36 HAND-BOOK OF WASHINGTON. rior and interior shells, a staircase winding spir- rally around the whole, affording access to the very summit. The general outline of this structure resembles that of the Dome of St Peter’s of Pome ; of St. Paul’s of London, and of St. Genevieve and the Invalides of Paris, and of the last great work of the kind erected in modern times, that of the Russian National Church, the Cathedral of St. Isaac’s at St. Petersburg, which is also part ! y built of iron. The interior diameter of the Dome is as above stated 96 feet. The exterior diameter of the peristylian circular colonnade is 124 feet 9J inches. The height of the whole 300 feet above the ground, or 230 feet above the roof of the Capitol. The height of the statue of Freedom, which surmounts the pinnacle of the mighty dome, is 20 feet. It is a bronze cast executed by Mr. 0. Mills. The design of this figure was the last inspiration of the lamented Crawford. It represents a female in a royal robe dress; for a head dress #n eagle with spread wings. Her right hand grasps the hilt of a sword, its point reaching to the feet; her left hand holds a wreath over a shield.