THE BRITISH MUSEUM 



The purchases were made and joined with the Cot- 

 tonian library, which was already in hand. A home 

 was found for the joint collection, along with some 

 minor ones, in Montague Mansion, on Great Russell 

 Street, and the British Museum came into being. 

 Viewed retrospectively, it seems a small affair; but it 

 was a noble collection for its day; indeed, the Sloane 

 collection of birds and mammals had been the finest 

 private natural history collection in existence. But, 

 oddly enough, the weak feature of the museum at first 

 was exactly that feature which has been its strongest 

 element in more recent years namely ^ the depart- 

 ment of antiquities. This department was augmented 

 from time to time, notably by the acquisition of the 

 treasures of Sir William Hamilton in 1773; but it 

 was not till the beginning of the nineteenth century 

 that the windfall came which laid the foundation for 

 the future incomparable greatness of the museum as a 

 repository of archaeological treasures. 



In that memorable year the British defeated the 

 French at Alexandria, and received as a part of the 

 conqueror's spoils a collection of Egyptian antiquities 

 which the savants of Napoleon's expedition had gath- 

 ered and carefully packed, and even shipped prepara- 

 tory to sending them to the Louvre. The feelings of 

 these savants may readily be imagined when, through 

 this sad prank of war, their invaluable treasures were 

 envoyed, not to their beloved France, but to the land 

 of their dearest enemies, there to be turned over to the 

 trustees of the British Museum. 



The museum authorities were not slow to appreciate 

 the value of the treasures that had thus fallen into their 



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