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EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
Closer inspection and observation of the many buildings erecting shows, however, that they are, in reality, built of mastic, which, in some instances, too, is painted. It looks, however, very differently from the mastic on the older buildings ; is harder, and presents little tendency to crack or scale away. This arises from various causes, which will be explained further on. Besides the great size of these buildings, —whose fronts are rarely less than one hundred feet long, and whose height is uniform,—an American is struck by the great thickness of the walls; the massive nature of the' floors, in which the arch and iron play a prominent part; and the existence of large interior court-yards, which, in many cases, are covered by a glass roof. The great roughness and apparent instability of the masonry produces an unpleasant effect upon one accustomed to the neat brick walls of England and America ; but what is apparently carelessness soon proves to be intentional aim on the part of the builder. The bricks are set upon one another with joints an inch thick, and open on the exterior to the depth of an inch, for the purpose of giving a hold to the mastic.
Other points soon noticed are the absence of wooden stairways ; instead of which, those of stone alone, or stone in connection with iron, are invariable, and the practice of making all partition-walls of masonry. The generality of these features proves sufficiently that they are the results of building-laws, since their cost is great, and the tendency in building, left to itself, is to secure cheapness rather than durability, or protection from the danger of fire. There is little doubt that such laws—requiring thick walls, stone stairways, etc.— have had an effect upon the material employed for the exterior in Vienna. The great predominance of mastic fronts, and the development of the manufacture of the constituents of this material, reached in Austria, is, without doubt, thus to be in part explained. In order that the final expense of the building may not be too great, the builder economizes where the law permits him, and uses mastic instead of face-brick or stone, seeking, however, to secure as good a mastic as possible,—one that will present a good appearance and prove durable.