By the terms of the bequest, seventy-five thousand dollars were allowed for the erection of the library building; one hundred and twenty thousand for purchasing books and furniture; while the remaining two hundred and five thousand dollars were to be invested "as a fund for paying the value of the site of the building, and for maintaining and gradually increasing the said library, and to defray the necessary expenses of taking care of the same, and of the accommodation of persons consulting the library." A site for the building was to be chosen from property of the testator on Astor or Lafayette Place. The selection was made from the latter, a plot of ground, sixty-five feet in front and rear, and one hundred and twenty feet in depth. Twenty-five thousand dollars were paid for this ground. The corner-stone of the building was laid in March, 1850; the whole was completed for the prescribed sum in the summer of 1853. The following extract from the Report for that year exhibits some interesting details of the excellent financial management which has attended this undertaking.

An additional expenditure of $1590, for groined arches, which became desirable to render the building more secure from fire, was liberally borne by Mr. William B. Astor. It was not practicable to include in this $75,000, sundry items of expense for equipping the building, including apparatus for warming, ventilating, and lighting, and the shelves needed for the books. The running length of the shelves is between twelve and thirteen thousand feet, and they have cost $11,000. The aggregate of these various items of equipment is $17,141.99. It has been paid mainly by surplus interest accruing from the funds while the building was in progress, amounting to 16,000.53, and the residue by a premium of $3672.87, which was realized from the advance in value of U. S. stocks, in which a part of

the funds was temporarily invested; so that, after paying in full for the building and its equipments, the fund of $180,000 not only remains undiminished, but has been increased $2530.88. It is wholly invested in mortgages, except $3500 in U. S. stock, charged at par, but with 122 per cent. in market. There is no interest in arrear on any of the mortgages.

The statement with regard to the library fund is equally satisfactory.

Of the fund of $120,000, especially devoted to the purchase of books, the trustees cannot state with entire precision the amount expended up to December 31, 1853, for the reason given in the treasurer's report, that several of the bills and accounts yet remain unliquidated. He states, however, the amount actually advanced by him to be $91,513.83, and he estimates the unsettled bills at $4500, making $96,113.83 in all. This will leave an unexpended balance of $23,886.17 applicable to the further purchases of books, in addition to that part of the income of the $180,000 to be annually devoted to the gradual increase of the library. The number of volumes now purchased and on the shelves is about 80,000. The superintendent states that the expenditure of the remaining $28,886.17 will probably increase the number to one hundred thousand.

It is seldom that the collection of books of a public library is made with equal opportunities, and with equal ability and fidelity. From the outset the work has been systematically undertaken. The superintendent began his labors with the collection of an extensive series of bibliographical works provided at his own cost, and which he has generously presented to the library. While the building was in progress, Mr. Cogswell was employed in making the best purchases at home and abroad, visiting the chief book marts of Europe personally for this object. When the building, admirably adapted for its purpose, by its light, convenience, elegance, and stability, was ready, a symmetrical collection of books had been prepared for its shelves. The arrangement follows the classification of Brunet, in his "Manuel du Libraire." Theology, Jurisprudence, the Sciences and Arts (including Medicine, the Natural Sciences, Chemistry and Physics, Metaphysics and Ethics, the Mathematics, and the Fine Arts, separately arranged); Literature, embracing a valuable linguistic collection, and a distinct grouping of the books of the ancient and modern tongues; History, with its various accessories of Biography, Memoirs, its Civil and Ecclesiastical divisions and relations to various countries-follow each other in sequence.

To these divisions is to be added "a special technological department, to embrace every branch of practical industry and the mechanic arts," generously provided for at an expense of more than twelve thousand dollars, by a gift from Mr. William B. Astor.

With respect to the extent of the use of the library, we find the following interesting statement in the Annual Report of the Superintendent, dated Jan. 1855.

