CHAPTER XV
Sir Wm. Temple; His Collection; Correspondence; Museum Staff; Visit to Brescello; Archduke Maximilian’s Visit to the Museum; Reports of Heads of Departments; Correspondence; Mr Newton’s Expedition to Budrum; Blacas Collection.
Panizzi was called upon, within a few months after his appointment, to give practical proof of that energy which characterized him; indeed, it appears that he lost no time in setting to work to reform the Museum as regarded the want of space and the improvement of the position of his subordinates. The Parliamentary papers of the day will show the amount of correspondence, both private and official, through which he had to wade. Though desirous of maintaining chronological order, we first take up here for a moment what, at the time, was considered a valuable bequest of Sir William Temple, brother of Lord Palmerston, who died in London on the 24th of August, 1856, having for many years resided at Naples as Minister Plenipotentiary.
It was understood, previous to Sir William’s death, that his collection of antiquities would come to the British Museum. Although, perhaps, not a collection of the first order, it was of considerable intrinsic value, and looked upon by connoisseurs as a small Museum in itself.
On the 11th of September, 1856, Panizzi received the following private letter from Lord Palmerston:—
“94, Piccadilly.
“My dear Panizzi,
My brother stated in his will, ‘I desire that my collection of Antiquities be offered to the Trustees of the British Museum, to be preserved therein for the use and benefit of the public, and if within six calendar months after such offer shall have been made to the said Trustees, they shall signify their acceptance thereof, for the purpose aforesaid, then I give the said collection to them accordingly.’
Of course it will be understood by the Trustees that the Collection should be placed separately and kept altogether, and be described as my brother’s gift, and the Infant Bacchus should be added to the collection of which it forms a part. As I cannot doubt that the Trustees will accept this bequest, I would beg to suggest that some proper person should be sent from the Museum to Naples, to pack up, properly and safely, the things of which the Collection consists. This would be more satisfactory than that the Collection should be packed up by persons on the spot without any responsible superintendence.
Fagan is returning to Naples in the middle of next week, and will take with him the list of articles, and the person sent to pack them up might go out with Fagan.[[A]] There are many reasons why it is desirable that no time should be lost in packing the Collection up. The way of sending it home may be settled afterwards. It is possible that some ship-of-war may be in the Bay of Naples which might bring the cases home, if not too bulky, but otherwise the Museum will make proper arrangements for their removal to England.
Yours sincerely,
Palmerston.
P.S.—On second thoughts, I send you the Catalogue, which you will return to me before Wednesday. You had better have a copy made of this Catalogue, and keep it in case any accident should happen to the original.
P.”
[A]. The Biographer’s Father of whom more particular mention will be made hereafter.
Panizzi immediately afterwards sent for Mr. Oldfield, then an Assistant in the Antiquity Department of the British Museum, and directed him to proceed at once to Naples, in order to report on the Collection, and superintend its departure. His instructions ran thus:—
“B. M., September 20th, 1856.
“Dear Sir,
After the full conversation which we have had on the subject of the Sir William Temple’s legacy of his collection of antiquities to the Trustees of the British Museum, it is unnecessary for me to say more on that part of the subject, but I have accordingly to request that you will take means for leaving this country to repair to Naples without delay. There the collection, I understand, is still in the house which Sir William inhabited at Naples, and the objects will be delivered up to you by George Fagan, Esq. (Attaché to H. M’s Legation), who is in possession of a full and descriptive catalogue of the said collection, and who is to act for Viscount Palmerston, the heir and sole executor of the Will of his late brother. You will, of course, give an acknowledgment to Mr. Fagan of what you receive.
The collection being speedily and carefully packed up, you will make it your duty, without loss of time, to enquire by what means it may be best transmitted to England. Acting for our Trustees, I have applied to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, requesting them to order any of Her Majesty’s ships that might be available, touching at Naples on its way to England, to receive on board the packages containing the said collection, the same being for public use and benefit, and should you be successful in obtaining such means of conveyance, you are requested to avail yourself of it in preference to any other, even if the arrival of the collection were to be thereby delayed. This delay would be of comparatively little importance; what is really essential is that the collection should be carefully packed up and safely removed on board without loss of time.
If no such conveyance can be obtained, you will then forward the collection to England by the readiest and safest means available to the best of your judgment, and after having consulted with the gentleman in charge of Her Majesty’s Legation, or with Her Majesty’s Consul General at Naples.
