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nothing remains of them but a romantic edifice, resembling a temple; it occupies a whole square itself. It is the only building on the square, which is enclosed, planted with trees, and forms one of the many ornaments of the city. It is seen from every point.

Museum. It may readily be supposed, that the idea of sceing a place so celebrated as the museum of Philadelphia, inspired me with no common curiosity: that, and the market, to me, were objects of the first interest, which I had long and ardently wished to see. The museum is in Chesnut-street, near the corner of South fourth-street. I soon discovered it by a sign, and after crossing a gallery, came to a stair-case, wide enough to admit a waggon and team. I made but a few steps, before one of them springing under my feet, rung a bell, to my great surprise, and upon gaining the stairs, I was met by a man whose business it is to receive the money paid, which is twenty-five cents. The first object of my inquiry, was the mammoth skeleton, but I was greatly disappointed in its appearance. The skeleton is indeed as large as is represented, but it had not that formidable, dread-inspiring aspect which my romantic turn led me to expect, and with which I expected to be overwhelmed: I beheld it without surprise or emotion. It is standing upon its feet in a small room, which is lighted by a large window, enclosed with a rail as high as one's breast, and presenting its side foremost. I could not forbear smiling at a gentleman, who, like myself, had formed extravagant notions of the manimoth. He stoopped under the rail in order to examine it minutely, and scraping a part of the skeleton with his pen-knife, swore it was nothing but wood," saying to his friend, that he was cheated out of his money; they both retired displeased. It has indeed the appearance of old smokylooking hard white oak, and might impose upon wiserlooking people than Monsieur or myself. The whole has a very dark appearance, and in many parts it is quite black. In some instances the bone is as hard as iron, while other parts seem to be in a mouldering condition. If any thing, the head appears the most amazing; but I haste to describe it.

66

Mammoth Skeleton.-Height over the shoulders, 11 feet; do. over the hips, 9 feet; length from the rump to the chine, 15 feet; length from the tusks to the end of the tail, following the curve of the back bone, 31 feet; width of the hips, 5 feet 8 inches; length of the skeleton, in a straight line, 17 feet 6 inches; width of the head, 3 feet 2 inches; circumference of the thigh bone, 1 foot 6 inches; length of the longest rib, 4 feet 7 inches; circumference of the grinder, 1 foot 6 1-2 inches; weight of the skeleton, 1000 pounds. The skeleton is entire, except two of the ribs, which are made of wood. back is curved, something like what is called a roach. backed horse; the head is shaped very much like that of the elephant, wide at the top, and tapering off suddenly at the chin; the hind part is much lower than the shoul ders, as may be seen.

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This skeleton was found by accident, in Ulster county, N. Y. on a farm belonging to Mr. John Mastin, as he was digging for marl. It was in a morass, and the water flowed in so fast upon him that he was forced to desist from digging. In 1801, Mr. C. W. Peale, of Philadel phia, purchased the right of digging for the skeleton, and after six weeks of intense labour, his efforts were crown. ed with success. He obtained the skeleton perfect, except what has been mentioned. These particulars I transcribed, from a printed account kept in the muscum, which was furnished me through the politeness of Mr. Peale the younger. Although I was not thrown into hy. sterics at the sight of the mammoth skeleton, I found enough of the marvellous in the museum to remunerate for the disappointment. Amongst these were the sealion, the skeleton of a horse, which, when living, meas. ured 20 hands in height, with a human figure on its back! a sheep weighing 214 lbs. (ovis aris,) the devil-fish-in short, ten thousand things wonderful and pleasing. What Mr. Jefferson said of the natural bridge, might with as much propriety be said of Peale's museum, viz. that it was worth a trip across the Atlantic. Here are 1100 birds of different kinds, 250 quadrupeds, 3,450 insects, fish, wax figures, and what was very pleasing to me, 200 portraits of our most distinguished men. The quadru pria

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peds, birds, and sea-animals, are stuffed, (that is, their skins,) the hair, and even the gloss on the feathers, are perfect, and all standing upon their feet, in full size. I shall notice a few of them, and of the principal curiosities, of which there are not a few.

