SIR HANS SLOANC. 81 



a spectacle was calculated to excite. Never were 

 the vanity of all earthly blessings, the fragility of 

 all earthly possessions, however connected with 

 science, literature, and all that we are accustomed 

 to consider as indicative of mental superiority, 

 never were the futility of such things alone more 

 strikingly illustrated than in the present instance, 

 " seeing that wise men also die and perish together, 

 as well as the ignorant and foolish, and leave their 

 riches to others." Blessed are they who, like Sir 

 Hans Sloane, rate such pursuits at their real value, 

 as preparatory to a higher state of existence, and 

 who, like him, " having provided for their own," 

 bestow their superfluities on the improvement of 

 their fellow men. Such men are the " salt of the 

 earth." 



As a Naturalist, it is true we cannot place him 

 in the highest rank ; but as the patron of Natural 

 History, the encourager of science, the promoter 

 of every charitable work, he obtained the unani- 

 mous applause of his contemporaries, and deserves 

 the grateful esteem and respect of posterity. As 

 the founder of the British Museum, he merits the 

 admiration of every one to whom the national 

 progress in literature, science, and art is dear. If 

 we rightly appreciate the advantages of an institu- 

 tion, calculated to foster a taste for those pursuits 

 that elevate man above sensual appetites and sordid 

 gain, an institution, intended to assist the author, 



