SS4 
LON 
expelled from heaven on tlie manifeftation of Wifdom. 
In the fix medallions near the corner of the room are re- 
prefented fome of the principal achievements of Minerva. 
The landfcapes and architectural decorations are by the 
fame J. Roufleau who painted the ftaircafe ; and the flow- 
ersare by John Baptille Monoyer, the molt eminent flower- 
painter of his time. The whole of them were lately cleaned 
and ably repaired by the late F. Rigaud, efq. R. A. in a 
manner that does him infinite credit. Over the chimney 
is a full-length portrait of George II. by Shackleton ; and 
in the middle of the window Hands a table, compofed of 
a variety of lavas from Mount Vefuvius, prefented by the 
earl of Exeter.—This apartment contains the united col¬ 
lections of minerals, the greater part of which formerly 
conftituted the collection of the late right hon. Charles 
Greville. Thefe confolidated collections are arranged in 
cabinets containing upwards of 550 drawers, independently 
of the fpecimens exhibited in the glazed compartments 
above, which form a fuite for ftudy, and refpeflively in¬ 
dicate the contents of the drawers below. In the arrange¬ 
ment of this collection, a natural order founded on exter¬ 
nal characters has been followed ; not, however, without 
confulting the chemical compofition of the fubltances, fo 
far as convenience would admit. In order to facilitate 
the diftinCtion of the fpecimens in the glazed compart¬ 
ments, the leparations of their different genera and fpecies 
are marked by lines of various colours, correfponding to 
thofe on the tickets which bear their refpeCtive names and 
fvnonyms ; befides which, almoft every fpecimen has its 
habitat (or place where it is found) written upon it, to 
which is annexed a ticket indicating the external charac¬ 
ter for the illuftration of which the fpecimen is depofited. 
The eighth room contains a department of natural hif- 
tory, part of which is the valuable donation of Mr. Cra- 
cherode, difpofed in two tables, nearly in the Linntean 
order ; and a much more extenfive feries arranged accord¬ 
ing to the Wernerian fyftem. The principal productions 
are very valuable, confining of minerals from Derbylhire, 
Siberia, and the South Seas, with volcanic and rock ftones 
from Germany. One very curious fpecimen of natural his¬ 
tory is pointed out in the fifth divifion of the Cracherodean 
collection, an egg-lhaped piece of calcedony, containing 
water (enhydros), which may be feen by gently lhaking 
the vale. Another curious fpecimen is an Egyptian peb¬ 
ble, which has been broken by accident, and difcovers 
on both pieces a portrait of the poet Chaucer ; a more 
remarkable lu/vs nature is not in exiftence. 
The ninth room is appropriated to petrifactions and 
fliells. In the firft divifion of the cafes in the middle of 
the room is a valuable univalve (hell of the fpecies called 
the paper nautilus, or Argonauta argo, remarkable for 
the fiightnefs of its fabric, and the elegance of its fliape ; 
of which a reprefentation is given in our Conchology 
Plate V. fig. 1. vol. v. p. 24. It is inhabited by an ani¬ 
mal not unlike a cuttle-filh, which, by extending a pair 
of membranes adhering to the top of its longeft arms, 
has the power of failing on the furface of the lea. Some 
beautiful multivalves, foflil (hells, echini, Sec. Under 
the tables are depofited, in this and the next room, a great 
number of volumes and parcels, containing collections of 
dried plants; which, from the fragile nature of their con¬ 
tents, are lhown only by particular leave. 
The tenth room is entirely vegetable productions, zoo¬ 
phytes, fponges, &c.—The contents of the eleventh room 
are birds, and arranged, as far as convenience would ad¬ 
mit, according to the Linnaean fyftem. I11 this room there 
is a curious picture, executed many years ago in Holland, 
of that extremely rare and curious bird the dodo, belong¬ 
ing to the tribe gallium. It was once the property of 
fir Haris Sloane, and afterwards of the celebrated natu- 
ralilt George Edwards, who prefented it to the Britilh 
Mufeum. In the table in the middle of the room are 
prelerved the nefts of feveral birds, among'the moft cu¬ 
rious of which are feveral hanging nefts, chiefly formed 
by birds of the oriole tribe; nefts of a fubftance refsm- 
D O N. * 
bling ilinglafs, which the Chinefe make into a rich foup; 
fcarce feathers, &c. In the fecond table are depofited a 
variety of eggs and nefts: among the former may be no¬ 
ticed the eggs of the oftrich, the caffowary, the croco¬ 
dile, &c. In the cafes between the windows are feveral 
of the rarer quadrupeds; among thefe the moft curious 
are, two ourang-outangs, in a young ftate, a long-tailed 
macauco, ermine, See. in cafes under the tables are an ar¬ 
madillo, a porcupine, feveral young floths, and a fine 
fpecimen of the two-toed ant-eater. 
