A RUN THROUGH THE MUSEUMS OF EUROPE. 473 



England. Naturally, in these somewliat hasty observations, his favor- 

 ite departments received the larger proportion of his attention. 



It was his fortune to first i^lace his foot on the Old-World soil in 

 the quiet and lovely, the very quaint and very old-fashioned, little 

 city of Bremen, and there to make the acquaintance of two ornithol- 

 ogists whose reputation is world-wide, and who, among the followers 

 of this science, stand in tlie front ranks Dr. Georg Hartlaub and 

 Dr. Otto Finsch. 



Dr. Hartlaub is a physician, in full practice, standing at the head 

 of his profession, but finding ample time, without neglecting his pro- 

 fessional duties, to devote to the study of his favorite science, and to 

 favor the world with valuable contributions, the results of his careful 

 and exhaustive researches. A little past the prime of life, he is still 

 in full and vigorous health. He has made the birds of Africa his 

 principal study. As incidentally attesting Dr. Hartlaub's popularity 

 and high standing among his brother ornithologists, it may be here 

 mentioned that in Gray's " Hand-List of Birds " are no less than twen- 

 ty-six different species, and one genus, upon which has been bestowed 

 the name of Hartlaub a compliment that has been paid to no other 

 naturalist, living or dead, not even to the great Linnaeus or to the 

 illustrious Cuvier. 



Dr. Finsch, though a much younger man, is fully the peer of his 

 distinguislied townsman in his reputation in ornithological science. 

 He is the Director-in-Chief of the Natural History Museum of Bremen, 

 which, though by no means among tlie largest, enjoys the reputation 

 of being one of the most excellent in its arrangement, in Europe. In 

 regard to this, unfortunately, I had not complete opportunity to 

 judge. A new building was in the course of erection on the site of 

 the old museum, and most of the collections, being packed aAvay, were 

 inaccessible. A portion of the birds were open to inspection, and 

 well attested the taxidermic excellence of their preparation, which 

 is said to characterize not only this department, but the whole mu- 

 seum. Dr. Finsch is author of an excellent and, to the student, 

 invaluable monograph on the pan-ots ; and, although he has large- 

 ly contributed, with Dr. Hartlaub, to investigate the ornithology 

 of Africa, probably there is no one living more generally familiar 

 than he with the ornithological forms of the world. Since I met him 

 he has been absent from home, in charge of an important exploring 

 expedition to the arctic islands, north of Eastern Asia, from which he 

 has recently returned. 



Passing from Bremen to Dtlsseldorf, on the Rhine, our way took 

 us through the old capital of Westphalia, that quaintest of quaint 

 places, Mtinster ; one, too, made so painfully memorable in history by 

 the Vandal acts of the fanatical Anabaptists, and the even more ter- 

 rible retribution that was visited upon their leaders. There we made 

 a pause, in order to examine a very remarkable private collection of 



