INTRODUCTION.

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lighted from above, through stained glass in some of the panels of the ceiling, painted toresemble those that are not perforated,) large frescos will entirely cover the wall oppositethe fire-place. Mr. Aglio is now employed in executing these paintings, and has takenprecaution to ensure better success than in the Catholic Chapel, Finsbury Circus, where,owing to the stucco being badly prepared for the work, the colours are already much in-jured. Many of the subjects of those in the Town Hall relate to the argonautic expedition,perhaps as being symbolical of commerce, and its benefits to society. As compositions andspecimens of this kind of decoration, they promise to be sufficiently splendid; yet whetherthey will not upon the whole predominate more than could be desired over the architecture,so as to deprive it of some of its original chasteness of effect, cannot be determined untilthe series shall be completed.

Although this is evidently not the place for entering into a critical examination of thisapartment, which has certainly given satisfaction to those for whom it was erected, it willnot it is hoped, be considered too presumptuous to lay before the readers, the remarks ofan intelligent critic, who has borne his testimony to its merits in the following passage ex-tracted from a letter addressed by him to the architect.

“ For singular happiness as well as novelty of plan, where convenience is made to con-tribute to effect, and a striking degree of picturesque character is obtained by the verycircumstances that most others would have taken pains to avoid;—for a union of piquantcontrast with spirited harmony; for invention guided by delicate taste; and for originality,superadded to classical elegance, I consider that room one—I will not say of the mostsplendid, but certainly one of the most attractive and fascinating saloons I ever beheld,—full of variety and opposition blended into concord, and of complexity and intricacy resol-ving themselves into simplicity and symmetry; truly delightful for its chasteness, and forthat real purity of design which results from study and exquisite finish; nor less admirablefor the skilful adaptation it displays, of modern inventions and accessories, to the most refinedstyle of Grecian architecture. The position of the entrance doors within colonnade alcovesor loggias, is highly advantageous, both because the room itself is thereby less exposed tothe staircase, and because the visitor is thus brought nearer to one extremity of the apart-ment, than if admitted by a door in the centre. Equally beautiful is the disposition of thewindows, and the combination of side lights with those in the dome and ceilings, and eventhose filled with ground glass, within the two loggias, have by no means an unpleasingeffect, because the light from them is quiet and subdued, and also because they assist uni-formity by answering to those opposite them."' Had all the windows been placed on one side,a certain monotony and every-day expression would have been the result, whereas now, notonly greater variety and a better distribution of light are obtained, but the whole is finelybalanced, and the unbroken surface of wall beyond the colonnades, on the same side as thewindows in the centre, occasions an air of solidity and repose, where it tells admirably.The value of this circumstance in the design, will, I should imagine, be still more evident,when fresco paintings shall have been added, because had the front wall been perforated