1856-81 THE MUSEUM BUILT 53 



of form and surface-sculpture exemplified in the 

 animal and vegetable kingdoms. 



1 I need only ask the visitor to pause at the 

 grand entrance, before he passes into the impres- 

 sive and rather gloomy vestibule which leads 

 to the great hall, and prepares him for the 

 flood of light displaying the richly-ornamented 

 columns, arcades, and galleries of the Index 

 Museum. 



' In the construction of a building for the recep- 

 tion and preservation of natural history objects, 

 the material should be of a nature that will least 

 lend itself to the absorption and retention of 

 moisture. This material is that artificial stone 

 called terra-cotta. The compactness of texture 

 which fulfils the purpose in relation to dryness is 

 also especially favourable for a public edifice in a 

 metropolitan locality. The microscopic recep- 

 tacles of soot-particles on the polished surface of 

 the terra-cotta slabs are reduced to a minimum ; 

 the influence of every shower in displacing those 

 particles is maximised. I am sanguine in the 

 expectation that the test of exposure to the Lon- 

 don atmosphere during a period equal to that 

 which has elapsed since the completion of Barry's 

 richly ornamented palace at Westminster, now 

 so sadly blackened by soot, will speak loudly in 

 favour of Mr. Waterhouse's adoption of the mate- 

 rial for the construction of the National Museum 

 of Natural History. A collateral advantage is 