As to the expenses you may have to incur for packing, packing-cases, transport of the objects from the Minister’s House to the ship, on board of which they are to be placed, you are empowered to draw on me, either at a month after date or ten days after sight, for the amount, advising me of having so drawn, and carefully preserving the vouchers which justify the expense. Should you be obliged to remain at Naples more than is now contemplated, and find the sum of £50, which I have placed in your hands to meet your travelling and personal expense, insufficient, you are authorized to draw for £50 more on the same terms as above. On your return to England you will be so good as to transmit to me a statement of your expenses, accompanied by such vouchers as may be necessary, in order that they may be laid before the Standing Committee.
Immediately after the Collection is embarked you will be pleased to make the best of your way back to England. Having the greatest reliance on your judgment, I concur with Mr. Hawkins in authorizing you to purchase, on account of the Trustees, any object or objects which you might think a very desirable addition for our Museum of Antiquities, to an amount not exceeding altogether £100, drawing for the same as above. Should any more important and peculiarly desirable purchase offer itself, please to make forthwith a special report on it, to be submitted to the Trustees, for their orders.
It may be superfluous to add that it will be desirable that, on your return, you should lay before the Trustees a report on any point that you may think of importance, respecting the public or private Collections which may fall under your notice, and the regulations under which the former are preserved, and made accessible to learned men and artists, as well as the public at large.
Be so good as to write to me fully and frequently for the information of the Trustees, and give me the earliest notice of the collection being on board the vessel which is to bring it to England.
Mr. Fagan will assist you as far as in his power with his advice and knowledge of men and things at Naples. I enclose, moreover, a letter for Mr. Petre, now in charge of Her Majesty’s Mission, and another for Mr. Craven, one of its members.
Believe me, &c., &c.,
A. Panizzi.”
On the 3rd of October, Mr. Oldfield wrote from Naples giving his private opinion of the collection, which he evidently did not consider of very great value. “The glass and the bronzes,” he said, “are of considerable beauty and interest, but the sculpture as a whole unworthy of acceptance.”
A notable incident should be here inserted. When a certain R. Gargiulo was preparing the Catalogue of the Collection, it was discovered that four frescoes, of not much importance, had upon them the stamp of the Museo Borbonico. They had, in fact, been purloined from that Museum by an agent, or ally, of the individual from whom Sir William bought them. Sir William resolved to return them to their lawful owners, but died before carrying out his intention. Mr. Fagan, with Lord Palmerston’s sanction, wrote to the Neapolitan authorities immediately afterwards, informing them of the discovery; stating also, of course, how Sir William had unwittingly purchased objects which he afterwards discovered had been abstracted from Pompeii, and returning them in Lord Palmerston’s name. After a few days, Signor d’Aloe called on Mr. Fagan, and, stating that the matter had been reported to the King, Ferdinand II., begged that Lord Palmerston would retain the frescoes. Consequent upon this, and upon the letter which communicated the royal request, the frescoes were accepted.
The collection consists altogether of 1,571 pieces; of these the most interesting portions are the painted vases, the bronzes, and the specimens of Greek and Roman glasses. Special mention should also be made of a magnificent Krater, with a painting of the death of Hippolytus; a very fine and rare globular vase, with an ornamental cover, should be separately mentioned; and a Lekythos representing the judgment of Paris. Amongst the bronzes, a small but fine bust of a faun, and specimens of Greek armour from Ruvo, comprising a breast and back plate, and a very beautiful bronze statue of the youthful Bacchus, deposited in the Museum by Sir William during his life-time.
In the spring of 1857, Panizzi gave his serious attention to the cause of the staff of the Museum, and to the increase of their emoluments. Hitherto the servants of the Trustees, as it has been already observed, were not treated or paid in a commensurate manner by the Government, and no superannuation allowance was granted; and it was properly remarked at the time that, to carry out any effectual measure of reform, it would be necessary to increase the value of the appointments—thus holding out an inducement for good men to remain, and giving the service of the Museum the tone of a profession.
It would relieve the Establishment from persons who were worn out or nearly so, and raise the general standard of activity; and by clearing off an arrear of superannuation, would make room for the early introduction of a considerable number of officers and attendants of a superior class.
This step was ultimately carried out by Panizzi two years afterwards, much to the satisfaction of the whole Museum staff, as the following letter which they addressed to him testifies:—
“British Museum,
February 25th, 1861.
“Dear Sir,
We beg individually and collectively to offer to you in a more explicit manner than we were able to do on Saturday, our most sincere and grateful thanks for the highly gratifying intelligence which you so kindly conveyed to us on that day. We feel assured that the very important improvement in our position which you then announced to us, has not been obtained without the most persevering and energetic exertions on your part; and we earnestly hope, by our zealous attention to the performance of our several duties, to merit the continued approbation of the Trustees, and thereby to justify this your crowning effort on our behalf.”
