I shall not attempt to describe them, for I should interest no one in doing so, and should certainly fail in my attempt to make any reader understand me.  I know no modern Gothic purer of its kind or less sullied with fictitious ornamentation.  Our own Houses of Parliament are very fine, but it is, I believe, generally felt that the ornamentation is too minute; and, moreover, it may be questioned whether perpendicular Gothic is capable of the highest nobility which architecture can achieve.  I do not pretend to say that these Canadian public buildings will reach that highest nobility.  They must be finished before any final judgment can be pronounced; but I do feel very certain that that final judgment will be greatly in their favor.  The total frontage of the quadrangle, including the side buildings, is 1200 feet; that of the center buildings is 475.  As I have said before, 225,000 pounds have already been expended; and it is estimated that the total cost, including the arrangement and decoration of the ground behind the building and in the quadrangle, will be half a million.

The buildings front upon what will, I suppose, be the principal street of Ottawa, and they stand upon a rock looking immediately down upon the river.  In this way they are blessed with a site peculiarly happy.  Indeed, I cannot at this moment remember any so much so.  The Castle of Edinburgh stands very well; but then, like many other castles, it stands on a summit by itself, and can only be approached by a steep ascent.  These buildings at Ottawa, though they look down from a grand eminence immediately on the river, are approached from the town without any ascent.  The rock, though it falls almost precipitously down to the water is covered with trees and shrubs; and then the river that runs beneath is rapid, bright, and picturesque in the irregularity of all its lines.  The view from the back of the library, up to the Chaudiere Falls and to the saw-mills by which they are surrounded, is very lovely.  So that I will say again that I know no site for such a set of buildings so happy as regards both beauty and grandeur.  It is intended that the library, of which the walls were only ten feet above the ground when I was there, shall be an octagonal building, in shape and outward character like the chapter house of a cathedral.  This structure will, I presume, be surrounded by gravel walks and green sward.  Of the library there is a large model showing all the details of the architecture; and if that model be ultimately followed, this building alone will be worthy of a visit from English tourists.  To me it was very wonderful to find such an edifice in the course of erection on the banks of a wild river almost at the back of Canada.  But if ever I visit Canada again, it will be to see those buildings when completed.