Personally I have a very strong conviction on that subject. But in treating of it—in the ‘Postscript’ which closes the present volume—it has been my single and earnest aim to state, with the utmost impartiality I am able to attain, the leading arguments for maintaining the Museum in its full integrity; and also the leading arguments for severing the great Natural History Collections from the rapidly growing Libraries and from the vast Galleries of marbles, bronzes, pottery, medals, and prints. It is the business of writers to state and marshal the evidence. It is the business of Parliament to pronounce the judgment. The main epochs in the History of the British Museum afford what may be looked upon almost as a ‘table of contents’ to the present volume. And they may be brought under the Reader’s eye in a way which will much facilitate the correct apprehension of the author’s plan. I exhibit them thus:— [Sidenote: EPOCHS OF BRIT. MUSEUM GROWTH AND INCREASE.] ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE DATES, FOUNDERS, AND CHARACTER, OF THE │ │ COMPONENT COLLECTIONS, OUT OF WHICH THE BRITISH MUSEUM HAS BEEN │ │ FORMED OR ENLARGED:— │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────┤ │ CLASS I.—=Foundation Collections, 1570–1762=. │ | │ │ | │ I. COTTONIAN MANUSCRIPTS, COINS, MEDALS, AND OTHER │ │ │ ANTIQUITIES. │ │ │ │ │ │_Collected_ by =Sir Robert Cotton=, Baronet (born in │ │ │the year 1570; died 6 May, 1631). _Given_ to the Nation│ │ │by =Sir John Cotton= in 1700. _Augmented_ during the │ │ │Collector’s lifetime by the gifts of =Arthur Agarde= │ │ │(1615), =William Camden= (1623), =John Dee= (1608), │ │ │=William Lambarde= (1601), and others; and, after his │ │ │death, by the acquisitions of Sir Thomas COTTON and Sir│INCORPORATED │ │John COTTON, his descendants; and also by the Printed │by the Act │ │Library of =Major Arthur Edwards=, given in 1738. │(A.D. =1753=)│ │ │26 Geo. II, │ │ II. OLD ‘ROYAL LIBRARY.’ │c. 22, │ │ │entitled, │ │Re-founded, or restored, by =Henry, Prince of Wales= │‘_An Act for │ │(born in 1594; died 6 November, 1612). [See CLASS II, §│the Purchase │ │1.] │of the Museum│ │ │or Collection│ │ III. ARUNDELIAN MANUSCRIPTS. │of Sir Hans │