ollection for L20,000. Though it was in the reign of
the needy George II., the sum was voted, and by the same Act was bought
the Harleian collection of MSS. to add to it; to this was added the
Cottonian Library of MSS., and the nation had a ready-made collection.
The money to pay for the Sloane and Harleian collections was raised by
an easy method of which modern morals do not approve--that is to say, by
lottery. Many suggestions were made as to the housing of this national
collection. Buckingham House, now Buckingham Palace, was spoken of,
also the old Palace Yard; of course, the modern Houses of Parliament
were not then built. Eventually Montague House was bought, and the
Museum was opened to the public in 1757. However, it had not ceased
growing. George III. presented some antiquities, which necessitated the
opening of a new department; to these were added the Hamilton and
Townley antiquities by purchase, and in 1816 the Elgin Marbles were
taken in temporarily. On the death of George III., George IV. presented
his splendid library, known as the King's Library, to the Museum, not
from any motive of generosity, but because he did not in the least
appreciate it. Greville, in his Journal (1823), says: "The King had even
a design of selling the library collected by the late King, but this he
was obliged to abandon, for the Ministers and the Royal Family must have
interposed to oppose so scandalous a transaction. It was therefore
presented to the British Museum."

It then became necessary to pull down Montague House and build a Museum
worthy of the treasures to be enshrined. Sir Robert Smirke was the
architect, and the present massive edifice is from his designs. The
buildings cost more than L800,000.

As this is no guide-book, no attempt is made to classify the departments
of the Museum or to indicate its riches. These may be found by
experiment, or read in the official guides to be bought on the spot.

On the east is Montague Street, running into Russell Square.

Southampton House, the ancient manor-house, celebrated for the famous
lime-trees surrounding it, stood on the ground now occupied by Bedford
Place. Noorthouck describes it as "elegant though low, having but one
storey." It is commonly supposed to have been the work of Inigo Jones.
When the property came into the Bedford family, it was occasionally
called Russell House, after their family name. Maitland says that, when
he wrote, one of the Parliamentary forts,