BROOKS HOUSE.

Several years ago, not long after the death of Bishop Brooks, a movement was started to present to the University some sort of a memorial of Bishop Brooks' religious work at Harvard. The suggestion that found most favor and was eventually acted upon was to erect a building which should serve as a home for all the widely-scattered religious interests of the University, and which should be called Brooks House, in memory of Bishop Brooks. The matter was taken up by a number of alumni and a committee appointed to take it in hand.

It was originally intended to spend fully $200,000 on the building and have it not only give accommodations for all the religious societies and the University preachers, but also serve as a sort of social centre for the University, performing in fact many of the functions of a University club. For several reasons this original plan has had to be greatly modified. Almost at the outset the committee met with unexpected difficulty in the matter of funds on account of the general bad times of the last few years. More recently the University Club project has rendered it inadvisable to attempt for the Brooks House much of the social work originally intended.

In spite of these material changes in plans, the work of the committee has been carried on quietly and effectively until the present time. Subscriptions have come in slowly until over fifty thousand dollars have been raised. In obtaining this amount no canvass whatever has been made, and all subscriptions have been entirely voluntary. Although this sum is not nearly as large as could be wished, the committee has decided that it is inadvisable to wait longer. The Corporation has promised to give a site somewhere in the Yard, and work on the building will probably be started this summer, in which case it will be completed some time next year.

As it is necessary to keep something for an endowment fund, only about forty thousand dollars of the money raised will be spent on the building itself. The building will provide accommodations for all of the religious and charitable societies of the University, although it may not be possible to give each organization a room of its own. There will also be a large hall, which will be used not only for religious purposes, but also for various social and hospitable occasions, for which the Colonial Club is the only present resource. In connection with this hall, there will also be a small club parlor and dining-room. No effort will be made to provide accommodations for the University preachers, as they are now comfortably cared for at Wadsworth House. These are in the main the plans, although there are liable to be changes when the plans are actually drawn.

It can readily be seen that the building is in no sense intended exclusively for religious purposes, but will be put to

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