It will be remembered that in 1845, Panizzi, after having obtained permission to visit his native town, was, when on the eve of reaching it, stopped by the Duke of Modena. Things had somewhat changed, perhaps, for the better; or at any rate the time was fast approaching when the foreign yoke was about, once for all, to disappear from Italy, and tyranny cease to exist in the land which had given birth to so many eminent men. On the 15th of June, 1857, Panizzi wrote to Lord Clarendon to obtain for him, through Count Apponyi, an Austrian passport; his Lordship at once set to work, and on the 17th of June communicated to Panizzi the welcome tidings that his Excellency, although he could not grant him the desired passport because he had never been an Austrian, still would not for an instant hesitate to affix his signature to his English passport. Accordingly he started by the end of August for Brescello, and actually reached that place without molestation. He thus wrote to Mr. Haywood from Milan:—
“September 9th.
“My reception has been all I could wish on the part of the Government, and beyond belief on that of my few remaining friends; for I find the majority of them dead. But those who still live, and their families—I had left many of them children, and I find them now married with children of the same age that they themselves were when I left Italy—have received me with a cordiality and warmth of affection that has often and often moved me to tears. And then this country—and those monuments—and this sky! Oh my dear Haywood, what poor things are all those that are admired elsewhere! What nature has done and what the old generations did for Italy is unique; but I shall be very glad to be once more at the British Museum.”
Whilst at Brescello, the biographer, who had the satisfaction of visiting that place in November, 1879, was told that Panizzi spent the entire day going from house to house seeing and embracing his relations and friends, making researches in the archives, and taking notes of all he saw; but nothing can be more touching than a letter which he wrote on the 22nd of October, 1857, to Dr. Minzi, and of which we place a translation intact before our readers:—
“British Museum,
October 22nd, 1857 (evening).
“My dear Minzi,
How many things have happened during the past thirty-five years! It was on this very day thirty-five years ago, that you accompanied me, with Zatti and Montani, to embark for Viadana.
It was then that my travels began. What changes! What fortune! How many sleepless nights! What follies! What ardent passion! What sufferings! What risks! But no more of this.
You know that I have been at Brescello, but you cannot conceive how dear such a visit was to me. Indeed it is impossible to describe my feelings. I can only say that no town, temple, or theatre, or palace afforded me such joy as I felt when I saw Brescello; the church of Brescello! the theatre of Brescello! and the Municipal Hall of Brescello! The very house where I was born, yours, Montani’s house, and that of Francesco Panizzi. These sights almost brought tears to my eyes.
You complain of my silence.... You must know that weeks have passed without my being able to leave the house, and that I was reduced to such a state as not even to get sleep; my head felt giddy, and my heart beat so as to take away my breath; I had pains in my hands and feet, and nervousness, accompanied by continual noise in the ears. I went to Italy, and now I tell you what I achieved since we last parted.
From Keeper of the Printed Books, perhaps the most important Department in this Institution, I was appointed Director in Chief (Principal Librarian) of the Museum, about two years ago. It is a very high post, but when I came to take charge of the Museum, I found it so badly governed, such was the need of many reforms, that it required an iron resolution to replace order. I attempted it. Every one in the service great and small (about 230) soon learnt that they had to deal with one who was determined to make things go as they ought. I was already known in my Department, which was a model to all others, and every one knew the stuff I was made of. I found a collection of 220,000 printed books, and I left 530,000. I fought for years, defeated a squadron of ignorant men and enemies, who opposed a plan for a new Catalogue, which is now approaching completion, and which will be the finest Catalogue ever compiled. I made a plan for a Reading-Room to accommodate 300 readers, who are now more comfortably seated than at their own homes, and of a Library which will contain 1,400,000 volumes. The plan was approved by our best architect; the room is now finished and made use of. I am honoured by every one, and my enemies have disappeared. All this has naturally added strength and moral power to my new post. But, through hard work, I felt as if my brain would give way, and so I decided to visit Italy. There I slept very well, and the symptoms disappeared, but they returned slowly. My mode of living is moderate; I take medicine, but the pain on my left side has returned. How it will end I do not know, for work I must, and work hard too; and now that I have reached the summit of the mountain I feel as if I should like to descend, but I fear it is impossible. I am treated by every one like a Benjamin, amply paid and much honoured, and they will not listen to my retiring.
I have sent you a selfish letter, such a one as I should not have written to any one else, but only to a friend like you.
Your affectionate friend,
A. Panizzi.
To continue the thread of our narrative, a trifling but pleasant incident occurred, two months before Panizzi left London for the Continent, which we cannot do better than narrate in his own words:—
“B. M., June 30th, 1857.
