39 



pleads against the vexatious rule as to showing tickets, by 

 which a student well-known for twenty years to every 

 Museum official may lose a day's work by simply forgetting 

 to put his ticket into the pocket of a new waistcoat. I have 

 •quoted Mr. Thornbury as a well-known writer who comes 

 forward to testify to the fact that the health and comfort of 

 the public in the Reading-room has been totally uncared 

 for for years past, and that even the primitive and un- 

 scientific remedy of an open window has never occurred to. 

 Mr. Jones's mind. The fact is that Mr. Jones is deaf to all 

 •suggestions for improvement. This suffocation grievance 

 is no new one, but by way of comment on the peculiar 

 action of Mr. Jones whenever a grievance is pointed out, I 

 may quote a satirical note from the Evening Standard of the 

 nth of January last. The editor says : — ■ 



" The public are, no doubt, by this time thoroughly informed of the 

 •great ventilation grievance in the British Museum, which has already 

 cost the lives of two of the most valued of the staff, and is the cause of 

 daily suffering to scores of authors, readers, and librarians. We are 

 very happy to announce that the most prompt and energetic steps have 

 already been taken to remedy this evil, and a little consideration will 

 show how simple the remedy is when one comes to think about it. 

 The new system of ventilation is the establishment within the last few 

 days of turnstiles at the doors of the great hall. This is, we know, at 

 first sight calculated to horrify those persons who have taken pleasure 

 in admiring the easy access hitherto granted to this noble institution. 

 The criticism of such persons must be silenced for ever when they are 

 informed that the true object of those turnstiles is ventilation. A watch 

 is to be kept at each door, and while fresh air only is to be admitted at 

 one, the foul air is to be ignominiously turned out at the other, by the 

 aid of the police if necessary. This is the chief reason why those turn- 

 stiles have been put up in response to a demand for ventilation. And, 

 which is more important, the turnstiles, even though they should disap- 

 point expectations in one respect, will certainly enable the authorities 

 to collect more easily those statistics of visitors which are the life and 

 soul of the institution." 



That is just Mr. Jones's way. Asked to remedy a griev- 

 ance he replies by perfecting his statistical machinery. The 

 rehearsal of these turnstiles however did not prove a sue- 



