No trip to Boston is complete without a visit to the State House, or capitol, whose gilded dome is seen glittering in the sunlight by day and sparkling with electric lights by night. It is situated on Beacon Hill, the highest point of land in the city proper. Up to 1811 one peak of the hill was as high as the gilded dome is now, and on its summit a beacon was set up as early as 1634, to warn the people in the surrounding country of approaching disaster. It seems, however, that the beacon was never used, and during the Revolution the British pulled it down and built a fort in its place. Even if there were no gilded dome on the State House, the building itself is handsome enough to attract attention. It was designed in 1795 by Charles Bulfinch, a famous architect. The front of the building to-day is the historic Bulfinch front. But as Boston grew, so also did the State House, and additions were made in 1853, in 1889, and in 1915, until now we have the impressive building we are about to enter. [Illustration: DRILLING ON THE COMMON] But stop after climbing the main steps, turn around, and look at the green field before you. This is Boston Common, the famous Boston Common where the people of long ago used to pasture their cows; where the British in the early days of the Revolution set up their fortified camps during the siege of Boston; and where, at the present time, the admiring relatives of the high-school boys assemble yearly to see them go through their military drill. Situated as it is in the very heart of the city, Boston Common is the resting place, the breathing place, for thousands. It is the people's playground. Fireworks, band concerts, public speaking, all prove that its public character has never been lost, and that it is now as much of a Common as it was in 1649, when it was first laid out. By a wise clause in the city charter, this Common cannot be sold or leased without the consent of the citizens. [Illustration: A CORNER OF THE COMMON, SHOWING THE SHAW MEMORIAL] The Common contains many memorials erected by a grateful people. The most conspicuous is the Army and Navy Monument, which reaches far above the trees. Directly opposite the State House is the Shaw Memorial, a wonderful bronze bas-relief by Saint Gaudens, showing the gallant Colonel Shaw and his colored regiment. The sight of Shaw's earnest young face amid his dusky followers prepares us for entering Doric Hall in the State House, set apart as a memorial for those who died in their country's cause. We look with awe and reverence on the flags whose worn and tattered edges tell plainly of the struggles of their bearers and defenders. [Illustration: THE STATE-HOUSE CODFISH]