“My dear Haywood,
A week ago the Archduke Maximilian, who is going as Viceroy in Lombardy, after his marriage with the Princess Charlotte of Belgium, came to visit the Museum, and I received him. In the course of conversation it came out that I was an Italian, and that I intended going to Renaro at the beginning of August, returning in September. The Archduke then began to urge me that I should on my return (for he would not be there on my going) pay him a visit, that is, to go and stay with him. Of course I said Domine non sum dignus, but he pressed me repeatedly. I thought when he learnt who I was he would not press me again, but on Saturday last I unexpectedly received a despatch from the Austrian Minister here, Apponyi, sending me, in the Archduke’s name, a very fine diamond ring with the Archduke’s initials, and a reminder that he expects I will pay him a visit at Milan. Now this is very embarrassing. If I go to Milan, and he is there, I must present myself, and be his guest if he insists; if I do so all the Italians who do not know me, more especially in Piedmont, will accuse me of treachery, of playing false to my country, and what not; and, on the other hand, if I had the moral courage to despise such an outcry I might do some little good—very little, if any, I know.
Yours, &c., &c.,
A. Panizzi.”
But to return to the Museum. The process of accumulation continued, and the influx of works of art and other antiquities was filling the National Institution to such an extent that it was deemed necessary to decide whether the Natural History Departments should be retained at Bloomsbury.
The various heads of Departments were invited to send in their reports and opinions on the subject, and a few of their remarks may not appear superfluous:—
Mr. Hawkins, the Keeper of Antiquities, reported that he could find no room for the cases of Assyrian Sculptures which had arrived. Sir Charles Fellows complained that Ionic Trophy Monuments and other works of art found at Xanthus had been placed in an unbefitting position. Dr. Gray, of the Natural History Department, conveyed the pleasing intelligence that if the Zoological Collection in the basement were not speedily removed to a dryer place it would be utterly destroyed. Mr. Brown applied for additional room, as that occupied by the Botanical Department in the basement was quite inadequate to its demands. Professor Owen, in a report to the Trustees on the same subject, January, 1857, approved of all the statements of Dr. Gray, who, eight months later, came forward again with a demand for his gallery and series of glass cases, and the enlargement of the Insect-Room; and two months afterwards he laid before the Trustees a fuller statement. Many more examples might be adduced, but the reader who desires to push his investigations further should consult a lengthy Parliamentary paper on the subject, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 1st of July, 1858.
Panizzi also wrote two reports, one dated the 10th of November, 1857, and the other the 10th of June, 1858. In the first of these he fully discussed the means suggested for relieving two Departments, namely, those of Mineralogy and Geology, and then continued:—
“In the Department of Prints and Drawings the want of room, even to lodge the portfolios containing the collection, is sufficiently shown by the placing of presses in the narrow passage leading from the landing into the Print-Room. The display of some of the best prints and drawings has often been entertained by the Trustees, who felt how important it was that this should be done, but who never could carry their intention into effect for want of room. The Kouyunjik-Room, by the side of the North-Western portion of the Egyptian Saloon, had been built for the purpose of such an exhibition, when the influx of Assyrian antiquities forced the Trustees to devote that room to their display.”
It appears that the Natural History Department will soon be removed. As there will, therefore, be more space for a smaller number of collections, we may hope that it will now be found possible to make good certain deficiencies which have long been fully recognised, especially in regard to the Exhibition of Prints and Drawings. Glass and China too, will form a most attractive feature in the new arrangements.
The author himself has had ample opportunities during the last dozen years of visiting some of the most important Cabinets of Prints and Drawings in Europe, and he has no hesitation in saying that no single collection—not even a combination of two or three—could compare with that of which our National Institution can boast. Through the good taste of the present principal Librarian, Mr. Bond, in placing so many screens in the King’s Library, a step has been taken in the right direction, and no Englishman—nay, no Foreigner—visiting London should omit to inspect this wonderful assemblage of works of art.
It was Panizzi’s own idea that, as well as rarities from the Library, specimens of the handiwork of Raphael, Michael Angelo, Dürer, Rembrandt—and, indeed, his own $1m>—should be framed and exhibited to the public gaze.
Instruction, practicable and visible, is one of the leading features of the age; and it is our duty to meet this increasing want by every means in our power. It is not the feeling that in our hands are the keys of knowledge which will impart instruction; it is the practical and sincere wish to utilize the means within our grasp, to educate the masses, which will alone work a result so eagerly sought for, and so materially tending to the benefit of future generations.
