said, was individual, and her art remained Roman or Romanesque up to the date of the Renaissance. In Southern Italy, as we shall see, the architecture was of the Byzantine order.

Among the most interesting edifices of the Middle Ages are the Italian towers. They were frequently quiteseparate from the churches and were built for various purposes. Some of them were bell towers, and such a tower was called acampanile. Others were in some way associated with the civic power of the cities which built them; but the largest number were for religious uses.

Thecampanileis always square at the bottom and for some distance up, and then is frequently changed to an octagonal or circular form and finished with a slender spire or ornamental design.

Fig. 90.—Tower of Cremona.

Fig. 90shows one of the finest square towers in all Italy. It was built in 1296 to commemorate a peace after a long war. It is three hundred and ninety-six feet high. It has little beauty in the lower two thirds; above that it is more pleasing, but the two parts do not look as if they belonged together. The tower of Italy, however, which is most beloved and most famous is that of Giotto, beside the cathedral of Florence. (SeeFig. 102.)

Another striking feature of Gothic art in Northern Italy is seen in the porches attached to the churches. They are commonly on the side, and as they were usually added after the rest of the church was finished, and frequently do not correspond to the rest in style, they look as if they were parts of some other churches and had come on a visit to those beside which they stand. In Italy the main portion of these porches always rested on lions.

A porch at Bergamo is one of the finest, and certainly its details are exquisite, and the whole structure is beautiful when it is considered separately; but as a part of the church it loses its effect, and seems to be pushed against it as a chair is placed beside the wall of a room.

Some of the mediæval town-halls are still well preserved, and a few of them are truly beautiful. Perhaps the Broletto at Como is as fine a remnant of civic architecture as exists in Northern Italy. It is not very large and is faced with party-colored marbles.

The architecture of Venice and the Venetian Province must be treated almost as if it were outside of Italy, because it differs so much from that of other portions of that country. During the Middle Ages it was the most prosperous portion of Italy. Its architecture was influenced by the Byzantine and Saracenic orders, but is not like them; neither is it like that of Northern Italy; in fact, it is Venetian, being Gothic in principle, but treated with Eastern feeling and decorated in Oriental taste; and this was quite natural since the Venetians had extensive traffic and intercourse with the nations of the East.

Fig. 91.—St. Mark's Cathedral.Venice.

There are few places in the world, of no greater extent, about which so many interesting associations cluster as about the Piazza of St. Mark's in Venice. On one side stands the great basilica, and not far away are thecampanileand the clock-tower; the ancient Doge's Palace, and the beautiful Library of St. Mark, of later date, are near by, with their treasures of art and literature to increase the value of the whole. It is a spot dear to all, and especially so to English-speaking people, since the poetry of Shakespeare has given them a reason for personal interest in it under all its varying aspects. At some hours of the day St. Mark's seems as if it were the very centre of the earth, to which men of all nations are hastening; again this bustle dies away, and one could fancy it to be forgotten and deserted of all mankind, though its silence is eloquent in its power to recall the great events of the Venice of the past. (See Figs.91,105, and106.)

St. Mark's Basilica is called Byzantine in its order, and in a general way the term is applicable to it; but on careful examination there are so many differences between it and a purely Byzantine church that it would be more properly described by the name Italian or Venetian Byzantine. Its five domes were added to its original form late in the Middle Ages, and though there are many Eastern mosqueswith this number, they are not arranged like those of St. Mark's, and so have quite a different appearance. The portico with its five entrances is not European in form, but the details of these deep recesses are more like the Norman architecture than like anything Byzantine.

It is scarcely profitable to carry this examination farther, for, in a word, the whole effect of St. Mark's is very impressive from the exterior, and the interior is so beautiful in its subdued light and shadow that one is satisfied to enjoy it without criticising it, and many critics consider it one of the finest interiors of Western Europe.

The same difficulty which one finds in defining or classing the architecture of Venice is met in that of Southern Italy, which is Byzantine and not Byzantine, but, in fact, is that order so changed that the name of Byzantine-Romanesque seems better suited to it than any other term could be. We shall mention but a single example of this order, and pass to the true Byzantine style.

Fig. 92.—Section of San Miniato.Near Florence.

