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desirable oi' practicable for a provincial society to attempt an 

 imitation of that vast and boundless metropolitan institution. This 

 would be simply out of the question, and calculated only to provoke 

 a smile, except peradventure among the guardians of the local 

 Museums. Indeed, with all the excellent arrangement, the army of 

 properly paid experts, and immense space and appliances, the 

 British Museum has become so crowded and unwieldly, especially 

 for reference and use concerning British products, that some steps 

 for an extrication of them from the surrotmding masses of exotic 

 things has become necessary. Accordingly the worthy veteran. Dr. 

 J. E. Gray, at the head of the zoological department, has had to 

 rescue the British animals from their former inconvenient obscurity; 

 and for this considerate foresight, and action thereon, that 

 eminent naturalist is entitled to the cordial thanks of all students 

 of British Zoology. But the guardians of the provincial Museums 

 will reasonably ask, gi'anting that we have so much rubbish, what 

 are we to do with it ? Sell it if you can, or give it away ; Ijut by 

 all means get rid of it, and that swiftly ; to wbich end a bonfire 

 might be the best thing. And having thus learned by experience 

 the noxiousness of such rubbish, most resolutely and remorselessly 

 refuse any quarter to it in future. At present this sort of lumber 

 only occupies space and involves expense that might and ought to 

 be employed for more useful and legitimate purposes ; and how and 

 why has already been mentioned. At the execution of the sentence 

 many a wailing throe will out, some natural tears be shed, for the 

 o'erfraught heart will sj^eak. The very civil and complacent local 

 genius, especially when he is paid out of the public rates, will meekly 

 plead for his idols, telling you how he loves them, and how some 

 other equally wise and more potent individuals hold the same faith; 

 and above all that the visitors to his temple have ever regarded all 

 those very things with an admiration and delight amounting to 

 veneration. He will refuse to be comforted by your sincere 

 assurance that every one of his words is no doubt very true, though 

 Punch and Judy, and Madame Tussaud, may be almost as delightful 

 if not quite as good in their way ; but that your way is to show how 

 the provincial Museum may be made not to suppress or degrade but 

 to develope and elevate the taste of the mtiltitude ; and that after all 

 a good Museum will sooner or later become more popular than a bad 

 one. 



But the higher functionaries of the committees or managements will 

 be less meek and docile than their subordinate official, less open to 

 reason, most impracticable, and most active or rude in justifying their 

 culpable neglect, precisely in proportion to their ignorance of their 

 duties. However, su^jposing all these obstructions fairly removed, 

 there will still arise further but petty difficulties in carrying out the 

 needful details as to the treatment of the various objects which 

 may be considered worthy of care in the provincial Museum, and, 

 indeed, in any Museum. Among these the most constant and 

 vexatious are the tendency of valuable donations to be " missing ;" 

 to leave specimens without mark or number and out of the 

 catalogue ; to neglect due acknowledgments to the donors of 

 objects ; to see a lion in the way, unless somebody or his friend can 

 be induced to frighten this biigbear ; and above all for paid 

 attendants to delegate little duties unreasonably, and to have heart 

 and head anywhere rather than in the Museum. These, from a 