The enormous pile of building which has just been erected at South Kensington may, in a sense, be said to owe its existence to the persistent efforts of Panizzi, to secure more space for the collections he loved so well. The two following letters on the subject are, we consider, of great importance:—
“British Museum, October 8th, 1858.
“My dear Sir George,
As neither you nor Lord John will come up from Harpton Court to attend the meeting of the Standing Committee at 12 o’clock to-morrow, I think it fair to ask you both to give half-an-hour to the British Museum where you are; and this might be even more useful than if you were to attend the meeting.
The Government are determined, it seems, to adopt the principle of dividing the Museum; and Professor Owen, in his address to the British Association at Leeds, having read an article in the last Quarterly Review, drops his objections to the separation, and is indifferent about the site of the Natural History Museum: he only demurs to there being Trustees.
Mr. D’Israeli says that the Government have evidence enough as to what is to be done, and that they want no more information. I believe he is egregiously mistaken, and that the evidence hitherto collected is sufficient to prove that things cannot remain in the present state, and that something must be done; but there is no evidence or suggestion as to what that something must be (excepting only that the Superintendent of the Natural History, in the service of the Trustees, thinks that his present masters, or anything like them, are not desirable.) Now I have a great dread of these indefinite somethings. I fear that one or two members of the Government who have once walked through the Museum, or may have assisted at a meeting of Trustees, may think themselves quite competent to draw up a new constitution for this and other Museums, which pompously and plausibly proposed to the Houses of Parliament may be sanctioned, putting the British Museum and all its collections in a worse position than they are now, and rendering them less useful to the public. It seems, therefore, to me that you and Lord John should consider well the subject, and be prepared to advise the Government; and, if necessary, resist any scheme that might be lightly or rashly introduced to Parliament.
I apprehend that, whatever be thought of Trustees, it will not be so easy to persuade the family Trustees of the Museum that they ought to be extinguished.
I do not think that the Government have yet considered which are the collections that ought not to be removed from the present British Museum, and which are those that ought to be removed elsewhere. We may agree as to removing the Natural History collections; but is it quite clear we ought to keep ethnographical collections and works of mediæval or christian art?
Has anyone thought how long it will be before what it may be decided upon to remove, can be removed, what is to be done in the meantime, and what alterations may be necessary in the present building to fit the space left empty by the removal of some collections for the reception of those which are to remain here?
It seems to be generally considered desirable, if not necessary, that whenever the Museum or Museums are re-organised, lectures should be delivered by its officers. I humbly consider this a great mistake. No one can do more than one thing at a time well. A Keeper of collections will neglect them to prepare his lectures, and a lecturer will hurry through his lectures to attend to his collections; and if not more inclined to one than to the other of his two trades, the same man may be both a bad lecturer and bad Keeper of collections. As the ‘Jardin des Plantes’ at Paris is so much talked of here, with its numerous lectures, I trust some evidence will be taken of its condition and of the working of its organisation before we adopt it here.
I should also think that before the extinction of the Museum Trust is decided upon, it would be well to consider whether it is desirable to allow Institutions like the Museum to be governed by learned and scientific men. I will not go so far as to say that the system of Trustees is the best that could be devised, but I am fully convinced, and ready to prove from experience, that learned and scientific men are unfit to govern places like the Museum. Who then is to govern these establishments?
There is a variety of minor points which are worth considering, besides those above mentioned. If you and Lord John were to agree to some general principles, I dare say Mr. Gladstone would probably agree with you on the whole; and then you three might induce, and, if necessary, compel the Government to consent to adopting your views. I think it, however, requisite that, in some way or other, evidence should be taken from men whose opinion carries weight in these matters; that the public and the Houses of Parliament should see that whatever be ultimately done is done on good grounds and after mature consideration. I think the information collected would be of great use in coming to a right determination, and I do not see how it can be possible to do so without.
The ‘Supply’ is coming home with a cargo of antiquities from Newton, and will call at Carthage for some fifty cases of antiquities from Davis. It was to be at Malta on the 25th of last month, and will therefore soon be here. Where is all this enormous mass of things to be placed?
Ever yours,
A. Panizzi.”
“Harpton, Radnor,
October 12th, 1858.
“My dear Panizzi,
I received your letter before Lord John went on to Liverpool, and had some conversation with him on the subject of it.
