One Of The Longest And Pleasantest Walks I Have Yet Taken Is From
Paddington To Islington; Where To The Left
You have a fine prospect
of the neighbouring hills, and in particular of the village of
Hampstead, which is built
On one of them; and to the right the
streets of London furnish an endless variety of interesting views.
It is true that it is dangerous to walk here alone, especially in
the afternoon and in an evening, or at night, for it was only last
week that a man was robbed and murdered on this very same road. But
I now hasten to another and a more pleasing topic:
The British Museum.
I have had the happiness to become acquainted with the Rev. Mr.
Woide; who, though well known all over Europe to be one of the most
learned men of the age, is yet, if possible, less estimable for his
learning than he is for his unaffected goodness of heart. He holds
a respectable office in the museum, and was obliging enough to
procure me permission to see it, luckily the day before it was shut
up. In general you must give in your name a fortnight before you
can he admitted. But after all, I am sorry to say, it was the
rooms, the glass cases, the shelves, or the repository for the books
in the British Museum which I saw, and not the museum itself, we
were hurried on so rapidly through the apartments. The company, who
saw it when and as I did, was various, and some of all sorts; some,
I believe, of the very lowest classes of the people, of both sexes;
for, as it is the property of the nation, every one has the same
right (I use the term of the country) to see it that another has. I
had Mr. Wendeborn's book in my pocket, and it, at least, enabled me
to take a somewhat more particular notice of some of the principal
things; such as the Egyptian mummy, a head of Homer, &c. The rest
of the company, observing that I had some assistance which they had
not, soon gathered round me; I pointed out to them as we went along,
from Mr. Wendeborn's German book, what there was most worth seeing
here. The gentleman who conducted us took little pains to conceal
the contempt which he felt for my communications when he found out
that it was only a German description of the British Museum I had
got. The rapidly passing through this vast suite of rooms, in a
space of time little, if at all, exceeding an hour, with leisure
just to cast one poor longing look of astonishment on all these
stupendous treasures of natural curiosities, antiquities, and
literature, in the contemplation of which you could with pleasure
spend years, and a whole life might be employed in the study of
them - quite confuses, stuns, and overpowers one. In some branches
this collection is said to be far surpassed by some others; but
taken altogether, and for size, it certainly is equalled by none.
The few foreign divines who travel through England generally desire
to have the Alexandrian manuscript shewn them, in order to be
convinced with their own eyes whether the passage, "These are the
three that bear record, &c.," is to be found there or not.
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