Page:Letters from New Zealand (Harper).djvu/384

352 The tower is, I may say without fear of criticism, not unworthy of comparison with the best examples at home. It has four stories; well defined buttresses, giving depth of light and shadow to the structure, lead the eye upwards to the pinnacles. Externally, the lateral divisions of the tower are so arranged that they increase in height as the structure rises. The lower divisions are without ornament, which increases in richness gradually to the top. The eye is thus led upwards, and the apparent height of the structure is enhanced. Nor do the horizontal lines of moulding, which mark the division of the stones, interfere with the general vertical lines of the building. It is in the Decorated style. An experienced judge of architecture said to me, "The whole church is a fine piece of work, both in plan and execution, but it is the tower which compels my greatest admiration."

In the chancel, sanctuary and transept there are marble and stone shafts, attached to the walls, which lead up to the corbels on which the main ribs of the roof rest. Marble columns also divide the double and triple lancet windows, and rise to support the hood arches of the window recesses. The walls are thick, and the openings of the windows are widely splayed, so as to admit plenty of light. Marble is also used for the small columns in the reredos, credence, and piscina recess, and the pulpit. In the nave Peterhead red granite is used for the pillars, but for the rest of the building it was decided to use Australian marble. It comes from New South Wales, and is various in colour, mottled red and yellow, rose tinted, grey, and violet and black. We used it also for the panels of the arcading on either side of the altar. There is plenty of marble in New Zealand, but in rather inaccessible