Page:Life of Thomas Hardy - Brennecke.pdf/127

 Sir Gilbert Scott was another Gothic "expert" of the period, and Hardy enrolled himself as one of his disciples. Sir Gilbert instituted peripatetic lectures for his classes of students, conducting them through Westminster Abbey and other historical edifices of London. Scott was an enthusiast, but scarcely an expert, and certainly not an artist. Frequently his pupils showed more knowledge and discernment than he did himself; Hardy was later able to recollect, with some glee, amusing instances of such discomfitures of his Master.

With all this student-experience, it may seem strange that Hardy never achieved anything resembling success in actual architectural endeavors. As a matter of fact, he never formally completed his technical training; never set up his own office; never practiced his early profession in earnest. He never designed a house for anyone, so far as is generally known, except for himself.

At the same time, this training and these experiences were by no means wasted. All the virtues of the architectural point of view are in evidence in his literary work. Throughout his life as a writer, the mind of the architect can be discerned at work. It is almost as much in evidence near the close of his career as it is at its beginning.

Not only do architects and architecture play a large part in many of the novels and poems, but it is almost certain that Hardy's very strong feeling for form was fostered by this early preoccupation with the problems of material design. This it was, eventually, that kept The Dynasts from falling to pieces despite its colossal scheme and scope: and it was this that made his tiniest