General Coffee, Jackson’s old friend and fellow veteran of the Battle of New Orleans and the Indian wars, drove over to the Hermitage from time to time while the remodeling work was in progress and kept an eye on it. On April 28, 1831, he wrote the President at Washington: “Your mechanics were at work on the improvements making on the mansion house. I took the liberty of suggesting some immaterial alterations in the addition, which was approved of by the projector of the building, who said he would consult you about it.” This alteration in the plan, it is revealed in one of Mr. Morrison’s letters to President Jackson, consisted in extending the eastern or library wing back twenty feet further than called for in the original plan, the additional space thus gained being used for the covered passage and overseer’s room. This overseer’s room, also called the steward’s room, was in later years used as the nursery for the children of Andrew, junior, and later the covered passage was bricked in and the side entrance hall thus created as it is today. Accurate and dependable pictures of the brick Hermitage as it appeared in 1819 are singularly scarce, and the few available efforts at its picturization differ considerably in appearance. In one of Earl’s early portraits of General Jackson the General is shown standing on a slight eminence, with the Hermitage at a distance in the background. This picture of the house, a veritable portrait from life, is doubtless a trustworthy representation of the original brick house; and there is presented herewith a reproduction of this picture, obtained by successive enlargements of the background of the Earl portrait. It ought to give a reliable idea of the appearance of the place before the wings were added. Similar in appearance is an undated engraving (“Drawn and engraved by H. B. Hall”) which was reproduced in Bassett’s _Life of Andrew Jackson_ and also in Marquis James’ _Border Captain_. Presumably this was drawn by Mr. Hall on the spot, as it is quite similar to the Earl picture showing the gabled roof and double chimneys at each side of the house.