One hundred volumes a day is a low average of the daily use, making the whole number which have been in the hands of readers since it was opened about 30,000, and as these were often single volumes of a set of from two to fifty volumes, it may

be considered certain that more than half of our whole collection has been wanted during the first year. But this is a matter in which numerical statistics do not afford much satisfaction; nothing short of a specification of the books read or consulted would show the importance which the library is to the public, as a source of information and knowledge, and as this cannot be given, a more general account must serve as a substitute. On observing the classes and kinds of books which have been called for, I' have been particularly struck with the evidence thus afforded of the wide range which the American mind is now taking in thought and research; scholastic theology, transcendental metaphysics, abstruse mathematics, and oriental philology have found many more readers than Addison and Johnson; while on the other hand, I am happy to be able to say, that works of practical science and of knowledge for every-day use, have been in great demand. Very few have come to the library without some manifestly distinct aim; that is, it has been little used for mere desultory reading, but for the most part with a specific view. It would not be easy to say which department is most consulted, but there is naturally less dependence upon the library for books of theology, law, and medicine, than in the others, the three faculties being better provided for in the libraries of the institutions especially intended for them. Still, in each of these departments, the library has many works not elsewhere to be found. It is now no longer merely a matter of opinion; it is shown by experience that the collection is not too learned for the wants of the public. No one fact will better illustrate this position than the following: in the linguistic department it possesses dictionaries and grammars, and other means of instruction in more than a hundred languages and dialects, four-fifths of which have been called for during the first year of its operation. Our mathematical, mechanical and engineering departments are used by great numbers, and they are generally known to be so well furnished, that students from a distance have found it a sufficient object to induce them to spend several weeks in New York to have the use of them. The same remark applies to natu

ral history, all branches of which are studied here. In entomology we are said to have the best and fullest collection in this country to which naturalists have free access. Passing to the historical side of the library we come to a department in which a very general interest has been taken-far more general than could have been anticipated in our country-it is that of heraldry and genealogy. Among the early purchases for the library there were but few books of this class, as it was supposed but few would be wanted; a year or two's experience proved the contrary, and the collection has been greatly enlarged; it is now sufficiently ample to enable any one to establish his armorial bearings, and trace his pedigree at least as far back as the downfall of the Western empire. From this rapid glance at the library, it has been seen that there are students and readers in all departments of it, and that no one greatly preponderates over the rest; still I think it may be stated, that on the whole that of the fine arts, taken collectively, is the one which has been most extensively used; practical architects and other artists have had free access to it, many of whom have often had occasion to consult it.

The arrangements of the library afford every requisite facility for the consultation of these books. It is open to visitors from all parts of the country or the world, without fee or special introduction. All may receive the benefit of its liberal endowment. It is simply to open the door, ascend the cheerful stairway to the main room, and write on a printed form provided the title of a desired volume. As every day finds the library richer in books, and a system of special catalogues by departments is in preparation, creating new facilities in the use of them, the visitor will soon, if he may not already, realize the prediction of Mr. George Bancroft, "of what should and must become the great library of the Western Continent." We could, at the close of our long journey in these volumes, wish for no more cheerful omen of the bountiful literary future.

ALLEN, JAMES, 1. 235.

ALLEN, PAUL, i. 643, ii. 80, 162.

Allen, William, President of Bowdoin, ii. 193.

Anecdote of Lemuel Hopkins, i. 321.
Character of Samuel Hopkins, i. 150.

Alice, by J. V. Huntington, ii. 611.
ALLSTON, WASHINGTON, ii. 12.

Belshazzar's Feast. Cyrus A. Bartol, ii. 616.
Lectures on, by William Ware, ii. 175.

Almanac, American, i. 665, ii. 166.

Almanac Maker, The. Philip Freneau, i. 343.
Almanac, New England, by Isaiah Thomas, i. 302.
Almanac, Poor Richard's, i. 108.

Alpine Sheep, the. Maria Lowell, ii. 660.
ALSOP, JOHN, i. 497.

ALSOP, RICHArd, 1. 495.

Notice of, by E. H. Smith, i. 601.

America, benefits to, of our National Literature.

Edward Everett, ii. 171.

Berkeley's verses on Arts and Learning in, i.

169.

Dissected, by James McSparran, 1. 144.

Early dramatic and poetical notices of, i. 6.
Early European friends of, by G. C. Verplank,
ii. 68.

