Mr. URBAN, July 19. "Proofs rife on proofs, and fill the laft the Arongeft,'

"

ALLOW me the liberty to make a

few more remarks upon the Birmingham Mint, and I will promise to weary your reader's patience, and yours, no more. Poffibly, I ought not to do it now, but I confefs myfelf unable to refift the temptation to fate at large the rife, progrefs, and downfall of pufe fing.

The puff preliminary, and poetical, (though in profe) muft lead the van, in the form of the following extract from the Botanie Garden: This "mag nificent and expenfive apparatus moves with fuch fuperior excellence, and cheapnefs, of workmanship, as well as with works of fuch powerful machi

nery, as muft totally prevent clandeftin imitation, and in confequence fave many lives from the hand of the execu tioner; a circumftance worthy the attention of a great Minifter. If a civic crown was given in Rome for preferving the life of one citizen, Mr. Boulton fhould be covered with garlands of oak.” Vol. ii. page 29.]

This was prior to, and intended, no doubt, to prepare the way for the iffue of the penny and two-penny pieces, which were proclaimed in July 1797.

Thefe pennies were counterfeited in Feb. 1799 : but notwithlanding this

The St Ja mes Chuon (e. 5 to Feb. 7. 1759) contains an account of the feizure of a large number of counterfeit Soho pennies in the house of a comer in Birmingham.

- May,

-coinage ece, la Vol. ii. ented 29 040,000

ay at 12

125,005,

rer day,

ive fome. y's work.

in fuch a

Indiffercol

leave to bring in a Bill to prevent the counterfeiting of Dollars or Tokens." [St. James's Chronicle, 1804.]

Sic tranfit Gloria Nummi! R. R.

Alphabetical Lift of the principal Technical Terms introduced into the Purfuits of Architectural Innovation.

(Concluded from p. 526.) VARIATION. In our antient buildings, the variations in the Architecture are infinite, and it is curious to inveftigate the feveral ftyles introduced according to the age the changes have taken place, or additions made to the general works. Examples are rare to find the detached parts of a Caffle, or of our Churches brought to a comany pletion in one uniform defign; owing, in moft inftances, to the length of years they were under the workmen's hands, and each fucceeding Architect chufing to introduce the prevailing mode of his pwn hour, rather than carry on the original plan. Wishing, in the prefent infiance, to confine our obfervations to Churches, we inftance Exeter and Salif bury cathedrals, and Weftminster abbey church, as the principal examples of regular defign. Of thofe confpicus eus for their variations, are. Canterbury and Glocefter cathedrals, St. Mary Overy's, and St. Alban's churches. At Canterbury the older work is at the Eattern end in the Saxon manner, the Western end being fo low in the Archi ectufe as the 16th century. At Glocefter the older work is at the Well, while at the Eaft the lines give the Pointed mode of late times. St. Mary

Overy's, Saxon at the Weft, Pointed at the Eaft. St. Alban's, Saxon at the Weft, Pointed at the Eaft. Notwithfianding this changeful method of fyles, Eaft and Weftward, it is evident, not alone from hiftoric affurances, but from profeffional experience, that the first flone was uniformly laid at the Eastern end; and in thofe examples where the later modes are found at this part, the circumftance must have arifen from the original finishings there being found (from older degrees of workman fhip) in a ftate of decay: hence it became neceffary to take down a certain pore tion in order to its being re-built; which, as before hinted, was never done by proper restoration, but the Architecture

a

it this bill fhound pals into a statute, I would recommend its title to be, An Att for the difcouragement of puffing.

of the times fet up in preference to that destroyed, and in contempt of that which ftill remained.

Fariation in Ornaments. Our antient buildings, whether regular in de fign, or full of variations, ftill their ornaments vary in the fmaller parts. Confining this remark to one decoration the Capital, refer to Wells cathedral; the variations there are endlefs, and beautiful in the extreme, although the mafs of each Capital is the fame. Thefe ornamental variations were done certainly with an idea to afford a continual fucceffion of objects, fo as to engage the eye with fomething new at each renewed exploration of fuch delightful fubjects.

Vault. A chamber under ground, arched over-head, &c.

Veftry. A chamber in a church, where the vestments of the clergy and the uteufiis of the altar are kept. A grand one in Durham cathedral, lined with preffes, aubreys, and an altar, &c,

View. [Being the oppofite to Elevation.] Is the beholding an achitectural object in perfpective, whereby the fronts, and fide faces, the horizontal returns over head, or below the eye, the diminishing appearance of every particular comes on the fight at one glance, without altering the pofition of the perfon thus engaged.

Vine leaf. Introduced in the friezes of our antient monuments, fcreens &c.

Undercroft. See Crypt..

Upright. Profeffionally understood. is the front, or face of any building,

&c.

