1809.) 
from every spectator the willing meed of 
admiration. 
My. tour shall then commence with a 
general view of that invaluable collection 
of antiquities, now deposited in the Bri- 
tish Museum, the principal of which be- 
longed to the collection of the late 
| Charles Townley, esq. omitting all the 
old parts of the curiosities of the Muse- 
um, with which you are well acquainted, 
for although in themselves, perhaps, 
equally valuable, they are not of equal 
weight in my presert description, which 
relates to the fine arts.alone. I shall 
then travel to the modern Athens, i. e. 
Lord Elgin’s, from thence to Oxford, to 
shew you the Arundelian-marbles, and 
so on, through the British round of art. 
The British Museum is indebted to 
the munificence of his present majesty, 
(besides many other presents and gifts of 
considerable value in papers, books, 
scarce paniphiets, tracts, and curiosities 
of nature and art)—for many antiquities, 
chiefly Egyptian, and among them one of 
the finest mummies, perhaps, now in Eu-. 
rope, which was sent by the celebrated 
Edward Wortley Montague, esq. to the 
Earl of Bute, and presented by him to 
his majesty, who has transferred it to the 
trustees of the Museum, 
The rest of the fine collection of 
Egyptian antiquities, which are also un- 
der this noble protection, was acquired 
ns our gallant army in Egypt, from 
im 
4 Whose locust armies o’er the blasted land, 
Drains-from its thirs;y bounds the springs of 
- wealth, ‘ 
His own insatiate reservoir to fill.” 
Thomson’s Library, Part 5, v. 449. 
They had been selected by the learned 
men who accompanied the French army 
to Egypt, and shipped with a view of 
being transported to France; but, in con- 
sequence of the capitulation of Alexan- 
dria, they were sent to England in 1802, 
and immediately ordered by his-majesty 
to be placed in the British Museum. 
The number of antiquities, contained 
in the Museum, was originally so small 
and inéonsiderable, as to attract scarcely 
any notice from the artist; but this 
deficiency was amply supplied, when in 
the year 1774, the admirable collection 
of Sir William Hamilton, K. B. was ad- 
ded to the repository. Sir William 
Hamilton having, during a long residence 
at Naples, as his Majesty’s envoy, had 
many favourable opportunities of acquir- 
ing 3 great number of articles of Greek and 
Montury Mag, No, 179, ° 
The wanes Toure Ne Ls 7 
531 
Roman antiquity, particularly the largest 
store, then known, of ancient vases, usu- 
ally, though erroneously, called Etruscan, 
caused the whole collection.to be brought 
to England ; and having given an opporta- 
hity to a committee of the House of 
Commons, to inspect the same, and to 
satisfy themselves as Lo its real value and 
importance, the House, upon the re- 
port of this committee, voted a consider- 
able sum for the purchase thereof, from 
Sir William, in order to its being deposit- 
ed in the Museum, for the use of the 
public. How much this collection of 
beautiful forms and chaste decorations 
has contributed, and will, no donbt, still 
contribute to the national taste, it will 
be needless to point out to you, who, no 
doubt, remember, and can compare the 
costly absurdities of your grandmother’s 
cabinet of china porcelain, with the ele- 
gant productions of Wedzwoud and our 
present potters, avowedly in imitation of 
this assemblage of beauties. Thecontrast 
between the present and the former style 
in all our manufactures, in which the fine 
arts are concerned, are too obvious to be 
now insisted upon. 
An opportunity having presented it- 
self (according to the account published 
by the trustees of the Museum) in the 
year 1805, of acquiring a large and ex- 
quisite collection of Greek and Roman 
statues, ‘busts, and other sculptured'mar- 
bles, formed by Charles Townley, of 
Towuley, in the county of Lancaster, esq. 
ata great expence, during the course of 
mauy years, and by frequent journies to 
Italy ;—Parliament, with a liberality well 
becoming so great a nation, cheerfully, 
granted the sum of £20,000 (at which it 
was estimated by persons well acquaint- 
ed with the value of such articles), and 
ordered it in like manner to be preserved 
in this repository. 
The original building, being by no 
means suthiciently spacious for the recep- 
tion of this and the Egyptiaiycollections, 
parliament has, from time to time, voted 
sufficient supplies for the purpose of 
erecting an additional edifice, which is 
now completed; and a most splendid and 
magnificent collection of ancient sculp- 
tures is at length gpened for the inspection 
of strangers, as well as for the improvement 
of artists; an advantaye whicli the stu- 
dents, in the. fine arts, never before ene 
joyed at this institution. 
You may perceive, by this slight intro- 
ductory sketch; the importance of this 
single department of the finest Museum 
of natural and artificial curiosities, nu- 
s¥Y mifmatics 
* 
