At last, in the afternoon, we inspected the Ashmolean Museum, and this time only the museum itself and the natural history specimens to be found there. They are in the biggest and most important room or hall in the than from inside. Below is a spacious place of honour or vestibule, and, on the left, the library of Thos. WoodAnthony Wood. Down in the vestibule stands the great iron cradle of which Benthem makes mention. On the walls of the staircase hang many pictures but they are nothing very special. Arrived at the top of the stairs, one sees another door which leads into the little room in which is the Bibliotheca M Sta Ashmoleana. But this time, as stated, we only saw the museum. This is in the hall at the top of the stairs to the left. For England the natural history specimens to be found here are in fair order. But on our first entrance we wondered not a little that there should be such talk made over this museum outside this island, and more particularly of course within it. For to take one instance, Herr Bürgermeister Reimers in Lüneburg. who is only a private person, has certainly as many specimens again as one meets with here and far more important ones.

We noticed various very large goats' horns, one of which was four span in circumference. For this realm is everywhere very prolific in horn, and moreover all horned creatures are extraordinarily well furnished with them. We also saw two of the white caudae setosae vaccarum, such as Borricchius, and we too, had observed in the Schola Anatomica. Then we noticed different Cornua Ammonis, such a size as I have never seen before. Farther on was the head of a ram with four horns for, as I remarked above, England is a terra maxime cornifera, and the cows have terrific horns, as large indeed as our oxen. There is also a very beautiful stuffed reindeer. It has antlers like an elk, but otherwise resembles a stag in size and form, with hair nearly the length of one's little finger and almost as stiff as horse-hair, picked out or sprinkled with grey-white or black and white. Here, also, is a stuffed Indian ass, white with dark brown stripes or rings, such as I had already seen in Berlin. Likewise we saw an extraordinarily big tortoise, as also the skin of a Turkish goat: it is very large, yellowish-white, with very long, soft and rather crinkled hair, inches in length and as soft as silk. In the windows stood about thirty glass vessels with all kinds of Indian botanical specimens, plants and flowers in spirit. As inscribed on them in gold lettering, they are ex dono Cl. Viri D. Jacobi Pound, M.B. (Med. Baccalaurei). We further noticed a very large dens molaris over a finger in length and two inches thick. The accompanying memorandum: "This is supposed to be one of the teeth of the Danish Giant Warwick found by M. Brown near Pontfreat Castle an. 1700," is a prodigious supposition. Credat Judaeus Apella, non ego. — Also, a very long and wide skin of a serpens candisorius, white with brown spots, about twelve feet long and one and a half wide. In several of the glasses, in brandy, were sundry strange creatures, likewise presented by the above mentioned Pound, such as a few snakes and amongst them a small rattle-snake. Also a crocodile, a salamander, etc. In one corner stood a cabinet in which were many beautiful lapides pretiosi, such as I have seldom seen in such profusion and in the centre were several fine lapides florentini; an uncommonly good glosso-petra, about seven inches long and two wide at the back, a lovely light green stone, almost like Jasper and various beautiful crystals also, amongst them two pieces with moss imbedded in them. A splendid topaz, bigger than a walnut. An amethyst, as large again as the above, but faulty. In the cabinet were also some drawers which contained about thirty specimens of old and new, but bad, coins. Furthermore the Knight St. George and the Dragon, well cut in amber. Likewise the Crucifixion of Christ, very delicately carved on a peach stone with the signature N. B. Again the birth of Christ in just the same style, as also a representation of the Saviour. Further cherry-stones carved in the same way. Also Apollo fairly well cut in coral; a calendarium runicum on eleven little wooden tablets (the remaining one having been lost), each a finger in length and not quite two fingers in breadth. An abacus indicus which consists of a little wooden box in which are some round bullets that can be moved with a wire. Earrings of dyed straw, the size of a nut and shaped hke pearls such as women are said to have worn in Spain in by-gone years. Also several artistic objects of turned ivory. Several beautiful rosaria in crystal and other materials. Various curious specimens of all sorts of succinum (amber), amongst them some with flies and one specially beautiful with a spider. Two gold chains, one of which was presented to Ashmole by Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, the other by the King of Denmark, together with the coins suspended from them.