Farewell to. Phillis Wheatley, 1. 371.

Has no grudge against England. Rufus Choate,
ii. 286.

Independence of, foreseen, by Ezra Stiles, i. 159.
Prophecy of the greatness of. H. H. Bracken-
ridge, i. 298.

Prophecy of, by Sir Thomas Browne, i. 169.
Prophecy of religion in, by George Herbert, i.

169.

Prophecy of, by Bp. Shipley, 1. 169.

Relations of, to France and Great Britain in
1808. J. S J. Gardiner, i. 535.

Rising glory of, by H H. Brackenridge and P.
Freneau, i. 289, 327.

To Great Britain. Washington Allston, ii. 16.
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARts, 1. 664.

Annals, by Abiel Holmes, 1. 513.
ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, i. 302.

Mather alcove in the library of the, f. 62.
Bards, a satire, by Robert Waln, ii. 257.

Biography, by S. L. Knapp, ii. 62.

Biography, by Jared Sparks, ii. 166.

Colonies, isolation of, a promotion of democracy,

G. W. Burnap, ii. 351.

Democrat, by J. F. Cooper, ii. 110.

Farmer's Pleasures. Hector St. John, i. 174.
Flag, the. J. R. Drake, i. 207.

Governors, memoirs of, by J. B. Moore, ii. 326.
Independence, verses on, i. 198.

In England, by A. S. Mackenzie, ii. 361.
Life, round of. Timothy Dwight, i. 363.
Literature, history of, proposed by John Neal,
ii. 163.

Quarterly Register, ii. 342.

Review, by Robert Walsh, ii. 38.

Revolution, history of, by D. Ramsay, i. 304.
Revolution, influence of its military and politi-
cal events on the human body, Benjamin
Rush, i. 266.

Taxation. Samuel St. John, i. 461.
Theatre, history of, by Dunlap, i. 539.
Themes for poetry. Edward Everett, ii. 169.
Times, a satire, 1781, specimens of, i. 461.
AMES, FISHER, i. 469.

Funeral poem on.

Ames, Nathaniel, i. 469.

J. S. J. Gardiner, i. 536.

Ames, Seth, works of Fisher Ames, i. 470.
Amherst College, ii. 155.

Amir Khan, by L. M. Davidson, ii. 481.
Amy. J. M. Legaré, ii. 720.
Anacreon, odes of, translations.

116.

Analectic Magazine, ii. 48.

David French, i

Annoyer, the. N. P. Willis, ii. 441.
Anthology Club, ii. 268.
ANTHON, CHARLES, i. 385.
Anthon, John, ii. 355.

Anti-Lucretius, of Cardinal de Polignac, i. 110.
Antioch College, ii. 224.

Antiquity, close of. Samuel Eliot, ii. 699.
Anti-rent novels, by J. F. Cooper, ii. 112.

Ape, the travelled. Timothy Dwight, i. 362.
Aphorisms. Joseph Bartlett, i. 508.
Apology, the. R. W. Emerson, ii. 368.
Appeal, by R. Walsh, ii. 38.

Appleton, the Rev. Jesse, President of Bowdoin, it

ii. 592.

J. H. L M'Cracken,

Art, Scenery, and Philosophy in Europe, by H. B.
Wallace, ii. 639.

Arts of Design, history of, by Dunlap, i. 539.
ARTHUR, T. S, ii. 601.

Arthur Carryl, by Laughton Osborne, ii. 466.
Arthur Mervyn, passage from. C. B. Brown, i. 392.
Artist Life, by H. T. Tuckermau, ii. 583.

Ashe, Thomas, Description of Carolina, 1681, i 131.
Asten, Abraham, a friend of James Nack, ii. 578.
Astor House. McDonald Clarke, ii. 262.
ASTOR LIBRARY, ii. 740.

Astor, William B., donation to the Astor Library,
ii. 741.

Atalantis, by W. G. Simms, ii. 427.

Athenæum, Boston, books of Cotton Mather, i. 62.
Athenæum, the, at Yale, i. 92.

