gb0551ms-33-18

Transcription

[Page] 18
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rectify the situation. Six months ago we fondly
believed that Russia was almost ready to
beleaguer Cracow, and that the invasion of
the Hungarian plains was iminent. Today
through lack of adequate supplies of Munitions,
Russia has been forced back till she is almost
cleared from Galicia. The cost of the war to
us is some £3,000,000 a day; all purchase
grants to the Museums have stopped; and
all expenditure not absolutely necessary curtailed.
Work on the Museum commenced last January,
but the progress has been lamentably slow.
Material especially, the steel beams for the
roof, are being delayed in arrival owing to the
requirements of the Naval & Military Authorities,
and when the material does arrive there is a
scarcity of men to handle it! Progress is very
slow and we may consider ourselves lucky
if by this time next year we are in a position
to move back the collections to our own side of
the building. The £500 which the Office of
works had set aside to provide new window
cases has now, from motives of economy, been
written off, and as the radiators in the
new system of heating are to be placed in the
windows and will consequently render

the old cases quite useless I foresee further delay.
Few people come about the Museum now, as the
library is not accessible, nor are the exhibits.
I have been busy cataloguing the Newstead
collection, marking every object with its registration
number by my own hand. Throughout the winter
and spring I have been constantly engaged
treating iron objects, which were going to disin:
:tegrate, by the process Mr Edwards learned from
Pro. [Professor] Rattigen in Berlin. Mr Edwards is still
engaged as a Sergeant Major in Craigleith
Hospital, so I have to do the work that otherwise
would have fallen to him. Poor Wishart, who for
the last six years was attendant in the upper
Gallery, an excellent light hearted fellow, always
cheery and keen about his work, rejoined the
colours as bugle major last Autumn,
went to the Dardnelles with the 5th Royal
Scots, and in the end of April was killed
on the Gallipoli Peninsula. George Archibald
still remains as my sole attendant and even he
occasionally suggests that he might go & serve.
Were he physically of any account I should of
course let him go. We have almost finished
arranging and labelling all the blocks for
for the illustrations of Proc. [Proceedings] a task which has
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