ON THE STUDY OF NATURE 23 



of suitable objects of Natural History. The work 

 will be pleasant and intelligent. It will give us food 

 for thought. It will assist in drawing our attention 

 away from what is wrong to that which is right. 

 It will arouse our enthusiasm so much, if undertaken 

 in a proper spirit, that there will be no time for 

 idleness. It will form one of the best means of 

 acquiring information, and it ought to ennoble our 

 minds and give us more exalted conceptions of 

 the Creator's power, wisdom, and goodness. For 

 lack of intelligent occupation many young men are 

 drawn into ignoble paths. The lover of Nature, 

 as a rule, is a man of peace, and is often a civilizing 

 factor in a community. His desire is to show and 

 to talk about the wonders with which he is familiar. 



The love for Natural History studies led a young 

 nobleman to collect specimens from all known parts 

 of the world. This led to his laying out a large 

 sum of money in the construction of a splendid 

 museum to hold his invaluable collections. The 

 people now enjoy the benefit of his praiseworthy 

 hobby. The process of gathering together the 

 multitudes of objects this museum contains, and 

 the outlay on the erection and fitting up of the 

 building, afforded substantial help to a very large 

 number of people. Visitors to this museum can 

 see many objects of which there are no duplicates 

 in the great national collection at South Ken- 

 sington. 



Its arrangement throughout is entirely educa- 



