242 Editorial Notes. 



accurate model of the Matterhorn, needed for its construction no 

 less than 20,000 tons of Carboniferous Limestone from Yorkshire, 

 and with the other gardens, caves, lakes, and cascades renders this 

 beautiful spot one of the finest gardens in England. At the time of 

 his death he was preparing a great work on Gardens, Ancient and 

 Modem, for which he had gathered an ample library of rare and 

 curious books. 



Now that Belgian scientific publications are beginning to reappear, 

 we are not surprised to see, accompanying those of the Academie 

 Roy ale, a " Rapport succinct sur l'Etat du Palais des Academies 

 apres le Depart des Allemands". This has been compiled by 

 M. Louis le Nain, Secretaire de la Commission Administrative, 

 whose duty it was to report on the work necessary for restoring the 

 apartments to a condition fit lor their original purposes. From 

 this report it is clear that the work of restoration will take some 

 considerable time, as the building and its contents had suffered 

 during the German occupation. Certain rooms had been used as 

 hospital wards, one even being set aside for tubercular cases, others- 

 as store-rooms, and so on, thus necessitating some structural 

 alteration. Everywhere M. le Nain found the utmost confusion, 

 disorder, and filth ; and the photographs accompanying his report 

 show this to be the case. 



The Library too had suffered ; some books had disappeared, others- 

 were misplaced, but when found were in a damaged condition. 

 This was particularly the case with the Stassart Collection. Certain 

 Belgian busts and paintings had been disfigured, the portrait of 

 Leopold I being decorated with an iron cross ; others had been 

 damaged. 



M. le Nain therefore considers that the building must be 

 thoroughly cleansed and repaired before it can be again used, and 

 that the number of objects stolen, lost, or misplaced must be 

 discovered. Some time must elapse before this can be accomplished. 



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An oil-painting of Gideon Algernon Mantell has recently been 

 presented to the Geological Society of London, by subscription 

 among a number of the Fellows. Unfortunately, the history of 

 this painting is not known. The collection of oil-paintings in the 

 possession of the Society is very small, consisting of only nine,, 

 including the portrait of Mantell, and that of Dr. Henry "Woodward, 

 referred to in these notes in the April number. The other oil- 

 paintings, at present hung in the Society's Meeting Boom, consist 

 of the portraits of "William Smith, Buckland, Lyell, De la Beche, 

 Phillips, Huxley, and Prestwich. There is also the painting of 

 the group of geologists at the meeting of the British Association at 

 Newcastle in 1838. On the walls of the Council Boom are hung 

 the portraits of tbe former Presidents of the Society. This series 

 is complete, and consists chiefly of engravings, with large photo- 

 graphs of the later Presidents. 



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