The new legislative buildings, which are the most pretentious in Canada after the Ottawa parliament house, are a praiseworthy effort to illustrate the Romanesque, with details of the Celtic and Indo-Germanic schools.
The Methodist Metropolitan Church, a judicious example of a modern form of the Gothic style which distinguished the 13th century in France. It is at once simple and harmonious in its general design, and has a massive tower which adds to the general effect of the whole structure.
St. James's Church, often cited as a good example of ecclesiastical Gothic, with a graceful and well-proportioned tower and steeple, conspicuous from all points of view.
In Hamilton.—The court-house is in some respects the best designed of its kind in Canada. The head office of the Canada Life Assurance Company is noteworthy for its graceful simplicity, in its way not equalled in Canada.
In Fredericton.—The Church of England Cathedral, a perfect specimen, on a small scale, of pure early English Gothic on the Continent.
The new library building which McGill University owes to the public spirit of Mr. Redpath, of Montreal, is distinguished by the graceful simplicity of its external form, and the conveniences of its beautiful interior. Apart from this fine edifice, however, and the parliamentary library at Ottawa, whose external design is harmonious and whose internal fittings illustrate the effectiveness of our natural woods, Canada has no such libraries—in special buildings I mean—noteworthy for beauty of architecture and convenience of arrangements as we find among our neighbours, illustrating their public and private spirit. Neither have we an art gallery of special architectural features, for the building at Montreal is simple in the extreme. Such as it is, however, it is an object of imitation to other cities in Canada.
"FIDELIS."
[65] Page 60.—The poetic citation which closes the presidential address is taken from Miss Machar's ("Fidelis") verses on "Dominion Day," which appear in "Songs of the Great Dominion," pp. 15–17, and merit a wide audience for their patriotic spirit and poetic taste.