Chapter 4

The effort has been made to reproduce in the cathedral a pure type of the Gothic architecture of the thirteenth century, without its ruder and less refined characteristics. The strained and coarse images designed to illustrate "the world, the flesh, and the devil," which seem so strange and unapt to American visitors to the great Continental cathedrals, are almost entirely omitted in this reproduction. The carving, too, in deference to the more sensitive tastes and better skill of this age, is far more artistic and natural than in the old originals. Flowers in stone are made to resemble flowers, and heads are fashioned after a human pattern, and clusters of figures are modeled in a congruous and modern manner. But aside from changes of this kind, the new and magnificent edifice upon Hempstead Plains is a perfect example of the elaborate and picturesque Gothic structures of mediaeval days.

It is built of brown sandstone raised in colossal blocks. The spire, floriated richly and graduated with a precise symmetry, rises to an extreme altitude of 220 feet 6 inches. The extreme length is about 170 ft. The massive oaken front doors are carved handsomely, and contain the arms of the Stewart family, the Clinch family (Mrs. Stewart's maiden name), the Hilton family, and those of Bishop Littlejohn, the Episcopal head of the Long Island Diocese. The porch or tower entrance, which is the main entrance to the building, is paved with white marble. In the center of the floor the Stewart arms are enameled in brass, showing a shield with a white and blue check, supported by the figures of a wild Briton and a lion. The crest is a pelican feeding its young, and the motto is "_Prudentia et Constantia_." These heraldic figures are made a special feature of the main aisle. Directly in the center of the auditorium floor the Stewart and Clinch arms are impaled, enameled in brass. On the floor in the choir the Hilton arms are placed. They bear the patriotic motto "_Ubi libertas ibi patria_," with a deer for a crest. The floor of the ante-chancel presents the arms of the diocese. Its insular character is especially prominent. The shield of barry wavy contains three crosslets, the peculiar sign of the cathedral. It is supported by dolphins. The crest is a ship, and under all is the sacred motto, "I will set his dominion in the sea." The workmanship of all these arms is superb.

By far the most wonderful works of art in the edifice are the windows of stained glass and the musical facilities. Every window presents a theme suggestive of the Incarnation. The windows of the porch present several of the Old Testament characters and events which prefigured the birth of Christ, and over the door leading to the nave are figures of Adam and Eve and of Abraham and Sarah. The four windows on the south side of the nave show the Annunciation, the dream of Joseph, the salutation of Elizabeth, and the refusal of the stable to the parents of the infant Redeemer. In the first window of the transept is presented the inn-keeper's refusal of refuge to Joseph and Mary. The great window of the south transept, in all about thirty feet high, one of the largest windows in the world, shows the family of Jesse, the ancestor of Jesus. Jesse is resting at full length; above him is King David, and all around are figures of his descendants leading up to the Virgin Mary with the Holy Child in her arms. Above all, in the apex of the windows, are the emblems used in prophecies of Christ's coming. The third window of the south transept shows the Nativity, with the Babe in the manger. Two windows in the choir are chosen with special reference to the regular service of the church. The first represents the appearance of the star in the east to the shepherds of Bethlehem, introducing the "Gloria in Excelsis," and the second shows the presentation of Christ in the temple, suggesting the "Nunc Dimittis," the "Magnificat," and the "Benedictus." Then beautiful representations are given in the north transept windows of the Magi bringing gifts to the infant Saviour, and the wise men before King Herod. The windows of the nave show the flight into Egypt, the massacre of the innocents, and the return to Nazareth.

The north window of the transept is the most magnificent of all. It presents Christ in glory, thus suggesting the "Te Deum." Jesus sits enthroned with the angels and archangels, prophets, apostles and martyrs of the church in all ages bending in adoration before Him, while the heavenly choir are waving palms and chanting music in honor of Heaven's King. The smaller windows under the roof show the hierarchy of heaven indicating by music and dances the joy of the celestial world at the scenes of the Incarnation depicted below. Upon a bright, sunny day the cathedral is made exquisitely beautiful by the mellowed radiance of these windows. They were designed and manufactured by Clayton & Bell, of London, and are esteemed to present the perfection of their work. Their colors, rich and varied, blend in perfect harmony, and the intricacy of the groupings makes each one as interesting as an oil painting.

