[73] I leave this passage as it was written in 1855. Such troubles are now all passed and gone; but we run some risk of forgetting how much we have gained in this way by the political changes that have occurred since then. [74] See plate 18, p. 122, for an illustration of the cornice of this atrium. [75] The atrium was added, it is said, in the ninth century. [76] See, for description of it, Hemans’ ‘Mediæval Christianity,’ &c., p. 305. [77] It is worth notice that the regular-looking bays of the nave are of very various widths. The two eastern are 21 feet; the next two, four feet less; and the fifth still narrower. The bricks here measure 1 ft. ½ in. × 5 in., and are 3¼ in. high, and have all been chiselled on the face. [78] I think no apology is necessary for the omission of this modern stage in my view of the Broletto. [79] This old inn is a thing of the past. A large, bustling, and much smarter hotel has taken its place; and a magnificent carriage-road has put a stop to all need for walking by pleasant field-paths to the Furca. [80] The famous steeple of Antwerp is arranged in the same way. The spires of S. Elizabeth at Marburg, and the metal spires of the churches at Lübeck and Luneburg, are also somewhat similarly treated. [81] The usual plan is sometimes deviated from and improved by having two bays of aisle opening with two arches into each bay of the nave, so that every bay of groining throughout the church is very nearly square. This is a common plan in early German churches, and is one of the many indications of similarity between German and Italian work, which might be adduced were we to enter on this interesting question. [82] Height Diameter Diameter of Shaft. at Base. at Neck. Ft. in. In. In. Cloister, San Zenone, Verona 3 11½ 5⅛ 4¼ Cloister, Genoa Cathedral 4 5 6 5¼ Cloister, San Stefano, Bologna 2 8½ 4⅜ 4⅛ [83] The shafts used in the shrine of S. Edward at Westminster are of the same description, and shew that in one of the most exquisite works in England our early architects saw no incongruity between their beautiful but foreign character and the otherwise, at that time, purely national architecture. [84] Jerpoint and Cong Abbeys are Irish examples. [85] English examples may be seen in the western porch of Fountains Abbey, and among the extensive fragments of Egglestone Abbey, near Barnard Castle. [86] Numerous examples of masonry arranged in the same way occur in old English examples. The openings of fireplaces in particular are often so constructed.