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The most remarkable is the sea lion; what surprised me is the eye, which is of glass, very large, full, fierce, and as natural as though it were living; even the eye lash was entire. The animal in size is enormous, greater than the largest ox: then there is the elephant seal, which is still larger! It lies flat on the floor, and has four feet, or rather claws, stuck on its sides, with a tail resembling that of a fish. These animals are covered with hair like that of a thrifty horse, of a bright brown; the elephant seal, much the lightest color: they are singular curiosities as to size. The devil fish is twelve feet in length, and fifteen round the body, weighing upwards of 2000 pounds! And then a cow with six feet, or legs rather, two of them are on her shoulders, doubled up, as cattle do when lying down; she was a full grown cow. sheep is very large indeed, the sight of it alone was worth ten dollars; the wool is abundant and long; it is remarkable for great length of body, for the shortness of its legs, and a huge flat tail. Next there was a cameleopard, of which I had often read; this has a very slender body, and in appearance between a deer and a horse: its lean long fore legs contrasted with the shortness of the hind legs, gave it an unnatural and awkward appearance; it resembles a horse whe nin the act of rising, with his fore feet stretched out and his hinder parts on the ground. A great Missouri bear and the largest Buffalo bull, an old buck elk, with his tremendous horns on his head, and the whole family of the deer kind. All those animals and many others, are standing on their feet, sacing each other, and as near as possible, presenting something like a furious combat of the most awful looking wild beasts, amongst which the tiger, and the lion, which last with his dreadful jaws extended, seems to threaten the whole affair of them with instant destruction. Besides those which are on the floor, the apartment appro priated to wild beasts is lined with large shelves from

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bottom to top, which are filled with the smaller species of animals; amongst these I was gratified to find the hy. ena, such as it is described, with fury and vengeance in its countenance, and under it a famished wolf standing over a lamb, which he had just killed, and was in the act of tearing to pieces. This was the most natural representation of the whole; the bowels of the sheep looked as though they had that instant been torn out of the body, and the blood besmeared upon the wool seem. ed yet warm. On these shelves stand on their feet, look ing you in the face, the whole tribe of small quadrupeds; amongst these is the whole generation of monkeys, à sub ject of much amusement to the country people, particu. larly two of those human-looking animals who are dress ed in clothes, sitting on stools engaged at shoe-making: it is surprising how the mischief and cunning peculiar to the countenance of these animals can be so perfectly retained. One of them had his shoc, (about an inch long,) on his kuce, fastened with a strap, under his foot, while he is boring with the awl, the ends in his haud ready to thrust through the hole, with all the eagernes of a person in a great hurry. From the wild beasts I went to that part of the musc. um where the birds are exhibited. If I found matter of wonder and astonishment before, now found equal matter of pleasure and delight, mingled, however, with the prodigious. The birds are classed and disposed in regular order, upon shelves, in a large room, which stretches the whole length of the building. The room is narrow, the birds on one side and large windows on the other, of no inconsiderable size. Upon these shelves the birds are placed on their feet, and close shut up with glass to preserve them from dust, and being handled by which. visitors; the name of each bird is written in large letters,rious and either laid at its feet or fastened to it. Beginning tonisi with the largest, we have first the ostrich, which may be called the mammoth of birds; the one in the museum, however, was not a full grown one, although it measures six feet from the bottom to the top of the head. They have a body in shape something like the turkey, the neck proportionably longer, and forms about one third of its

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species height; it is of a dark (but not of a black) color; the feathers are as fine as silk, differing little in texture from those worn by the ladies. This one was much injured, having had its tail pulled out. Its wings have nothing but the pinion, or wing bones, common to other fowls, covered with a sort of down. The leg bone of a full grown ostrich was standing by the other, which came to its neck, two-thirds of its height! It was four feet in length, and as thick as a man's wrist: what then must have been the height of the ostrich! nine feet at least. There were lying by it two of the eggs; the largest was five inches in length, and four in width; they are smooth, and of a cream color. The hooping crane seems to be a candidate for size with the ostrich. It is nearly as making large, similar in shape, but of a beautiful white. The peculiar oron bird, of Africa, is also very large, and exceedingly erfectly beautiful. It is of a deep shining black, with deep red an inch cheeks, viz. turfts of feathers on each side of its head. his foot, The gaber, of Africa, is likewise large, four feet in height, is hand it has a bill eight inches in length. But the pelican and agerness the Patagonian penguin were to me greater curiosities. The pelican has a long bill, eight or nine inches, and from the under part hangs a pouch, extending from the tip end of the bill to the throat, the size of a beef's bladder, and looks precisely like one, being thin and transparent: It is said to carry its food in it." The Patagonian penguin is in shape like the old fashioned pudding bags, standing on its end with the pudding in it. It has neither legs or neck; its feet are stuck on one end of its misshapen body, and its head on the other. Besides these there were swans, geese, and a great variety of ducks, parrots, and a thousand others, the least remarkable of which is worthy the attention of the refined and the curious: but it was the smaller birds whose plumage astonished me most. These beauteous little creatures abound in the museum, and afford the most pleasing and museum, rational of all entertainments. Neither language nor pencil could paint that brilliancy of tint, or that delicacy of shade, which diversify their plumage. I was com pletely surfeited, the eye riots in beauty. The description of those birds in books gives you scarcely any idea

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