If the Egyptian museum in Berlin has long been among the most famous in the world, on account of the wealth of treasures there preserved, it has also gained a value peculiar to itself from the historical ideas introduced and carried out by Lepsius. There we see exhibited the artistic epochs of Egyptian history arranged in groups according to their chronological succession. Yet at the same time the effort to keep together objects which are mutually connected, such as sarcophagi and coffins, has been successful. Also, where it was necessary to form distinct divisions, the historical method has been applied within the limits of each separate group. There can be but one opinion as to the propriety and the scientific advantages of Lepsius’ historical method of classification; but the decoration of the rooms in the Berlin museum by no means meets with such universal approbation. It is indeed conceded that it is in the best possible taste, and is both beautiful and attractive, but it is maintained by many people that the pictorial representation on the walls, that is, the accessories, draw the attention of the visitor too strongly and distract him from the contemplation of the monuments, which are certainly the real objects of importance. There is some reason for this objection; but yet these pictures serve the immediate purpose of bringing visitors to the collection and it is this very decoration of the Berlin-Egyptian museum which renders it peculiarly attractive. Whoever goes there with any knowledge of the monuments will pay attention to them, and not to the decorations of the hall. But the layman will there become interested in the culture and artistic ability of the old Egyptians, as he would not do in a museum where the monuments stand in bare halls, and have to speak entirely for themselves. The pictures attract him, and at the same time introduce him to Egyptian antiquity. They make him familiar, in a trustworthy manner, with the Egyptian civilization from whose soil have sprung the works of art there assembled. They teach him to understand the connection between these and the organic whole of which they are the separate parts, and, in many cases, the most beautiful blossoms. In one place there are pictorial representations, and in another monuments, to direct and instruct the visitor so that he may comprehend every stage of the development of this great whole. Whoever enters these rooms with a mind open and alert will soon perceive the relation between the decorative pictures and the monuments, and will easily succeed in connecting them with the departments of Egyptian life and activity to which they belong. He will transport the coffin, upon which he can lay his hands, into the funeral procession shown him in the painting; when he gazes up at a colossus he will place it mentally in that spot at the temple gate where it really belongs, according to the picture on the wall. Indeed, the decorative