32 
THE INDIAN MUSEUM: 1814—1914. 
for example, the finds from the cromlechs of South India 
and the extensive collection of stone implements. To Mr. 
Beglar's suggestion was due the division of the entire collec¬ 
tion belonging to historical periods, apart from objects of 
Muhammadan origin, into two groups: Buddhist and Brah- 
manical. 
Dr. John Anderson retired in 1886, and after his retire¬ 
ment there was no qualified officer on the staff of the Museum 
to look after the archaeological collections. During this period 
specimens continued to pour in from all parts of India. 
The coin collection was, however, started, to which the 
Government contributed very largely from the proceeds of 
finds of treasure trove. 
Sir Alexander Cunningham had retired in 1885, a year 
before Dr. Anderson, and with his retirement the last link 
with the past was cut off. He had entered the Indian Army 
in 1831, and during the earlier years of his stay in India 
was the constant companion of James Prinsep. During his 
long service in the army, he had contributed a number of 
valuable papers to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of 
Bengal, mostly on topography and numismatics. After 
retiring from the army, and at an age when other men think 
of leaving India, he joined the appointment of Director of 
Archaeology, then newly created by Lord Canning. This ap¬ 
pointment was shortly abolished by Lord Lawrence, and 
Cunningham returned to England to continue his researches 
in the hitherto unknown field of Indian numismatics. In 
1870 he again came to India, to assume the newly-created 
post of Director-General of Archaeology, which he held 
for fifteen years. He retired full of years and honours 
at the age of seventy. There was no department of Indian 
antiquities which his master hand had not touched, and 
everything he touched, he touched but to adorn. Even now, 
in many subjects, he is still regarded as the leading authority. 
In the year of Dr. Anderson’s retirement two other promi¬ 
nent members of the Board of Trustees, Dr. James Burgess 
and the late Baja Rajendra Lala Mittra, also retired. 
During the six years that followed, the archaeological 
collections were much neglected. New specimens were 
