Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1869-02-11
From the Church Union
"REMINISCENCES of EUROPEAN TRAVEL
England-Londo - British Mu-
seum-- Crystal Palace.


one of the many similar educational
institutions Of Lop@oa, The Brit
ish Museum is q storehonse Of sci
entilc and literary treasures. Hours
are required even to qcalk through
its rooms and galleries. The col
lection Of animals alone occupies
three galleries, Each department is
.pamed from its contents, and each
specimen is numbered and labelled.
The central saloon Of the upper
floor, for instance, contains ante
lopes, sheep and goats, including,
of course, the large and soft-eyed
gazelle that poets sing OF, and the
girahes, with long necks to browse
twigs of trees. Along the walls are
bats, with wings outspread-horse-
shoe and leaf-nosed bats--some
sombre and Others with brilliantly
colored furs there are also the YAM
pyrc or blood sucking bats of South
America. d.
In the second gallery are the
hoofed animals. Llamas, useful
for their wool of various colors,
and as beasts of burden; the cam
els, with their stores of water and
nutriment for long journeys. There
are, too, the armadillos, which can
turn themselves into a ball covered
with mail; the ant, eaters, with long
pointed tongues the musk-oX, with
his scent-bag elephants, hippopot-
ami, all kinds of monkeys-one
species with proboscis, the sacred
monkey of the Hindoos, one with
a grey wig, and another with a
dong flowing tail Of white halr, and
SO on through every variety Of an
imals. r .... ..
The collection Of birds is equally
complete, from the lordly eagle and
vulture to the tiniest humming-
bird, the "1ying gems of the New
World; some with plumage ofpar-
adlse, others with pouches or armed
with formidable beaks and claws.
One, case displays the architecture
of birds nests. There is, too, an
infinite variety of corals and shells,
some as dainty in form and color
as the flowers. There are reptiles
in every variety, with wide gaping
mouths and poisonous tangs. The
finny tribe is fully represented, in
variety almost infinite. Nothing
is prettier than The exposition of
insects, or more disgusting than
the show of spiders and vermin.--
Around the walls are displayed al
SO more than a hundred portraits
of distinguished persons or pat
rons.
Anather gallery contains fossils;
SO that one may compare the past
world of animal life with the pres
ent--remains that we're imbedded
in rocks thousands of years before
the creation of man. The mineral
world is just as fully illustrated
Meteoric stones, crystalized gold,
models of the most famous dia-
monds, rabies, sapphires, emeralds,
amethysts, carnelians, opals, and the
whole range of metals.
The Department Of Botany is
not less complete, with seeds,
=.
fruits, and hundreds of varieties of
woods, the whole arranged in the
best manner for examination. Stu
dents and scholars find objects IL
lustrating any branch Of natural
science they may be pursuing, not
arranged as catch penny show,
but for useful purposes.
The Department of Antiquities
is equally rich and complete; one
series including sculpture inscrIp-
tions and architectural reinainsi
another vases, bronzcs, cones, med
sis, and articles Of personal or do
mestic use, all SO arranged that
they may be examined in chrOnO-
logical order, from the earliest
Egyptian Pharaoh down to the Ia
test memorials of the Romans in
England, The Greco Roman
rooms are especially rich in stat
ues, busts, vases, affairs, masks, etc,
Then comes the Lycian Gallery
lis contents consist of sculptured
remains, ranging from the subjuga-
ton Of the country by the Persians,
B. @. 545, to the period of the By
zantine Empire, They are mostly
from the city of Xanthur.
The Elgin rooms are especially
attractive, containing the beautiful
maps received from Athens by
Lord Elgin, by permission of the
Turkish Sultan, including the series
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