The church of San Miniato, which overlooks the city of Florence, was built in 1013, and is one of the most perfect as well as one of the earliest of the churches of the Byzantine-Romanesque order in Italy. It is not large, but theproportions are so good as to make it very pleasing; the pillars are so nearly classic in design that they were probably taken from some earlier building, and the effect of colored panelling both within and without is very satisfactory to the eye. (SeeFig. 92.)

Fig. 93.—San Giovanni degli Eremiti.Palermo.

There arose in Sicily in the eleventh century, and after the Norman Conquest, a remarkable style of architecture. It belongs to Christian art because it was used by Christians to construct places of Christian worship; but, in truth, it was a combination of Greek spirit with Roman form and Saracenic ornament. It makes an interesting episode in the study of architecture. I shall give one picture of a churchbuilt by King Roger for Christian use as late as 1132, which, except for the tower, might well be mistaken for a purely Oriental edifice (Fig. 93).

This term strictly belongs to the order which arose in the East after Constantinople was made the Roman capital. It is especially the order of the Greek Church as contrasted with the Latin or Roman Church. It would make all architectural writing and talking much clearer if this fact were kept in mind; but, unfortunately, wherever some special bit of carving in an Oriental design or a little colored decoration is used—as is frequently done in the modern composite styles of building—the term Byzantine is carelessly applied, until it is difficult for one not learned in architecture to discover what the Byzantine order is, or where it belongs.

We have spoken of its influence and partial use in Italy. Now we will consider it in its home and its purity. Before the time of Constantine the architecture used at Rome was employed at Jerusalem, Constantinople, and other Eastern cities which were under Roman rule and influence. Between the time of Constantine and the death of Justinian, inA.D.565, the true ancient Byzantine order was developed. The church of St. Sophia, at Constantinople, was the greatest and the last product of the pure old Byzantine style.

From that time the order employed may be called the Neo-Byzantine. This was a decline of art as much as the history of Greece and the Eastern Empire during the same period (about 600 to 1453) was the history of the decline and extinction of a power that had once been as great among governments as St. Sophia (Fig. 94) was among churches.

Fig. 94.—Church of St. Sophia.Constantinople. Exterior View.

The chief characteristic of Byzantine architecture is the use of the dome, which is the most important part of itsdesign. A grand central dome rises over the principal portion of the edifice, and just as in other orders courts and colonnades were added to the simpler basilica form in the ground plan of the churches, so in the Byzantine order lesser domes and cupolas were added above until almost any number of them was admissible, and they were placed with little attention to regularity or symmetry of arrangement.

Fig. 95.—Lower Order of St. Sophia.

As domes were the chief exterior feature, so the profuse ornamentation was most noticeable in the interior. The walls were richly decorated with variegated marbles; the vaulted ceilings of the domes and niches were lined with brilliant mosaics; the columns, friezes, cornices, door and window-frames, and the railings to galleries were of marbles, and entirely covered with ornamental designs (Figs.95and96).

Fig. 96.—Upper Order Of St. Sophia.

The historian Gibbon describes the building of St. Sophia and its decorations. He tells us that the emperor went daily, clad in a linen tunic, to oversee the work. The architect was named Anthemius; he employed ten thousand workmen, and they were all paid each evening. When it was completed and Justinian was present at its consecration, he exclaimed, "Glory be to God, who hath thoughtme worthy to accomplish so great a work; I have vanquished thee, O Solomon!"

Paul Silentiarius was a poet; he saw St. Sophia in all its glory and describes it with enthusiasm. It was very rich in variegated marbles. He mentions the following: 1.The Carystian, pale with iron veins. 2.The Phrygian, two sorts, both of a rosy hue; one with a white shade, the other purple with silver flowers. 3.The Porphyry of Egypt, with small stars. 4.The green marble of Laconia.5.The Carian, from Mount Iassis, with oblique veins, white and red. 6.The Lydian, pale, with a red flower. 7.The African or Mauritanian, of a gold or saffron hue. 8.The Celtic, black, with white veins. 9.The Bosphoric, white, with black edges. There were also theProconnesian, which made the pavement; and theThessalianandMolossianin different parts.

