column from either end of the outer range-a disposition of which we have as yet no example in any one of the numerous porticoes to be met with in the metropolis. Independently, therefore, of the greater effect the portico will acquire by being thus rendered more prominent in the general design, it will be rendered far more picturesque in itself, and possess that species of richness which is produced by play of perspective and of light and shade. The interior of the portico will be no less improved, since, instead of being a mere narrow strip, capable of being viewed within only from end to end, it will be divided into three compartments corresponding with those of the back wall; and the centre one, which will be both deeper and wider than the other two, extending to the breadth of three intercolumns of the octastyle, will form a central avenue leading through the large open arch into a second one communicating immediately with the inner cortile. Another improvement in this part of the design is that the pitch of the pediment has been lowered, so that it is now of more pleasing proportions; and as the contracts for the building have been taken at much under what was allowed for by the architect's estimates, it is to be hoped that the pediment will be embellished with sculpture,-a degree of finish all the more desirable now that the rest of the portico will be so much richer in character than was at first intended. Some increased effect might also be given to its interior by the application of both colour and gilding-if nowhere else, at least in the ceiling, where such decoration would be little exposed to injury from the weather. And were this done, it would follow almost as matter of course that the open-work gates of the centre arch within the portico should be of bronze or other metal richly gilt. Should any embellishment of the kind be introduced, and the tympanum of the pediment also be sculptured, this portico would then become a piece of architecture surpassing everything else of the kind in the metropolis, not in magnitude alone and variety of composition, but in the superior finish bestowed upon it. It is most satisfactory to learn that there seems to be every disposition to second the architect's views for maturing and improving his design.

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New Building, Threadneedle Street.-Though the undertaking of a private individual (Mr. Moxhay, of Threadneedle Street), this edifice, already mentioned as the one on the site of the French Protestant Church, may very well claim to rank among public improvements and embellishments, for, although not yet completed in its decorations, it is far more monumental" in its aspect, both on account of its general air and of the magnitude of its features, than most of our public structures. Its destination is at present entirely matter of surmise. The front is 92 feet in length and 54 high, has neither columns nor pilasters of any kind, and contains only five openings, viz. a doorway and two windows on each side of it; nevertheless it will be one of the most striking and costly decorated specimens of architecture in the metropolis, and the upper part of the

front will be enriched with a bas-relief, 73 feet in length, with figures of the size of life. This piece of sculpture, designed and now in the course of being executed by Mr. M. L. Watson, is intended to be illustrative of commerce (the centre figure of the composition, and represented under the form of a Genius with outspread wings and hands, to denote its extensive influence) and the fine arts, as encouraged and fostered by it. Of this decoration nothing is as yet visible, though the richly-sculptured cornice which terminates the elevation, and which, as far as it can at present be distinguished, is of unusual design, is nearly completed. In the design of the door and windows-the former of which is 9 feet wide by 24 high, the others 6 feet 9 inches by 16, and 9 above the level of the pavement-there is nothing remarkable. The interior, which is, however, at, present a mere shell, with bare walls of brick-work, will consist chiefly of two very spacious apartments or halls, with some rooms (lighted from above) over that on the west side, which is 20 feet less lofty than the other. Both these halls are entered from a vestibule (16 x 22), the larger one, or that on the east side, through a square recess at its south end, in which is one of the windows towards the street. This room will be altogether about 100 feet in length, by 44 in its average breadth, and 50 in height, and will be lighted principally by three spacious lanterns. The sides of the room will be adorned with scagliola pilasters, forming an order whose cornice will be 40 feet from the floor, leaving a space of 10 feet for a richly decorated cove between it and the ceiling. At the north end there is to be a semi-circular recess with columns, lighted from above through a semi-dome over it. The other, or west hall, will have a similar recess at its north end, but with a large painted window behind the columns. Though much less in size than the other, its dimensions not exceeding 60 by 40 feet, and 30 high, it will be a very noble apartment, and when the building shall have been fully completed it will, both internally and externally, eclipse most others within the City, and not a few that are out of it. Such being the case, many will be anxious to learn the name of its architect; but that is a point as to which we can give no other information than that we have heard that Mr. Moxhay is chiefly, if not entirely, his own architect.

Liverpool, St. George's Hall and the Assize Courts.-It was originally intended that the "Hall" and the " Courts" should form two separate structures; and ground for the purpose having been given by the corporation in the spring of 1839, premiums were offered for designs for the first-mentioned and shortly afterwards for the other building; and in both competitions (the first of 75, the second of 86 candidates) the first premium (250 and 300 guineas respectively) was awarded to Mr. H. Lonsdale Elmes, whose design for the "Hall" presented a Grecian Ionic colonnade, while that for the Assize Courts showed a Grecian Doric façade, consisting of a central portico and lateral colonnades immediately connected with it. According to

the instructions first given, St. George's Hall was to have been on the site where will now be the octangular tower marked T in the annexed block plan of the situation, while the courts would have been as at present, so that the two buildings would have stood at right angles to each other, the "Hall” with its principal front facing the south, the façade of the courts being to the east, and opposite that of the railway terminus, which is also shown in the plan. This arrangement was, however, subsequently abandoned, as St. George's Hall must have been overlapped by the other at its western extremity, it being impossible to set back the latter so as to clear the façade of the hall, and allow the whole of it to be seen in a front direction. As the successful competitor for both buildings, Mr. Elmes was accordingly instructed to remodel his plans, when it was finally determined to unite the two into a single pile, and, so altered, his design was finally approved by the Town Council (May, 1841), and the foundations shortly after commenced. The following perspective sketch will serve to show the general style and composition of the design. The order now adopted is Corinthian, continued throughout, and arranged so as to produce a very rich polystyle composition, possessing more than an ordinary degree of variety and contrast. In order to make up for the unfavourable impression attending the minuteness of the scale of the drawing, it must be borne in mind that the eastern façade, or the longer side of the building, is 420 feet, or only 38 less than that of the National Gallery, and much loftier, the columns being 45 feet high and 4 feet 6 inches in diameter. The south front, which, owing to the great fall of the ground at the end of the site (about 16 feet), has the appearance of being raised upon a terrace, and thereby acquires both additional dignity and picturesque effect, consists chiefly of an hexastyle, monoprostyle portico, recessed within so as to make its entire depth 24 feet. The columns are raised upon a stylobate 10 feet high, and continued along the other fronts, and the height from the groundline to the apex of the pediment is 95 feet, which is only 6 or 7 less than that of the dome of the National Gallery. This front alone would constitute an imposing piece of architecture-and is upon a scale greatly surpassing anything of the kind yet erected in the metropolis, yet it appears little more than a subordinate portion of the whole when compared with the eastern façade. Independently of its beauties of design, this latter has the merit of clearly expressing the general internal arrangement of the plan the advanced or monoprostyle colonnade in the centre is 200 feet in length, and, being recessed, forms within an ample sheltered ambulatory 26 feet in depth; this corresponds with St. George's Hall, which comes in between the two Assize Courts, and defines itself externally in the composition, by being carried up higher than the rest. This division of the front consists of 15 intercolumns, and the one on either side of it of 5 more. The architect has placed here square pillars, between which an ornamental screen is carried up below, while the upper part of their