SIR HANS SLOANE 51 



medals were worth 7,000 as bullion) he left 

 to the nation on condition that 20,000 was 

 paid to his daughters, Lady Cadogan and 

 Mrs. Stanley. 



Horace Walpole a little out of his element 

 as one of the many trustees of the will 

 wrote to Sir Horace Mann : 



" Feb. 14, 1753. You will scarce guess how 

 I employ my time ; chiefly at present in the 

 guardianship of embryos and cockleshells. Sir 

 Hans Sloane is dead, and has made me one 

 of the trustees to his museum, which is offered 

 for twenty thousand pounds to the King " 

 (or) " Parliament " (or on refusal) " to the 

 Royal Academies of Petersburg, Berlin, Paris v 

 and Madrid. He valued it at fourscore thou- 

 sand, and so would anybody who loves hippopo- 

 tamuses, sharks with one ear, and spiders big 

 as geese ! You may believe that those who 

 think money the most valuable of all curiosities 

 will not be the purchasers. The King has 

 excused himself, saying that he did not believe 

 that there are twenty thousand pounds in the 

 Treasury. We are a charming wise set, all 

 philosophers, botanists, antiquarians and mathe- 

 maticians ; and adjourned our first meeting, 

 because Lord Macclesfield, our chairman, ! f 

 was engaged to a party for finding out the / 

 longitude." 



After much discussion, Parliament decided to 

 accept the bequest raise the money by a 

 lottery move the 50,000 books and manu- 

 scripts, 23,000 coins and medals, 3,000 gems 

 and antiquities, 16,000 objects of Natural 