This array of marbles was made even more effective by the beautiful columns brought from older temples. The mosaics were rich in color, and numerous, and many parts of the church were covered with gold, so that the effect was dazzling.

Those objects that were most sacred were of solid gold and silver, while such as were less important were only covered with gold-leaf. In the sanctuary there was altogether forty thousand pounds of silver; the vases and vessels used about the altar were of pure gold and studded with gems. Its whole cost was almost beyond belief. At the close of his description Gibbon says: "A magnificenttemple is a laudable monument of taste and religion, and the enthusiast who entered the dome of St. Sophia might be tempted to suppose that it was the residence or even the workmanship of the Deity. Yet how dull is the artifice, how insignificant is the labor, if it be compared with the formation of the vilest insect that crawls upon the surface of the temple!"

Of course, individual taste must largely influence the opinion regarding the beauty of any work of art, but to me St. Sophia, which is the chief example of Byzantine architecture, is far less beautiful and less grand than the finest Gothic cathedrals. Comparatively little attention was paid to the elegance and decoration of the exterior in the Eastern edifices, while the interiors, in spite of all their riches, have a flat and unrelieved effect. Probably the chief reason for this is that color is substituted for relief—that is to say, in Gothic architecture heavy mouldings and panellings, though of the same color as the walls themselves, yet produce a marvellous effect of light and shadow, and even lend an element of perspective to various parts of the building. In the place of these mouldings flat bands of color are often used in the Byzantine order, and the whole result is much weakened, though a certain gorgeousness comes from the color. Another cause of disappointment in St. Sophia is the absence of painted glass. At the same time, and in spite of these defects, St. Sophia is grand and beautiful—but not solemn and impressive in comparison with the dim cathedral aisles of many Gothic churches in other parts of the world. (SeeFig. 97.)

Fig. 97.—Interior View of Church of St. Sophia.

The Romanesque and Byzantine styles came at last to be so mingled that it would be folly to attempt to separate their influence, but the Byzantine had much more originality, and left a far wider mark.

Among the most noted examples of the latter style, beside St. Sophia and St. Mark's, are the church of St.Vitale at Ravenna, the cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle, supposed to have been built by Charlemagne about 800A.D., and the church of the Mother of God at Constantinople.

In speaking of Saracenic architecture I will first explain that it is one with the Moresco or Moorish order of which I spoke in connection with Spain. The only difference is that the earliest Mohammedan conquerors of Spain are said to have come from ancient Mauri or Mauritania and were called Moors, while the name ofSaraceni, which means "the Easterns," was also given to them. Thus the Mohammedan architecture in Spain is called both Moresco, or Moorish, and Saracenic. Again, it is also called Arabian, but I think this is the least correct, since the Easterns who went to Spain were not so universally Arabian as to warrant this name. When we speak of Moresco or Moorish architecture we speak of Spain; but the term Saracenic is used for Mohammedan architecture in all countries where it is found, and is a just term, for they are Eastern or Oriental lands.

In absolute fact, Saracenic architecture is that of the followers of "the Prophet," as Mohammed is called, and would be more suitably named if it were called Mohammedan architecture, or the architecture of Islam.

Mohammed was born at MeccaA.D.570, but it was not until 611 that he was commissioned, as he believed, to build up a new faith and a new church. At first his followers were so few and so mingled with other sects and tribes in their outward life that they had no distinctive art. It was not untilA.D.876, when the ruler Ibn-Touloun commenced his splendid mosque at Cairo, that the Mohammedans could claim any architecture as their own. It is very interesting to know that there were pointed arches in this mosque,probably two centuries, at least, earlier than they were used in England, for it is generally believed that they were first used there in the rebuilding of Canterbury Cathedral after it was burned in 1174. When, however, the Saracenic order was fully established it was so individual and so different from all other architecture that there is no mistaking it for that of any other religion or nation than that of Mohammed and his followers.

The picture of the mosque of Kaitbey shows one of the finest and most elegant mosques of the East. It is just outside the walls of Cairo, and is quite modern, having been built in 1463. This view of it gives an excellent idea of the appearance of a fine mosque and shows the minaret or tower, which is so important in a mosque, to good advantage (Fig. 98).

Fig. 98.—Mosque of Kaitbey.

