Thursday's Excursion. 181 
liberality is maintained and thrown open for the benefit of the 
public. 
Thence the party proceeded to the grounds of the Larmer Tree— 
a few years ago a copse, wood, and quarry—now a beautiful pleasure 
ground with smooth-shaven lawns, open to the public. From this 
point a few mfhutes’ drive brought the party to King John’s House, 
close to the Church at Tollard Royal. Formerly the house, which 
was a farm, exhibited traces of nothing earlier than Jacobean work ; 
but on peeling off the plaster with which the walls were covered it 
was discovered that a great part of it was of the thirteenth century, 
several windows even of that date remaining. Upon discovering 
this, General Pitt-Rivers had it restored—only as far as was 
absolutely necessary—laid open the foundations of the small tower 
at the corner, and fitted up the interior as a museum of art, with a 
reading-room, for. the villagers, retaining its old oak panelling, in 
the more modern part of the building. The collection of pictures 
formed here by the General is intended to illustrate the history of 
painting from the earliest times—beginning with a beautiful ex- 
ample of the mummy portraits of the second century A.D., from 
the Fayoum—through the Byzantines and Margaritone d’Arezzo—of 
whom he has a signed example—to the great schools of Italy, and 
so to modern times. There are also specimens of pottery, of old oak 
carving, and other objects of interest; and, as in the case of the 
Farnham Museum and the Larmer Grounds, this, too, is freely open 
to the public—as was indeed sufficiently evident from the number 
of people present whilst the party were there. 
By this time, however, it was nearly 3 o’clock, an hour later than 
the time appointed for lunch on the programme, so the Church could 
not be visited, but all speed was made to Rushmore, where the 
party sat down, nothing loth, in the dining-room, under the 
magnificent Gainsborough portraits of the first Lord Rivers and 
Lady Ligonier, to a very excellent luncheon, to which they did 
ample justice. Thus refreshed, during the too short time that re- 
mained they endeavoured under the General’s guidance to see as 
much as possible of the archexological treasures of which the house 
is full, in spite of the fact that the owner has two other museums of 
