Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-05

twelve feet in width; the average one
does not exceed eight; and in very many
one can touch the opposite walls with
outstreched hands. The habitations of
rich and poor are joined. None are de-
tached. A corner may impede progress
here; lumpy angle may obtrude there;
a ponderous facade may cut into the
street beyond; but an endless, irregular
wall, broken only by depth in lowly, or
height IN more pOnderous structure, by
MASSIVE PRoTRUDING DoORWAYS
abutments of vaulted arches. and huge
stone mouldings and basins of fountains +,
confronts you in every intricaey of shad-
owy thoroughfare. In nearly every street
and passage, the second, third and
sometimes a fourth story of the struct-
ures each extend beyond the lower one 3.
giving effects like those in the Dutch city
lanes in Amsterdam. The street side Of
each succeeding story is propped from
the lower one by huge timbers at acute
angles, and IN these dove and swallow
cotes are hung. The streets are stone,
the walls are stone, the props and all ex-
posed timbers are whitewashed to resem-
bic stone, and the effect is something like
wandering in tunnel of dazzlingIwhite,
whose vauIted sides are Ornamented
by strange and uncouth architectural
fioiture, and through the truncated
pointed arch of which twilight way there
is seen but the slenderest line Of sky.
A few dainty balconies, flung like
drift of spume against these walls of
white, are seen. The decoration of
these is light and graceful, and one
can readily trace the origin of the sug-
gestive and enchanting Spanish and
Italian balcony. But they were never
for else than ornament. No woman g
form ever added complete grace to
their beauty. But these balconies are
rare. No windows are chosen for orna-
mentation. They are invariably high,
little, barred, prison-like. All other
architectural beauty is found in carved
doorways, among which are many mag
nificent specimens; in bases and capitals
of spiral stone pillars supporting arches
vaulting the streets, over which super
structures often shut out the sky, and
are in the pure Arab style of 1000 years
ago; about the facades and fonts of
mum berless fountains set in cool
alcoves, projecting unexpectedly from
blank walls, or built upright
from the center of tiny squares,
the only places in all this old
quarter where sunlight ever reaches the
earth; and, behind the massive walls,
in interiors, whose structural grace and
exquisite ornamentation are an endless
feast of artistic delight. Again one finds
in these interiors the origin Of that love-
Hest of all inner forms OF household
architecture, the Spanish patio, or court,
which American people of wealth might
so happily copy at least with the modifi-
cation of glass coverings, thus preserv-
ing all the enchanting features of wide,
lofty lightful open spaces; the desirable
opportunity for promenades, fetes and
festivities within court and galleries, and
above all, perfect ventilation and facili-
ty for the noblest and most classic use Of
pillars, arches, balnstrades, draperies,
chandeliers or candelabra and songful
fountains, possible for the
BEAUTIFYING OF THE HOME.
And I believe there is yet to come to the
common and artistic sense of American
home builders form of palatial, and
yet delightfully."- comfortable, habitation
exceeding in beauty and availability any