, the Nike of
Samothrace and the Font of Siena. They were all made expressly for the
Museum, and imported from London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Florence, Rome,
Naples and Athens. In addition to these, there is a complete collection
of the British Museum electrotypes of Greek coins, handsomely mounted,
and the nucleus of a collection of photographs, about 600, including the
best plates of Braun, Naya, Brogi and other celebrated photographers.
Most of the statues are mounted on revolving pedestals; two hundred and
fifty of the photographs are exhibited in individual frames, the backs
of which are movable, that the exhibition may be varied as often as
desired; and, owing to the lack of wall-space, draperies have been hung
extensively throughout the hall, the material of which is heavy raw
silk. We mention these facts only to show that economy was not a
consideration in the execution of the Museum, and believe that our
readers will be the more surprised to learn that its _gross_ cost to Mr.
Slater--excluding, of course, the building itself--was exactly
$27,112.97. Is there any city or college in the Union in which this sum
could not be raised for a similar purpose?

The cost of the building we do not give, because it would be useful as
showing how much, rather than how little, could be put into such an
edifice. It contains, besides the museum proper, the floor-space of
which amounts to about 10,000 square feet, a lecture-hall with a
seating-capacity of about 1,200, a library and four large class-rooms,
which, if the intentions of the founder are fully carried out, will be
used for practical instruction in the fine arts. Desirable as all these
rooms are in a building of the kind, the only one which seems to us
absolutely necessary is the lecture-hall. To open a gallery like this to
the public, and then leave people to float about in it aimlessly,
without a notion of its meaning or its purposes, is to do but half the
work. Either regular courses of instruction or occasional lectures upon
topics connected with the theory or history of art are necessary in
order to make the Museum anything more than a collection of curiosities
to the uninitiated, and such lectures are given during the winter at the
Slater Museum.

Of the amount just quoted, the principal item was naturally for casts.
The cost of these, including packing and transportation, but not
setting-up in the Museum, was $13,968.68, making an average of a trifle
less than