Six different organs have been built in different parts of the building. The most important of these is the great organ in the north apse. It is furnished with four keyboards and 124 stops, with twenty-four combination stops that admit of more than a million combinations of sound. On either side of the choir is another organ, with a fourth of great power in the crypt, a fifth in the tower, and an echo organ built under the vaulting of the roof. This produces a soft and weird music. All the organs are operated from the keyboard of the great apse organ, which also plays the chimes of thirteen bells in the tower. The choir instruments are made to correspond by means of iron tubes filled with wind by a bellows engine in the crypt of the apse. A second engine in the crypt of the tower operates the bellows that inflate the instruments in the crypt, the tower, and the vaulting. All the organs and the chimes are connected by electric wires, about twenty-six miles of which are employed, supplied with electricity by a motor in the tower engine room. Sublime and grand are the only terms which can suggest the effect of the volume of harmony produced by these instruments in united action. They were made by Hilborne L. Roosevelt, of this city.

The ante-chancel contains the bishop's throne, the dean's seat, and the stalls of the clergy and canons, all of carved mahogany. A superb work of art is the altar, in the chancel, which is separated from the ante-chancel by a heavy bronze railing. The altar is of statuary marble manufactured by Cox & Sons, of London. Its corner columns are of black marble, supported by others of flecked marble, with panels of Sienna and Griote. Between the panels are rich carvings, done in Antwerp, representing the temptation and fall in Eden; Abraham's offering of his son Isaac; Moses raising the brazen serpent in the wilderness; the annunciation to the Virgin; the birth scene in the stable; the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The slab of the altar is inlaid with five crosslets, representing the five wounds, and the symbol "I. H. S."

None of the cathedral windows are richer than those which circle the chancel. They present Christ as the Good Shepherd and the apostolic college. An excellent piece of chiseling is done by Sibbel, the sculptor of this city, in the panels over the credence. They are figures of the high priest with a slain lamb, the type of the bloody sacrifice, and Christ with sheaves of wheat and clusters of grapes, the unbloody sacrifice. Beneath them is the text, "Thou art a prophet forever after the order of Melchisedec." The chancel is paved with red and yellow Sienna marble as center pieces, flanked with squares of red Griote and white marble, the whole bordered with strips of red and black marble. The ante-chancel is paved with blocks of red Griote and verd antique. Two magnificent pieces of statuary stand on either side of the transept. The first represents Religion holding a little model of the cathedral. The other is an image of Hope. They were done by Park, the Florentine sculptor.

In the south apse is the baptistery, built with a tower furnished with chimes. Its supporting columns are of Languedoc marble clustered with smaller ones of Sienna and verd antique. Six columns support the dome. Each is of a different marble, crowned with sculptured capitals in high relief. The windows are appropriate in theme. They represent Noah with the ark; the building of the ark; Moses holding the tables of the law; the passage of the Red Sea; John the Baptist; the Baptism of the eunuch; St. Philip, the deacon; and the Baptism of Christ. In the center of the room stands the font upon an octagonal base of two steps. Its pedestal and bowl are traced with symbolic carvings. Over it is a canopy of elaborately carved mahogany drawn into a spire bearing a gold crown, studded with rubies and amethysts.

At the foot of the chancel is the pulpit, of bronze, designed by Sibbel. Its base is surrounded by figures representing hearers of the Word. Mr. Sibbel has incorporated an anachronism in one of these figures that will be exceedingly interesting in coming years. It shows the features of Henry G. Harrison, of this city, the architect of the cathedral. The lectern stands on the other side of the ante-chancel, representing Christ blessing little children. Superb bronze columns with brass coronas of natural flowers support the roof of the building. The triforium is carved in the richest style with passion flowers, fuchsias, roses, and lilies.

In the crypt below are the robing rooms of the clergy and the choir and the Sunday-school room. Its windows show the arms of every American diocese. Beneath the choir is the chantry, furnished in carved oak. Adjoining this room is the famous mausoleum erected to the memory of Alexander T. Stewart. It is constructed of statuary marble, and consists of fourteen bays, at the angles of which are triple columns of the most richly colored imported marbles arched above the elegantly carved capitals, with open tracery, through which the headlights of the colored glass are seen. The subjects of the thirteen windows relate to the passion, death, resurrection, and subsequent appearances of Christ, and are executed in admirable design and color. They were made by Heaton, Butler & Bayne, of London. Above the window openings rises a dome-shaped ceiling, in carved marble, with a pendent canopy in the center. The pavement, of black and white marbles, radiates from the center of the sides of this polygonal structure, and a large white urn, delicately draped after Sibbel's designs, stands under the pendent canopy. It bears Mr. Stewart's name. The two entrances to the mausoleum are guarded by open-work bronze gates of elegant design and workmanship.--_N. Y. Tribune._

* * * * *

MOVABLE MARKET BUILDINGS.

