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Article CHIT CHAT. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Chit Chat.
produced him a revenue of -10 , 0001 ' . a year , to his passion for possessing the masterpieces of the great Flemish artists . Reduced hy this to the want of even the necessaries of life , he could not be induced to part with even one of his cherished treasures . At last , an old servant , who continued to serve him without wages , converted the gallery into a source for the maintenance of his master ancl himself , by applying the gratuities given him for showing the splendid collection to visitorsin
, purchasing food for them both . A few years ago the faithful ancl affectionate old servant died , and M . Van N ., hopeless of finding another upon the same terms , took the office upon himself . When visitors came to view the gallery , he put on the old livery , ancl attended them through it , displaying a critical acquaintance with the merits of each picture that delighted all , and astonished those who were able to appreciate his erudition . Sometimes the visitorssupposing him to be really the
ser-, vant , would make the master the subject of sarcastic observations , some calling him an eccentric fool , and others a madman , and wondering that his friends did not have him declared a lunatic . All this he listened to either with perfect indifference , or making palliating excuses , as his old servant used to do , and , when their curiosity was satisfied , holding out his hand for the accustomed fee . "
I HE CASE OF MR . HALLIWELL . —The trial between Trinity College , Cambridge , and tbe British Museum , was fixed for Tuesday , the 23 rd inst . It was then postponed till the following Thursday . On Wednesday , however , the trial was abandoned , ancl the record withdrawn . It is believed that a meeting of the trustees of tlie British Museum was held on Saturday , on which day Mr . Halliwell received the following letter from Sir Henry Ellis : — "British \ lt ; s urn , June 27 , 184 ( 1 .
" DEAR SIB , —I am instructed by our trustees to communicate to you , that if an application in the usual form for admission to the readingroom , shall be made by you , the same will be granted in the usual manner . " I am , dear Sir , your faithful servant , " HENRY ELLIS . " James Orchard Halliwell , Esq . "
To this letter the following reply was sent by Mr . Halliwell : — " 4 , Great Ryder-street . St . James's , June 2 . 1 184 G . " DEAR SIR HENRY , —I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your note of Saturday ' s date , acquainting me that by the instruction of the trustees of the British Museum you had to communicate to me , that if an application were made by me for admission to the reading-room , it would be granted in the usual manner . I can only assure you that my
re-admission will he a source of great satisfaction to me , since my literary engagements have been most seriously obstructed by my exclusion , not to mention the distress of mind I have now experienced for the period of a year and a half . " I therefore request you will have the goodness to send me a ticket of admission to the reading-room . I am not aware that any other form of application is necessary , butif such be the case will perhaps be
, , you kind enough to inform me of it . " I am , dear Sir Henry , yours very sincerely , " Sir Henry Ellis . " " J . O . HALLIWELL . Sir H . Ellis at once forwarded a ticket of admission to the readingroom to Mr . Halliwell , unaccompanied by any further communication .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Chit Chat.
produced him a revenue of -10 , 0001 ' . a year , to his passion for possessing the masterpieces of the great Flemish artists . Reduced hy this to the want of even the necessaries of life , he could not be induced to part with even one of his cherished treasures . At last , an old servant , who continued to serve him without wages , converted the gallery into a source for the maintenance of his master ancl himself , by applying the gratuities given him for showing the splendid collection to visitorsin
, purchasing food for them both . A few years ago the faithful ancl affectionate old servant died , and M . Van N ., hopeless of finding another upon the same terms , took the office upon himself . When visitors came to view the gallery , he put on the old livery , ancl attended them through it , displaying a critical acquaintance with the merits of each picture that delighted all , and astonished those who were able to appreciate his erudition . Sometimes the visitorssupposing him to be really the
ser-, vant , would make the master the subject of sarcastic observations , some calling him an eccentric fool , and others a madman , and wondering that his friends did not have him declared a lunatic . All this he listened to either with perfect indifference , or making palliating excuses , as his old servant used to do , and , when their curiosity was satisfied , holding out his hand for the accustomed fee . "
I HE CASE OF MR . HALLIWELL . —The trial between Trinity College , Cambridge , and tbe British Museum , was fixed for Tuesday , the 23 rd inst . It was then postponed till the following Thursday . On Wednesday , however , the trial was abandoned , ancl the record withdrawn . It is believed that a meeting of the trustees of tlie British Museum was held on Saturday , on which day Mr . Halliwell received the following letter from Sir Henry Ellis : — "British \ lt ; s urn , June 27 , 184 ( 1 .
" DEAR SIB , —I am instructed by our trustees to communicate to you , that if an application in the usual form for admission to the readingroom , shall be made by you , the same will be granted in the usual manner . " I am , dear Sir , your faithful servant , " HENRY ELLIS . " James Orchard Halliwell , Esq . "
To this letter the following reply was sent by Mr . Halliwell : — " 4 , Great Ryder-street . St . James's , June 2 . 1 184 G . " DEAR SIR HENRY , —I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your note of Saturday ' s date , acquainting me that by the instruction of the trustees of the British Museum you had to communicate to me , that if an application were made by me for admission to the reading-room , it would be granted in the usual manner . I can only assure you that my
re-admission will he a source of great satisfaction to me , since my literary engagements have been most seriously obstructed by my exclusion , not to mention the distress of mind I have now experienced for the period of a year and a half . " I therefore request you will have the goodness to send me a ticket of admission to the reading-room . I am not aware that any other form of application is necessary , butif such be the case will perhaps be
, , you kind enough to inform me of it . " I am , dear Sir Henry , yours very sincerely , " Sir Henry Ellis . " " J . O . HALLIWELL . Sir H . Ellis at once forwarded a ticket of admission to the readingroom to Mr . Halliwell , unaccompanied by any further communication .