ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE BOOTH MUSEUM AT BRIGHTON[10]

We are assembled in a room that contains a collection in many respects unequalled by any other in the world. In the first place, it has been entirely the work of one man in a life of no great length,--he had only reached the age of fifty when he died,--but who devoted an extraordinary amount of energy and perseverance, and also expended a very considerable amount of money, in making it as perfect as possible of its kind. You must not suppose for a moment that Mr. Booth was the only man who ever made a collection of British birds. Birds have always been favourites, and the birds of our own islands, though far less remarkable for form, size, and brilliancy of plumage than those of other lands, have for many reasons been peculiarly attractive. The national pride which causes us to love our countrymen better than foreigners includes birds as well as other bipeds. It has, therefore, been the aim of many public museums, as well as private lovers of natural history, to make as complete a collection of British birds as possible. But it is one thing to have a collection adapted and conveniently arranged for reference and study by the learned ornithologist, or consisting of as many specimens as can be crammed into the smallest space they could occupy, without regard to their condition or their order, and quite another thing to have a collection under such circumstances and so arranged as to convey the fullest possible amount of information and instruction, and to excite the greatest possible interest in the minds of those who, like the majority of us, are not in a position to devote any large portion of our scanty leisure to their study. For this latter purpose I have no hesitation in saying it would be difficult to imagine a collection so complete, and so admirably arranged and displayed, as the one in which we are. I purposely avoid comparison with the beautiful series, showing the nesting habits of birds, now being arranged in the National Museum in London under the supervision of Dr. Günther, because the objects of the two are in many respects different, as are also the methods in which they have been carried out. We must recollect that this collection was formed by one who was an intense lover of bird-life, one who spent the greater part of his own life, night and day, summer and winter, in watching their manners and actions in their native haunts, and who knew from his own keen observation exactly what were their favourite surroundings, what kind of soil or of rock, or of tree or of flower, each species would be most likely to be found among or near. Most collections contain only the birds themselves. Here we have not only birds, but the home in which the birds dwelt, most carefully and accurately reproduced, and on such a scale and in such a manner as has never been done anywhere before. As for the birds themselves, not only are they the finest and best specimens of their kind that could be procured, and in many cases showing various stages of plumage, at different ages and different seasons of the year, but far more care, knowledge, and artistic skill has been expended on their mounting than is generally the case either in museums or in private collections. The art of taxidermy, though quite an old one in Europe, extending back certainly three or four hundred years, has made very little progress until very recent times, and even now, though there is so great a development of nearly all branches of art, it has had far too little attention bestowed upon it. Very few people seem to know the difference between a really well-mounted bird or mammal and an inferior one, but there is as much difference between them as between a picture of a lion by Landseer or Rosa Bonheur, and a picture of the same animal depicted by a village artist on the sign of a public-house. And yet so little do people understand this, that they go on filling museums and collections with wretched examples, and continue to pay the unfortunate bird-stuffer a miserably inadequate sum for work which should be the work of a real artist, and which can only be done by a man who not only has devoted great care and attention to the subject, but has also the rare gift of inborn genius. I am very critical, indeed, as you can see, on the subject of bird-stuffing, and I am happy to be able to say, and every time I enter this museum it strikes me more, that the greater number of specimens in it, though, of course, they are unequal, are admirable specimens of the art of taxidermy. Many of them are very fine indeed, all are above the average, and I believe there is not a single bad one among them. The collection is eminently adapted for public instruction. If the advantages to be derived from it were only the momentary pleasure of looking at it here, it would be of comparatively little account, but if properly used it may be the means of spreading knowledge and interest which will affect the whole course of some of our lives. We all have cares and troubles enough in our passage through this world, and we are so often brought into contact with so much that is mean, disagreeable, and ugly, that we ought not, for our own sakes, as well as for the sakes of those among whom we live, to neglect any sources of joy and gladness that might be offered to us. The man who walks through life with his eyes open to beauty, wherever it can be found, is by so much a happier and a more useful man than one whose eyes are closed to it. The observation of bird-life is one among many of unfailing sources of pleasure. We cannot walk upon our downs, or along our cliffs, or on our sands, with our eyes open without seeing birds innumerable, though I believe that many never do see them. This museum, however, should teach us to see them, to know them one from another, to make them our friends and companions, and, rightly used, it may be a source of making many lives happier, and sweeter, and purer than they otherwise would be. For such a collection as this ever to be dispersed or destroyed would be a national misfortune. The Mayor has alluded to the fact that it was first offered to the British Museum, and if I had had any idea that, if we did not accept it, it would be destroyed or dispersed, I should have felt it my duty to advise the Trustees to take it over. I received, however, an intimation that the Corporation of Brighton was not only willing, but most anxious to take charge of the collection, and to maintain it. Although it would have been a great privilege to me to have been its official guardian, I rejoice to think that it is going to remain here, and that you have expressed your determination to maintain it for the benefit of your fellow-townsmen and for visitors. The great central national collections are the fitting repositories of many specimens of natural objects and works of art. Such as are unique, and such as are necessary for the researches of advanced students who require facilities for their investigations which can only be obtained by the direct comparison of a large series of specimens one with another, ought to be in them. But, on the other hand, the more collections like this--adapted for general instruction--are to be met with in other great centres of population, the better it will be for the welfare of the country generally. Apart from the fact that the collection was made at Brighton, and a large number of the birds in it obtained in the immediate neighbourhood, Brighton seems to be a particularly suitable place for preserving a museum like this. You have a vast number of visitors, who come for the purpose of seeking repose or health, for whom such a light, interesting, and easy occupation as is afforded by learning what this museum can teach, ought to be the best that can be found. It only needs to be better known to be very much more widely appreciated than it has been hitherto. In conclusion, I feel sure that I am expressing the feelings of friends around me who are interested in the advancement of the Natural History sciences, and of many more who are unable on account of other engagements to be present, in thanking the Mayor and Corporation for asking us to come to this interesting meeting, and in congratulating them on possessing such a valuable addition to the many attractions of the town.