at the northeast corner of Christopher and Herring streets, was removed by the straightening and widening of Herring (now Bleecker) street in 1827. These three buildings are marked B, C, D, and the site of our office is marked A, on the annexed maps, No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, copied from maps in the Street Commissioner's office. The first and most northerly of those three houses, in 1809 called the " · Holdron house," is marked B, and is now No. 305 Bleecker street, and belongs to Mrs. Maria Thompson, before mentioned. It is the 3d house, and 44 7-10 feet north of Grove street; but previous to the straightening and widening of Grove street, east of Bleecker street, in 1836, it was the 4th house, and 72 feet north of that street. The second and middle building of those three on Herring street, in 1809, is marked C, and is now the fourth house and 57 1-10 feet south of Grove street; but previous to the straightening and widening of Grove street, east of Bleecker street, in 1836, it was the third house and 40 feet south of Grove street (this fact agrees with Mrs. Thompson's recollection, that it was the "second or third house from Grove street"). In the year 1809 this house was occupied by a Mr. Ryder, with whom Thomas Payne and a French lady, Madame Bonneville, and her two sons, resided till within a few weeks of his death, the 8th of June of that year; it is now No. 293 Bleecker street, and belongs to Isaac C. Delaplaine, Esq., of No. 278 Fifth avenue, who has had its lower rooms altered into a meat and vegetable market.

The third and most southerly of those three dwelling-houses on Herring street, in 1809, called the "Brower House," and marked D, is now No. 269 Bleecker street, and is the second house and 25 feet north of Jones street. It belongs to the Romaine family.

The fences which in 1809 connected those three dwelling-houses, and extended northerly to Christopher street, and southerly to about Jones street, have been removed, and now give place to brick and frame buildings, and the "vacant lot" back of those fences is now occupied in part by "Grove street," a part of that "vacant lot" is now also occupied by " Barrow street," but in 1827 it was called "Raisin street,” and in 1809, before it was opened east of Herring street, the part of it lying west of that street was, on a map in the Street Commissioner's office, named "Reason street," and also by buildings erected on both sides of both Grove and Barrow streets.

At the time of Thomas Paine's death, there was not any street opened out of Herring street easterly to the house in which he died, marked E on the annexed maps, No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3. But a short time

after his death (I have been informed) a street was opened from Herring street eastward, passing along the front of that house, and called Columbia street, also called Cozine street, and in 1827 called Burrows street, and now called Grove street.

In the year 1836 Grove street was widened and straightened-in doing which about 19 feet were taken off the front of the lot upon which the house in which Thomas Paine died then stood; that house, William A. Thompson informed me, was a frame building, about 20 feet square, and two stories in height, with back building about 20 by 14 feet square, built in range of its West side, in which back building Thomas Paine died.

Mrs. Maria Thompson had that frame house taken down or removed, and a block of five brick buildings, each three stories in height and 20 feet in width, erected on the North side of Grove street, the most Easterly house in which block is No. 59, and it covers the site of the back building in which Thomas Paine died, and is marked E on the annexed maps No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3; it is about 153 feet east of Bleecker, then Herring street; and the house now No. 293 Bleecker street, in which he lived till May, 1809, is now 107 feet south of the north side of Grove street, as altered, but was only 80 feet south of the north side of Columbia, afterwards Burrows, street, before the street alteration was made, which distances together (154÷80) give 234 feet for the whole distance from the house No. 293 Bleecker street, where Thomas Paine lived, to the house No. 59 Grove street, which covers the site of the back building where he died, as measured along Herring and Columbia streets, on maps in the Street Commissioner's office, and shows that the whole distance that he was removed was only 78 yards.

City of New York, north of Canal street, in 1808 to 1821.

In the years 1808, 1809, and 1810, whilst acting as Secretary and Surveyor to the "Commissioners of Streets and Roads in the city of New York," and also as their Chief Engineer, superintending and aiding in the surveys and maps of the assistants employed by them, I went almost daily from the city to our office, then in the country, at the northeast corner of Christopher and Herring streets, previous to performing field work with them in the suburbs of the city, and on distant parts of the Island; at which times, and subsequently, I obtained the following information.

In going from the city to our office in 1808 and 1809, I generally crossed a ditch cut through Lispenard's salt meadow (now a culvert under Canal street) on a plank laid across it for a crossing-place, about midway between a stone bridge on Broadway, with a narrow embankment at each end, connecting it with the upland, and an excavation then being made at, and said to be for, the foundation of the present St. John's Church, on Varick street.

