earum reliquias, ex urbium veterum ruderibus effossas,
summo studio conquisivit, suâ pecuniâ redemit, in usum patriæ reposuit,
eâ liberalitate animi, quâ, juvenis adhuc,
hæreditatem alteram, vix patrimonio minorem,
fratri spontè cesserat, dono dederat.
Vixit annos lxvii. menses iii. dies iii.
Mortem obiit Jan. iii. A.S. 1805.
Whilst the Trustees of the British Museum were preparing—in a way that will be hereafter noticed—for the reception of this noble addition to the public wealth of the Nation, another liberal-minded scholar and patriot was considering in what way his collections in the wide field of classical archæology might be made most contributive to the progress of learning, of art, and of public education.
Lord Elgin and his Pursuits in Greece.
Thomas Bruce, eleventh Earl of Kincardine, and seventh Earl of Elgin, was born on the 20th of July, 1766. He was a younger son, but succeeded to his earldoms on the death, without issue, in 1771, of his elder brother, William Robert, sixth Earl of Elgin, and tenth of Kincardine. He was educated at Harrow, at St. Andrew’s, and at Paris; entered the army in 1785; and in 1790 began his diplomatic career by a mission to the Emperor Leopold. In subsequent years he was sent as Commissioner to the armies of Prussia and Austria, successively, and was present during active military operations, both in Germany and in Flanders. In 1795 he went as envoy to Berlin.