38 THREE KINGDOMS. 



I once had a boyish craze for coin-collecting. My 

 chief motive was to see how many I could get ; to 

 get more and rarer ones than my friend Jack had. 

 When Jack and I parted to go to different schools, our 

 rivalry ceased, and with it, my numismatic zeal with- 

 ered away. 



In later years, while looking at the remains of my 

 collection, I became interested in a coin of Trajan. 

 On one side was the head of the Emperor ; on the re- 

 verse, the Temple of Janus, and this inscription in 

 Latin : " The Roman people, having secured peace on 

 land and sea, has closed Janus." Coming, then, to 

 look at coins as a means of verifying and vivifying 

 history, my old enthusiasm instantly revived, and hav- 

 ing now a reasonable rooting, became permanent. 



5. Many young persons suppose that it is of para- 

 mount importance to know the name of every speci- 

 men. Therefore, finding it difficult to ascertain all 

 names at once, they become discouraged and give up 

 their purpose. 



6. Finally, a mercenary few collect, hoping to sell 

 again. It is needless to say that they are usually dis- 

 appointed in this hope, and that whether or not they 

 succeed in making money, they utterly fail of reaping 

 the true benefits we propose for them from their home 

 museum. 



This mention of some of the more common causes 

 of failure anticipates by contrast the sources of suc- 

 cess. A museum should be started for the purpose of 

 learning by personal observation, or of furnishing an 

 opportunity for others to do so. Resolutely exclud- 

 ing the curiosity-shop idea, the collector should first 

 definitely decide what kind of a museum he will make. 



To aid him in this, I will indicate several distinct 

 sorts of museums, adapted to persons of different 

 tastes. 



