that most uncomfortable coat. Mentally
ticking him off as Ham, you turn to the tall,
thin, cadaverous man by his side, whose
long legs strive in vain to keep step with his
companion's waddle, and see, or think you
see, that he is a journeyman tailor; and
that the shorter man in the shabby shooting
jacket, sells buttons and trimmings on
commission. They have gone to make a day of
it at the British Museum, at the suggestion
of the worried guide in fustian, and, finding
it an utter failure, are now thinking ruefully
of a certain dry skittle-alley, where the mild
porter is unexceptionable; of Gravesend
steamers and shrimps; of vans to Hampton
Court; of Greenwich Park; of the Eagle
Tavern; of snug pipes in suburban arbours,
with a glass of something comfortable after
tea. For they are not happy among the
relics of ancient Egypt; the scarabæus and
amulets tell them nothing they can understand,
and can, they say, be outmatched
any day in the Lowther Arcade; the statues
only seem stiffer and uglier than those
adorning their favourite Sunday pleasure-
garden; the mummies are curious, " if you
really believe they've ever been alive,"
but they've rather a fusty smell, my dear,
and one gets tired of looking at them, even,
after a time; and as for the " specimens of
unburnt bricks, and the stupid rows of
little birds and queer marks on stone, which
Joe says was their way of writing, why,
they only prove what confounded fools the
Egyptians must have been not to bake
their clay and to write like other people.
The stuffed monkeys were funnier than
those bits of broken stone, and I vote we
go up-stairs again, if we're to stay any
longer in the musty old crib." Thus Ham,
when the Lycian Gallery was reached. Joe
had read out, slowly and lugubriously, from
the catalogue, " No. 125, Eastern pediment,
with various figures, probably divinities.
No. 126, Half of the Western pediment;
six warriors fighting." And the information
fell upon them like a knell. There
was no help for it. They were all tremendously
bored, and made their way, penitent
and mute, back to the Zoological collection.

It was the day after Mr. Walpole had
moved the vote for the British Museum, in
the House of Commons on 19th July last,
that the foregoing experience occurred. An
increase of some fourteen thousand pounds
over the amount required last year was then
asked for, and granted by our national purse-
keepers; and it was to ascertain how far the
pleas put forth for this extra expenditure
would be justified by personal observation
that our pilgrimage was made. Before dwelling
further upon the results of that pilgrimage,
it will be well to epitomise the Museum
statistics, taking Mr. Walpole's figures as
our guide. The estimate for 1868-9 was
ninety-nine thousand three hundred and
eighty pounds, and that for the ensuing
financial year one hundred and thirteen
thousand two hundred and three pounds,
the increase being caused, according to
Mr. Walpole, by twelve thousand seven
hundred and eighty-nine pounds being
required for new buildings and repairs,
and an extra sum of one thousand one
hundred and forty pounds being needed
for additional catalogues. The steady
increase in the number of " persons
admitted to see the general collections of the
Museum," and for "purposes of study,"
was properly quoted as a matter for public
congratulation, and the House of Commons
cheered on learning that, whereas there
were but three hundred and sixty-five
thousand nine hundred visitors to the
general collections in 1864, there were four
hundred and sixty-one thousand in 1868,
while those admitted to the reading-room
in the same period rose from four hundred
and seventy- seven thousand to five hundred
and seventy-five thousand. Mr. Walpole
urged, too, the " enormous utility of accurate
and exhaustive catalogues," and
explained that those relating to Hebrew
literature were completed, and that the
one of Spanish literature was in progress,
and wound up his statement by saying
that the accounts of the British Museum
were now submitted periodically to the
Audit Office, and were " specifically
audited from month to month," so that the
House of Commons had every check upon
the disbursement of the money it was asked
to vote.

There is not a word to be said against
any of these statements. The wretched sheds,
like worn-out photographic vans, or the
superannuated bathing-machines of a race
of giants, which have lumbered up the
court- yard, and disfigured the entrance to
the British Museum for years, conceal, as
is well known, some of the choicest specimens
of ancient sculpture, and other objects
of antiquarian interest. These last have
been stowed out of sight, like things to be
ashamed of, ever since they came into the
hands of the trustees; and the enlargement
of the room containing the Elgin
marbles, and the final excavation for, and
recovery and display of, many noble masterpieces
is matter for national congratulation.
Students, too, having increased, have cause
for thankfulness in the care taken to supply