Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1868-05-14
From the Montpelier Journal
letter From Dr. Lord.
LONDON, March 2

LONDON, March 2.
II is now five o'clock. p m. ! have Just
come in from long and exhausting ex-
cursion. Right after breakfast we started
for the East India Company's Museum. II
i a large building near the Parliament
House. and contains the spoils of India.
It's full Of the minerals, the SEEDS 'ne
specimen productions, and dresses ana
manufacturers, and the ornaments IN goia'
silver and precious stones, OF India, whieh
have been stolen or purchased from the
native princes 1t is of course cot
lection Of vast and barbaric riches. one
+ hour and a half we gave to this, and then
turned our steps 10 the National Gallery
of Paintings. You may understand that
the buildings in which these exhibitions
are made, are noble and massive piles OF
Grecian architecture unlike and superior
Ia any thing | have seen in this country.
The architecture here, is not mixed
like ours. Of different styles, but perfectly
pure and simple. Ii is exquisitely car
ried out. as that invariably, the palaces
and public buildings are perpetual DE-
+ light TO the eve | am never weary IN
looking at them. This gallery contains
paintings OF Rubens, Rembrandt, Guido,
Titan. Corregio, Salvador Rosa, and al
most all the old masters, with countless
specimens of works of inferior artists
The entire Turner collection is here, and
two hours Int rave US railroad view OF
nictnres that Is worthy each OF days
study. think ! was most pieased Win
the Italian paintings-they have greater
delicacy and clcarness OF color, greater
precision and beauty Of finish they leave
but little to the imagination, and are mol
% merely sensual and material. these
paintings are also mostly religious. The
: Dutch school il full of color, fire and pas
sion. but often coarse and repulslye
From this famous gallery we hastened
to the British Museum. We first went
through the Libraries. They cover almost
acres in extent, and contain the most
wonderful collection OF books, there Is In
the world. Illuminated books rare books
ancient and modern books, and books IN
every department fill the miles upon miles
Of shelves. | was unable to stop and read
, ! single one and run my eye hastily only
into few that had the autographs OF the
Reforfpcrs upon them. Martin Luther :
cbiropra,by was as execrable as Rufus
{ Choatcs.
! Then throngh the rooms OF Natural
History we wandered. through the endless
: realms Of birds, and beasts, and hshes.
: There were the finest fossils IN the woria
the bones of the extinct races Oh the
Diarmis. thrice larger than the ostrich, oi
!. the Mastodon, twice the size OF the eie-
phant. of the Megatherium, unlike any
modern animal. Then we surveyed the
+ different woods of the world. linen We
9 penetrated the vast galleries OF ancien'
c and modern sculpture. Wewent into the
rooms where are collected the historical
tablets Of Sardanspalus; where are .ile
. art specimens of Aimrod IN the age ol
4 RaInases where Thebes has gwen up hef
a. records and memorials to the modern
; speetator: where Herculaneum and Pom;
. neil are restored with all the grossness
and all tho beauty of their arts. We
hassed along the Elgin marbles; ancien'
relics of statuary, torsos, defaeed, ngure'
J, hardly saved from destruction. We looked
q upon the Egyptian civilization yielding
II m It's old n.aster pieces to .our vision
I There were origiaal busts, executed ,,
e unknown hands, of al tha Caesars, ane
the beauty of their execution proves tina
y old Roman and Grecian sculptors were
4 more skilled thana any modern fingers
d But even all this we had to leave as TIN
IS dusk Of evening came on, and Us natnr'
d demanded her sustenance. We descend
ed from Olympus and went into simpson
Diyan to get our dinner, and then returnet
o to the Hotel to have little chat WIZ
m you.