place reserved for loan exhibitions, and several of importance have
already been held here. One of the earlier was of some of the
treasures of the South Kensington Museum, loaned by Queen Victoria.
Opening upon these arcades are numerous halls on the lower floor,
devoted to the permanent exhibition. The classification of the objects
exhibited, if not loose, is very general, seeming to us inferior to
the method which makes the South Kensington a delight, whether one has
hours or months in which to visit it. On the ground floor of this
Berlin Museum are "objects in the making of which fire is not used."
This includes domestic and ecclesiastical furniture of different
countries and historical periods, musical instruments, tapestries,
carvings in ivory and wood, and many other objects widely separated in
thought. A fine exhibit is made of articles in amber wrought by
workmen of rich old Dantzic, for which Baltic Germany furnishes the
raw material. The ancient Italian carved bridal-chests brought vividly
to mind our childhood's favorite story of Ginevra, by chance
imprisoned in such a chest on the day which was to have witnessed her
marriage.

The upper floor, with an arrangement similar to that of the lower,
shows "objects in the manufacture of which fire is necessary." The
very extensive collection of pottery and porcelain was surpassed, in
our observation, only by that at Sevres; and there are many rare and
valuable specimens of work in glass and metals. The ancient municipal
silver service of the city of Lueneberg, bought at a cost of $165,000,
deserves the attention it attracts; and the work of German mediaeval
goldsmiths--particularly of the famous Augsburg artisans--is a
revelation of the possibilities of human handiwork. Stained glass, of
much historic and artistic value, fills the windows of the entire
building. The specimens of textile fabrics, in completeness and
extent, are matchless, and are so arranged as to afford the utmost
facility to students of the history of this important subject, as well
as great pleasure to the favored visitor who has the opportunity to
inspect them.

This "Kuenstgewerbe Museum" is open to the public without charge on
three days of the week, and for a small fee on the remaining days;
while its valuable industrial library may be freely consulted on four
week-day evenings. Its influence is already strongly felt along the
lines of trade and industry throughout the Empire.

The great