BRITISH MUSEUM. The British Museum, an important national institution in London, originated in a bequest of sir Hans Sloane, who, during a long lifetime, gathered an extensive and, at the time, unequaled collection of objects of natural history and works of art, besides a considerable library of books and manuscripts_ These, in terms of his will, were offered, in 1753, to the government, ou condition that £20,000 should be paid to his family, the first cost of the whole having amounted to more than £50,000. The offer was accepted; the necessary funds were raised by a lottery! and the collection, along with the Harle:an and Cottonian libraries, were arranged in Montague house, which had been purchased for £10,250. The new institu tion, thenceforth called the British Museum, was opened in 1750. From time to time, purchases and donations succeeded each other rapidly. Montague house sufficed for the reception of all these acquisitions, till the Egyptian antiquities arrived in 1801. The purchase of the Townley marbles, iu 1805, necessitated the erection of a gallery for their reception. This, however, did not meet the increasing deihand for space. The old house was condemned, and plans were prepared by sir R. Smirke for new buildings; but none were undertaken till 1823, when the eastern wing of the present building was erected for the reception of the library of George III., which had been presented to the museum by George IV. The subsequent progress of the works was very slow. The building was completed in 1847. It is a hollow square, whose sides are opposite to the four points of the compass. Throughout the exterior of the building, the Grecian Ionic is the order of architecture adopted. Time principal front is towards the s., facing Great Russel street, and presents an imposing columnar facade, 370 ft. in length. The great entrance-portico, in the cen ter, is composed of a double range of columns, 8 in each range. The columns are 5 ft. in diameter at their base, and 45 ft. in height. The tympanum of the portico is orna mented with an allegorical sculpture by Westinacott, typical of the progress of civiliza tion. On either side of the museum, there is a semi-detached house, containing the residences of the chief officers of the establishment. These give an additional length of 200 ft., making the whole length of the structure 570 feet. The interior of the building is admirably adapted to the purposes for which it is devoted. Some of the galleries, from their size and dimensions, have a very imposing appearance, as the king's library, the bird gallery, etc. The grand entrance-hall is a noble and lofty apartment, built in the massive Doric style: it contains a statue of sir Joseph Banks by Chantrey, and an ideal representation of Shakespeare by Roubilliae.
Scarcely had Smirke's plans been carried out, when demands were made from sev eral of the departments for more accommodation. Additions have accordingly been made, rooms having been provided for the print department, and several new galleries for the recent acquisitions. of antiquities; -but the, most important addition is the mag nificent reading-room which has been erected in the internal quadrangle. In no depart ment of the museum was additional accommodation more needed than in the The number of readers had increased beyond the means of acconunodation, and so short of space were they for books, that the estimates for purchases were restricted to only the half of the sum which the trustees considered desirable, for the sole reason that the library would be inadequate for the reception of extensive additions. After consider
able delay, and the consideration and rejection of several plans, nothing was done .till Mr. Panizzi, at that time keeper of the printed book department, suggested a plan which promised to meet the important requirements of speedy erection and economy in cost. The plan was at length adopted, and the result is a building than which none are better, few perhaps so thoroughly adapted to the purposes for which it is intended. Parliament voted the first grant for it in 1854. It was opened in 1857. The total cost was about £150,000, which includes the fittings and furniture, and the necessary shelves for immediate use. The building was erected in the interior quadrangle, which it com pletely occupies, with the exception of an interval of about 28 ft. all round, necessary for lighting and ventilating the surrounding building. The reading-room is circular. It is constructed principally of iron, with brick arches between the main ribs. The dome is 106 ft. in height, and its diameter 140 ft., being second only to the pantheon of Rome, and that but by 2 feet. The use of iron has economized the space to an extra ordinary degree, for while the piers which support the pantheon fill 7477 ft., those on which the reading-room rests occupy only 200 feet. Equally remarkable has been the saving of space iu the fitting up of the library. The shelves are formed of galvanized iron plates, edged with wainscot, and covered with leather, and are supported on malle able iron standards. In all the cases except against the external walls, the bookcases are double, a lattice of ironwork being fixed for the longitudinal separation of the books. Thus, throughout the whole interior of the new building, walls are dispensed • with, the divisions being in all cases formed of the double ranges of books. The build ing contains 3 in. lineal of bookcases 8 ft. high. Assuming them all to be spaced for the average octavo book size, the entire ranges form 25 in. of book-shelves, and would accommodate 1,000,000 such volumes. In addition to this, the dome-room, which is the reading-room, has accommodation for 60,000 volumes. This magnificent room contains ample and comfortable accommodation for 300 readers. Each person has a space of 4 ft. 3 in. long. He is screened from the opposite occupant by a longitudinal division, which is fitted with a hinged desk, graduated on sloping racks, and a folding-shelf for spare books. In a recess between the two are placed an inkstand and penholders, thus leaving the table unincumbered: By an ingenious contrivance, one part of the iron. framework is made to distribute fresh air in the summer and heated air in the winter. The vitiated air is conveyed through apertures in the soffits of the window, into one of two separate spherical and concentric chambers which extend over the whole surface of the roof, and escapes through outlets around the lantern. The other chamber, between the external covering of copper and the brick vaulting, has for its object the equalization of temperature, during extremes of heat and cold out of doors. Every modern improvement, in short, has been applied, when it could be serviceable, for the comfort or convenience of the readers. Muth praise is duet() the architect and builder, but a larger share is owing to the late sir A. Panizzi, who not only supplied the original design, but daily, almost hourly, superintended the progress of the work, continually suggesting little improvements, and in the end producing a room which is admired by all especially those who daily use it.