There are, as it seems to me, two questions respecting the enlargement of the British Museum. The first may be called the legal question, which is raised by Sir Philip Egerton and others—viz., whether Sir Hans Sloane made it a question of his gift that all his collections should be kept in one building, or whether, in dealing with these collections, there is a ‘will of the founder,’ which the legislature is bound to respect, and which is to be a law for all succeeding generations, whatever additions the different branches of the Museum may receive or require. If this view is to prevail, it is clear that we are prevented from even entertaining any plan for the division of the collections, whatever its intrinsic advantages may be. But if this restriction upon the operations of the present generation is not admitted to exist, then we come to the second question—whether it is more expedient to enlarge the Museum by adding to the present building, or by detaching some branches of it, and providing them with a fit repository elsewhere.
I do not pretend to have mastered the subject sufficiently to have formed a confident opinion upon it; but so far as I am at present informed, the inclination of my mind is to believe that the Natural History branches would be provided for in a separate building, and to a certain extent under a separate management.
At the same time, if the scientific men are to take up the question as one of personal feeling and party struggle, and if the cause of stuffed beasts is to be argued against that of antiques, as if it was Whig against Tory, or Catholic against Protestant, I am not prepared to say what are the advantages, if separation are worth the strife and animosity, which its accomplishment would create.
A private gentleman, in arranging his expenditure, may say—I allot so much for my kitchen, so much for my cellar, so much for the education of my children, so much for my garden, so much for my shooting, hunting, &c., &c., and each of his servants must be satisfied with what they get. But what sort of life would he lead, and how long would he remain out of the Queen’s Bench, if his gardeners wrote letters in the Times to complain that he starved his garden, and that his hot-houses were in a disgraceful state; if his governess persuaded Roebuck to bring the state of his daughters’ education before the House, and if his huntsman inserted articles in the Sporting Magazine in the style of Junius, displaying the scandalous defects in the management of his stables. Yet, with regard to luxuries, such as science and art, the Nation is practically in the same condition as a private individual. It must measure its expenditure by its means, and not, as in the case of the army and navy, consider its necessities first and its means afterwards. Yet the representative of each Department of Science and Art insists on having the largest possible building, in the best possible site, and each Department finds successively supporters and champions in Parliament.
I have no wish to volunteer advice where it is not asked; if the Government think they can settle the question themselves, I have no wish to interfere. My only fear is that they may find it more difficult, on coming to close quarters, than it appears at a distance. If the Government refer it to the Trustees for their opinion, I shall be quite ready to take part in any Committee which may be appointed to consider and investigate the subject. At present I don’t think the facts are well ascertained, nor do we know what are the precise objects which we should seek to obtain. I see, for example, a great difference between keeping a great exhibition of stuffed animals, &c., for all the nursery-maids and children to look at, and keeping a collection of Natural History for the use of men of science—like the Anatomical Collection at Surgeons’ Hall in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. I think that Lord John concurs generally in the view that I have expressed, as to the removal of the Natural History Collections.
There is much to be said in favour of the constitution of a governing body like the Museum Trustees. A body of scientific men might expect and demand too much; they would violate Talleyrand’s caution about excess of zeal. On the other hand, it is desirable to relieve the executive Government from direct responsibility in such a matter.
Query—what is the oldest bilingual glossary of the Latin language? What is the earliest vocabulary in which Latin is explained by some other tongue? Is the earliest a Latin and Greek (not Greek and Latin) glossary, or a Latin and Gothic glossary, or a vocabulary in which Latin is rendered into the Lingua volgare? If so, what is the date of the latter? I hope you will not think this an unfair question to address to so distinguished a bibliotecario as yourself.
Yours, &c., &c.,
G. C. Lewis.”
That Panizzi was equally interested in other Departments of the Museum Mr. Newton could testify, if need were, for that of the antiquities, and the writer for his own.
Between Mr. Charles Thomas Newton, C.B., and Panizzi, there subsisted something more than an intimate friendship; a more proper term would be a warm attachment. We need no greater proof of Mr. Newton’s devotion to his friend than the fact that when in 1867 the latter was ill, and his life despaired of, the former devoted all his time to the care of his sometime colleague. The great number of letters before us, from the hand of Mr. Newton, would indeed fill a volume of most interesting matter, relating to his discoveries and travels in the Levant; for he was in the habit of communicating to his friend, it appears, all his adventures, whether at Rhodes, Mytilene, Budrum, or Rome. These letters make us wonder, by their freshness, how time and inclination could have been found to write them, and are certainly deserving of publication at some future time. So much important matter, from such a pen, would prove a treasure to future antiquarians and travellers.
Now Mr. Newton, who had been in the Museum since May, 1840, was, in February, 1852, appointed by Lord Granville to the Vice-Consulship of Mytilene.
