from one the size of a plate, to those of the smallest size.

"In the same building is also to be seen a most extensive assortment of
minerals, spars, gems, ores, crystals, medals, etc. etc., which merely to
enumerate singly, would more than fill a long letter. We next saw the
Museum of Zoology: this contains reptiles and fish, innumerable, and of
which I can only say, how wonderful are their varieties! I must not,
however, forget to tell you that we saw a part of an elephant's tusk,
which when complete is believed to have been at least eight feet in length.
Only imagine what must have been the height of the possessor of such a
pair of tusks! Here too we saw the skeleton of an enormous whale that was
captured on the coast of France; and from the size of its jaw bones, I can
readily believe the old story, that the tongue of the whale is as large as
a feather bed.

"But the whale's was not the only skeleton which we saw,--here were
collected and strung together, the bones of men, women, children,
quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and fish to form perfect specimens.--All this
was very remarkable: but I cannot say that I much admired them, though I
was much struck by the sight of an Egyptian mummy, embalmed and unwrapped,
and supposed to have been in its present state far more than a thousand
years. We none of us very much enjoyed the sight of the dead specimens, we
therefore gladly left them, in order to pay our respects to their living
neighbours, whose houses were not very far off.

"The Garden of Plants contains a very considerable number of wild animals,
and who all appear to be living very much at their ease. Indeed they are
surrounded with every thing that can be devised to render their captivity
as little irksome as possible. They are confined it is true; not in narrow
cages, but in wide enclosures; around them grow trees of their own country,