From this crossing-place I followed a well-beaten path, leading from the city to the then village of Greenwich, passing over open and partly fenced lots and fields, not at that time under cultivation, and remote from any dwelling-house, now remembered by me, except Col. Aaron Burr's former country seat, on elevated ground, called Richmond Hill," which was from about 100 to 150 yards west of this path, and was then occupied as a place of refreshment for gentlemen taking a drive from the city. Its site is now in Charlton street, between Varick and Macdougal streets. I continued along this main path to a branch path diverging from it to the east, south of Manetta water, (now Minetta street), which branch path I followed to Herring street, passing on my way there, from about 200 to 250 yards west, the country residence of Col. Richard Varick, on elevated ground east of Manetta water, called "Tusculum," the site of which is now "Varick Place," on Sullivan street, between Bleecker and Houston streets. I entered the south end of Herring street, a short distance beyond Manetta water, and continued along the easterly side of that street to our office, at the northeast corner of it and Christopher street.

I passed only three dwelling-houses on the easterly side of this street, and they were two story frame buildings, connected by fences, extending northerly to Christopher street, and southerly to about Jones street. There was no street opened eastward out of this part of Herring street, nor did I observe any opening in that fence for any such street. The middle building of those three on Herring street, all of which are yet standing, is the one herein before described by me as the house occupied by a Mr. Ryder, with whom Thomas Paine and Madame Bonneville and her two sons resided to within a few weeks of his death, and now No. 293 Bleecker street.

Col. Richard Varick, who was Mayor of the city of New York for the twelve years from 1789 to 1801, always became bail for my appearance at Court, when, in the absence of the Commissioners, I was arrested by the Sheriff, on numerous suits instituted against me as agent of the Commissioners, for trespass and damage committed by my workmen, in passing over grounds, cutting off branches of trees, &c., to make surveys under instructions from the Commissioners. The persons who instituted those suits were a few of the numerous opponents of the field of operations of the Commissioners, which included their property in the then new Plan for the city, many of whose descendants have been made rich thereby.

This Plan of the Commissioners, thus objected to before its completion, is now the pride and boast of the city; and the facilities afforded by it for buying, selling, and improving real estate, on streets, avenues, and public squares, already laid out and established on the ground by monumental stones and bolts, at the cost of the city; and of greater width and extent, safety from conflagration, beautiful uniformity and convenience, than could otherwise have been obtained; having streets from 60 to 100 feet in width, and from 1 to 24 miles in length, and avenues 100 feet in width, and from 6 to 111⁄2 miles in length, and extending in straight lines from river to river, and to the end of the Island at Kingsbridge; with 10 public squares, exclusive of three triangles, containing in the aggregate 470 acres (and 576 acres, including their surrounding streets), and admitting the free circulation of air through them; thereby avoiding the frequent error of laying out short, narrow, and crooked stree's, with alleys and courts, endangering extensive conflagrations, confined air, unclean streets, &c., must have greatly enhanced the value of real estate on New York Island, thus laid out on the Commissioners' Plan.

In consequence of those suits, the Commissioners reported to the Corporation the impracticability of their completing the duties of

their appointment unless protected from such vexatious interruptions; whereupon the Corporation obtained from the Legislature an Act, passed 24th March, 1809, authorizing the Commissioners, and all persons under them, to enter upon grounds to be surveyed, and to "cut down trees, and do other damage ;" and allowing a specified time thereafter within which to compensate the owners for such damage The ditch over which I passed at the "crossing-place," in going from the city to our office near Greenwich village, was cut through Lispenard's salt meadow, from Hudson's River, northeastward to and under the Stone Bridge on Broadway, and continued to the "Collect" or "Fresh Water Pond," East of Broadway; from which water, for the use of the city, was taken to "the Tea Water Pump," on Duane street, near the present missionary church at the Five Points."

This pump furnished water to the city, in addition to a scanty supply of tea and drinking water obtained from "Knapp's Spring," near the west end of Greenwich lane, and from other springs, from which it was brought to the city by carts, in hogsheads, and sold by the pailful.

The Collect was at that time filled up by a collection of spare earth and rubbish, &c., carted from the city, which being of greater specific gravity than the debris, or mud at the bottom of "the Pond," or "Collect," caused it to rise, and mix with the rubbish and stand out; forming a very offensive and irregular mound of several acres ; which appeared to me, as seen from Broadway, between which and it there were no buildings, to be from 12 to 15 feet in height above the level of the tide, and of the water remaining in the Pond. It is now occupied by Centre street, southerly to near The Tombs," or "Halls of Justice."

On Broadway, north of Lispenard's salt meadow (now Canal street), to "Sailors' Snug Harbor," a handsome brick building, called by that name, erected on elevated ground near the bend in Broadway at the present 10th street, and formerly the residence of Captain Randall, who bequeathed it to the Trustees of "Sailors' Snug Harbor," together with his adjoining grounds, opposite to and also south of Grace Church to Art street and Greenwich lane; and from the Bowery road, westward, to Manetta water, there were only a few scattered buildings, except country residences which were built back from Broadway, with court yards and lawns of trees and shrubs in front of them.

Between Sailors' Snug Harbor (now 10th street) and Love lane now 21st street) were a narrow causeway and perhaps from 6 to 8