16. A considerable amount of books is also sold by merchants who reside at some distance from the cities and large towns. They, however, seldom venture to purchase those which have not been well known and approved in their neighborhood; and, in a majority of cases, regard them as mere subjects of merchandise, without taking into consideration the effects most likely to be produced by these silent, but powerful agents, when circulated among their customers.
17. Some booksellers in Europe confine their trade chiefly to particular departments; such as law, theology, and medicine. Others deal in toy-books, and books of education, or in rare and scarce books. This is the case, to a limited extent, in the United States, although our booksellers commonly keep an assortment of miscellaneous publications, as well as various articles in the stationary line; such as paper, quills, inkstands, and blank work.
THE ARCHITECT.
1. Architecture, in the general sense of the word, is the art of planning and erecting buildings of all kinds, whether of a public or private nature; and it embraces within its operations a variety of employments, at the head of which must be placed the Architect. Architecture is of several kinds, such as civil, naval, military, and aquatic; but it is the first only that we propose to notice in the present article.
2. The construction of buildings as means of shelter from the weather, appears to have been among the earliest inventions; and, from the skill exhibited in the construction of the ark, we have reason to believe that architecture had been brought to considerable perfection before the deluge. This opinion is also supported by the fact stated in holy writ, that the descendants of Noah, not more than one hundred years after the great catastrophe just mentioned, attempted to build a city and a lofty tower with bricks burned in the fire. This project could never have been thought of, had they not been influenced by the knowledge of former centuries.
3. The confusion of the language of the people caused their dispersion into different parts of the earth; and, in their several locations, they adopted that method of constructing their dwellings, which the climate required, and the materials at hand admitted; but, whatever the primitive structure may have been, it was continued, in its general features, from age to age, by the more refined and opulent inhabitants; hence the different styles of building, which have been continued, with various modifications, to the present day.
4. The essential elementary parts of a building are those which contribute to its support, inclosure, and covering; and of these the most important are the foundation, the column, the wall, the lintel, the arch, the vault, the dome, and the roof. Ornamental and refined architecture is one of the fine arts; nevertheless, every part of an edifice must appear to have utility for its object, and show the purpose for which it has been designed.