2 ON MUSEUMS, &c., 



It may consequently be an act less out of place, and of less presump. 

 tuous seeming at the present instant, than in some way it appeared to 

 be io 1867, for any one who imagines he has anything to say on the 

 subject, to indulge for a few moments audibly in his recollections of, or 

 deductions from, a display which was so unique, and the witnessing of 

 which could not but form an era in his experience. 



I have therefore ventured on this occasion — no other easy subject 

 readily suggesting itself — to offer to the Institute, after all, some of the 

 casual and, as I fear even now it will be deemed, rather unimportant, 

 annotations and ideas, which I did not think it worth while to occupy 

 their time with in 1867-8. 



One desire which I found myself haunted with, on returning home 

 fresh from a brief — too brief — inspection of the marvellously diversified, 

 but beautifully classified contents of the Paris Exhibition, was to impress 

 upon all with whom I held any communication, and especially on young 

 Canadians about to travel, the practical, self-educating use to which they 

 might put their visits to Great Britain and the continent of Europe, 

 where access is so easy to grand and extraordinary assemblages of 

 objects, industrial, scientific and artistic, either temporary, like the 

 successive international expositions, or permanent but constantly aug- 

 menting, like the national museums to be found in capital cities and 

 university towns. 



Eor the most part, I fear, such collections are approached by the 

 tourist, from Canada as from elsewhere, in a light and trivial spirit — 

 are gazed at simply as displays of so many singular, or beautiful, or 

 very useful objects. 



But the doctrine which I longed to impress, and which I of course 

 at the same time knew to be neither novel nor abstruse, was, that in 

 the mind of every one about to enjoy the advantage of access to a great 

 classified collection of objects anywhere, there should be a pre-arranged 

 scheme of examination ; a certain intention ; a deinite aim and object : 

 there should be, if practicable, some especial subject of study, or a 

 particular point in some especial subject of real interest to the observer, 

 on which additions to his store of knowledge were sincerely desired. 

 Then, at once, the great museum or other large classified assemblage 

 of objects—although access to it could be had only for a few days, or 

 even for a few hours — ceases to be a mere show or plaything, and is 

 transformed into a gallery of illustration — a delightful and precious 

 instrument of self-education; a means of mental expansion, intellectual 



