died. It was agreed, therefore, that by fair words and promises the carpenter should be encouraged to persist in his undertaking, which he only consented to do on a fresh basis of pay, whereby his account was increased by at least one-third more than his original price. In addition to the notes relating to these two houses in particular, there are Notes as to the building of Country Houses, dated 1660, and Rules for the Guidance of Architects, dated 1662. These fill many pages, and would have made a much more useful book, had they been published, than Gerbier’s “Counsel.” Space forbids long extracts, which indeed might prove tedious to all but enthusiastic students of this period; but three matters are worth mentioning. First, it is recommended that a house should be placed so as to take advantage of existing trees in the approach and lay out, and to obtain a fine prospect. This must be one of the earliest expressions of a deliberate liking for natural scenery. Secondly, Pratt advises those about to build a house “to get some ingenious gentleman who hath seen much of that kind abroad and been somewhat versed in the best authors of architecture, viz., Palladio, Scamozzi, Serlio, etc., to doe it for you and give you a design on paper.” This will be far better than trusting to a home-bred architect, who would be inexperienced in such matters, as is daily seen. The paper design having been agreed upon, a model of wood should be made, and as a final precaution, other houses of a suitable kind should be visited and studied. The third point of interest lies in his references to Inigo Jones’s work. In dealing with fine examples of architecture he says that with us in England there is nothing remarkable but the Banqueting House at Whitehall and the Portico at Paul’s. Elsewhere he cites the Queen’s House at Greenwich. As far as it goes, his testimony appears to confirm the view taken in the text as to Jones’s work. In addition to these notes on houses, there are others relating to St Paul’s, and to the steps taken for the rebuilding of London after the fire. In relation to the latter, he was asked by the other commissioners to undertake duties which would now devolve upon the Secretary. In regard to St Paul’s, he has a page or two of criticism on the model designed by “Dr. Renne,” 12th July 1673, as it offered itself upon a short and confused view of a quarter of an hour only. In 1673 Wren’s favourite design was approved by the king, who issued a warrant for building in accordance with it on 12th November, and caused a model to be made (illustrated on p. 146). The details of Pratt’s criticism do not apply very aptly to this model, and we seem to be faced with two alternatives: either that his criticisms, written from memory after a hasty examination, were rather wide of the mark; or that they refer to a design different from those which have so far come into prominence from among the numerous drawings prepared by Wren in connection with St Paul’s.