THB 



BRITISH MUSEUM. 



ITS ORIGIN ; 

 AND INFORMATION RESPECTING THE ADMIS- 

 SION TO ITS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS. j, 



Before giving a sketch of the contents, it may be in- 

 teresting to the stranger to be acquainted with an out- 

 line of the general arrangements of an institution, of the 

 possession of which, this country may well be proud ; 

 constituting, as it undoubtedly does, one of its noblest 

 ornaments, whether considered in the moral or intellec- 

 tual bearing on its population generally, in cultivating 

 a taste for pleasure of a refined and instructive nature, 

 or in regard to its importance in promoting the studies 

 of those devoted to the pursuit of science, literature, or 

 the fine arts. 



It may be said to have been formed by Sir Hans 

 Sloane ; for it was not until the bequest of his valuable 

 Museum to the nation, that a public receptacle was 

 granted for the wonders of nature and art ; in which 

 the liberal antiquary or naturalist, after a life spent in 

 collecting, and the intelligent traveller after a life spent 

 in exploring, may safely deposit his curiosities, for a na- 

 tion's good, and receive in return a nation's thanks. The 

 collection of Sir Hans Sloane, cost him £50,000 ; and 

 was purchased by the government for £20,000, in addi- 

 tion to which, many other valuable collections were pro- 

 cured, and arranged in one of the most splendid man- 

 sions in the metropolis, formerly belonging to the Duke 



