chosen for a splendid mansion and park, no selection could have been more appropriate; and at a distance, the whole establishment has this appearance, rather than of a charitable asylum.

The pile of buildings comprises four ranges, which are so placed as to form a perfect parallelogram, with an open space in the centre of the square, and the area covered by the whole is about ten acres. In addition to this, there are nearly two hundred acres of ground surrounding the institution, a portion of which is laid out in lawn and walks along the river front, another portion is devoted to gardens for supplying vegetables and fruit, and the rest is left in meadow or pasture land for the cattle of the establishment.

The principal front of the pile, faces towards the east, looking down on the Schuylkill river, and across it, towards the city of Philadelphia, from which it is separated by this stream. The front is composed of a centre, and two wings; the centre is ninety feet in length, and three stories in height, and presents a fine portico of eight pillars, surmounted by a pediment, reposing on a granite basement, the ascent to which is by a flight of twenty steps, so that the whole edifice possesses a commanding elevation. In this division are the rooms, of the superintendent, physician, steward, and guardians, their offices, with dining-room, kitchen, and two fire-proof rooms. the ground floor is the dining-room for the male inmates of the institution, capable of accommodating 500 persons, and an extensive kitchen in which all the culinary operations are performed by steam.

On

The north and south wings of this front are appro

priated to the use of the male paupers. They are three stories high, with five wards on a floor, containing 112 well ventilated dormitories, each for one bed only. Each ward is about 40 feet square, and in the centre of the whole there is an open space of about 24 feet, the use of which is common to the inmates of all the wards. The number of wards and dormitories is the same on each floor, and connected with each, there are spacious corridors 10 feet in width.

mer.

The western front is occupied as the Alms'-house, for the women, who are kept apart from the men; and in its general arrangement it resembles the forAt the north-western corner of the square is a building, occupied by the aged and blind among the females, and here also is the obstetric ward and the nursery; while in another portion of the edifice, in the upper story of the river front, are apartments for the more aged and infirm of the male paupers, who are taken every care of.

At the north-east corner of the square is the Asylum for the children, in which there are upwards of 150 of both sexes. In addition to the subsistence afforded to these, care is taken to furnish them with healthy recreation and proper instruction. For this purpose a large school-room is prepared, and teachers are employed who train them in good habits and good morals, as well as cultivate their understandings; and many of them being orphans, they are subsequently placed out by the Institution into situations, in which they are enabled to earn their own subsis

tence.

The north building is appropriated to manufacturing purposes, and is called "The House of Em

ployment." In this, the inmates are employed in the manufacture of woollen and cotton cloths, grinding flour, and performing such other works of handicraft as they are acquainted with, or can be taught. A steam-engine of 12-horse power propels machinery for various purposes; and the whole forms a scene of healthy activity and industry.

The Hospital occupies another range of the buildings, the sexes being separated here as elsewhere; and a separate portion being set aside for the insane, of whom there are upwards of a hundred. An excellent Dispensary, and an extensive Medical Library, as well as a lecture-room, capable of accommodating 800 persons form parts of this establishment; and adjoining to the hospital is the principal garden, which affords agreeable walks for the invalids and convalescents.

In the centre of the square, formed by the buildings, is a spacious wash-house, with an elevated steeple, and an illuminated dial-clock. There is also a store, to which all the articles manufactured at the Institution are brought in to deposit, previous to their being issued from thence to the respective wards for which they may be required.

The whole cost of the erection of this building exceeded a million of dollars; and its annual expense is about 150,000 dollars. The building fund and annual cost are both raised by a municipal tax on the city and liberties of Philadelphia, which amounted to about one per cent. on the assessment of real property for the former; and about half per cent. on the rentals of dwellings for the latter. The number of inmates is about 2,000 in winter, and

1,500 in summer, including about 200 lunatics, and 150 children. In all, the males predominate over the females, in the proportion of about 9 to 6. The average cost of maintenance is about a dollar for each person per week.

We were taken over the establishment by the superintendent, and were permitted to examine every part of it; and although our visit was wholly unexpected and without notice, it filled us with admiration to see the cleanliness, order, and perfect condition of every department. The kitchen, with its steam apparatus, and utensils, was the most perfect that could be imagined-the floors were every where clean enough to be used as tables-the tin and pewter vessels were polished like mirrors-the bed and table linen exquisitely clean-the walls white as snow-the ventilation perfect; and in short, taking house, grounds, site, prospect, offices, and interior arrangement into consideration, it may with confidence be asserted, that a nobler Alms-House than this, is not to be found in the whole world.

It

The Marine Hospital, is another of the benevolent institutions of Philadelphia well worthy of a visit by the stranger. It is not far from the Alms-House just described, but is seated in the east side of the Schuylkill, while the former is on the west. has a finely elevated position, being 50 feet above high-water mark, which, in the general level of the surrounding tract, is sufficient to ensure it a commanding prospect and fine air.

In England there being but one metropolis, and the great Naval Asylum of Greenwich Hospital, being planted there, every thing belonging to it

is on a scale of corresponding magnitude. But in America, where every separate State has its own metropolis, institutions of this description exist in every great sea-port, and consequently from being more numerous, they are each on a smaller scale.

The Marine Hospital at Philadelphia, or the United States Naval Asylum, as it is more generally called, is nevertheless a building of considerable size, and ample accommodation. It stands on a fine open piece of ground, surrounded with lawn, and presents a front to the east, of 386 feet in length, which includes a centre building and two wings. The centre building is 142 feet in length by 175 in depth. It has a fine Ionic portico of eight marble columns, surmounted with a pediment; and the ascent to the portico being by a flight of marble steps, the whole has an imposing aspect. The plan of the