These minarets are constantly used for the many calls to prayer which are made throughout the day and night. The person who makes these calls is styled "the Muezzin,"and is usually blind. Several times during the day he ascends the minaret and calls out in a loud and melodious tone, "God is most great; there is no God but Allah, and I testify that Mohammed is Allah's prophet! Come to prayer! Come to security! Prayer is better than sleep!" This is several times repeated and is called theAdan.

The form of words used for the night varies a little, ending, "There is no God but Allah. He has no companion! To Him belongs dominion, etc.;" this is called theUla. The call made an hour before day is theEbed, and praises the perfection of God. When one is sleeping near enough to a minaret to hear the muezzin's voice it is a pleasant sound and helps one to realize that the care of God is ever about him; the clear, Christian bell can be heard by more people, and this was originally intended as a call to prayer. (SeeFig. 99.)

Fig. 99.—The Call To Prayer.

The principal homes of Saracenic architecture are Syria, Egypt, Mecca, Barbary, Spain, Sicily, Turkey, Persia, and India. There are many very interesting mosques and minarets that might be mentioned had we space, but I can speak only of the mosque of Cordova, which is universally admitted to be the finest Saracenic edifice in the world (Fig. 100), and shall quote a part of the interesting description of it given by De Amicis in his delightful book called "Spain and the Spaniards."

Fig. 100.—Exterior of the Sanctuary in the Mosque of Cordova.

This mosque was commenced by the Caliph Abd-er-Rahman in 786, and was completed by his son Heshâm, who died 796. The great Caliph declared that he would build a mosque which should exceed all others in the world and be the Mecca of the West. De Amicis, after describing the garden which surrounds the mosque, enters, and then goes on as follows: "Imagine a forest, fancy yourself in the thickest portion of it, and that you can see nothing but the trunks of trees. So, in this mosque, on whatever side you look, the eye loses itself among the columns. Itis a forest of marble whose confines one cannot discover. You follow with your eye, one by one, the very long rows of columns that interlace at every step with numberless other rows, and you reach a semi-obscure background, in which other columns still seem to be gleaming. There are nineteen naves, which extend in every direction, traversed by thirty-three others, supported (among them all) by more than nine hundred columns of porphyry, jasper, breccia, and marbles of every color. Each column upholds a small pilaster, and between them runs an arch (see plate above), and a second one extends from pilaster to pilaster, the latter placed above the former, and both of them in the shape of a horseshoe; so that, in imagining the columns to be the trunks of so many trees, the arches represent the branches, and the similitude of the mosque to a forest is complete.... How much variety there is in that edificewhich at first sight seems so uniform! The proportions of the columns, the designs of the capitals, the forms of the arches change, one might say, at every step. The majority of the columns are old, and were taken from the Arabs of Northern Spain, Gaul, and Roman Africa, and some are said to have belonged to a temple of Janus, on the ruins of which was built the church that the Arabs destroyed in order to erect the mosque. Above several of the capitals one can still see traces of the crosses that were cut on them, which the Arabs broke with their chisels.... I stopped for a long time to look at the ceiling and walls of the principal chapel, the only part of the mosque that is quite intact. It is a dazzling gleam of crystals of a thousand colors, a network of arabesques, which puzzles the mind, and a complication of bas-reliefs, gildings, ornaments, minutiæ of design and coloring, of a delicacy, grace, and perfection sufficient to drive the most patient painter distracted.... You might turn a hundred times to look at it, and it would only seem to you, in thinking it over, a mingling of blue, red, green, gilded and luminous points, or a very intricate embroidery changing continually, with the greatest rapidity, both design and coloring. Only from the fiery and indefatigable imagination of the Arabs could such a perfect miracle of art emanate.... Such is the mosque of to-day. But what must it have been in the time of the Arabs? It was not surrounded by a wall, but open, so that one could catch a glimpse of the garden from every part of it; and from the garden one could see to the end of the long naves, and the air was full of the fragrance of oranges and flowers. The columns which now number less than a thousand were then fourteen hundred; the ceiling was of cedar-wood and larch, sculptured and enamelled in the finest manner; the walls were trimmed with marble; the light of eight hundred lamps, filled with perfumed oil, made all the crystals in the mosaics gleam, and produced on the pavements, arches, andwalls a marvellous play of color and reflection. 'A sea of splendors,' sang a poet, 'filled this mysterious recess; the ambient air was impregnated with aromas and harmonies, and the thoughts of the faithful wandered and lost themselves in the labyrinth of columns which gleamed like lances in the sun.'"