Athenia of Damascus, by Rufus Dawes, ii. 853.
Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge, ii. 78.
Atlantic Magazine, ii. 272.

Attack, an, from Tales for the Marines. H. A. Wise,
ii. 670.

Atwater, Jeremiah, first President of Middlebury
College, ii. 130.

Auchmuty, Samuel, letter of Dr. S. Peters to, i. 191.
Auchtertool. Alexander Wilson, i. 552.
AUDUBON, J. J., i. 650.

Intercourse of C. W. Webber with, ii. 666.
Remark on A. Wilson, i. 547.

August Win. D. Gallagher, ii. 472.
Augustine, Age of St. S. Osgood, ii. 574.
Aunt Dinah. J. O. Terry, ii. 694.

Aunt Kitty's Tales, by Maria J. McIntosh, ii. 385.
Aurelian, by Wm. Ware, ii. 175.

AUSTIN, JAMES T., ii. 61.

Belles of Williamsburg. James M Clurg, i. 284.
Brides, the two. R. H. Stoddard, ii. 718.

Bunker Hill.

Cheerful Parson.

S. F. Cozzens, ii. 705.

Country Lovers.
Death of Jasper.

Wm. Biglow, i. 632..

T. G. Fessenden, i. 597.
R. M. Charlton, ii. 435.

Death of General Pike. Laughton Osborne, ii.

467.

Gathered Rose, the, and the Stolen Heart.
Emma C. Embury, ii. 485.

Golden Days of Harry Cruger, i. 223.
Lovewell's Fight, i. 427.

Rio Bravo. C. F. Hoffman, ii. 478.

Royal Apprentice, the. Philip Freneau, i. 344.
Wreck of the Two Pollies. Nath. Deering, ii. 386.
Ballads of the old French and Revolutionary Wars:
American Hero, the. Nathaniel Niles, 1775, i.
440.

American Taxation. Samuel St. John, i. 461.
Battle of the Kegs. Francis Hopkinson, i. 218.
Battle of Stonington, the. Philip Freneau, 1. 347.
Battle of Trenton, the, i. 448.

Bold Barton's capture of General Prescott, i. 451.
Another version of, i. 452.

Bold Hawthorne, i. 442.

Bombardment of Bristol, the, 1775, i. 441.
Bon Homme Richard, the, and the Serapis.
Philip Freneau, i. 346.
Braddock's Expedition, i. 430.

Brave Paulding and the Spy, i. 459.
Burgoyne, the fate of.

Wheeler Case, i. 455.

Burgoyne, John, the fate of, i. 449.

Camp Ballad, a. Francis Hopkinson, i. 28.
Columbia. Timothy Dwight, i. 362.
Come, cheer up my lads, 1769, i. 436.

"Come join hand in hand brave Americans

all," i. 435

Free America. Joseph Warren, i. 443.
Hark, 'tis Freedom that calls. Pennsylvania
Journal, i. 440.

Hearts of Oak, 1766, i. 434..

Liberty Pole, song of the, New York, 1770, i. 437.
Massachusetts song of Liberty, i. 436.

Military song by the army on General Wash-
ington's entry into the town of Boston. H.
H. Brackenridge, i. 290.
Mount Vernon, an ode.

D. Humphreys, i. 377.
New song called the Gaspee, 1772, i. 487.
North Campaign, the, i. 449.

Ode on the Battle of Bunker's Hill. H. H.
Brackenridge, i. 289.

Ode to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, 1756,
i. 431.

On hearing that the poor man was tarred and
feathered, 1774, i. 439.

On Independence, 1776, i. 447.

Parody to welcome attorney general Cortland
Skinner, 1776, i. 445.

Poem, a, containing some remarks on the pre-
sent war, i. 443.

Progress of Sir Jack Brag, the, i. 450.

Review of Burgoyne's expedition. Robert Dins-
moor, i. 468.

"Rise, rise, bright Genius rise," i. 447.

Rivington's Last Will and Testament. Philip
Freneau, 1. 283.

St. Tammany, song of, i. 446.

Siege of Savannah, the, 1778. Rivington's Ga-
zette, i. 456.