Window

an opening in the wall of a building to let in light and air. The word appears to be of Scandinavian origin, meaning literally, "wind eye." The window is an important element in architecture. It was little used by the Greeks. Light was introduced by them usually into a court through a large opening in the roof. The outer wall, surrounded usually by a colonnade or row of columns, was unbroken by windows or other apertures for light. The Romans derived their earlier ideas of architecture from the Greeks and made little use of windows. The window is a principal feature in Gothic architecture. A window of stained glass in the eastern end of York Cathedral is seventy-five feet high and thirty-two feet in width. Although glass was known to the Phoenicians, it did not come into general use, in windows, until the eleventh century. Owing to the expense of glass, the windows of the Saxons and early English were left open, or else were closed with oiled paper. Glass windows were regarded as a luxury to be afforded only by the rich. The veriest peasant has better windows than were known to the occupant of the castle prior to the Norman conquest. A favorite form of tax in England was a tax on windows. Householders paid taxes according to the number of windows in their homes. Later the window tax was imposed on all windows above the number of six. This form of taxation was not abolished until 1851. See Glass

Windsor (win'zor) Castle, the usual residence of British monarchs. It is one of the largest and most magnificent royal residences in the world. It is situated on the bank of the Thames, twenty-one miles above London. The site was purchased by William the Conqueror from the monks of Westminster Abbey. He built a castle here. Extensive improvements begun in the reign of George IV were completed in the reign of Queen Victoria at a total cost of four and one-half million dollars. The pile of buildings includes a round tower or keep, battlements, walls, chapels, state apartments, and private apartments. Queen Victoria's private rooms are said to have been fitted up most sumptuously and to have contained the richest collection of china, gold and silver plate, pictures, and hangings to be found in any home in England. The royal stables or mews cost $350,000. The walls of the castle inclose a number of quadrangles, terraces, and open courts, occupying in all twelve acres. The battlements of the tower, eighty feet in height, command a charming view of Eton and the country around Windsor, embracing in clear weather parts of twelve counties. A bell now hung in the tower was brought from Sebastopol. A great park, 1,800 acres in extent, lies to the south. It is stocked with several thousand fallow deer. The traditional hawthorn shade, the English oak, and the English cuckoo are to be sought here. On the opposite side of the castle lies a smaller park in which Frogmore Lodge is situated. Its grounds contain the tomb of Queen Victoria's mother, and also the magnificent mausoleum in which Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, repose. Herne's oak, celebrated in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor, stood formerly in this park. In 1863 it was destroyed by lightning. A young oak was planted in its place by Queen Victoria. It is understood that King Edward, toward the close of his reign, turned his attention to beautifying Windsor Park, which, since the death of the prince consort in 1861, had been somewhat neglected.