The furnishing of food supplies has always been a question of great importance to cities, and there are few of the latter, great or small, where the establishment of markets is not the order of the day.

At Paris especially, by reason of the massing of the population, which is annually increasing, the multiplicity of the wants to be satisfied renders the solution of this question more and more difficult. The old markets, some of the types of which still exist in various parts of Paris, were built of masonry and wood. They were massive structures into which the air and light penetrated with difficulty, and which consequently formed a dangerous focus of infection for those who occupied them, and for the inhabitants of the neighboring houses. So the introduction of iron into the construction of markets will bring about a genuine revolution whose influence will soon make itself felt in all branches of the builder's art.

The Central Markets were to have been built of masonry, and the work had even been begun, when, under the pressure of public opinion, the architect, Mr. Baltard, was led to use iron. Evidently, the metal that permits of covering vast spaces with the use of distant bearing points that present a small surface in plan, and leaves between them wide openings that the sun and air can enter in quantity, was the only thing that was capable of giving the solution sought. So it has been said, and rightly, that the Central Markets are, as regards the distribution and rational use of materials, the most beautiful of the structures of modern Paris. This system of construction at once met with great success, and the old markets are everywhere gradually disappearing, in order to give place to the new style of buildings.

Notwithstanding their number, the Parisian markets long ago became insufficient, and wants increased with such rapidity that it became impossible to supply them. The municipal administration was therefore obliged, especially in populous quarters, to tolerate perambulating peddlers, who carried their wares in hand carts. This system has the drawback that it interferes considerably with travel, and especially in streets where the latter is most active. Moreover, the merchants and their goods are exposed to the inclemency of the weather. In other places, where large spaces were utilizable, such as squares and avenues, very light structures, that could be easily put together and taken apart, were erected, and markets were opened in these once or twice a week. This method presents serious advantages. Iron markets, in fact, despite the immense progress that they mark, present disadvantages that are inherent to all stationary structures. It is necessary to erect them in populous centers, where land is consequently of great value; and the structure itself is costly.

The result is that the prime cost is very great, and this forces the city to charge the merchants high rents, and the consumer has to pay for it. With movable markets, on the contrary, the city can utilize large areas of unproductive ground, and find new resources, although renting the stalls at a minimum price. The expense connected with the structure itself is very small. In fact, the distinguishing character of such structures is their portability--so that the same shed can be used in any number of different places.

The principal expense, then, will be for carriage; but it is easy to see that there will always be an economy in their use. This is a fact, moreover, that practice has verified, for it is well known that Paris does not get her expenses back from her stationary markets, while the movable ones yield a revenue.

On another hand, as stationary markets are costly, it results that they cannot be multiplied as much as necessary, and so a portion of the inhabitants are daily submitted to a loss of time in reaching the one nearest them.

Finally, from a hygienic standpoint, movable markets present a very great advantage over stationary ones. The latter, in fact, notwithstanding their large open spaces, never get rid of the vitiated air that they contain, and the bad odors that emanate from them are also a source of annoyance and danger to the neighborhood. In movable ones, on the contrary, when the structure is taken apart, the air, sun, and rain disperse all bad odors, and the place is rendered wholesome in an instant.

We have now demonstrated what great advantages the city of Paris and her population might derive from the establishing of movable markets.

It is easy to see that well established structures of this kind would render great services in small towns also. They might entirely replace stationary iron markets, the high cost of which often causes municipalities to preserve their old, inconvenient, and unhealthy structures. As a general thing, market is held but once or twice a week in small towns. In the interior the structure could be taken apart, and the place rendered free.

The question, then, is to have a system of construction that shall satisfy the different parts of the programme that we have just laid out, that is to say, strength, lightness, rapidity of erection, and ease of carriage. The shelters that are at present employed for movable markets at Paris are very primitive, and are wanting in solidity and convenience. They consist simply of wooden uprights to which are affixed cross-pieces that support an impermeable canvas.

In order to render it possible to extend the system of movable markets, it became necessary to first find and study the proper material.

During the year 1883 the city of Paris resolved to make some experiments, and the Direction of Municipal Affairs commissioned Mr. Andre, director of the Neuilly works, to submit to him a plan for a structure that could be easily taken apart. The plan finally proposed seemed to meet all the requirements of the case, and a group of ten structures was erected. The trial that was made of these proved entirely satisfactory. The city then made concession to the Neuilly company, for six years, of the market in Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, of those of La Reine Park, and of the Madeleine flower markets. A six months' trial has shown the great resistance of the materials that we are about to describe in detail.

