\ 



163 



will provided that it should never be disposed of, except altogether. 

 For sixty-two years longer his son, and his family carried it on, 

 making a total of ninety years. Every effort was made to dispose 

 of it in its entirety, but without success. For seven years this was 

 done. It was offered to the County first, next to the British 

 Museum, and then to the principal large towns. Sir Ashton Lever 

 disposed of his large Museum by lottery, but the person who won 

 it sold the collection a few years after, so that the plan held out 

 no encouragement for keeping the collection together. Its 

 dispersion being inevitable, it was determined that the sale should 

 be at Keswick. Not that the best prices were expected in so remote 

 a place, but it gave the opportunity to those who cared for such 

 things to possess themselves of anything they liked in connection 

 with the neighbourhood. 



It would ill become me to attempt any eulogium on a 

 person so nearly related as a grandfather. I have placed 

 before you a few facts, and I leave you to pass your own 

 judgment. I may, however, claim for him a foremost place as a 

 pioneer, in opening out and making known the Lake District. 

 Hife exertions in this direction were not undertaken in any 

 mercenary spirit, but for the public good. He died of apoplexy 

 after a few hours illness, on the 9th of June, 1808, and some 

 friendly hand put on his tomb the words : — ■ 



"after many dangers, I HAVE FOUND A PORT." 



In Ware's Cumberland Advertizer (now the Cumberland 

 Pacquei) the following obituary notice appeared : — " On Thursday 

 last, at Keswick, in the 73rd year of his age, (after experiencing 

 for eighteen months past better health than he had enjoyed for 

 twenty years before,) Mr. Peter Crosthvvaite, the establisher and 

 proprietor of the celebrated Museum at that place — a depository 

 of curious articles, so universally known to the nobility and gentry 

 of the United Kingdom as of itself to afford the best eulogium on 

 the zeal, discrimination, and indefatigable assiduity of its projector, 

 to whose persevering spirit the public are indebted for an extensive 

 and interesting collection of rare productions, both of nature and 



