THIRD PERIOD. Og 



A German named Weiss had formed a superb 

 cabinet at Paris, which he wished to sell entire. 

 The professors represented to the government 

 the prejudice to science of allowing an assem- 

 blage of objects to leave the country, which 

 it would be difficult to procure in detail, and 

 begged authority to treat with M. Weiss, of- 

 fering to give in exchange for his collection, 

 that of precious stones belonging to the Mu- 

 seum. The minister listened to the proposal, and 

 demanded a report from the council of mines on 

 the merits of the collection. It consisted of 1676 

 choice specimens, and was valued at i5o,ooo 

 francs. After much discussion, M. Weiss accepted 

 the offer of this sum : the precious stones were 

 estimated by jewellers, and as they were not 

 equal to the price agreed on, the remainder was 

 paid by the government. From that moment 

 (1802) the museum has possessed a regular se- 

 ries of mineralogical specimens, with very fe>v 

 intervals. 



The same year M. Geoffroy presented to the 

 cabinet a collection of objects of natural history, 

 formed during a residence of four years in Egypt; 

 in which were found several of the sacred ani- 

 mals preserved for thousands of years in the 

 tombs of Thebes and Memphis (1). 



(1) See the Annals of the Museum, vol. i. p. 234* 



