IN writing the preface to the stakes and prevented for long belief in the fit,

remember sone years ago keeping a canary bird, which used frequently to sing in the night, (I apprehend at some particular time of the year), and on mentioning the subject to some of my acquaintance, they have given me the same information respecting birds which they have kept. QUESTOR.

Yorkshire, May 14, 1810.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

I

SIR,

WISH to put on record in your pages, an anecdote lately communicated to me by a friend, which seems worthy of a place by the side of the great mass of facts now collected, evincing the exist ence of gratitude in the brute creation. All your readers remember the story of Androcles and the Lion, in Sandford and Merton. That touching relation is probably fabulous. What I am about to mention, if not so romantic, does not less strikingly prove that quadrupeds can have their hatred converted into affection by good offices; and is, besides, indisputably

true.

My friend, Mr. B. spent a month last year at the house of a farmer, who had a bull so wild and ferocious, that he was kept constantly chained, except when led to water, &c. at which time he was never suffered to be out of the hands of a trusty person. This animal seemed to have conceived a particular antipathy towards Mr. B. who, being young and daring, had probably at some time irritated him. He never saw him approach the open shed in which he was kept with out beginning to bellow most dreadfully, which he continued while the object of his dislike was in view, at the same time tearing up the earth with his horns, and giving every symptom of the utmost aversion. On two occasions while leading to water, he very cunningly watched an opportunity, and endeavoured to make a sudden spring out of the hands of his attendant at Mr. B. who was standing in the yard.

Some of your readers in the north of England, may probably recollect that in the night of the 10th of August, last year, there was a most tremendous storm of thunder and lightning. This took place during my friend's sojourn in the country; and though he has often been in tropical storms, he declares that for about ten minutes he never witnessed any thing more awful. The lightning resembled sheets of fire, and each flash was instantly succeeded by a thunder-clap as loud as ia volley of ten thousand cannon had

been discharged. But what most affected him were the piteous roarings of the poor bull, which, exposed in its open shed to all the fury of the elements, sent forth every instant a yell of terror beyond description hideous. Imagining that it was the lightning which chiefly alarmed the animal, Mr. B. proposed to the men-servants to go and remove it into the barn; but in vain. They were one praying in one corner and another in another, as much terrified as the bril, whose roarings made no impression on them. Ile then said, "Well then, I will go myself; the poor creature will be tame enough now.” He accordingly put on his great coat and went into the yard. The moment he approached the bull, which was lying trembling on its back, and had almost torn its chain through the gristle of its nose in its efforts to get loose, it rose, and by its fawning actions expressed how delighted it was at the sight of any thing human amidst such a scene of horror. Like Roderick Dhu's bull in the Lady of the Lake, when it had been pricked on some scores of miles by the lances of a troop of Highland foragers, its fero. city was gone; and with the utmost quietness it suffered my friend to untie it and lead it into the barn.

The next morning in crossing the farm yard, Mr. B. remarked that his old friend who had regained his shed, no longer saluted him with his accustomed bellow. It struck him that the animal might remember his last night's kindness. He accordingly ventured by degrees to approach it, and found that now so far from shewing any ill-will towards him, it with the utmost gentleness suffered him to scratch its head: and from that very day it became to him as tame as a lamb, suf fering him to play all kinds of tricks with it, which no other person about the farm durst venture to attempt; and seeming even to take pleasure in being noticed by him.

I do not remember to have read any more striking instance of gratitude amongst brutes than this: certainly none in which the hatred was so markedly succeeded by affection, and in which the cause of the sudden change was so distinctly obvious. It is the more worthy of notice because we are not accustomed to regard bulls as very sagacious animals. They are doubtless much less so than the dog, horse, or elephant; yet this fact proves that they are at least equally susceptible of gratitude for favours, and have the fa culty of memory in as strong a degree. August 13, 1810.

ZOOPHILUS

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

beau

TILAT strangers are struck wito which

the inhabitants are insensible, is an old remark, and founded on the very nature of things. We cannot expect that the casehardened cuticle of the feet of a resident in Birmingham or Liverpool, should feel any torment from the unflagged footpavements of those towns; while it is equally certain that this defect is very uncomfortably felt by the tender-skinned feet accustomed to the foot-ways of Leeds or London: and a cockney would doubtless laugh at the retired inhabitant of a Scotch village, who should expatiate on the miseries he endured from the thronged streets and eternal bustle of the metropolis, which to him are a source of pleasure.

One of the great objects of my attention in any place to which I am a stran ger, is the management of its police; understanding this term as applicable to all arrangements for the safety and comfort of the inhabitants; and in this view, in the course of a late two months' derustication in your great city, I have been struck in my perambulations through its streets, with defects and desiderata of different kinds, to which, as far as I could judge, many of those who saw them daily, are quite insensible; and which, therefore, it may not be useless to have point ed out by a stranger.

I shall, with your leave, therefore transmit to your widely-circulated miscellany, a letter or two on this subject. The present I shall restrict to the consideration of one great establishment—the British Museum.

