PROMOTION OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 61 



to our very confines enable him to collect the rarest objects, which during the 

 winter months he arranges in the rooms devoted to that purpose, at the Topo- 

 graphical Bureau, Department of War. I had not the slightest idea of the 

 extent of the labors of this gentleman, or the great object he has in view. 

 My surprise, therefore, was great on going into his rooms to find so magnificent 

 a collection of metals, minerals, shells and Indian relics, neatly arranged, each 

 with its own label, giving the name and locality, and the walls covered with 

 maps, geological sections, &c. What enhances the merit of all this is, that it 

 has entirely sprung from his own industry and perseverance; he having col- 

 lected, classified and labeled every specimen in the collection, without clerk or 

 assistant of any kind. 



******* 

 His examinations of the gold regions of the United States are not yet com- 

 pleted, but his cabinet, which seems to me an excellent foundation for a national 

 cabinet, and, in fact, which I should think destined, in time, to grow into some- 

 thing like that great national establishment, the British Museum, has already 

 attained dimensions altogether incompatible with obscurity, and will, probably, 

 lead, ere long, to its being brought forward as a public affair. 



******* 



If any one department of it pleased me more than any other, it was a collec- 

 tion of minerals from all parts of the world, principally of crystals, beautifully 

 arranged, with descriptive labels. How many thousand specimens, including 

 an immense number of rich gold ores, and lumps of native gold, and gold dust 

 from the various mines of this country, are in the collection, I omitted to 

 inquire. Here I saw the only crystals of tin which have been found in the 

 United States, also some diamonds. Of fossils thei'e is a great quantity, cer- 

 tainly of the most curious forms, and such as I had never conceived an idea of. 

 Of the rarest European fossils there is a singularly fine collection, made, as I 

 understand, by Mr. F. when in Europe. The fresh water shells, from the sources 

 of the St. Peter's and other northwestern rivers, are of indescribable beauty. 



This chapter would not be complete without a reference to the 

 private collection of John Varden, begun by him in 1829 and opened 

 to the public as the Washington Museum in 1836 at the corner of 

 John Marshall Place and D Street. It consisted of a great diversity 

 of objects, natural history, art and veritable curios. In a letter dated 

 June 24, 1836, Varden expressed his willingness to take charge of and 

 care for the collections of the Columbian Institute, and otherwise 

 solicited contributions. Later his collection was absorbed in the 

 museum of the National Institution, and several of the objects are 

 now distinguishable in the collections of the National Museum. Var- 

 den was also employed by the National Institute and subsequently 

 by the Smithsonian Institution, remaining in the "service of the 

 latter until his death in 1865. 



LIBRARY. 



The importance of an adequate and comprehensive library was 

 recognized and was the subject of frequent discussion and several 

 resolutions. The minutes record 49 donations of books and pam- 

 phlets, relating to very diverse subjects, but only one purchase and 



