the accidental circumstance of two pieces of faculties and talents, arrived at the full knowwood being placed one against the other; and ledge of the art; those who were the most taking this hypothesis as being correct-and experienced professing themselves artificers. there is no tangible reason for doubting it-we When, therefore, these things were thus far have almost sufficient proof of the origin of advanced, as Nature had not only given to the Gothic or pointed style being coeval with mankind sense, in common with other animals, the origin of architecture itself! for here we but had also furnished their minds with judghave its very first principle displayed. Vitru- ment and foresight, and had subjected other vius relates that at first for the walls forked animals to their power, they from the art of stakes were erected, with twigs disposed be-building gradually proceeded to other arts and tween them, the whole being covered with loam. Others," continues this writer, "piled up dry clods of clay, binding them together with wood; and, to avoid rain and heat, they made a covering with reeds and boughs, but finding this roof would not resist the winter rains, they made it sloping and pointed at the top, plastering it over with clay, and by that means discharge the rain-water.

in the frieze of the Doric order; the modil-not, in a great measure, be shown by the first. lions, mutules, &c., arose from the ends of Fear, surprise, horror, admiration, humility, the rafters of the roof, which were seen resting pride, and many other affections, are visible in on the beams; and the thickness of materials the air and turn of the body; but as this mode which covered the roof is represented by the of expression admits of a very extensive range, corona. The subordinate forms called mould-it is next to impossible to define the precise ings, have been devised in order to ornament rules by which it is to be governed. Next to the principal parts; and also to support, the general action of the body and the turn or strengthen, protect, and unite them, as well as air of the head, the hands claim a principal to regulate their distribution. share in the expression of our sentiments. It is by them we approve, condemn, admit, refuse, entreat, admonish. The hands raised together towards heaven express devotion; despair; wringing the hands denotes grief;" waving one hand from us, prohibition; extending it towards any one, acceptance and benevolent intentions; laying the fore-finger extended while the others are closed in the on the mouth enjoins silence; the same finger hand, shows and points to a particular object.

(To be continued.)

On Expression in Relation to the folded they denote idleness and sometimes

Fine Arts.

(Concluded from page 30.)

SECONDLY, with regard to the passions and affections peculiar to the subject, the general rules consist in proper division and distinction of them, as shown in brute or rational animals, immediate disposition of our minds is indicated That by the countenance the particular and in young or old, in male or female, in culti-is indisputable; and not this only, but our vated or savage. The passions of brutes are few and simple; those of the rational animal many and various. The powers of expression in the one are more confined than in the other. A man can move his eyebrows more readily than the brutes, and can give greater variety to the direction of the eyes, &c.

Children and savages, less accustomed to the use of reason, express their passions more directly than cultivated men; the first necessarily, without habitual modes of disclosure or disguise. Respecting the difference of age and sex, the expressions of vigorous manhood wear a free, bold, and resolute appearance; those of women and age are more tender, reserved, and feeble. Condition, or rank of life, also demands a difference of expression. The demeanour of a magistrate, or other person invested with public honours, is more grave and reserved than that of the populace, whose external motions are, for the most part, rude and disorderly.

general qualities and capacities are to be found by the same index. Let two men, a wise man and a fool, be placed together, dressed and disguised as you please, one will never be mistaken for the other; the distinction between them will be discernible at the first glance of stamped upon the face so as to be read by the eye, as these characters are most strongly every spectator. In the same manner, our good or ill nature, our gentleness, ferocity, humility, or pride, are discoverable in the countenance in all their various degrees. The lines and forms by which these general tendencies, or settled habits of our minds, are expressed, are, of all others, the most difficult to be defined.

It is remarkable that Leonardo da Vinci, in his "Treatise on Painting," has observed that, between the expression of laughing and that of weeping, there is no difference in the motion of the features, either in the eyes, mouth, or weep raising the brows and bringing them cheeks, but in the brows only; those who close together above the nose, and forming. many wrinkles on the forehead, while those who laugh have them elevated and extended.

The several expressions of action, in running, striking, pointing, asking, forbidding, affirming, idling, avoiding, pursuing, starting, and many other modes, are obviously various, and require a fitness of attitude and a proper delineation of the corresponding and assisting Reynolds has given it as his opinion that it is Of expression in sculpture, Sir Joshua parts of the body, and other accessories. For necessarily of a much more confined kind than the painter of animals, nothing is more neces-in painting; an assertion which cannot be dissary than the study of the characteristic ex-puted, inasmuch as the materials of sculpture pressions of the brute creation, which are are more limited. He instances the celebrated severally as various as their species, not only group of Laocoon and his sons, in which he on account of the singular diversity of quali- says the whole expression consists in the reties and instincts with which they are dowed, but of the different modes in which asserts that sculpture is incapable of admitting en-presentation of bodily pain in general, and they exhibit passions of a similar nature. As the mixed delineation of pain and parental it is, therefore, in the human figure, and still more particularly in the human countenance, that expression is most effectually and exquisitely displayed, it is to man that our observations must be principally directed in this part of the subject, for the study of which there is no perfect school but that of Nature.

