How to See the British Museum in Four Visits | Page 6

In the first two cases (44, 45) which the visitor will examine, are the varieties of Australian phalangers; and here also are the New Holland bears, the Australian wombat, the flying squirrel of Norfolk Island, the flying phalangers; and in the right corner of the case are grouped those notable animals to which public curiosity has of late years been so keenly directed--the kangaroos. In the next five cases (46-51) the visitor will find more varieties of these strange, awkward-looking creatures. Here amid the kangaroos of Australia are the long-nosed, rock, and jerboa kangaroos, the New Guinea tree-kangaroo, and below, the Australian koala. The two next cases (52, 53) contain the varieties of Australian opossums, and below are the opossums of America.
These close the attractions of the wall-cases, and the visitor should now glance round the saloon at the specimens of the varieties of
THE SEAL TRIBE,
which are arranged along the tops of the wall-cases. These include the leonine seal of the Southern Ocean, the Cape porpoise and dolphin, and the long-beaked dolphin of the Ganges. Having noticed these specimens, the visitor should proceed to examine the extensive collection of
CORALS,
which are arranged upon the central tables of the saloon. To explain the presence of coral in the midst of a zoological collection it is necessary to remind the visitor that this beautiful substance, which is chiefly a deposit of carbonate of lime, is also the fossil remains of that animal known to zoologists as the polypus. These polypi put forth buds, which remain attached to the parental polypus, and generate other buds; and in this way countless polypi, linked together, yet maintaining a separate and distinct existence, spread themselves over miles and miles of submarine rocks, in endless varieties of shape, and leave their remains to be dredged by the hardy fisherman, for the adornment of beauty. These beautiful polypi skeletons cluster in curious formations, as the visitor will perceive on examining the fine collection of corals before him.[1] Among the remarkable coral formations to which the general visitor's attention may be directed, are the sea-mushroom, the remains of a single polypus of great size; the brainstone, which presents a circular mass of long winding cells, and altogether has the appearance of the masses and veins of the brain; the sea-pen, and the sea-fan. In the cases, ranged together in the saloon, the visitor who feels interested in the infinite varieties of coral formation, will find specimens that-will give him a full idea of the architectural abilities of the active zoophytes that carry on their operations upon the rocks that lie not far below the surface of the ocean. From the coral tables, the visitor's way lies out of the Mammalia Saloon to the north, into a gallery of which all Englishmen who understand the value of a perfect museum, are justly proud.
THE EASTERN ZOOLOGICAL GALLERY
of the British Museum runs the entire length of the building. It is divided into five compartments, and its space is devoted to the display of Birds, Shells, and a few Paintings. The birds exhibited in this gallery fill no less than one hundred and sixty-six wall-cases; and the shells which are distributed throughout the central space occupy fifty large tables: the lesser tables which are placed here and there near the birds, being devoted to the display of birds' eggs. The pictures are hung above the wall-cases. This general glance at the arrangement of the gallery, will prevent the visitor from falling into the error of distracting his attention from one order of zoological development to another at frequent intervals. Already he has examined the various species of animal life which rank in the highest class--the mammalia. Before him now, are ranged vast numbers of the second class of animal life; and he will do well to pay these some attention, and to get definite impressions regarding them, before he turns to the other attractions which the museum offers. Before proceeding to examine the first order of birds which are in the first eastern room, the visitor should glance at the historical portraits suspended above the cases. Among them he will find a Mary Queen of Scots, by Cornelius Jansen; a Cromwell, presented by the Protector to Colonel Rich of the parliamentary forces, by whose great-grandson it was bequeathed to the trustees of the museum; William Duke of Cumberland by Morier; Zucchero's Queen Elizabeth; Sir Peter Lely's Charles the Second; and the Queen of George the Second by Jarvis. Having sufficiently examined these works, the visitor should at once begin his inspection of the Raptores or
BIRDS OF PREY.
These include some splendid ornithological specimens. They are divided into two families: those who pursue their depredations by day; and those which wait till night cloaks their proceedings. It is almost possible to read the special instincts of