Whilst there, he carried on various researches and excavations, sending home from time to time to the British Museum the fruit of his labours. In April, 1856, Mr. Newton received directions from the Foreign Office to proceed to Rome, to value the Campana collection then offered to the British Government. On his return from Rome to London he took this opportunity to submit his views as to further operations at Budrum; these he naturally explained to Panizzi, and, through him, it was arranged that the two should one day go to Brocket Hall, Lord Palmerston’s country seat, and there meet Lord Clarendon, to talk over the matter. Lord Palmerston, who was then Premier, with his usual savoir-faire, at once suggested that the Principal Librarian being present, and the two Ministers being both ex-officio Trustees of the British Museum, the meeting of this triad might be considered a quorum, for the settlement of a matter of so much consequence to the National Institution. It was then agreed that Mr. Newton should at once proceed to Budrum on special mission. Those were days when operations of this kind could be carried out with that secrecy and despatch which are necessary to insure success. In this particular case, there was the more reason for prompt action, because Ludwig Ross, a distinguished German explorer, had already visited Budrum, and noticed in his travels the Lions from the Mausoleum, then built into the walls of the Castle at Budrum.
Mr. Newton’s demands were surely not exorbitant; he suggested that a firman authorizing the removal of the Lions should be obtained from the Porte, declaring that the sum of £2,000, and the services of a ship-of-war, for at least six months, would be necessary to insure the success of the expedition. These suggestions were, without loss of time, acted upon, and H.M.’s ship “Gorgon,” commanded by Captain Towsey, was chartered, and she arrived at Budrum in the month of November, 1856.
It is unnecessary now to say that the finding of the ever famous tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus (Budrum) was an event of the first importance to Classical Archæology, or, what is better, that the recovery of part of the slabs of the frieze of this monument, along with other sculptures, was for the history of Greek sculpture in the age of Praxiteles and Scopas, of the same importance, as the marbles of the Parthenon for the history of sculpture in the time of Pheidias. Several of the slabs of the frieze from the Mausoleum had been obtained for the British Museum, through the late Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, some years previous to Mr. Newton’s expedition; but a comparison of them with the newly-recovered fragments at once shows how admirably the skill of the artist, lost and obliterated in the older slabs, had been preserved in Mr. Newton’s. It was not from the circumstances, perhaps, possible to affirm that this or that portion of the Sculptures was the work of Praxiteles, or of Scopas; but this at any rate could be said, that the Sculptures must be taken as works executed under the eyes of these artists, and, doubtless, greatly influenced by them. Here is what Mr. Newton says of them:—
“Budrum, 26th April, 1857.
“My dear Panizzi,
Since I last wrote, we have made some brilliant discoveries. On the Eastern Side of the Mausoleum I have found a beautiful piece of frieze, three figures, an Amazon attacking a prostrate Greek, and a mounted figure.
This piece of frieze ranges with that now in the British Museum. It is in much finer condition, and is a most exquisite specimen of high relief. Being found in the Eastern Side, I think we may venture to consider it the work of Scopas, because a block of that size could not have been transported far without greater injury. On the North Side, digging on beyond the apparent boundary of the temenos, we came to a beautiful Hellenic wall about three feet behind the line cut out of the rock, which marks the boundaries of the quadrangle.
This wall, built of isodomous masonry, is evidently the boundary of the precinct (Pliny’s circuitus) on this side. Digging beyond it to the North, I came to a magnificent colossal female head lying in the ground. The hair is arranged in regular curls on the forehead, and bound with a coif behind, like the head-dress on the contemporary silver coins of Syracuse. This head is one of the most interesting discoveries we have made. It is in fine condition; the nose and mouth have suffered a little. Following the wall Eastward from this point, we came to a mass of ruins lying as they had originally fallen. Near the surface was a Lion of the same size as those in the Castle, nearly entire and in magnificent condition. We have the two forelegs, and hope to find the paws. The face quite perfect, the inside of the mouth coloured red, the very roughness of the tongue rendered. This Lion, though perhaps inferior to the rest in style, and not finished throughout, is a most noble beast. I think the British public will admire him, because there is so little for the imagination to supply.
While we were getting him out, we discovered a male (?) head in three pieces, but capable of being united without much loss. I think, an Apollo, exceedingly fine, on a smaller scale than the other; also part of a horse’s head, on an enormous scale, bigger, I think, than the equestrian statue I first found. After getting these out, we came upon a most beautiful draped female figure in very fine condition, but headless; it is in two pieces, the first from the neck to the knees, the second from the knees to the feet. The drapery of this figure seems to me equal to any in the Elgin-Room. The statue must have been about ten feet long. As we were getting it out, we discovered another colossal figure lying a little to the North of it. This we had not time to get out yesterday, and to-day is Sunday, so it must remain till to-morrow. I forgot to mention that on the piece of the horse’s head a portion of bronze bridle, with a circular ornament, was still fixed, but another piece of horse, with another piece of bronze bridle, was found close to it. You see that these discoveries promise well. My impression is that we are now, for the first time, exploring a part of the site where the ruins have not been disturbed since the building fell. Hence the completeness and fine condition of the sculpture....
