CHAP. VI CHILDREN IN THE MUSEUM 75 



eldest daughter, now Mrs. Shann of Micklegate, 

 York :— 



•*. 

 When we were all small, and very happy and energetic, the 



Museum of the College of Surgeons was a most familiar place to 



us, as we lived in the house next door, and my father used to 



enter it at all hours, and often take us with him. We delighted 



in these visits, and had our special favourites among the exhibits. 



These selections were of course personal, and not scientific. 



The most exciting were the tall skeleton of the Irish giant, and 



that of the little Polish dwarf with her tiny shoe and thimble, 



which had long been among the treasures of the collection. 



Another great object of our admiration was the remains of the 



Siberian Mammoth, with its real skin*and hair, and the monkeys. 



These on certain wet half-holidays we were allowed to have out 



to play with instead of a doll, whilst we paid and received visits 



from and in our respectives " houses " under the big whale or 



the giant sloth, which still are conspicuous and formidable 



figures in the collection. I always recall the odour of fresh paint 



and varnish (on the cases and stands) and the peculiar smell of 



the carefully prepared and whitened bones. Occasionally we 



were allowed the excitement of a good run round in the upper 



galleries " all among the bottles." One of the strongest desires 



of my childhood was to be allowed to spend a night in the 



Museum ! This naturally was not gratified. But later I spent 



many evenings there aiding my father in the rather laborious 



work of measuring the great number of skulls in the Barnard 



Davis Anthropological Collection. It was rather weird work, 



going into the great empty halls, our footsteps and voices echoing 



through the silence, and then sitting with the light of a lamp 



falling on rows of skulls which one by one were filled with seed 



as the elaborate measurements were taken. 





Flower's temperament and constitution were so 

 equable and so happily related to his mental 

 characteristics that he was able to enjoy family 

 life and society to the full while engaged in active 



