13. The architecture of different countries has been characterized by peculiarities of form and construction, which, among ancient nations, were so distinct, that their edifices may be identified at the present day even in a state of ruin; and, although nearly all the buildings of antiquity are in a dilapidated state, many of them have been restored, in drawings and models, by the aid of the fragments which remain. 14. The different styles of building which have been recognised by the architect of modern times, are, the Egyptian, the Chinese, the Grecian, the Roman, the Greco-Gothic, the Saracenic, and the Gothic. In all these, the pillar, with its accompaniments, makes a distinguished figure. The following picture has therefore been introduced by way of explanation. The columns are of the Corinthian order of architecture. [Illustration] 15. _The Egyptian style._--The first inhabitants of Egypt lived in mounds, caverns, and houses of mud; and, from these primitive structures, the Egyptians, at a later period, derived their style of architecture. The walls of their buildings were very thick, and sloping on the outside; the roof was flat, and composed of blocks of stone, extending from one wall or pillar to another; and the columns were short and large, being sometimes ten or twelve feet in diameter. Pyramids of prodigious magnitude, and obelisks composed of a single stone, sometimes often exceeding seventy feet in height, are structures peculiarly Egyptian. The architecture of the Hindoos seems to have been derived from primitive structures of a similar character. [Illustration: AN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE.] 16. _The Chinese style._--The ancient Tartars, and other wandering tribes of Asia, appear to have lived in tents; and the Chinese buildings, even at the present day, bear a strong resemblance to these original habitations, since their roofs are concave on the upper side, as if made of canvas instead of wood. Their porticoes resemble the awnings spread out on our shop-windows in the summer. The Chinese build chiefly of wood, although they sometimes use brick and stone. [Illustration: A CHINESE PAGODA.] 17. _The Grecian style._--This style of building had its origin in the wooden hut or cabin, the frame of which primarily consisted of perpendicular posts, transverse beams, and rafters. This structure was at length imitated in stone, and by degrees it was so modified and decorated in certain parts, as to give rise to the several distinctions called orders of architecture. The Greeks, in perfecting their system of architecture, were probably aided by Egyptian examples, although they finally surpassed all other nations in this important art.