Walls. In our antient Architecture they are of various thickneffes, various forts of materials, varioully conftructed, and varioufly tooled, according to the nature of the edifices to which they Their make fo confiderable a part. fcientific conftruction and durability is every where confirmed by exifting proofs, rarely giving way to Time, never

the power of Man, but with a refiftance which baffles common endeavours. Let us recollect old St. Paul's, where, according to Wren's own Memoirs, he paffed two years in demolishing the walls with the aid of gunpowder, force of battering-rams, the lofs of many lives, &c. How do the modern walls ftand up in trial of permanency? Who anfwers for the conftruction of the present St. Paul's? See the gloomy ailes, from the im

moderate

moderate and unnecellary thicknefs of the walls, the yawning joints, &c. Reflect on the frequent repairs of the South tranfept of late years, &c. To all other modern walls up to judg ment were below this firiéture, their premature decay figning that decree of contempt to which they are fo jufily configned.

Warlike Inftruments. See Tapestry. Well for the Time. A cant word among fome Antiquaries, and nearly the whole tribe of profeffional men when difcuffing the merits of our antient ftructures. Thus the Weft, or fide fronts of a church, "Well for the time, but the door of entrance fhould not be in the centre, the mullions are too thick;""Thofe projecting chapels are nuifances endangering the whole fabric." " Spires are deformities if of old rearing up, but how charmingly, if new, and make an excellent job if permitted to be fuck on one or two ancient towers, which certain enthufiafts maintain ne ver were intended, or from the nature of their defign never could fupport fuch a load." "Thefe mouldings and ornaments want re-cutting to make them accord with the modern flufh, wire drawn way of embellishment." "Down with thefe ftatues of Saints and Founders, they are fuperftitious things."Take thefe ftair-cafe turrets from our fight; flucco the whole face of this crinkle crankie' chapel. This interior is Well for the time; but the nave is ufelefs, the choir-fcreen nft be perforated, framed and glazed; the fide ailes of the choir must be frut out; the altar-fcreen removed, difiant windows darkened; the Lady Chapel luid into the choir; monuments, and tombs of Popifh characters, torn up and thrown ow into the body of the building, or elfewhere." In fhort, Well for the time, thus contenined, infulted, and disgraced, that thofe who raised our antient works now fleep in peace, and caunot behold the acts of thofe who trample on their memories and their labours, from no other caufe but that they were (continually we cry) natives of this land, and that we want employment, and we want fomething new.

4

Well Bearing religious appellations, as St. Witburga, Eaft Deering, Norfolk, St. Patrifhew, near Crickhowel, Brecon, ko. are generally found adjacent to the Weft fronts of churches, having the reputation of effecting many cures. Faith now-a-days goes not far in thiss

left fuperftitious epithets bear down the credulous who might otherwife with to feek a remedy for their diforders in thefe limpid refervoirs.

White-wash. The contemptible com mon expedient to beautify and render clean the interior of our antient churches, by obliterating the paintings on walls, damaging the ornaments, statues, tombs, &c.

Wicket. A fmall door worked with in the pannels, and tracery of a large door filling in the opening of a gate of entrance, &c. &

Windows. In our ancient Architec ture, they yet come before us in fpecimens innumerable, and through all ages. The Saxon flyle gives the aircular head; the Norman, Pointed, or English fiyle, prefents the pointed head, feen at firft without mullions or tracery. In process of time the pointed win dows difplayed columns, and finiple arches dividing their openings: af terwards the columns changed into mullions of various mouldings, diverging into forms of tracery endlefs and furprifing. The traceries ftill going on, their fweeping lines at length gare way to perpendicular divifions with pointed heads, and interfecting com. munications. In conclufion, the va rious printed heads, mullions, and fweeps, fell under a depreffive fquare headed window, holding a few infigni, ficant divisions of one or two mouldings, without any other veftige of their former greatnefs and fplendour. So of the antient works at large, a new Order of ar chitectural things had arrived from foreign lands, overturning the long enz during reigns of our ancient Oyles, their triumphs were no more; general admiration ceafed to venerate, and alt was night. With us the architectural horizon has in fome fort begun to brighten once inore, in a few who are ftruggling to bring the remaining grand ftructures into naiice by a publication of the Cathedrals, &c. but their attempts are weak, a barbarous modern profes fional creation, called the Fantaflic Or der (fee Faulaftic) being too powerful an enemy for fuch endeavours; the firft being condemned as ufelefs and fu perftitious; the fecond approved as exe hibiting the height of tafte and genius.

The mighty are fallen, the contemptis bleare rifing, thus runs the world away!

A Continuation of the Architectural Proceedings at Westminster Abbey Church will be given in Auguft.

Mr.