We were then shown a very curious stone; for when it was struck in two, a piece of money was found in the centre, which had grown into the stone, or rather the stone had grown around it. Also a very large Indian writing tablet with leaves of black paper and a cover beautifully lacquered in red. An extraordinarily curious horn which had grown on the back of a woman's head. It was exactly like a horn, except that it was thinner and browner in colour. It is certainly somewhat of a curiosity, and it appears that men-folk bear their horns in front and women theirs behind. It was noted on a label that it originated from a Mary Davis of Sanghall in Cheshire an. aet. 71 an Dn. 1668. No doubt it will have been mentioned in the Transactiones Angl., or in the Histor. nat. of Cheshire, and can be looked up there. The horn was blackish in colour, not very thick or hard, but well proportioned.

At a window was a very large cochlea bivalvis, but only one half of it was there. Further a cabinet with five drawers full of great shells. Another cabinet with smaller shells, none of which were perfect, or which one could not see better in Holland. Near this cabinet stood an enormous cabbage-stalk from five to six feet in height and over an arm in thickness. By the windows hung several sorts of carved and painted panels, and amongst these was the portrait of John Tradescant, curiously painted as though he were standing out from the clouds-perhaps because of the name, quasi transcendat coelos. Amongst the carvings was Andromeda with Perseus, incomparably carved in alabaster on a black wooden panel. It is a pity that this beautiful old work of art is so badly mounted; also that several pieces are missing. There was still another cabinet with a materia medica, in which were all manner of gummi, boli, terrae sigillatae, together with some fossils and drugs. With them (for what reason I do not know) was a stone stated to be the petrified heel of a shoe, and certainly very much resembling one; although it is difficult to believe, since the hole in the middle through which heels were formerly fixed to the shoe quite obviously had been recently bored.

Further on we saw on the wall all kinds of Indian weapons and articles of clothing. A number of nails which had been melted into a lump by lightning were lying in a basket on a table. In a case I found a very well-wrought Indian idol, or, as the Custos called it, Brachmanus. He declared the stone was unknown but it appeared to me as being a sort of steatite from which the Indians usually make their gods, although it had red veins (which I had not seen before) and was very highly polished. The ridiculous fellow who was showing us the specimens and who is a Sub-Custos and Scholar of a College (the Custos himself, Mr. Parry, cannot: show strangers over the museum for guzzling and toping) announced in all earnest that the material for these gods was made of rice, boiled and then dyed.

In a cupboard were all manner of foreign costumes, amongst them curious caps made of different kinds of very beautiful gay-coloured feathers, such as the upper classes in India wear for protection against the sun. On the wall next to this cupboard were hanging many more dresses and in particular foreign fashions in shoes; further an Indian lantern without glass or horn: that is to say made of plaited and painted reeds or rushes, quite transparent and prettily made. They may be all very well in India where there is no wind, but not in England where it is never calm. In the centre of the hall hangs the portrait of the founder Ashmole life-size, standing before a table, one hand holding a book in folio entltled History of the Garter, which he had written and published. He wore one of the chains mentioned above to which, doubtless, the words under the picture refer: —praemia honoraria.

When we were finished I got them to show me the catalogue of the museuum. This is a bad description consisting, it is true, of six volumes in four, each a finger in thickness, but with the specimens only designated by one word. The first volume is a catalogus librorum quos prima vice donavit Elias Ashmole an. 1685, and with it a catalogus animalium. The second yolume is a catalogus numismatum, including 398 recentiora, several Roman and three hundred pure English, though many are entered twice over. Vol. 3 is materia medica. Vol. 4 is fossilia &. vegetabilia &. lapides terrae, conchae. Vol. 5 is catalogus lapidum pretiosorum. Vol. 6 is de cochleis tam terrestribus fluviatilibus quam marinis.

One could wish that the catalogues or indices, bad as they are, were published, or, better still that an accurate description of this museum could be made, like that of the Royal Society Museum in London, although as far as the lapides are concerned, Lloyd, the former learned and diligent Custos of this museum has, I believe, commenced one. But the present Proto-Custos, as he is called, Master Parry, is too idle to continue it, although he is little inferior to his predecessor Lloyd in natural history or in the knowledge of Cambrian, Anglo-Saxon and other languages. But he is always lounging about in the inns, so that one scarcely ever meets him in the museum, as I have already said; if it were not for this he could yet do well as he is still a young man a little over thirty. The specimens in the museum might also be much better arranged and preserved, although they are better kept than those in Gresham College, London, which are far too bad considering their splendid description. But it is surprising that things can be preserved even as well as they are, since the people impetuously handle every thing in the usual English fashion and, as I mentioned before, even the women are allowed up here for sixpence; they run here and there, grabbing at everything and taking no rebuff from the Sub-Custos. I had the leges copied for me by my servant as they are privately printed and not obtainable, though perhaps I might have found them in Wood's Historia Universitatis Oxoniensis. But enough of this museum.