DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26753#0054
50
God decreed no man should do, they must be content with
failure on failure for the present, and hopeless despair for the
future. Poor Wilkins could not afford to stand erect on his
own feet, so he fell on his knees as he was bid, and crawled—
and the crowd laughed and hooted him to scorn.
So radically wrong does the whole arrangement of tne Na-
tional Gallery appear to be, that I am convinced there is no
real remedy but pulling it down and rebuilding it from the
foundation, if it is to be made a really national edifice, and
worthy of the site on which it stands, which is the finest in the
capital; but there is no hurry for this : the exterior is as good
as that of most London edifices—better than many; and the
interior is neither inconvenient nor badly lighted, and a very
small sum of money, judiciously employed in painting and
decoration, would remove at once the poverty-stricken look of
the rooms, and fit them to receive the collection; and, by
flooring over the entrance, which would not cost much, accom-
modation might at once be obtained for the Vernon collection,
and for any extension the Gallery is likely to receive for some
time. This at all events would suffice, till the project I am
about to propose would be so far perfected, that the Gallery
could be rebuilt without inconvenience or delay, though not,
of course, without expense.
RECORD OFFICE.
The only other institution that now remains to be noticed is the
National Record Office, which does not yet exist, but the public
are now so convinced of the expediency, indeed, of the necessity
of its establishment, that it may almost be considered as a thing
that is, and I think there can be little doubt but that with the
first gleam of financial prosperity, some steps will be taken to
remedy the present very unsatisfactory mode of preserving one
of our principal national treasures.
Various projects have, from time to time, been presented to
the public for supplying this defect in our arrangements : none
however of which have received either the sanction of public
opinion, or the patronage of Government, and, consequently, it
will be unnecessary to mention them here ; and I shall confine
my remarks to the last and best which was proposed by Mr,
God decreed no man should do, they must be content with
failure on failure for the present, and hopeless despair for the
future. Poor Wilkins could not afford to stand erect on his
own feet, so he fell on his knees as he was bid, and crawled—
and the crowd laughed and hooted him to scorn.
So radically wrong does the whole arrangement of tne Na-
tional Gallery appear to be, that I am convinced there is no
real remedy but pulling it down and rebuilding it from the
foundation, if it is to be made a really national edifice, and
worthy of the site on which it stands, which is the finest in the
capital; but there is no hurry for this : the exterior is as good
as that of most London edifices—better than many; and the
interior is neither inconvenient nor badly lighted, and a very
small sum of money, judiciously employed in painting and
decoration, would remove at once the poverty-stricken look of
the rooms, and fit them to receive the collection; and, by
flooring over the entrance, which would not cost much, accom-
modation might at once be obtained for the Vernon collection,
and for any extension the Gallery is likely to receive for some
time. This at all events would suffice, till the project I am
about to propose would be so far perfected, that the Gallery
could be rebuilt without inconvenience or delay, though not,
of course, without expense.
RECORD OFFICE.
The only other institution that now remains to be noticed is the
National Record Office, which does not yet exist, but the public
are now so convinced of the expediency, indeed, of the necessity
of its establishment, that it may almost be considered as a thing
that is, and I think there can be little doubt but that with the
first gleam of financial prosperity, some steps will be taken to
remedy the present very unsatisfactory mode of preserving one
of our principal national treasures.
Various projects have, from time to time, been presented to
the public for supplying this defect in our arrangements : none
however of which have received either the sanction of public
opinion, or the patronage of Government, and, consequently, it
will be unnecessary to mention them here ; and I shall confine
my remarks to the last and best which was proposed by Mr,