How to See the British Museum in Four VisitsJerrold, Blanchard
History
How to See the British Museum in Four Visits
Jerrold, Blanchard
British Museum
Here the visitor is still in the midst of the hoofed beasts. The way
lies between two rows of animals. Of these the visitor should notice
particularly the wild oxen of India and Java; compare the Indian
rhinoceros with that of South Africa; and notice the hippopotamus
family, from South Africa, as well as a diminutive specimen of the
Indian elephant, and a half-grown elephant, from Africa. Having
noticed these ponderous creatures, the attention of the visitor will
be next attracted to the Llamas, which are arranged in the first two
wall-cases. Of these, the wild are generally brown, and the tame of
mixed colours. The next fourteen wall-cases are filled with specimens
of the different species of Oxen and the Elephant tribe. Among the
former the visitor should notice the white bulls of Scotland and
Poland: the splendid Lithuanian bison, with his shaggy throat, a
present from the Russian Emperor; the bison of the American prairies;
and the elando. The specimens of the elephant tribe, ranged in the
upper compartments of these cases, include the tapir of South America;
the tennu, from Sumatra; the European boar, with its young; the
Brazilian peccari: and other curious animals. Here, too, are specimens
of the Armadillo tribe. The attention of the visitor will, however, be
soon riveted upon an animal which, with the beak of a duck and the
claws of a bird, has the body of an otter. In Australia (its native
country) this singular animal is commonly called a water mole, but to
scientific men it is known as the mullingong; it is placed in the same
order with its neighbour, the spring-ant or echidra, also a native of
Australia. Before leaving these cases, the visitor should pause to
notice the Sloths, and particularly the repulsive aspect of the
yellow-faced sloth of South America.
The visitor should now pass to the cases marked from 17 to 30. These
are devoted to the Horse tribe and Deer. Here the reindeer from
Hudson's Bay, the red fallow deer of Europe, the elk, and the cheetul
of India, will catch the eye immediately. The beautiful South African
zebra is here also, grouped near the Asiatic wild ass, and the
Zoological Society's hybrids of the zebra, wild ass, and common
donkey. The upper shelves of the cases are devoted, as usual, to the
smaller specimens of the tribe below. Here are the European roebuck,
the West African water musk, the Javan musk, the white-bellied and
golden-eyed musk. Having examined these zoological specimens, the
visitor should proceed on his way east to
THE MAMMALIA SALOON.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account