Star.
London, England, 1824-01-27 00:00:00

THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

Of the new •,alleiies projected for the enlargement
of the British i luseum, we shall attempt to describe
part, from a sli •ht sketch by one of the officers of that
Institution.—Th ground plot behind the Museum is to
be built upon, to form a magnificent range of galleries,
leaving an open quadrangle. On the East side, uponl
the ground floor, the centre will form an apartment 300
feet in length, intended to receive the library presented '
to the nation by our munificent Sovereign. On the left
of this will be the apartment for manuscripts; and on
the right, another for the collections of the late Sir Jo-
seph Banks, Bart. The whole range of this floor is 700
feet.—Over the King's Library will be built the Royal
Picture Gallery, which will contain the superb collec-
tion recently purchased of the Executors of the late Mr.
Angerstein ; to which will be added, the valuable spe-
cimens of the old Masters, collected by Sir George
IBeaumont, Bart. which this distinguished Amateur
Painter has nobly presented to this National Gallery.
On the opposite or West side, partly built upon as the
Statue Gallery, a continuation will be made, as we
learn, to the length of 700 feet, for an extension of the
collection of antique marbles. The North angle, to the
same vast extent, will be occupied on the ground floor
for collections of Natural History. When these three
sides are completed, the present building will be pulled
down, and the site re-occupied by a magnificent build-
ing, to complete the square, in which will be deposited
that extensive public library which occupies so large a
portion of the old structure.

The lofty wall, with the gate, will be taken down,
and the first quadrangle will be exposed, as it is in•
tended to supply the place of the wall by an elegant
iron railing. Flom a gate at each end will be a semi-
circular drive up to the central entrance of the main
building, accessible only to private carriages, which
will be admitted through an arch beneath a grand flight
of steps, to the inner quadrangle. On the side of this
drive will be a colonnade for foot passengers up to the
grand entrance.

THE COME.T.

GOSPORT OBSERVATORY;JAN. 24.—At seven o'clock
last evening, the comet was observed in the tail of the
constellation Draco, 26 deg. 15 min. from, and under
the North Pole of the Heavens: it is, therefore, become
a circumpolar object of admiration, as it does not set.
Its nucleus is mach better defined through a good
acromatic telescope than heretofore : and; it appears
round to the naked eye, and as large as a star of the
first magnitude. The train, or tail, was about six de-
grees long, and the coma surrounding the nucleus
close and thick, as formerly described. Its right ascen-
sion last night was '217 deg. 26 min. and its declina-
tion 63 deg. 43 min. North. It has advanced through
the Heavens 42 ge degrees since the 10th instant, that
is at the astonishing rate of 3 deg. 2 min. 8 sec. every
twenty-four hours, or seven minutes and thirty-five
seconds of a degree per hour; so that by observing
its position for a few hours, its motion is perceptible.
—This is, certainly, a very great velocity, when it is
properly considered in its own orbit. The speed of this
comet outstrips all that have been observed here for
many years past, not excepting the brilliant one in the
Autumn of 1811. Its present distance from the sun is
one hundred and ten degrees, yet it becomes more con-
spicuous and better defined in its head; and as it is now
within the circle of perpetual apparition, at least in this
latitude, it may, therefore, be seen soon after sunset,
and throughout the night. It is now between Ursa Mi-
nor and the last star in the tail of Ursa Major, and
about sixteen degrees westward of that star. As the
brilliancy of the comet increases, and its position is so
rs'lch altered, we may exile* more favourable oppor-
tunities of seeing it. At the end of the month it will be
lon or near the last star in the tail of Draco, and about
21 degrees from Polaris.

The Fox Club held=ir meeting for the year at
Greillon's Hotel, in Albemarle-street, on Saturday. His
Royal Highness the Duke of SUSSEX, and the select
personal friends of Mr. Fox belonging to the club now
in London, were all present.
New iron gates, similar to those at Cumberland-gate,
flytle-park, are putting up at the new entrance into St. James's Park,
' at the end of Pall Mall, previous to its being opened to the public.
A Major C—, in the British service, was lately ar-
rested in Paris, on an unpaid bill of exchange, and in-
carcerated in St. Pelagie: his extreme chagrin was ob-
served from the moment of his entry ; in a few days he
died. On opening the body, his heart was found co-
vered with extravasated blood ; he was declared to have
died of a broken-heart: this circumstance is rendered
the more remarkable, from a person some months ago,
who occupied the same corner of the room, and the
same bed, being found dead from a similar cause.
DEMPSTER, who some little time ago, in exhibiting
to some companions a sleight-of-1-and performance with
a table knife actually swallowed the knife, has died, it
appears, chiefly from anxiety. His apprehensive state
of mind was dreadful; and on the 17th inst. when on
his way to Sir ASTLEY COOPER, to undergo an opera-
tion for its extraction, he died at Middlewich.

Sunday night, as Mr. and Mrs.Webb,of Hatton-wall,
were retaining home, they were tan against by five or
six ruffians, in Pickle Egg-walk, when Mr. Webb was
robbed of his watch, and 14s. in silver, and Mrs. Webb
of a silk scarf.