grand staircase, appearing at a short distance behind the porch; its waving cupola roof terminating in a rich lantern, and supporting a weathercock or dwarf spire. After giving his reasons for thinking that a country residence in the Elizabethan style should have a kind of rich framework of courts and gateways, balustraded terraces, and architectural gardens, the writer proceeds to describe the interior of his supposed edifice, beginning with the _porch_. This should be ascended by a flight of stone steps; it should be floored with stone; and the ceiling, the door, and the door-way, highly enriched. The entrance-hall, which succeeds the porch, would vary in its character according to the size of the house. In the large old English mansions it was formerly the dining-room and place of rendezvous for the servants and retainers; but in a smaller house, such as might be termed a villa, and especially under the altered habits of English society, a smaller hall, and one more nearly resembling a mere entrance, would be fitting. An English hall admits of much picturesque embellishment, such as a carved oak roof or ceiling, either flat or semicircular, enriched with highly-wrought bosses or coats of arms; a music gallery across the end, supported by pillars or a carved screen; a chimney-piece reaching to the cornice of the roof; and a carved wainscot covering half the height of the walls. Having entered the porch-door, and crossed the lower end of the hall, entrance would be gained to the _gallery_, a sort of an in-door promenade, between the hall and the staircase; having one door leading to the saloon, another to the billiard-room, and another to the domestic offices. “The staircase is an important convenience in every house; and it should always be a striking feature in a mansion of any elegance. The tower, which I suppose to contain the staircase, would be square, as high as the ceiling of the upper floor, where it would take a sort of octagon form; the roof coned, and ending in a lantern: in the centre of the lantern a boss would support a lamp. In the side, opposite to the arch by which you enter, would be a tall mullioned window filled with stained glass. Advancing a few steps, you would reach the first flight in the middle of the tower, and ascend to the first landing-place; you would find a flight of stairs on the right and left leading to the second landing, in the centre of which is the upper gallery door, immediately over the arch below. As the house is to be in the old English style, the stairs might be either of oak or stone; but the balusters must be of oak handsomely carved, and rather heavy. They might begin at the foot of the stairs with a richly-carved sort of pedestal, and the same at each corner as they ascend. In old staircases there was frequently an animal of some sort sculptured in wood, supporting the family arms, placed on these pedestals, especially at the foot of the stairs; or the animal had a substitute in a ball or