an ancient Roman temple, being considered as the most perfect model
existing of what may be called Cubic architecture, I applied to M.
Clerissault, who had published drawings of the antiquities of Nismes, to
have me a model of the building made in stucco, only changing the order
from Corinthian to Ionic, on account of the difficulty of the Corinthian
capitals. I yielded, with reluctance, to the taste of Clerissault,
in his preference of the modern capital of Scamozzi to the more noble
capital of antiquity. This was executed by the artist whom Choiseul
Gouffier had carried with him to Constantinople, and employed, while
Ambassador there, in making those beautiful models of the remains
of Grecian architecture, which are to be seen at Paris. To adapt the
exterior to our use, I drew a plan for the interior, with the apartments
necessary for legislative, executive, and judiciary purposes; and
accommodated in their size and distribution to the form and dimensions
of the building. These were forwarded to the Directors, in 1786, and
were carried into execution, with some variations, not for the better,
the most important of which, however, admit of future correction. With
respect to the plan of a Prison, requested at the same time, I had heard
of a benevolent society, in England, which had been indulged by the
government, in an experiment of the effect of labor, in solitary
confinement, on some of their criminals; which experiment had succeeded
beyond expectation. The same idea had been suggested in France, and an
Architect of Lyons had proposed a plan of a well contrived edifice, on
the principle of solitary confinement. I procured a copy, and as it was
too large for our purposes, I drew one on a scale less extensive, but
susceptible of additions as they should be wanting. This I sent to the
Directors, instead of a plan of a common prison, in the hope that it
would suggest the idea of labor in solitary confinement, instead of
that on the public works, which we had adopted in our Revised Code. Its
principle, accordingly, but not its exact form, was adopted by Latrobe