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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



the Muse'e Guimet. It is a pity that the material from Africa and 

 the South seas now at the Louvre is not sent to the Trocadero 

 and incorporated in the collections there under charge of Dr. 

 Hamy. The Trocadero is a beautiful building, and the collec- 

 tions it contains are of great importance, but it is not adapted to 

 their suitable display. Dr. Hamy has made the best of his cir- 

 cumstances, and his cases 

 and wall trophies (usually 

 an abomination in a mu- 

 seum, but here a necessity) 

 are true works of art. The 

 hall devoted to African 

 specimens is wonderfully 

 fine, and the collections 

 from South America, Mexi- 

 co, and Yucatan are quite 

 as good as any in Europe. 

 One feature of this mu- 

 seum is that it contains a 

 fair representation of the 

 ethnography of Europe 

 a thing exceedingly rare. 

 The Muse'e Guimet embod- 

 ies a brilliant idea, the il- 

 lustration of the world's 

 religions. It grew out of 

 an expedition sent to Asia 

 to study the religions of 

 Japan and India. The collections belong to the state and oc- 

 cupy a building constructed for the purpose and beautifully 

 arranged. The display halls are erected about a triangular 

 court, and the two in front are connected by a rotunda. This 

 contains a valuable library composed entirely of works devoted 

 to religions. So far only Buddhism is represented with any 

 degree of fullness. The arrangement is geographical. The re- 

 ligions of India, southeastern Asia, and China occupy the first 

 floor of one gallery, while in the upper floor are objects illustrat- 

 ing the worships of ancient Greece and Rome. In a second wing 

 are the Japanese series on the first floor and religious objects 

 from ancient Egypt on the second. The third hall is as yet 

 largely unoccupied. The chief criticism that one might make 

 of this museum is, that the specimens are all choice pieces ; there 

 is little to show the common idols or the mode in which worship 

 is conducted. On the walls in the galleries and the rotunda 

 are many paintings by Felix Regamy representing sacred places, 

 temples, and religious ceremonies. 



Prof. Henry H. Giglioli. 