The affections of the soul may be expressed by attitude and by countenance. There are few strong emotions of our mind which may

affection.

F. E.

FILE-CUTTING MACHINE.-A patent has at length been taken out by a Mr. E. Vickers, of Sheffield, for cutting files by machinery. By this invention, it is said, the difficulties are avoided by the machine being so arranged as to imitate the manual process now in use.

Remarks on Architecture, &c.

Of course, there are peculiar circumstances in which the application of these materials may vary, but the above are the general and obvious uses to which they are best applied. The climate also exercises (or we should say ought to exercise, for in this country it does not) a very considerable influence, not only on the material employed in building, but also on the forms and features, as pitch of roofs, &c.

In these remarks it is proposed first to lay down, and explain as familiarly as possible, some of the chief fundamental principles of the art, including nothing but what may be called the postulates, or self-evident truths, which are really very few and simple, and on Brick is best adapted for plain walls, bewhich it will be endeavoured to found all the cause, if well burnt, it is more durable than remarks it may be necessary to make. The chief stone, more impervious to weather, and in. difficulty in the way of the free reception of the many places is much cheaper. But, on the truth of these principles, and the propriety of other hand, brick cannot be used where cutting their application to our every-day circum- is required; here its place can only be supplied stances, is that of divesting the mind of pre-by stone; but there is a very simple method judice, or that effect of long habit in viewing of ornamenting brick buildings, which seems objects of a particular character as perfect, or to be almost unknown or forgotten amongst us, least without at the time feeling conscious of viz., by moulding the bricks into different their defects. Almost the whole of architec- forms and ornamental devices, and by using tural rule may be comprised in one idea, which bricks of different colours, as red, blue, and applies equally as a test of excellence in all the white. In this way a true artist would be able arts, viz., fitness or propriety. It is unneces-to produce many beautiful and picturesque sary to adduce any proof or even illustration of this, as it would obviously be useless to argue with one who would deny that a thing is good or excellent, in proportion as it serves the purpose for which it was intended, without redundancy or deficiency, and as it accords with propriety of feeling and character. This principle applied to works of architecture ought to enable a competent and unprejudiced mind, on viewing a building, to ascertain at once, or, at least, to form a tolerable conjecture, as to its purpose and destination.

This fundamental principle may be considered under three heads, viz. :-1st, Convenience; 2nd, Construction; and 3rd, Character, including Form and Enrichment. All these departments are of course modified and controlled by economy, and also combine with and control one another.

effects; bands or string courses might be thus formed, either by impressed patterns or by different coloured bricks, chimnies might also be! made highly ornamental, all which would be in perfect propriety, and might be obtained at a trifling cost, without the use of stone at all. However, the judicious use of stone in combination with brick, as round the windows, doors, &c., and in cornices, gives rise to many striking effects which could not be obtained by brick alone. This mixture of materials is most properly employed in ordinary dwellinghouses, or where very little carving is required; but where this is abundant and elaborate, as in a church, the use of brick should, perhaps, be discarded altogether, as it would form too small a proportion of the wall to justify its introduction, on the score either of durability or economy. This was, no doubt, one reason amongst others why the churches of the middle ages were almost invariably built of stone.

As for timber and plaster buildings, we do not think there is much probability of their becoming general, though instances do now and then occur of houses, not indeed of timber, but of brick painted to imitate the old style of timber

The uses of timber in construction are so obvious, from the nature of the material, that it would be difficult to go very far wrong.

Convenience determines the number, size, and arrangement of the different portions of the edifice, according to their use and purpose. This portion must, of course, be left entirely in the hands of the architect, but when this distribution is determined, the next subject demanding attention, and which is, perhaps, the least regarded, is construction. This in-houses. cludes consideration of material, climate, and durability. As to material, that is obviously the most proper to be used which possesses in the highest degree the requisite strength, durability, and resistance to climate. There are three classes of materials commonly used in buildings-1st, those which are best adapted to resist compression, as brick, stone, &c.; 2nd, those best adapted to resist cross strain, as wood; and 3rd, those which resist tension, as iron. Now, it is important to remark, that from the totally different qualities of these three classes of materials, they require in construction a totally different mode of treatment; thus, the first class are obviously best suited for external and internal walls, those parts of the building, in short, on which all the rest must depend;-the second class are best adapted for horizontal and oblique bearings, as in floors and roofs, and the third are calculated for ties, and for various other minor purposes.

In treating of construction, we cannot omit saying a few words regarding the use of castiron, which at the present day is so very extensively used in building. Had we gone on right principles, this material would very likely have modified considerably the character of our architecture (for, in all ancient and independent styles, the nature of the materials employed has modified their character more than any other cause), instead of which we keep on in the same track of columns, pilasters, architraves, &c., attempting to emulate and imitate the style of a distant age and country, with totally different wants and climate; while with a false shame we attempt to conceal our own real constructive resources; from which, under proper direction, we might rear a national style, in accordance with our national charac