m 



••and jealousy he baffles the efforts of better men. Such 

 mediocrities — to use a mild word — as Mr. Rye, Mr. Porter, 

 and Mr. Roy are brought to the front, but what claims have 

 they compared with eminent men like the above-named ? 

 For the way in which the efforts of the better men are 

 baffled one may take such an instance as this : — Mr. 

 Ralston, Ilchester lecturer at Oxford, is known to be a 

 good Sclavonic Scholar. Mr. Porter studies Russian, and 

 acquires a smattering of it. The scholar wishes to put 

 the Sclavonian books in order. " No, thank you, Mr. 

 Porter will do it ; " and the task is given to the mediocrity 

 who learned the Russian alphabet for the purpose. Again, 

 various recommendations were made by the learned and 

 accomplished Mr. Newton in reference to the excavations 

 of Ephesus ; but these, together with other suggestions 

 from the same source, were thwarted by Mr. Jones on 

 one pretext or another. If there is one man in the world 

 whose archaeological knowledge ought to be respected it 

 is Mr. Newton's. How galling to a man of his eminence 

 to be at the mercy of the jealous bitterness of a Mr. Jones ! 



I shall endeavour to shew proof in support of three of 

 the propositions above hinted at — First, that the Library 

 is managed by a clique of jobbing ignoramuses ; Second, 

 that these gentlemen do, in fact, manage as badly as might 

 be expected ; and Third, that the public money is scan- 

 dalously wasted. 



I. THE CLIQUE. 



These are men whose names have appeared in previous 

 pages. They are Messrs. Jones, Rye, Porter and Taylor, and 

 to these we may add Mr. Fagan and Teophilus Naake, the 

 perjurer, as specimens of the patronage of the clique. 



