The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-02

paintings, sculpture and antiquities are
 so valuable that tourists sometimes won
 der that file of soldiers is not required
 for protection. The diamond-hilted sword
 of Napoleon. worth $4000o0; the sword
 and spurs of Charlemagne; caskets and
 gems tlfat belonged to the French Queens
 and the Regent diamond, valued at s3,000,- 900, placed for the observation of the
 people, with only a quiet attendant at
 hand That most renowned of antiqui-
 ties, the Venus of Melos, with the story of its 400 years of burial, adds incalcula-
 bly to the wonderful educational value
 of the institution.
 The Luxembourg in Paris is another
 favorite objective point for those sight
 seeing in Paris, as it Is devoted to the
 best in recent art; also the Hotel de
 Cluny, and the Trocadero. which is strict
 ly a palace of arts and sciences.
 Former travellers in Germany are fla
 riliar with the Zwinger, museum
 founded in Dresden in the 18th century
 and the Glypthothek and Pinakothek in
 Munich. The Royal Museum in Berlin is
 we'll known, being a conspicuous feature
 of Unter den Linden. Few masterpieces
 could be obtained at the time it was
 founded by Frederick William III. In 1924 The art treasures are not so nu-
 merous or valuable as in several other
 European collections, but there are many
 relics that lovers of art cannot afford to
 miss. The most interesting of the an- tiques is the bronze statue, the Praying
 Boy" said to be of the school of Lysip-
 pus, dating from the fourth century, B.
 C. It will be remembered that 1t was
 found in the bed of the Fiber.
 In Great Britain the largest repository
 for antiquities and art is the British
 Museum, which was founded in 1753 and
 contains the priceless treasures of the
 realm others are the Kensington, illus
 trative of industrial arts also in London
 and the Ashmolean at Oxford, opened in 1888.
 The Hermitage in Russia has been de- scribed by Birmingham visitors there as I one of the most beautiful places imag- ] inable It will be remembered as the ] home of Alexander IT., who personally 1 selected many of its treasures. and his superb judgment in matters of art is ap- parent to the visitors. It is no longer a royal residence, but the principal mu- scum of Russia. Walls frescoed, cover ed with priceless silken tapestry, sofas and chairs covered with rich material in- vite the tired traveller to rest. In the col lections are magnificent vases of DOT phyry, stands of Siberian marble. tables of malachite and candelabra of violet jasper; urns of lapis lazuli of fncalcula- ble value Most of the lovely statues are works or modern artlSts. AHoIS the paintings in the Hermitage is a col lection of Spanish pictures said to be | the finest outside of Spain. There have l been large sums spent In acquiring the l objects in this museum and 1t is said | that agents still stand ready to bid ex- ] travagantly on any of the worlds mas | terpieces offered for sale. And yet a l Birmingham girl, touched to the heart l by the sufferings of the Russians, wrote | that the country could, if it would, re- lieve the poverty and hunger of her poor l by the sale of some of these.
 | Better known among travellers from this city Is the Vatican in Italy which | is visited by almost everyone who goes | abroad. The art treasures are superb. It was developed largely from the six teenth to the eighteenth centuries. The 1 Capitoline at Rome and the Uffizi and | Pitt Palace in Florence. also the great | Museo Na2ionale in Naples and others ! fin Brera and Milan are renowned.
 1 There are, of course, other great mu- seums, notably those of Madrid and Ath- ens The museum at Ghizeh near Cairo, ! Egypt, has a worldwide reputation. Ev- 1 cry one of these has been visited by Bir- mingham people, each one of whom is sufficiently interested in the preservation