Yours very sincerely,
C. T. Newton.”
On the 8th of June, of the same year, again Mr. Newton wrote to Panizzi;—
“You will rejoice to hear that along the Eastern Side of the Mausoleum I found two more very fine slabs of frieze, one nearly six feet long, with an Amazon on horseback, sitting with her face to the tail, shooting at a foe behind her, after the Parthian fashion—a most bold and vigorous design; the other, a combat on foot. It is remarkable that these four slabs of frieze have been found in a line on the Eastern Side. This makes me think they are all from the hand of Scopas. Together they make up about 16 feet, which, with the slabs now in the British Museum, will make up a total length of about 80 feet. I hope you have secured the Genoa slab at any price.
On the North Side, I have found the other half of the head of the great horse. The bronze bit, in perfect preservation, was still in his mouth! The nostrils are distended, much in the manner of those in the horse’s head from the Car of Night in the Elgin-Room, so that these two heads, the works of successive schools, will be an interesting subject of comparison. Besides this, I have found a face broken off from a colossal male head. I think this belongs to the figure in the chariot. It seems to be an ideal portrait, not unlike that of Alexander the Great on the coins of Lysimachus. It represents a man, perhaps Mausolus himself, in the prime of life, slightly bearded. It is in very fine condition, and is, altogether, the finest head I have ever seen, particularly interesting, because it seems to form the connecting link between the schools of Scopas and that of Lysippus. I have still got a good deal of ground to dig on the North Side, but the proprietors are very obstinate.
Yours ever sincerely,
C. T. Newton.”
On the 17th of January, 1861, Mr. Newton was appointed Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, then organized as a separate Department of the Museum. From that time to now he has been constantly occupied, with a success so well known that it is unnecessary to refer to it. In the enlargement and enriching of his Department, partly by the direction of excavations on classical soil—memorably those at Ephesus, which resulted in the discovery of the Temple of Diana—and partly by the purchase of celebrated collections of antiquities. Chief among his transactions of the latter kind was the purchase of the collection of the Duke de Blacas in 1866, which, as public opinion testified at the time, was a most important gain to the National Museum. The acquisition was not effected without difficulties, as may be seen from the following letter:—
“Hôtel des Deux Mondes, Paris,
November 25th, 1866.
“My dear Panizzi,
Jones tells me that after the meeting of the Trustees on Friday, Mr. D’Israeli had an interview with you about the Blacas purchase. I write, therefore, to thank you for having backed my recommendation, which I am quite sure you must have done strongly, or otherwise the Government would not have come to a decision so rapidly. I never was more astonished than when I received authority to treat on Sunday morning last. While we were signing the contract poor DeWitte was at the Grand’Messe. ‘If I had only known,’ he said to me afterwards, ‘two hours sooner what you were about, I would have telegraphed to the Emperor at Compiègne[Compiègne].’ The French are greatly disgusted. From all I can learn, they meant to offer about £40,000, and keep the matter dragging on till they had found out our last offer. I am very much pleased at the result, because I know how greatly the value of our Museum, as a whole, will be increased by this purchase, which supplies exactly what we were most deficient in.
There will, I have no doubt, be a great outcry in England about the largeness of the sum; but I am perfectly ready to bear the brunt of all that. The public will find out in time what a prize they have got. I hear that Mérimée was very anxious that it should be secured for the Louvre. He was on the Commission, but was obliged to go South. Perhaps you may be writing to him; I should like very much to hear what he has to say about the purchase. There is no one who has done more to defend my purchases than he has, up to this date, so I hope he will now. I am going to see the collection of M. Thiers to-morrow morning, and shall be curious to hear what he says.
Yours ever sincerely,
C. T. Newton.”
We trust that we shall not be held to have failed in our endeavour to do justice to the services rendered by Mr. Newton to the National Museum. Apart from the high attainments to which testimony should be offered, this gentleman was so intimately connected with the subject of the memoir, that the omission of such a record would have been a serious fault, considering the constant intercommunion which existed between the two, and the mutual assistance they rendered each other.
As a conclusion to our present chapter, it must be noted that on the 6th of July, 1859, Panizzi was admitted to the Honorary Degree of D.C.L. at the University of Oxford.