The structure is supported by cylindrical hollow iron uprights that are firmly connected with the ground as follows: At the places where they are to be fixed, small catches are inserted in the ground so that their upper surface comes flush therewith. These catches consist of two cast iron sides bolted together, and of a bottom and ends formed of flat iron--the end pieces being bent so as to form cramp irons. Each of the sides is provided internally with a projecting piece, and an inclined plane as a wedge. In case the catch becomes filled with dirt, it can be easily cleaned out with a scraper. The iron upright terminates in a malleable cast iron shoe, which is screwed on to it, and which is provided beneath with a projection in the form of a reversed T, the upper part of the horizontal branches of which is beveled off in a direction opposite that of the inclined planes of the catch. This projection enters through the slit and fits into the two wedges, and a simple blow of a hammer suffices to make the adherence perfect.

The front and hind uprights differ only in length, and the roof timbers are joined at their upper extremities. The figures so well show how the parts are fitted together as to render an explanation unnecessary.

The dimensions of these structures vary from 6.5 to 5.75 feet in length by 6.5 in width and 6 in height. The rafters are prolonged so as to project 4.25 feet in front, in order to form a protection for the purchaser. This part of the rafters, as well as the longitudinals, is supported by three curved iron braces, which are put in place as follows: The timbers are provided with a ring fixed by a screw, and one extremity of the brace is inserted into this, while the other is held against the upright by a sliding iron socket. The longitudinal timbers are supported between each two uprights by an iron rod that rests upon a block of stone fixed in the ground.

The front ends of the rafters are connected by a longitudinal, 18 feet in length.

The structure is covered with waterproof canvas held in place by wooden rods, to which it is attached.

The wood employed is pitch pine.

An entire market of 300 stalls can be put up in three hours by one workman and four assistants.--_Le Genie Civil._

* * * * *

DINOCRATES' PROJECT.

Vitruvius relates that the architect Dinocrates proposed to Alexander the Great to carve Mount Athos in such a way as to give it the shape of a man, whose one hand should support an entire city, and whose other should carry a cup which received all the waters from the mountain, and from which they overflowed into the sea.

Alexander, charmed with the idea, asked him if this city was to be surrounded by land capable of supplying it with the grain necessary for its subsistence. Having ascertained that the provisioning could only be done by sea, Alexander said: "Dinocrates, I grant the beauty of your project; it pleases me, but I think that any one who should take it into his head to establish a colony in the place you propose would run the risk of being taxed with want of foresight; for, just as a child can neither feed nor develop without the milk of a nurse, so a city cannot increase without fertile fields, have a large population without plenty of food, and allow its inhabitants to subsist without rich harvests; so, while giving the originality of your plan my approval, I have to say to you that I disapprove of the place that you have selected for putting it into execution. But I want you to stay near me, because I shall have need of your services."

This gigantic project had doubtless been suggested to the Macedonian architect by the singular forms that certain mountains affect. It is not rare, in fact, to see human profiles delineated upon the sky, and this phenomenon especially happens in countries where the folded limestone strata have been broken up in such a way as to give rise to deep valleys perpendicular to the direction of the chain. If we look at these folds from below in an oblique direction, we shall see them superposed upon one another in such a way as to represent figures that recall a human profile.

In the seventeenth century, Father Kircher conceived the idea of taking up Dinocrates' plan upon a small scale, and composed the landscape shown in Fig. 1. The drawing remained engraved for a long time upon a marble tablet set into the wall of Cardinal Montalte's garden at Rome. Later on, artists improved and varied this project, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. By looking at these cuts from the sides of the page, it will be seen that they form human profiles. Fig. 2 represents an old woman, and Fig. 3 a man whose beard and hair are formed by shrubbery.

We do not think that these conceptions have ever been realized, although Heron in his treatise on Dioptra, and Father Scott in his Parastatic Magic, have described instruments that permit of making the necessary outlines to cause grounds to present a given aspect from a given point. These instruments consist essentially of a vertical transparent frame upon which is drawn a vertical projection of the landscape that it is desired to obtain.

* * * * *

In the island of Goa, near Bombay, there is a singular vegetable called "the sorrowful tree," because it only flourishes in the night. At sunset no flowers are to be seen, and yet after half an hour it is full of them. They yield a sweet smell, but the sun no sooner begins to shine upon them than some of them fall off, and others close up; and thus it continues flowering in the night during the whole year.

* * * * *

THE CRUTO INCANDESCENT LAMP.