The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-04-14

and is just now passing through the press, in
two goodly octave volumes, keeping Plato ter
rble busy over the proof sheets True, he
has had to publish at his own expense, but
then the profits that will accure,to him will be
so much the larger. 1t is said that he reads
the printed proof of title-page over at least five
time a-day, and slaps his thigh with great com.
placency. 1t is rumored that tie appearance
of this essay will have the effect to excite vio-
lent controversy in the Dryasdut world; will
possibly elicit a review from the .harterly; will
earn for Mr.. Classic the honorary degree OF
d. D.. and is to be the forerunner of annotated
editions of Sophocles and Homei. The all-im-
portant question of the Digamma is reported
to be incontrovertibly disposed of, and Her
mans splendor begins to wane already. But
the learned Classic has still otl er causes for
selfgratulation for his church is nearly fin
ished, and is shortly to be con, scrated with a
proper display of Episcopal pom and dignifed
ceremonial. This church business was source
of great perplexity to Plato, and gave him con-
slant employment during quite long period.
For Jasper and Mrs. Fleming gaze up the whole
matter in his own hands, only limiting him in
regard to the cost of the structu e, and though
he had many consultations witt the architect
nominally for the purpose of being assisted, he
would not give up the absolute control of any
self, even to the designing of q groining, and
the proper numbering of the peys. There is
no estimating the amount of stsdy and labor
that this building cost our antiquarian. His
plans, sketches of ornamentatiCs, and designs
for moulding and windows con Smed nearly a
cart-load of Bristol board. At !. e present moS
ment, Plato Classic is probably e best inform
ed Ecclesiologist in the whole country. He
had first to decide what style Is church was
was to be built in second, whe period of that
style; third, what was to be e general ar
rangement; and, fourth the ehakS tier of internal
arrangement and decoration. Tl'latO's church
will be faultlessly classical specimen of what
is usually known as the early K lglish, or lance
olated Gothic. 1t is built with : tower of great
height, surmounted by spire, placed at the
intersection of the transepts the arches are
lofty and pointed, sometimes IN the upper tier)
arrayed with trefoil or cinque Ioil heads; the
columns are lofty and triple, j, pted to the base
of the arches by elegantly ext lated capitals
the lancet-shaped windows are divided by a sim
gle mullion, and finished with i;inquefoil orna.
ment in the centre of their ash the roof is
high-pitched, and the ceiling ssched the out
side wall is supported by shoul>ered buttresses
between the windows, which klttresses are or
namented by pinnacles havins final flower
and crockets at their angles sathe smouldings
are part of flowers, part chevro. and part nail
head in character, the colul IS being very
deliberately carved over, and {. e spandrels OF
the arches laden with trefoil, ESaquefoil, roses,
mulets, bosses, and paterae !; : We windows are
of deliberately stained glass, ani, the tout ensem
Die is rich and effective. Plate-has become ex.
ceedingly medieval in his idesSs respecting in
ternal decoration he has adoTs,sd the immove-
able stone altar with an en-: roidered cloth,
much to the disgust of Richai,; who grumbles
about papacy and John Knox and talks most
eloquently of sacrarium, roo loft and rood
SCREEN piscina, sedilia, stalls, .etterns, litany.
stools, candelaria, and diver other erudite
topics of canonical or rubrical me. The good
Plato his religion is so holy, pure, so noble,
so all-important thing to him that there is no
wonder he should fancy that !. Iery minutia of
place of worship was all-in ,rtant likewise.
What if he be given somewhat; Tractarianism
and sentimental Journalism 2 That does not
prevent his heart from being the right place,
and beating strongly and war .iy Par tecum
What shall say of the thrt : who have prin-
cipally engaged the reader attention in this
book What, indeed, but thu they are work
ers, and happy =.
"The testimony of adversaris says the Arch
bishop of Dublin, in his inimita ale treatise upon
the Elements of Rhetoric, Acluding under
this term all who would be unwilling to admit
the conclusion to which theS their testimony
tends, has, of course, grea-.:. weight derived
! from that circumstance"
Convinced of the truth of IL above observa-
ton, the author has thought II best to conclude
the present chapter with few extracts from
| A letter from Aulicus Cling Iant, Esq, TO a
friend IN tag,