involving the removal of the tower and a change of location by which the building now faces north on the new quadrangle.

The other building, erected in 1818 for the Academy, has clear Bulfinch characteristics, notably its pediment on the slightly projecting middle elevation, and the beautifully proportioned cupola. The exterior is substantially the same as when built, but the interior, due to alterations in 1865 and later, shows no trace of original plan or finish. The cost was $13,252.73, of which $5000 was contributed by Lieutenant-Governor William Phillips.

The dimensions of the ground plans of both these structures are almost the same, Pearson Hall (Bartlett Chapel) being eighty-eight feet, three inches, by forty feet, two inches, and the other is eighty by forty feet. Both buildings with their fine proportions are notable examples of Bulfinch designs. Prized as they are by the Trustees and friends of the Academy, they stand worthy illustrations of the past and an inspiration for the future.

Though the condition of incorporation of the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1811, that $100,000 should be raised within ten years, was met at once by the gift of John McLean of the entire amount with a subsequent bequest of $50,000 divided between Harvard College and the Hospital, it was not till December, 1816, that Bulfinch was sent by the Hospital Board to visit other hospitals and report on their construction and management. His report was well received, and he proceeded at once with plans for McLean, superintending their execution, but no action was taken on the project for the General Hospital till after his removal to Washington. At a meeting of the trustees on January 25, 1818, a committee reported that the plan for a hospital by Mr. Bulfinch deserved the premium; and on February the plan, slightly modified by the committee, was adopted and

immediate steps were taken to have the stone hammered at the State Prison.

The acceptance of this plan was highly pleasing to Bulfinch, who wrote from Washington on February 1st, 'It was quite beyond my

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expectation. I confess, however, that it gratified me... that my last act for Boston' was accepted under circumstances which preclude personal influence.' The corner-stone was laid July 4, 1818, with Masonic ceremony, the committee in October, 1820, reported the centre and easterly sections nearly completed, and on August 21st following Drs. Jackson and Warren were notified that the building would be ready for patients September 1st. This structure, approxi

mately thirty-five by one hundred and fifty feet, was located in the 'West End' and thus became the nucleus of that immense equipment which to-day, with splendid tradition and spiritual devotion, makes possible the service to suffering thousands.

The original plans have not been found, but doubtless the commit

tee's modification was slight. It is interesting to compare the original building of Chelmsford granite and almost faultless construction with one of Thomas's 'Original Designs in Architecture,' published in London in 1783. A copy of this book, for which it would seem he paid $10, had influence on Bulfinch and contains a number of striking motives in common with

some used by him. His treatment of the entablature of the porch, though classically defective, is simpler and better than the design by Thomas both in proportion and ornamentation. The additions to the original wings, made a few years after the erection of the building, must be eliminated in the estimate of the lines which otherwise are unchanged. The architectural defects lie in the treatment of the mid

dle section above the roof,

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due doubtless to the practical demands for chimneys, and in the low dome almost concealed. A better handling of the design for the dome is found in the Maine State House a decade later.

Though most of the rooms show considerable change, the entrance corridors and staircases are substantially as originally constructed and

exceptionally interesting. In the basement are found the old red tiles, seven and one half inches square, which are repeated on the third floor, and groined elliptical ceilings in the basement and in the halls above. The solid granite stairs, set in the walls with little evidence of being out of line, rise from the basement to the second floor carrying iron balusters and wood rails, but, while the construction is the same as in University Hall, the lines are more beautiful. The floors are granite, the blocks varying from twenty-two to twenty-six inches in width, and are four and one half feet in length. The upper stairs are of wood and lead to the old operating-room where, in 1846, ether was first used in a surgical operation of magnitude by Dr. John C. Warren. There are interesting details in the building, old doors with wroughtiron hinges, semi-elliptical windows over the second-floor hall doors, simple mouldings on doors and windows; but the great charm lies in the exterior lines and in the entrance corridors. The total impression is of a good design exceptionally well executed. From this last act for Boston,' we turn to Bulfinch's career at the National Capitol.