Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/89

Rh of the ancient Beauvoisis, which has been of great service to me in planning my excursions. It comprises a careful and detailed description, accompanied by historical notices, with full and accurate illustrations of about thirty-six churches, or such parts of them as belong to what the author terms the "Metamorphose Romane;" and an appendix with references to many others of less importance, or containing less work of the period to which he confines himself, also carefully illustrated. This part of the work is preceded by a historical sketch of the district, (through which our route passes) and is followed by an essay upon the progress of ecclesiastical architecture, from the rude efforts of the 5th and 6th centuries, to the decline of the mediæval style in the 16th. In the course of this he proposes a system of classification which I shall presently mention. Now when I admit that I have rarely met with a book that contains so much, and so evidently to be depended upon, in so small a compass, it may seem unreasonable to complain that it does not contain still more. But I cannot help wishing that he had not confined himself so strictly within his proposed limits, (though he has occasionally relaxed them, to the great advantage of the reader,) but had given such collateral information as he might have done without going out of his way for it; for instance, after describing the Romanesque parts a slight sketch of the rest, especially if of an early date, would have been useful, and not irrelevant to his subject. For the styles of the 11th and 12th centuries cannot be properly studied without reference to those which sprang from them. He has gone beyond his proposed plan with regard to one very interesting church, Cambronne; but the value of this example consists, not in its being an instance of regular progression, but of enlargement and alteration of design, and also in the fact of a specific date being affixed to part of the structure.

The table which he gives, and of which he confines himself in this work to the first section, is as follows:—