The Express.
London, England, 1866-09-21 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21.

IN this dull season, when France is satisfied and
Europe is consequently at peace, and the great
Powers of the world are reciprocating compliments
and congratulations, an animated quarrel between
two departments of the Government agreeably
breaks the general stagnation. The learned
pundits of the British Museum are at war with the
equally learned pundits who examine candidates
for the Civil Service. Their hostility, of which
the record is to be found in a newly-published
Blue Book, dates from the now distant past of
1884 ; and had its origin in the nomination in
that year of a young gentleman whom it is un-
necessary to name, for the post of Assistant in the
Manuscript Department of the British Museum.
The aspirant passed the usual examination, and
obtained on the 11th of March, 1864, a cer-
tificate of qualification. He further received
a testimonial of fair proficiency in four
subjects, in which ho voluntarily submitted
hie acquirements to the test. But he
did not find the Keeper of Manuscripts
and the Principal Librarian of the British Museum
so easy to satisfy as his examiners had been. Mr.
PANIZZI and Sir FREDERICK MADDEN speedily
came to the conclusion that he was deficient in
the knowledge and ability requisite for the proper
discharge of his official duties. It was his
business to translate and abridge French and
Latin texts ; and Mr. Parma' gives specimens
of the way in which he did his work, which are
abundantly conclusive as to his fitness for his
office. A manuscript de Aspide, describes the asp as
instinctively on its guard against incantation—
naturditer mute eat contra incantationem. The
Assistant in the Manuscript Department renders
naturaliter canto " caught in its wild state."
A MS. epistle of Jeacoms to DESIDERIUS requests
the aid of his prayers—jaws orationibus. The
Assistant turns this into a threat—" Thou shalt
" live by discourses ;" as if St. Teitoma had been
a poor curate or dissenting minister. The voca-
tive, " Carissime Deaideri," he renders "my
"dearest desire," or (as he explains) "brother."
A similar effort of perverted ingenuity
to bridge over the gaps of ignorance
is not less amusing. A letter of M. DE
McnarEser expresses the fear lest the pestilence
should spread at Amsterdam during the dog
days—" que le ma/ as communiguera dana sea fours
" canieuleres," which the translator renders
" lest the contagion should spread by means
"of the canals." There are canals, as the
author of this version doubtless reflected,
at Amsterdam, and eanicidere sounds and looks
not unlike " canal." He makes the Virgin
MARY a eir humanitatis ; he confounds a body
guard (garde da corps) with guard-houses (corps
de garde) ; the obligatio r under which certain
parishes are to guard the coast—obligation oh elks
wont de garder les costes--bs converted into " the
" obligation the Garde d'Escorte owes them." A
writer who acknowledges kindness of which he de-
clares " no one can be more sensible than him-
" self "—Tie Von ne pent eatre plus sensible gue je
le suis—is made to declare that " his nephew is
" more sensible than he is." An infinitesimal part
of the Assistant Librarian's errors is attributable,
perhaps, to his inability to read M.S. Thus in the
present case he has obviously taken " ne pent" for
" neven ;" but his inability to translate Latin and
French in any form is clearly proved ; and the
mischievous blundering, in history, construction,
and meaning, of his abstracts is something
wonderful. Yet he had passed an examination in
Latin and French translation, and in French com-
position and conversation ; he had matriculated
in the London University, and had been classical
tutor for six months in a school at Brussels, to
the satisfaction of both pupils and master.
The next case is of a different complexion.
The Commissioners of the Civil Service who are
charged with admitting incompetence in the case
just recited are accused of excluding fitness in
another instance. A young gentleman, who had
been a Transcriber in the Department of Zoology,
was nominated by his superiors for the office of
Assistant. Dr. GRAY and Professor Owsre testify
to his merits. But the Literary History of
England is one of the subjects of which
the Trustees of the Museum require that
Assistants in the several departments should have
a general knowledge. The candidate being
asked to name certain authors in their chronological
order, arranged them as follows: "Sir T. Wyarr,
" BIN JoNsoN, COWPER, BEDS, THOMSON, MARLOW,
" LOCKE, SOUTHEY, and SELDEN." " SOUTHEY,"
according to this authority, " wrote a poem called
" the' Doctor,' and several others." " Casuoss,
" in the reign of RICHARD 11. wrote several son-
" nets," and " Lord BACON wrote an sway on the
" French Revolution.' " On the special subject
on which the candidate had satisfied his superiors
in the Zoological Department--Entomology—his
examiner, Dr. CARPENTER, pronounced his replies
to be " thoroughly unsatisfactory," involving " no-
" tions of the vaguest and most inaccurate charao-
" ter," and many of them " altogether irrelevant
"to the subjects of the questions." " I can have
" no hesitation," Dr. CAEPENTRR adds, "in saying
" that he is quite unfit for an appointment
" in the Entomological Department in the British
" Museum." He was, therefore, rejected.