reliefs which were collected by Mr. Townly, the manu- 

 scripts of the late INIarquis of Lansdowne, and the unique 

 spoils celebrated through all antiquity of tlie Parthenon 

 at Athens, the celebrated temple of Minerva called the 

 Elgin marbles. The whole library of the books and 

 manuscripts collected by the kings of England, from the 

 reign of Henry the Seventh to William the Third, was 

 presented to it by George the Second. A collection of 

 pamphlets published between 1640 and 1660, and con- 

 taining all the political occurrences of that eventful 

 period was given to it by George tlie Third, also by 

 George the Fourth the celebrated royal library which 

 had been collected by his father. In 1803, that collec- 

 tion of Egyptian antiquities which liad been sedulously 

 chosen by tlie savans of Napoleon in his invasion of 

 Egypt, were, after the capitulation of Alexandria, de- 

 posited here by government. Among later acquisitions 

 are Greenwood's collection of stuffed birds, Halked's 

 minerals, and oriental manuscripts, Tyssend's collection 

 of Saxon coins, Drt Bentley's classics, the Greville col- 

 lection of minerals, Dr. Birch's library, Gustavus 

 Branders' collection of fossils, and the collection of 

 classics by Thomas Tyrwhitt, Esq., and Sir William Mus- 

 grave ; also a splendid collection of books, prints, 

 coins, medals, shells, and gems, which were bequeathed 

 by the Rev. jNIr. Crecherode, and many other private 

 donations from various quarters. 



On entering the court-yard of the Museum, tlie atten- 

 tion of the visitor is attracted by some remains of anti- 

 quity which meet his view ; among them is one which 

 more particularly deserves notice, as it is, perhaps, the 

 most ancient relic of naval architecture of our ancestors 

 which has reached our time. It is a canoe or boat which 

 some few years ago was discovered at Petworth, in Sussex, 

 on the estate of the late Earl of Egi-emont. In the left 

 bank of the river Arun, at the village of Nortli Stoke, 

 three miles from Arundel, near the Soutli Downs, in a 

 meadow between the villages of Xorth and South Stoke, 



