I confess I am astonished at Mr. Smirke not objecting to the proposed site; he well knows that the corridor leading from the hall to the New Reading-Room _is not too wide as it is_, were it possible it ought to be wider—he knows that he is obliged, and has agreed with me to make two recesses or niches, one on each side, in which attendants may sit in that corridor, out of the way of the readers going to and from; lastly, he knows that that is the only place in the Library open to the public, to the walls of which can be affixed large maps, on rollers for ready use; the only objection to this scheme being the narrowness of the corridor, and knowing all this he leaves it to me to point out the inconvenience of leaving such an useless obstruction as my bust placed there. I again say that the public convenience and utility imperatively require both the walls of the corridor to be reserved for public use, and the thoroughfare to the Reading-Room to be kept quite clear. Yours, &c., &c., A. PANIZZI.” Sir Henry Ellis, &c., &c. It is evident that the ultimate destination of the bust had not been fixed upon up to the 7th of March, when Mr. Smirke addressed the following letter to Panizzi:— “In the public corridor leading to the New Reading-Room will be a wide, handsome folding door, over this, there is a piece of blank wall which will form the termination of the vista on approaching the Great Room; I want to put some object there that the eye might dwell on with pleasure as you advance along the corridor. What do you think of a circular niche over the door with a _Bust of the Queen in it_? Minerva’s head might do—but the Queen’s would be more in accordance with the _spirit of the times_!” A curious incident, with happier details than the great cause of Hosking _v._ Panizzi, must not be omitted from the history of the New Reading-Room. It will be remembered that, in 1823, the Duke of Modena had executed a well known effigy of Panizzi; and it happened, in after years, that this so-styled “Duchino” potentate’s friend and ally, Austria (who would fain have dealt with the great Carbonaro in a more effective manner), struck with honest admiration of his genius, as displayed in the New Reading-Room, after failing to obtain actual possession of his head, judged it expedient to take what advantage she could of that head’s cerebral development. Accordingly, on the completion of Panizzi’s work, she instructed her Ambassador in this country (Count Apponyi) to apply for information as to the plans, construction, &c., &c., of the New Room in the British Museum, with a view to adapting them to the projected New Library of the University of Vienna. The following correspondence contains an even more valuable tribute to Panizzi’s reputation than the honour already paid to him by his adopted country:—