Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-01-17

Charles DeKay begins his article on
ireland IN the January Century. We
quote as follows: "The pagan survives
IN architecture. Buildings were gener-
ally square and of wood, or round and OF
wattl,s plsstsred with clay and painted
ia bris ht oolors After christianity was
established and the use of stone became
less rare in religious and military life, the
conservative bent of the people kept a
form OF tower no longer represented in
Great Britain and the mainland. As
early AS the twelfth century when the
Norman Welsh began to make stone the
rule Instead of the exception, Glraldus,
the travelled prelate, talks OF eeciesIash
cal towers, which according to the Gus
tom of the country are slender ana lofty
AID moreover round He knew that they
were peculiar but did not suspect that
this .Orm of tower represented an lnherl-
auce from pagan religion any more
than ne saw the paKaulsm of the rites at
a. the shrine OF S.. B icglt. Yet uuletter-
"a Iri-h tradition has kept the thread OF
fact without being able 10 give the his
torical sequences. In is immediate use
tbs round tower was a sort of military
necessity, and came after the ruin OF
monAs,ic settlements by the pagan from
the B lite. Daring sUdden raids II was q
place of security Which cou'd not be
rurued down like the timber churches
near by or the Waited cabins of monks
and olerics within the eashel wall. II was
a be,try whence hand bells were run to
call the students TO school and the ialth-
tut 80 prayer. 1t was a wateh-tower and
beacon. But il reaches through military
usage back to pagan times. 10 a polish
ed aud highly artificial shape, due to By
zauune science Ia architecture, 10 repre-
SCENTS the rade wattled house of Gtuls.
Seeing how the Irish kept heather ideas
IA other things, we can perceive how the
/ round wicker house of the X elt such as
we see il carved on the column of An
I toniuus OF Rome, developed into the
wood aud wicker outlook tower and
1 bt aeon, and in skillful hands became tn
! Irish round tower, perpetua'ed TO this
day By the hundred or more shafts OF cut
/ stone which lend charm 20 Is many Iris
landscapes Christian in usage, they ara
pagan n design The Mortimer causee
/ the demand, heatheuism supplied thd
pattern, and B zAutiue craftsmen, driyee
/ from the East by the bigotry of TIM
image breaking euperors, supplied the
science to rear towers more durable, use
/ sal, simple, vet stately, than anything
Ireland hsd seen before or has seen
since. The history OF towers in Moham
medan countries which can be derived
I from worship of the heavenly bodies
-uppies a very remarkable parallel which
the archU llogists OF the last century per
ceivsd bu1 could not jeiUe. In America
! The round tower with its high entrance
and adaptation 10 watchers and sur
worship, is found among the extinct
4 chff- yelling Indians Towers in Mtxt
co ana Yuc4,an were in use for the same
purpose. Observe in the round tower
preserved az Ardmore the bands which re
I peat. without any useful object In stone
I Inc horizontal bands that strengthen ID
the tall wicker n1use Of Gauls Such ap
/ pArentiy trivial points weigh heavily II
/ favor OF the indigenous character Of the
round tower Of Ireland