Nevertheless, I Prefer A Street That Is Forced To
Twist Itself About.
I enjoy the narrowness of Temple Bar and the
misshapen curvature of Picket Street.
The disreputable dinginess
of Hollowell Street is dear to me, and I love to thread my way up
the Olympic into Covent Garden. Fifth Avenue in New York is as
grand as paint and glass can make it; but I would not live in a
palace in Fifth Avenue if the corporation of the city would pay my
baker's and butcher's bills.
The town of Ottawa lies between two waterfalls. The upper one, or
Rideau Fall, is formed by the confluence of a small river with the
larger one; and the lower fall - designated as lower because it is
at the foot of the hill, though it is higher up the Ottawa River -
is called the Chaudiere, from its resemblance to a boiling kettle.
This is on the Ottawa River itself. The Rideau Fall is divided
into two branches, thus forming an island in the middle, as is the
case at Niagara. It is pretty enough, and worth visiting even were
it farther from the town than it is; but by those who have hunted
out many cataracts in their travels it will not be considered very
remarkable. The Chaudiere Fall I did think very remarkable. It is
of trifling depth, being formed by fractures in the rocky bed of
the river; but the waters have so cut the rock as to create
beautiful forms in the rush which they make in their descent.
Strangers are told to look at these falls from the suspension
bridge; and it is well that they should do so. But, in so looking
at them, they obtain but a very small part of their effect. On the
Ottawa side of the bridge is a brewery, which brewery is surrounded
by a huge timber-yard. This timber yard I found to be very muddy,
and the passing and repassing through it is a work of trouble; but
nevertheless let the traveler by all means make his way through the
mud, and scramble over the timber, and cross the plank bridges
which traverse the streams of the saw-mills, and thus take himself
to the outer edge of the wood-work over the water. If he will then
seat himself, about the hour of sunset, he will see the Chaudiere
Fall aright.
But the glory of Ottawa will be - and, indeed, already is - the set
of public buildings which is now being erected on the rock which
guards, as it were, the town from the river. How much of the
excellence of these buildings may be due to the taste of Sir Edmund
Head, the late governor, I do not know. That he has greatly
interested himself in the subject, is well known; and, as the style
of the different buildings is so much alike as to make one whole,
though the designs of different architects were selected and these
different architects employed, I imagine that considerable
alterations must have been made in the original drawings. There
are three buildings, forming three sides of a quadrangle; but they
are not joined, the vacant spaces at the corner being of
considerable extent. The fourth side of the quadrangle opens upon
one of the principal streets of the town. The center building is
intended for the Houses of Parliament, and the two side buildings
for the government offices. Of the first Messrs. Fuller and Jones
are the architects, and of the latter Messrs. Stent and Laver. I
did not have the pleasure of meeting any of these gentlemen; but I
take upon myself to say that, as regards purity of art and
manliness of conception, their joint work is entitled to the very
highest praise. How far the buildings may be well arranged for the
required purposes - how far they maybe economical in construction or
specially adapted to the severe climate of the country - I cannot
say; but I have no hesitation in risking my reputation for judgment
in giving my warmest commendation to them as regards beauty of
outline and truthful nobility of detail.
I shall not attempt to describe them, for I should interest no one
in doing so, and should certainly fail in my attempt to make any
reader understand me. I know no modern Gothic purer of its kind or
less sullied with fictitious ornamentation. Our own Houses of
Parliament are very fine, but it is, I believe, generally felt that
the ornamentation is too minute; and, moreover, it may be
questioned whether perpendicular Gothic is capable of the highest
nobility which architecture can achieve. I do not pretend to say
that these Canadian public buildings will reach that highest
nobility. They must be finished before any final judgment can be
pronounced; but I do feel very certain that that final judgment
will be greatly in their favor. The total frontage of the
quadrangle, including the side buildings, is 1200 feet; that of the
center buildings is 475. As I have said before, 225,000 pounds
have already been expended; and it is estimated that the total
cost, including the arrangement and decoration of the ground behind
the building and in the quadrangle, will be half a million.
The buildings front upon what will, I suppose, be the principal
street of Ottawa, and they stand upon a rock looking immediately
down upon the river. In this way they are blessed with a site
peculiarly happy. Indeed, I cannot at this moment remember any so
much so. The Castle of Edinburgh stands very well; but then, like
many other castles, it stands on a summit by itself, and can only
be approached by a steep ascent. These buildings at Ottawa, though
they look down from a grand eminence immediately on the river, are
approached from the town without any ascent. The rock, though it
falls almost precipitously down to the water is covered with trees
and shrubs; and then the river that runs beneath is rapid, bright,
and picturesque in the irregularity of all its lines.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 32 of 141
Words from 31550 to 32566
of 143277
