THE GOVERNOR'S ROOM.

look for the battle-flags, so long drooping over the figure of Washington in the little alcove devised for the statue's reception. Flags and the pavement from the English church having the Washington heraldic designs are all preserved by the sergeant-at-arms for future placing. The statue by Chantrey stands in the prepared niche, between the two entrances to the outer vestibule of the Memorial Hall of the future. In both angles on this north side are niches for the reception of heroic-sized figures, and in that at the left is the marble semblance of Governor Andrew. Who is to occupy the corner at the right? The space is suggestively empty. Some sightseer of former days may ask for the plates that once adorned the walls of the east corridor leading into the Doric Hall and which he learned had from 1790 to 1811 been attached to the base of the Beacon Hill monument. If so, he will be told that they too have returned to their ancient application, on the monument just re-erected near the site of the old one.

Passing through the great hall where bodies of famous men have lain in state and where gay and festive par

to

ties have feasted, we find the space on the west side corresponding that taken by the attorney-general on the east held by the adjutant-general. In these rooms may be found the military records of the war of the Rebellion, with all the data pertaining to the militia of today. Climbing the stairs we reach the main floor, on this side leading to the executive department; from this floor also entrance may be had to the new Senate Chamber. We will first visit the governor's room. Seated at his table, he gives many hours to the despatch of his duties. About him are the portraits of many of his predecessors. In this very room has sat every governor of the Commonwealth under the Constitution, with the exception of Hancock, Bowdoin and Adams,-a long list of thirty-two men, and every one, in spite of the acerbities of his own times, a worthy occupant of the chair.

Just opposite the governor's room, across a narrow hall leading to it, is the Executive Council Chamber. The room is not large, but it affords comfortable quarters for the ten men, including the governor and lieutenant governor, who make up that number. There is no pleasanter room in the building than this. building than this. It is symmetrical in shape, is plain though elegant in adornment, and from its windows the observer may look out on Boston Common.

Entering the old Representatives' Hall, which is on this floor directly beneath the dome, we behold the finest hall devoted to legislative purposes in America. It is capacious, impressive in its adornments, and,

what is best of all, has most excellent acoustic properties. It is now the Senate Chamber, the House of Representatives having sought new quarters in the extension. The present occupancy by the Senate began January 5, 1898. For a full century, barring a short hiatus, this body had sat in the room opposite; but for convenience' sake, both for the public and itself, it began the second century of the edifice with a lodgment here. When this disposition was proposed there were some who protested that the forty members who composed the Senate would be lost in the space once occupied by the House. Now when all see how admirably the sena

if not accommodations, the wonder grows apace.

The circular arrangement of desks and chairs admits of every man being seen and heard by his fellow members. The president commands a good view of the entire room, and each speaker is in easy hearing distance. The galleries too are ample for the daily array of listeners who here spend many an hour following the routine of legislation or the war of words that sometimes arises. There are men who pass nearly as much time in the galleries as the senators do on the floor. Indeed one or two men have become so regular in their visitations that if for any reason they are absent it seems as if

very likely many of the youngsters are making a mental calculation as to the time to elapse before they too shall have a place here. They get there now earlier than the fathers did. The average age of the members of the last Senate was a little more than forty-four years, the oldest member being sixty-seven years old, the youngest twenty-six.

The reporters, indispensable to legislative proceedings, are furnished seats in the north gallery, directly above the president. From this vantage place they have an admirable view of the entire chamber. The gallery itself is built outside of the lines of the original structure, for in those days such a bit of enterprise as a full account of what was doing in the General Court would have paralyzed the press. Facing this gallery over on the south side is another, known as the members' gallery; and to this sometimes ascend visitors who would like to see and not be seen,-for one may sit there frequently throughout the session without awakening the observation of a member. On the date of opening the Legislature or on some state occasions, this space becomes the particular allotment of the friends of the officers of the Senate and of the governor.

To those at all interested in associations, this room is one of the most significant in America. Either as members or as visitors, almost every man connected with public life in the Commonwealth for the last hundred years has been heard or seen within these walls; for in addition to the room having been the assembling place of the General Court, here have been held great social, economic and philanthropic gatherings, over whose deliberations have presided some of the most famous of our citizens. Here have been had public hearings, gathering too many people for any of the rooms ordinarily assigned to such purposes. Two State Constitutional Conventions convened here; and over the first, John Adams, then nearly

ninety years old, was elected to preside. Here have been heard the voices of Daniel Webster, John G. Whittier, Noah Webster, Caleb Cushing and John A. Andrew, not to mention the array of veterans from the Revolution who in the years immediately subsequent were much in evidence in Massachusetts lawmaking. Distinguished visitors from home and abroad have been received in this room. Nearly every President of the United States has here taken the hands of Bay State legislators. Black Hawk and Keokuk have within these walls given token of their powers of Indian oratory. Lafayette and Kossuth were both heard in tones of pleasure at the spirit of their Massachusetts reception. One of the latest welcomings was that accorded to Frederic Douglass in 1894, the last year of the use of the hall by the representatives.

Those familiar with the House in former days will cast their eyes aloft to catch a glimpse of the codfish, long recognized as the tutelary genius of Massachusetts. Suspended in 1784 in the old State House on Washington Street, at the suggestion of John Rowe, it accompanied the removal from that edifice to this, and in the intervening nearly a century hung in space opposite the speaker's chair, under the southern arch of the ceiling. The scar indicating where the sustaining hook was placed may yet be seen; but the effigy has taken its departure. When the House of 1895 flitted to the new quarters, there were some heavy hearts over the desertion of the figure, emblematic of so much that has contributed to the glory of the Commonwealth. Indeed, on the very day of leaving, the matter of its transference was mooted, and a committee was appointed to look up the history of the image and to report upon the proper disposal of the same. This the committee did later, and an order was adopted directing its transfer to the new hall. This was effected by a committee made up largely from the seaboard sections, and upon a star