SIR HANS SLOANE. 
81 
a spectacle was calculated to excite. Never were 
the vanity of all earthly blessings, the fragility of 
all earthly possessions, however connected with 
science, literature, and all that we are accustomed 
to consider as indicative of mental superiority, — 
never were the futility of such things alone more 
strikingly illustrated than in the present instance, 
“ seeing that wise men also die and perish together, 
as well as the ignorant and foolish, and leave their 
riches to others.” Blessed are they who, like Sir 
Hans Sloane, rate such pursuits at their real value, 
as preparatory to a higher state of existence, and 
who, like him, “ having provided for their own,” 
bestow their superfluities on the improvement of 
their fellow men. Such men are the “ salt of the 
earth.” 
As a Naturalist, it is true we cannot place him 
in the highest rank ; but as the patron of Natural 
History, the encourager of science, the promoter 
of every charitable work, he obtained the unani- 
mous applause of his contemporaries, and deserves 
the grateful esteem and respect of posterity. As 
the founder of the British Museum, he merits the 
admiration of every one to whom the national 
progress in literature, science, and art is dear. If 
we rightly appreciate the advantages of an institu- 
tion, calculated to foster a taste for those pursuits 
that elevate man above sensual appetites and sordid 
gain, — an institution, intended to assist the author, 
vol. xx:ii. 
p 
