2 3 o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



floor was raised about 1 foot and on it stood the great seal, Buffalo, Elk, Moose, 

 Bears, etc., but most attractive to country folk was a 5 legged cow giving milk 

 to a 2 headed calf. As we turn to the passage into the long room, the great 

 case at our right hand is the wolf case. The great gray wolf with bloody fangs 

 is rending a lamb, whose papier-mache entrails from the skilled and realistic 

 hands of Uncle Rubens bulge out so naturally that they appear living and in 

 motion. The opposite case was of particular intere'st to children. Smaller 

 animals crowd the cases that fill this room. 



Of the Long Eoom Peale himself has perhaps given us the best 

 account. 6 He writes : 



For instruction to those who wish to know the Linnean classification of 

 Birds on the side of the door entering the Long Room, is a large frame con- 

 taining the several orders and genera of Birds with the characters of each. 

 This Long Room has an elegant appearance. Its length is 100 feet. It is hand- 

 some because of its regularity of the numerous glass cases, which are neat 

 without being gaudy and the catalogue in the frames makes a beautiful division 

 covering each of the shelves extending from end to end of the room. There are 

 9 windows opposite, between them projecting are partitions to hold the cases 

 of insects and also cases for minerals and fossils. 



Over the center window is a neat well tuned organ for the use of such 

 visitors that understand music. Under the orchestra are microscopes for show- 

 ing Insects and other subjects to advantage. 



Over the Bird cases are two rows of portraits of Distinguished Personages 

 in gilt frames extending almost the whole length of the room. They are orig- 

 inal portraits painted from life by C. W. Peale and his son Remb' At each 

 end of the room are also some portraits. The most conspicuous being those of 

 General Washington and his lady, which are the last they sat for C. W. Peale. 



To complete the description of the museum we return to Mr. 

 Sellers' letter: 



If the day be chilly, the settees are around the great six plate wood burning 

 stove. This was a very attractive feature. This Long Room was a promenade 

 to show off finery, gay bonnets and cashmere shawls. Most of the more modern 

 paintings and the portraits painted by Uncle Rembrandt when in Europe for 

 the Museum were in the Mammoth Room. 



On entering this room in the corner case was a wax figure of Col. Lewis 

 or Clark, I do not remember which, in a complete Indian costume. The cases 

 of Indians and their dresses and implements were very attractive. Back of the 

 skeleton of the Mammoth at the end of the room was a large, what might be 

 called, historical painting showing the tread wheels and other appliances that 

 were used to pump out the morass while the bones were being exhumed. In 

 fact this and a smaller painting gave a graphic history. 



The marine room, up the lobby stairs, better known as the anatomical 

 room was really a gruesome room in spite of its end cases of Monkeys at work. 

 There was shown the smith, the carpenter, the cooper and even the shoe maker, 

 a shoe between his knees, his arms akimbo as if drawing tight his waxed ends, 

 a grin from ear to ear. The side cases were shallow and filled with snakes 

 long and coiled. One snake was charming a stuffed bird with its bead eyes. 

 One was in the act of swallowing a toad or frog with the hind quarters pro- 

 jecting from the mouth. There were also lizards big and little. Among the 

 various cases was one filled with real anatomical preparations, including a 



6 See footnote, p. 231. 



