Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles, 4Q9 



sned by the vanquishers, throw themselves in myriads into 

 the Tiber. The day before yesterday this river was covered 

 w ith them. 



Ucport to the Committee, of the Honourable House of Com- 

 7nons, on the Fefition if the Trustees of the British 

 Museum; respecting the Purchase of Mr. Qreville's Col^ 

 lection of Minerals, 



London, May 9, 1810. 



We the undersigned, liaving been requested by the com- 

 mittee of the honourable hous^e of commons, on the pe- 

 tition of the trustees of the British Museum, to make a 

 careful examination of the colitction of minerals belonging 

 to the right honourable Charles F. Grcville, and to put a 

 value upon the same with as much fairness and accuracy as 

 possible ; — have now to report : 



First. — That on the 2d of this month we assembled at 

 the house of the late Mr. Grcville on Faddington Green, 

 commenced our inspection of the collection of minerals ; 

 and continued the same, day after day, up to the yth in- 

 stant. 



Second. — That we have found the specimens scientifi-. 

 caily arranged, for the greater part, in glazed drawers,' 

 which are contained in cabinets miide of beautiful maho- 

 gany. 



Third. — ^That, exclusive of tbe^e cabinets, there are two 

 others, containing models in wood and in clay, the for- 

 mer having been most accurately made by the Count de 

 Bournon tor the late Mr. Grcville, exemplifying and elu- 

 cidating the various figures and modiiications of crystal- 

 lized mineral substances; a series of great importance to 

 mineralogical science. 



Fourth. — That, m addition to the minerals contained in 

 the drawers, there are arranoed on the upper part of the 

 cabinets manv lariie anJ niai'iiificent specimens, several of 

 which are uneommonlv rare and highly valuable. 



Fifth. — ^That the whole collection consists of about 

 20,000 specimens. 



Sixth. — 'I hat the specimens in gejjeral throughout the 

 collection appear to us to have been scleeted with very 

 great judgement, both as to their utiliiy and beauty. 



Seventh. — That the series of crystallized iiibics, sap- 

 phires, emeralds, topazes, rubeilites, diamond^, and r»''e» 

 cious stones in general, as well as the series of the vi tons 

 ores, far surpass any that are known to us in the diticrent 

 European collections. 



Gg3 Eighth. 



