336 STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
state of other national museums, made the poverty 
of our own but too apparent, yet it was about this 
time that two assistants were appointed to aid the 
gentleman who next succeeded to the situation, 
and whose zeal in his official duties, and whose 
courteous demeanour to all who frequent the Mu- 
seum, either for information or pleasure, have been 
so frequently praised: nor would it be just towards 
those who share these duties, to omit a public at- 
testation of their promptitude in giving every facility 
in their power to all who require it, without that 
punctilious regard to those strict regulations which 
are certainly necessary, but which are sometimes 
highly inconvenient to students. Of the sums of 
money, worthily voted by the nation to this establish- 
ment, a large portion has been expended in erecting 
more suitable apartments for the natural history col- 
lections, the whole of which have been removed from 
the dark and dismal rooms they once occupied, and 
are now arranged, or arranging, in the new buildings. 
Were we to judge, indeed, merely from outward 
appearances, and compare the present state of the 
zoological collections of this Museum, with what 
they were ten years ago, we should be tempted to 
think that natural history was really patronised by 
the executive government; nor would it be supposed 
that so imposing an appearance could exist, with a 
deficiency of all those measures calculated to give 
proper efficacy to such an establishment. The only 
disadvantages of the zoological collections arise from 
the age and imperfect preservation of the ornitho~ 
logical specimens, and the poverty of the Mammalia: 
the shells are particularly fine, and the entomological 