The famous palace of the Alhambra is so well known that I cannot leave this part of our subject without one picture and one bit of description of it from the same author, De Amicis.

The Alhambra was built about four centuries ago, and the wall which inclosed it was four thousand feet long by twenty-two hundred feet wide. Within this there were gardens, fountains, kiosks, and many beautiful, fanciful structures, all of which doubtless cost as much as the more necessary parts of the edifice. The roofs of the different parts of the palace were supported by forty-three hundred columns of precious marbles; eleven hundred and seventy-two of these were presented to Abd-er-Rahman (for he was also the founder of the Alhambra) by sovereigns of other countries, or else brought by him from distant shores for the decoration of this splendid, fairy-like place. All the pavements were of beautiful marbles; the walls, too, were of the same material, with friezes arranged in splendid colors; the ceilings were of deep blue color, with figures in gilding and interlacing designs running over all. In truth, nothing that could be imagined or wealth buy to make this palace beautiful was left out; and yet we are told that the palace of Zahra which was destroyed was still finer. All this leads one to almost believe that the "Arabian Nights" are no fanciful tales, but quite as true as many more serious sounding stories.

The Court of the Lions is called "the gem of Arabian art in Spain," and of this our author says: "It is a forest of columns, a mingling of arches and embroideries, an indefinableelegance, an indescribable delicacy, a prodigious richness, a something light, transparent, and undulating like a great pavilion of lace; with almost the appearance of a building which must dissolve at a breath; a variety of lights, views, mysterious darkness, a confusion, a capricious disorder of little things, the majesty of a palace, the gayety of a kiosk, an amorous grace, an extravagance, a delirium, the fancy of an imaginative child, the dream of an angel, a madness, a nameless something—such is the first effect produced by the Court of the Lions!" (Fig. 101.)

Fig. 101.—Court of the Lions. Alhambra.

This court is not large; the ceiling is high, and a light portico runs round it upheld by white marble columns in clusters of two, three, or more, so arranged as to resemble trees coming up from the ground. Above the columns the designs almost resemble curtains, and there are little graceful suggestions like ribbons and waving flowers. "From the middle of the shortest sides advance two groups of columns, which form two species of square temples of nine arches each (see cut) surmounted by as many colored cupolas. The walls of these little temples and the exterior of the portico are a real lace-work of stucco, embroideries, and hems, cut and pierced from one side to the other, and as transparent as net-work, changing in design at every step. Sometimes they end in points, in crimps, in festoons, sometimes in ribbons waving round the arches, in kinds of stalactites, fringes, trinkets, and bows which seem to move and mingle with each other at the slightest breath of air. Large Arabic inscriptions run along the four walls, over the arches, around the capitals, and on the walls of the little temples. In the centre of the court rises a great marble basin, upheld by twelve lions (see cut), and surrounded by a little paved canal.... At every step one takes in the court that forest of columns seems to move and change place, to form again in another way; behind one column, which seems alone, two, three, or a row will spring out;others separate, unite, and separate again.... We remained for more than an hour in the court, and it passed like a flash; I, too, did what almost all people do, be they Spanish or strangers, men or women, poets or not. I ran my hand along the walls, touched all the little columns, and passed my two hands around them, one by one, as around the waist of a child; I hid among them, counted them, looked at them on a hundred sides, crossed the court in a hundred ways, tried if it were true that in saying a word,sotto voce, into the mouth of one lion, one could hear it distinctly from the mouths of all the others; I looked on the marbles for the spots of blood of poetic legends, and wearied both brain and eye over the arabesques.... In all my life I have never thought, nor said, nor shall I say, so many foolish, stupid, pretty, senseless things as I said and thought in that hour."

The study of Saracenic architecture in Turkey, Persia, and India is very interesting, but our space warns us that we must hasten to leave this dreamy, fairy-like part of our subject and come down to later times and more realistic matters.

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