This large collection I viewed several years ago, but with feelings rather of disgust than pleasure. I lost the greater part of two or three days in getting admission with the required party, and then was hurried through the rooms in a way that only vexed me, by demonstrating the impossibility of gaining any information from such a cursory view; and I had not another two days to waste in repeating my visit. During my recent abode in town, however, the fame of the new suite of rooms for the reception of the Egyptian sculpture, and of the new regulations, which I was told had removed all the inconvenience formerly complained of, tempted me once more to visit the Museum. I was accompanied by a friend; and having previously fixed the day, we walked three miles through a heavy rain,

reaching Russel-street by eleven o'clock. On asking for admission at the Museum, we were told that parties of fifteen or

sixteen, who had previously written down

their names, were admitted every halfhour; that the lists were full for eleven, twelve, and half-past twelve; but that we might put down our signatures for one. This, as it seemed unlikely we should gain admission without the sacrifice of an hour or two, we did. Our next consideration was how to beguile the tedious interval. There were no sights to be seen in the immediate neighbourhood; and to sit in the library in mute contemplation of the parties that were to precede us, had nothing very attractive: we had no alternative therefore but to saunter up one street and down another, in the midst of a heavy rain, until the appointed hour. We were admitted at one, without delay, and accompanied by a guide: we entered the first room of the suite, containing the curiosities brought from various barbarous (as we are wont to call them) regions. On these I had no wish to dwell; I had seen similar collections frequently; and after taking a hasty glance, I was passing on to the second room, but was stopped by our conductor, who told me that twenty minutes were allotted to each room, and that it was not permitted to leave the party. I was of course obedient, and occupied the remaining time in listening very particularly

to the loud coinments of one of the company, a plain decent-looking man, who, having picked up one of the printed pasteboards describing the cases, read it over for the edification of his wife and children. After passing through another room or two, we came into that in which the minerals are placed. Here, thought I, I shall be gratified. I had been studying mineralogy theoretically, and I longed to see a named collection of objects, that I might have some correct idea of the granite, feldspar, &c. &c. about which I had been reading. Accordingly I hastened to case No. 1, and with the aid of the names attached to a few of the specimens, I was gaining some accession of knowledge. I had not, how ever, looked over this case before our conductor approached me, told me that the time allowed for viewing that room was gone, and that I must accompany the groupe; which, on looking up, I perceived had already passed to the next. It was in vain to expostulate. The conductor was a very civil man, and was merely conforming to his orders. But mor

tified

tified and disappointed I most certainly was; and finding it utterly impossible to reap any pleasure from such a hasty glance as was permitted us, I amused myself through the remaining rooms by keeping close to my companions, and lis tening to their exclamations of wonder, and unanswerable queries, to those about them. To make an end of my story, I was glad when the exhibition was over, which, though supported in part with my money, had afforded me much less information and pleasure than many a travelling museum, to which I have gained admission for a shilling. In my way home from London I took Oxford; and there the Ashmolean Museum, though not containing one-tenth part of the objects which adorn the British, afforded me infinitely greater gratification and advantage; and for this plain reason: that I was suffered to walk about the room as long as I liked; that every object had a ticket with its name affixed; and that I was permitted to direct my exclusive attention to that department which most interested me.

The above plain, statement proves, I think, that three grand defects attend the present arrangements of the British Museum, which might, and certainly in a pub. lic institution, supported by the nation, ought to be remedied. Ist. The difficulty and loss of time in gaining admission. This, to those to whom time is valuable, to men of business, and to strangers passing through London, is a great evil. Except to those who reside in the immediate neighbourhood of the Museum, a whole morning must be wasted in order to spend two hours in viewing it. 2nd. The want of names, vulgar and scientific, attached to the objects. These names are, in a few instances, given, and but in a few. Could there be any thing difficult or impracticable in extending them to all. What are the scientific men connected with the Museum paid for, if they cannot ascertain the names of every thing in it, natural and artificial; and where would be the difficulty of printing their names in legible type, and affixing them to every article? 3d. The limited time for viewing the collection, and the restraint imposed upon spectators as to what they shall direct their attention to. This is the greatest evil of the whole of what use is such an institution, if it cannot be made rubservient to the studies of those who have acto it? But what advantage can the antiquarian, the mineralogist, the ornithologist, or the conchologist, derive from a twenty-minutes interrupted glance at some

cess

thousands of objects? Ishall be told that persons properly introduced, may have access to the Museum at other times. But, how many humble students of Nature are there that never can be so introduced! Is it supposed that no man studies nature or art, without having some great acquaintance to perform this service for him? Nothing could be more ridiculous or contrary to truth, than such a supposition. Besides, not even the trouble which this requires to those who have the means, should be necessary to obtain access to an institution, to which every man who pays taxes contributes. On the present establishment of the British Museum, I have no hesitation in asserting that the comparatively small, but respectable, collection of the ingenious Mr. Bullock, of Liverpool, to which every man may have free and unrestrained admission for his shilling, is infinitely more adapted to the furtherance of science, and vastly more productive of amusement and gratification.

But now to the remedy for these de fects: and this is very simple, obvious, and unobjectionable. Let every decently-dressed male and female above the age of twelve, have free entrance into the Museum, at seasonable hours; and unrestrained access, for an unlimited time, to any part of the collection. Let all the objects be in glass cases, and ticketed with their names common and scientific. Let there be stationed in every room a person, whose sole business it shall be to see that nothing is improperly meddled with or taken away. It is not necessary that these inspectors should know any thing about the collection. If they have eyes it will be sufficient; and ten or twelve respectable old men might be found to sit a few hours daily in the Muse um, for half the sum that is now spent in the salaries of guides. A decicive argument in favour of this arrangement, is, that it has been tried in a similar instance, and found perfectly to answer. The French Museums are all upon this plan; and no difficulties attend admission to them, or the inspection of what they contain. Surely the people of England have a right to expect, that their access to a collection to which they have paid for and support, should not be clogged with difficulties which the French do not experi ence in surveying the treasures which their Emperor has stolen. 1 cau sec no even plausible objection to my proposal but this: that so large a concourse of visitors would be drawn by such easy

terms

MEMOIRS AND REMAINS OF EMINENT PERSONS.