The Argosy . t im-posing effect, that unity of idea, seen in our own cathedrals. Beforeit the mind finds itself neither mute nor transfixed, as before build-ings so perfect as the cathedrals of Notre Dame or Amiens, orWestminster Abbey. The church, cruciform in shape, is built ofa dark blueish stone obtained from the neighbourhood, unromanticin tone as the slated roof of a London house. At the first momentthe eye is rather startled by quaintness than gratified by gradually the different portions begin to harmonise, and, notingthe beauty of much of the work, you end by being to some
The Argosy . t im-posing effect, that unity of idea, seen in our own cathedrals. Beforeit the mind finds itself neither mute nor transfixed, as before build-ings so perfect as the cathedrals of Notre Dame or Amiens, orWestminster Abbey. The church, cruciform in shape, is built ofa dark blueish stone obtained from the neighbourhood, unromanticin tone as the slated roof of a London house. At the first momentthe eye is rather startled by quaintness than gratified by gradually the different portions begin to harmonise, and, notingthe beauty of much of the work, you end by being to some extentcharmed. The octagonal, bulb-like cupola, which added to thecharacter of the building, has been removed to give place to a small,tame spire, whilst the flying buttresses are too thin and delicate tobe in harmony with the rest of the structure. The centre tower, oncecrowned by a spire, has now only a small, squat roof of slate, whichdwarfs the whole edifice, and offends the eye by its want of Upper Fall. 5S About Nor may. The north doorway, and indeed the whole of that part, is stillperfect, and the work is very fine. But the south side is most satis-factory as a whole, because the most harmonious : the least tamperedwith. Here we lingered long, going back in imagination to the dayswhen pilgrims came in flocks from all parts of Europe to the shrineof St Olaf, and wore away the stones in their devotion : until, in thecourse of time, a new era gave place to a higher and more enlightenedstate of things, and the establishment of the Lutheran creed in Nor-way turned the pilgrim tide towards other lands. Entering the cathedral, the first thing to arrest attention was alarge figure of the Saviour over the altar, in<white marble : a copy ofThorvaldsens masterpiece, and presented by him to the the blocking up of the arches, little of the interior could beseen at one time. No doubt when all is finished it will be an im-posing building for its size, but th
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Keywords: ., bookauthorwoodhenr, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookyear1865
