Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/44

have seen to be so poor in some respects, is in this respect remarkably good. A central axis is formed by the small exhibition gallery on the ground floor and by the great basilica, and this in turn is connected with the side rooms by two transitional galleries, large enough to make interesting exhibition units, and so placed that the material they contain may be related to that at either one side or the other. Again, at the back of the building, two more large galleries give access to the rooms on either side. In this manner it is possible to pass very rapidly from the entrance to any part of the museum without going through a large number of rooms unnecessarily. All space is valuable for exhibition and the corridors must take their place with the other rooms. As they are difficult units to arrange they should be subordinated where possible, and especial care must be taken that a corridor outside a gallery does not prove a disagreeable feature on account of cross light which enters through the doorways. A gallery may have the function of a corridor and is much more easily arranged and cared for than a regular hallway. Objection has been raised that in the museum without corridors people pass rapidly through room after room without stopping to look at the objects in the room. It is not possible for any one to pass through a room in