PROCEEDINGS OF THE REGENTS. 77 



pelled to expose them at public auction in time to liave tlie proceeds 

 available by the Ist of May next. 



The undersigned will take this occasion to tender his acknowledg- 

 ments to the Board and Professor Henry for the use of the hall in the 

 Institution where the gallery now is, and for other courtesies, which 

 he will always appreciate. 



I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



J. M. STANLEY. 



The Hon. Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. 



On motion, this communication was referred to a special committee, 

 and Messrs. Felton, Douglas, and Badger were appointed. 



The Secretary laid before the Board a present from Miss Contaxaki, 

 of Greece, consisting of a volume of drawings, &c., illustrating the 

 celebrated works of art in her own land, together with the following 

 letters : 



Washington, November 23, 1857. 



Sir : During my last trip to the east I was charged by Miss Eliza- 

 beth B. Contaxaki, a native of the isle of Crete, with an '' ornamental 

 album," which she desired me to present, through you, to the Smith- 

 sonian Institution. In forming the work, this lady designed it as a 

 contribution to the Universal Exhibition at Paris, in 1855, worthy of 

 the classic renown of the ancient city of Athens. So ardent is her 

 admiration of the United States and its institutions that she wishes 

 it to be permanently placed in this country, and having a high appre- 

 ciation of you as an American statesman, and your reputation as a 

 classical scholar, she desired that I would request you to offer it in 

 her name to the Smithsonian Institution. 



The " Classical Bouquet/' as it is entitled, consists of illustrations 

 of the principal monuments and places in the kingdom of Greece, to 

 which are added a few from her native isle of Crete, not yet emanci- 

 pated from the Moslem yoke. These illustrations are explained by 

 quotations from the ancient Greek authors in the original language, 

 beautifully illuminated ; whilst many of the pages are adorned with 

 flowers culled from the spots which the drawings represent. 



Miss Contaxaki is the sole originator and authoress of it, assisted 

 in its execution by native artists of Greece. The beauty of the finish, 

 and the faithfulness and accuracy of the quotations from Hesiod, 

 Homer, Xenophon, Plato, and others, show that the present sons and 



