A GUIDE TO ENGLISH GQTHIC ARCHITECTURE. By S. Gardner. (Cambridge
Press. 16s. net.) Ma. GARDNER'S book is the second edition of a work which has already been welcomed as one of the best introductions to Gothic architecture. Mr. Short's handsome volume is an example of the truth that one subject well studied opens the way into all others. He is primarily concerned with religious architecture, but in tracing its course from ancient Egypt to the new cathedral in Liverpool, and never losing sight of the social and political history and religious beliefs which form a necessary background, he comes near enough to writing a universal history to make Mr. Wells look to his laurels. Mr. Short reminds us that the porch, nave, choir, and sanc- tuary of a Gothic cathedral were stages in the soul's progress, marking in turn the penitential, Christian, saintly and heavenly life. The apse is an emblem of the head of Christ, the halo of chapels around it the aureole about the dying Saviour's head, the transepts are His outstretched arms, the double-lighted windows the two lights of the law and the Gospel, the nave and two aisles an emblem of the Trinity. We could wish that more space had been given to theory at the expense of detailed descriptions, but the book is too good for anything but an expression of gratitude.
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