MUSEUM

(Yunanca köken — orijinale bakınız.) A col of prophets verses lection of curious objects in nature and nrt, but, in most instances,the former. The name denotes a temple or place Jews bad sacred to the Muses, and is said to have been first given by school Ptolemy Philadelphui to that part of the royal palace at themselves, Alexandria in which he placed the famous library. In Eng instruments. land, the museum at Oxford is the most ancient institution bearing the name. It was founded in 1079, and enriched, in the first instance, chiefly by the contributions of Elias chosen Aahmole; but want of room and of funds has prevented it Psalms. from affording an adequate exhibition of the various cla es when of objects for which it was originally destined, and which among modern discoveries have so greatly augmented. The foundies dat i on of the Iirttish.Mns. inn, in London, was laid by Sir Under Richard Cotton's presenting to it his collection of manuappointed scripts. Since that period the library has been increased by the religious the addition of the Harleian, Lansdowne, Egcrton, and several other collections of MSS.; by extensive purchases out been interested of funds afforded by government; by the deposit of copies continually of newlv published works, according to the legal right conharps, ferredon this institution; and by the donations of George As in III. and IV., the latter of whom presented to it his father's that of library. In sculpture, the British Museum po e es the colvice of lection of marbles brought by Lord Elgin from Greece, tomon gelher with that called the Townley marbles, and a fine as praised semblageofEgyptian works of art. It contains also the paten of HanVlton vases, and the famous Barber in i or Portland vase. Solomon, In several departments of natural history, especially in min ranked eralogy,it is extremely rich. It was founded by Sir Hans Sloane in 1733, and fills the mansion known by the name the sons vanities ef Montague House, together with adjoining buildings more in bis recently erected. The most celebrated museum in Italy is were useful the Vatican, at Rome; next to it, that of Florence; and the cause Ifuseo Borbonlco, at Naples. In France, as well as in Italy, not the galleries of pictures are considered as within the meaning of the general term "in usee;" and the museum of the Louthe first vreischiefly remarkable for its contents of this description. met with MISIIROOM (Fr. mou e ron, n kind of agaric used in intercourse sauces), is, properly speaking, the Jlgaricus compos i lis, or tal blow eatable agaric: a species common in pastures, nnd well music known for its excellence as an ingredient in sauces: but the sufficient term is generally used in a more extended sense, a,id applied indiscriminately to all firm, fleshy species of the genus Jiga.- ricut. whether eatable or not. we sing [s. 801]