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The founding of the British Museum, p. 4--Purchase of Sir Hans Sloane's collection of curios by the English government, p. 4--Collection of curios and library located in Montague Mansion, p. 5--Acquisition of the collection of Sir William Hamilton, p. 5--Capture of Egyptian antiquities by the English, p. 5--Construction of the present museum building, p. 6--The Mesopotamian department, p. 8--The Museum of Natural History in South Kensington, p. 8--Novel features in the structure of the building, p. 9--Arrangement of specimens to illustrate evolution, protective coloring, etc., p.-- --Exhibits of stuffed specimens amid their natural surroundings, p. 10--Interest taken by visitors in the institution, p. 12.
CHAPTER II--THE ROYAL SOCIETY OP LONDON FOR IMPROVING NATURAL KNOWLEDGE
The Royal Society, p. 14--Weekly meetings of the society, p. 15--The tea before the opening of the lecture, p. 15--Announcement of the beginning of the lecture by bringing in the great mace, p. 16--The lecture-room itself, p. 17--Comparison of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin, p. 18--The library and reading-room, p. 19--The busts of distinguished members, p. 20--Newton's telescope and Boyle's air-pump, p. 21.
CHAPTER III--THE ROYAL INSTITUTION AND LOW-TEMPERATURE RESEARCHES
The founding of the Royal Institution, p. 29--Count Rumford, p. 30--His plans for founding the Royal Institution, p. 32--Change in the spirit of the enterprise after Rumford's death, p. 33--Attitude of the earlier workers towards the question of heat as a form of motion, p. 34--Experiments upon gases by Davy and Faraday, p. 35--Faraday's experiments with low temperatures, p. 39--Other experiments to produce lower temperature, p. 39--Professor De-war begins low-temperature research, p. 39--His liquefaction of hydrogen, p. 43--Hampson's method of producing low temperatures, p. 44--Dewar's invention of the vacuum vessel, p. 53--Its use in retaining liquefied gases, p. 54--Changes in physical properties of substances at excessively low temperatures, p. 56--Magnetic phenomena at low temperatures, p. 56--Changes in the color of substances at low temperatures, p. 57--Substances made luminous by low temperatures, p. 58--Effect of low temperatures upon the strength of materials, p. 59--Decrease of chemical activity at low temperatures, p. 60--Olzewski's experiments with burning substances in liquid oxygen, p. 61--Approach to the absolute zero made by liquefying hydrogen, p. 69--Probable form of all matter at the absolute zero, p. 70--Uncertain factors that enter into this determination, p. 71.