o deeply undercut, the general effect is broader and less liney
than in the Early English; while the Decorated arches are less sharply
pointed than in the previous style.

[Side note: Decorated Doorways.]

The doorways of this style possess much the same features as the last,
but the mouldings, jamb shafts, etc., are more slender, and generally of
finer proportions, the hollows being often filled with the ball flower
and square flower instead of the dog tooth. Sometimes the doorways have
no pillars, being entirely composed of mouldings which are continuous
with those in the architrave. The large single doorways of this period
are nearly as large as the double ones of Early English date, and on the
sides small buttresses or niches are sometimes placed, and often one
finds a series of niches carried up like a hollow moulding, and filled
with figures. The figures of this period are not so good as in the
previous style, the heads seem too large for the bodies, and in the
female figures the breasts are represented as quite flat. Where there
are no figures double foliated tracery is often found hanging from one
of the outer mouldings, giving an effect of great richness.

[Side note: Decorated Buttresses.]

The buttresses (_see page 17_) in the Decorated style are nearly always
worked in stages, and a niche frequently figures on the face of the
buttress. Crocketed canopies and other carved decorations are common,
and in large buildings they usually terminate in pinnacles, which are
sometimes of open work.

A Gothic building attains its effect by the combination of numerous
parts, each possessing an individual character of its own. In its
loftiness, graceful outlines, and rich effect of light and shade, it
speaks of noble aspirations, of freedom, of intellectual thought,
of talent and skill, all generously given for a high purpose, the
foundation of which was a strong religious enthusiasm, combined with
an intense love of the work itself.

[Side note: Characteristics of Gothic Architecture.]

Having now arrived at the point where Gothic architecture reached its
climax, we may briefly sum up its leading characteristics. It is
essentially pointed or vertical; its details are mostly geometrical in
its window traceries, clusters of shafts and bases, but this geometric
quality is only one of construction and form and not of its inner spirit
and motive, for plants copied directly from nature were used in
beautiful profusio