CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY. 289 



room of M. Thouin ; the others serve as store- 

 rooms for such objects as cannot be placed in 

 the galleries ; they are lower as they approach 

 the hill from the elevation of the soil in that 

 direction; so that the ceiling, \vhich is 12 feet 

 from the ground on the south, is only 5 feet on 

 the north. Large trunks of petrified wood are 

 placed between the gratings. 



In the middle of the second floor of the build- 

 ing is a very beautiful clock, of which we see 

 the mechanism, as it occupies the space of a 

 window and is between two glasses. The win- 

 dows of the second floor are merely for orna- 

 ment, as it is lighted from the top. 



The interior of the cabinet is composed of six 

 saloons on the first floor without including the 

 library at the end, and five on the second. The 

 first floor is devoted to geology, mineralogy, and 

 the collections of reptiles and fishes: the second 

 is occupied by the quadrupeds, birds, insects, 

 shells, etc. Some of the semicircular sashes, 

 which give light from the roof, are raised and 

 lowered at pleasure for the admission of air. 

 Curtains are placed over the cases when not 

 open to the public. This second floor, the middle 

 of which is a long gallery, has a door leading to 

 the terrace by the side of the street. 



We will now enter the great staircase by the 



