eminence, called Mount Auburn in the plan, 'is one hundred and twenty-five feet above the level of the Charles River, and commands from its summit one of the finest prospects which can he obtained in the environs of Boston."
      The natural features of the present cemetery are recognizable in this description. The remarkable natural ridge to which reference is made is India Ridge, on which are the graves of Longfellow and, Parkman. On the summit of "Mount Auburn" rises the beautiful tower, from whose top a view far more expansive than that described in this contemporaneous account unfolds itself— a panorama of city, town and woodland, of lake, river and hill.
      The plan at first adopted for laying out the avenues and paths has been consistently followed through the successive enlargements of the cemetery. Curved or winding courses were adopted for picturesque effect, and they were made, as far as possible, to conform to the natural face of the ground. This work was done by a sub-committee, consisting of Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn, Dr. Bigelow and Mr. Brimmer, from whom the land had been bought. General Dearborn labored with special assiduity in superintending the clearing of the avenues and the grading of the grounds, and he transplanted from his own nurseries healthy young forest trees some of which are still among the most beautiful ornament of the place. To Dr. Bigelow was entrusted the naming of the avenues and paths, and as a rule the names of trees, shrubs and plants were selected.
      In 1832 provision was made for erecting a wooden gateway and lodges. The model was one submitted by Dr. Bigelow, and was in the Egyptian style, the outlines following some of the best examples in Denderah and Karnac This gate, painted to imitate granite, stood for ten years, when the contract was made for building the granite gateway and lodges which are now standing. These reproduce substantially the model and dimensions of the previous wooden structure. The height of the gate is twenty-five feet, and the length, including the lodges, is sixty feet. The banded cylinder, the foliage of the cornice and the winged globe are Egyptian. On the outside of the gate is this inscription:—

      Then Shall The Dust Return
            To The Earth As It Was
      And The Spirit Shall Return
            Unto God Who Gave It.