How to See the British Museum in Four VisitsJerrold, Blanchard
History
How to See the British Museum in Four Visits
Jerrold, Blanchard
British Museum
sciences on his two journeys; made some acquaintance with the history
of the animals that frequent the different parts of the world; dwelt
amid the fossil fragments of long ages past; examined the elementary
substances of which the earth's crust is composed; been with the dust
of men that lived before Jerusalem was made for ever memorable;
surveyed the spoils of Etruscan tombs; and lingered amid the varieties
of household things from the barbarous nations of the present hour;
and not wholly profitless have the journeys been, even if the
scientific mysticism be not mastered, so that there remains in the
mind a general impression of the time that has gone by, the great laws
that govern the universe, and the humility that becomes man, when he
sees his individuality, in relation with the mighty past, and the
great progresses of Nature.
END OF THE SECOND VISIT.
VISIT THE THIRD.
The visitor, on entering the British Museum for the third time, will
commence his examination of the massive Antiquities, which are
scattered throughout the noble galleries that stretch along the
western basement of the building. His spirit must again wander to the
remote past. Again must he recur to the ancient civilisation of
southern Europe, and the busy people that covered the valley of the
Nile before Alexander breathed. He has already examined the household
utensils, the bodies, the ornaments, and the food of the ancient
Egyptians, and has had more than a glimpse of the artistic excellence
to which they attained long before our Christian era. Of the
sepulchral caves of Thebes, of the massive pyramids sacred to the
ancient Pharaohs, of the strange images of beasts and men, of the
sacred beetles, and the universal Ibis, he has already examined minute
specimens arranged in the cases of the Egyptian Room; but he has yet
to witness those evidences of power, and scorn of difficulties,
exhibited in the colossal works of the Egyptian people.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account