History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v1.c19.s17.25

v1.c19.s17.25

must have been as fine as any, barring the material: most of the connected buildings, however, have long since disappeared. This hall itself is 125 ft. long by 69 ft. wide, and its height to the centre of the roof is 56 ft.; but, what is more important than its dimensions, it possesses all the structural propriety and character of a Gothic building. It is evident that if the Hindûs had persevered a little longer in this direction they might have accomplished something that would have surpassed the works of their masters in this form of art. In the meanwhile it is curious to observe that the same king who built the chaultris (Woodcuts Nos. 226, 227, and 228), built also this hall. The style of the one is as different from that of the other as Classic Italian from Mediæval Gothic; the one as much over ornamented as the other is too plain for the purposes of a palace, but both among the best things of their class which have been built in the country where they are found.