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Page 7
The houses were built of unburned brick, made from a heavy clay, mixed
with a little sand and chopped straw; this was shaped into oblong slabs
which were dried in the sun. Bricks of ordinary size measured 8-2/3 in.
x 4-1/3 in. x 5-1/2 in., the large ones were 15 in. x 7 in. x 5-1/2 in.
There were special marks to indicate where they were manufactured; some
came from the royal works, some from private shops. The foundations of
the buildings were not deep; the walls were whitewashed, or painted in
bright colors; the floors were of brick or flagging, or simply of
hardened earth; the roof was flat, with a framework of palm branches
covered with a coating of earth sufficiently thick to prevent the
infiltration of the rain. The dwellings of the wealthy lords were
usually erected in the centre of a garden, or of a cultivated court, and
occupied a considerable space. The entrance was announced by a colonaded
porch or a pylon, and the interior was like a small city,--the dwelling
in the background, with the granaries, stables, servants' quarters and
out-buildings disposed here and there about the enclosure.
In the more important palaces, the dwelling of the master stood in the
centre of a rectangular court, the sides of which, on the right and
left, were occupied by the storehouses.
Like all other peoples of antiquity, the Egyptians were obliged to
protect their towns from the incursions of enemies. The greater part of
their cities, and even the principal villages, were therefore walled.
Man will never cease to fortify his cities until these fortifications
have been proved unavailing before the power of new engines of
destruction.
In this rapid review of the civil architecture of the ancient peoples of
Asia and Egypt, we have discovered no traces of structures whose
destination indicated any care for the development of the lower classes
of society, no remains which implied their participation in any
municipal life whatever, no edifice erected for the purpose of national
education. Such institutions had no place under a theocractic government
which absorbed into itself the entire nation. When it had made provision
for the defence of its cities, erected temples to its gods, reared
palaces for the earthly abode of its monarchs and tombs for their future
life, when it had satisfied the simple material needs of the people,
what more could be asked?
[To be continued.]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: From the French of G. Guicestre, in "_Encyclop�die de
l'Architecture et de la Construction_."]
[Footnote 2: Perrot and Chipiez. "_Histoire de l'art dans
l'antiquit�_."]
* * * * *
[Illustration: PARIS]
THE PAVILIONS OF THE CITY OF PARIS.--DOMESTIC AND URBAN
SANITATION.--VIEWS OF OLD PARIS.--PALACES OF THE LIBERAL ARTS AND THE
FINE ARTS.--RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF LABOR.
The City of Paris desired to have in the Champ de Mars a serious and
useful exhibition, so it began by paying no sort of attention to the
decorative and architectural side of its two pavilions, placed in the
centre of the upper garden between the monumental fountain and the
central dome. It was not afraid, in spite of its surroundings, to
shelter itself within the simplest of buildings in plaster, with a
decoration meagre and accentuated by the needs of construction. In fact,
the large entrance doors, all of wood, were made afterwards and applied
to the plaster, and the same may be said of all the visible woodwork;
but this lack of ingenuousness in the construction is not to be too
severely blamed, since it is a question of pavilions which are to
disappear after an existence of six months. Economical reasons are
always worthy of respect, and the modesty of the Municipal Council on
this occasion ought to be praised. But what one has a right to criticise
is the unhappy idea which placed these pavilions in such a manner as to
completely obstruct the view of the exterior porticos of the palaces and
industrial sections when one stands before the central dome in the
centre of the garden. This criticism once made, there only remains to
give expression to praise of the exhibit made by the city of Paris. Very
well arranged inside, very well considered, it possesses enormous
interest principally from the point-of-view of hygiene and the
sanitation of the city. This is a question much studied for a long time
back, and is one which marches towards a solution which promises to be
perfectly satisfactory in view of the progress already made. Wide
streets have replaced narrow alleys, air circulates freely everywhere,
trees and enormous gardens have been planted on every side, and the
salubrity of the house is assured by a severe inspection, one which will
become yet more severe, it is to be hoped, in the case of those owners
who are inclined to despise regulations. It would be so simple in place
of continuing the ancient ways, whose inconveniences are so well
demonstrated in the large model of an unhealthy house exhibited in the
pavilion of the city of Paris, to adopt all the new systems of
sanitation which, on their part, are shown in application in the model
of a sanitarily perfect house which has been placed opposite to it. To
establish this comparison two very simple models of construction have
been selected, proving that healthfulness is not merely an attribute of
luxury, but that the most modest houses can present all possible
guaranties from this point of view. The healthfulness of houses, and
consequently of cities, depends amongst other multiple but relatively
simple causes on two preeminent conditions,--that of the removal of
excrement, and the purity of the water-supply. In a large degree the
first condition is subordinated to the second. "Everything to the sewer"
is recognized by the most competent hygienists as the best system, but
only on the condition that water shall be abundant and that no
stagnation of the material shall be allowed. These problems, which were
for a long time studied by M. Durand-Claye, and to which he devoted
himself until his premature death unfortunately took him from us, have
received the attention of his devoted successors, who have already
brought to fruition interesting solutions which prompt us to hope for a
completely satisfactory system in the near future.
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