The twelfth room contains a general and extenfive ar¬ 
rangement of fillies, ferpents, lizards, frogs, as well as 
many fpecimens of quadrupeds, which are all pointed out 
by the attendant. The moft curious are, the torpedo, 
the remora, the flying-filh, See. and, among the quadrupeds, 
the three-toed (loth, the liiky monkey, &c. Among the 
frog tribe, the argus frogs, the Surinam toad, See. Among 
the lizard tribes, the faiamander, the cameleon, feveral 
young crocodiles, and in one bottle the egg of a croco¬ 
dile, with a young one of a day’s growth ; feveral ferpents, 
rattle-fnakes, &c. and fome fine dried fillies. 
The next department yon are conducted to down flairs, 
over which hangs a young crocodile, well preferved, is 
the Department of Antiquities. Thefe are depofited in 
a very elegant fuite of rooms, built purpofely for them, 
after the defign of Mr. Saunders. The principal of the 
articles of this beautiful colleiftion belonged to the 
late Charles Townley, efq. They are all accurately 
and feparately deferibed in a catalogue, fold at the 
doors.—The firft room is devoted to the balfo-relievos, 
in terr3 cotta, and have been pronounced the fineft col¬ 
lection in Europe.—The fecond room is a beautiful cir¬ 
cular room, from whence you have a fine view of the 
whole fuite of apartments bounded at the end by a fine 
difcobolos, or ancient quoit-player. This room is de¬ 
voted to Greek and Roman fculptures, among which 
are a fine candelabrum, fome exquifite bulls, and beauti¬ 
ful ftatues, particularly a Venus.—The third and fourth 
rooms are alfo filled with Greek and Roman fculptures, 
as is the laft with the addition of many grand balfo-relievos. 
—The fifth has a very fine collection of Roman fepulchral 
antiquities, and a beautiful mofaic pavement, lately dis¬ 
covered in digging the foundations for the new building 
at the Bank of England, and which was prefented to the 
Mufeum by the directors of that opulent body.—The 
fixth contains 100 grand pieces of Greek and Roman 
fculptures ofevery fort.—Thefeventh, Roman antiquities j 
and the eighth, which is on the left, Egyptian antiquities, 
among which are two mummies with their coffins, pre¬ 
fented by the prefent king; a manufeript or papyrus 
taken from a mummy ; and an innumerable quantity of 
fmaller articles, of great antiquity and curiofity.—The 
ninth room contains Egyptian fculptures, among which 
is the celebrated farcopiiagus, commonly called the tomb 
of Alexander the Great, an engraving and dilfertation on 
which is in the Monthly Magazine for February,' 1809 ; 
and many other antique curiolities.—The tenth room has 
more Greek and Roman fculptures of lingular beauty. 
From hence you return, and go up-ftairs to the eleventh 
room, which is devoted to ancient and modern coins and 
medals, arranged in geographical order, thofe of each 
country being kept feparate.—In the centre of the anti¬ 
room, at the head of the flairs, is placed the celebrated 
Barberini Vafe, wdiich was for more than two centuries 
the principal ornament of the Barberini collection. This 
vafe was purchaled of fir William Hamilton, nearly thirty 
years ago, by the duchefs of Portland ; lince which period 
it has been more generally known by the name of the 
Portland Vafe. It was found about the middle of the 
fixteenth century, two miles and a half from Rome, in 
the road leading to Frafcati. At the time of its dilco- 
verv, the vafe was enclofed in a marble farcophagus, 
within a fepulchral chamber, under the mount called 
Monte del Grano. The material of which the vale is 
formed, is glafs; the figures, which are executed in relief, 
arc 
