Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 51.djvu/820

802 dynasty; limestone portrait statues with the original colors still visible and bearing inscriptions; coffin and mummy of the lady, Mery; an inscribed wooden head rest; and a unique painted board with figures of servants cooking for the deceased. This work of collection so well begun will be prosecuted vigorously, and in time the university will possess a notable Egyptian museum. In one sense the Haskell Oriental Museum is the outgrowth of the Department of Comparative Religion, which is under the direction of Prof. George S. Goodspeed. Courses are offered by Prof. Goodspeed and his helpers in a considerable range. The religions of China, Japan, India, ancient Persia, Greece, Rome, and northern Europe are studied historically and in the light of modern science. A unique feature connected with this department is the establishment of two lectureships on the Relations of Christianity to the other Religions. These lectureships were endowed by Mrs. Haskell, and are known as the Haskell Lectures and the Barrows Lectures. The former are given yearly at the university, the latter are delivered in alternate years in cities of India. Both lectureships are held by Rev. John H. Barrows, President of the World's Parliament of Religions in 1893. The first course of Barrows Lectures was given last year in India, and created a considerable stir.

Presented last, from the fact that much of the work is done at other places than the university proper, is the Department of Astronomy. A small observatory on the campus supplies opportunity for elementary work in practical astronomy by undergraduate students. The Kenwood Observatory, situated in the city about one mile north from the campus, furnishes facilities for practical work by more advanced students in physical astronomy, practical astronomy, and astrophysics. Its astrophysical equipment is complete. The Yerkes Observatory is just being completed, and will soon be in operation. This, the gift of Charles T. Yerkes, is located about seventy miles from Chicago, at Williams Bay, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The site occupied comprises about fifty acres of timbered land. The buildings are located upon a gently sloping hill about two hundred feet above the level of the lake and twelve hundred feet above the sea. The place has been especially selected for freedom from dust and tremors. The building is T-shaped, the great dome being at the foot of the letter and the smaller domes at the other extremities, the latter being for sixteen-inch and twelve-inch telescopes. The greatest length of the building, which is from east to west, is three hundred feet. The central body contains library and lecture rooms, laboratories for physical, chemical, and photographic work, computing rooms, and offices. The building is of the best construction. The great telescope is the largest refracting