JOHN STUART MILL. 703 



gnan, a few miles from Toulouse. The journey occupies four days, and 

 is not without incident. He makes a blunder in choosing the cabrio- 

 let of the diligence, and finds himself in low company. At Orleans, a 

 butcher, with the largest belly he had ever seen, came in and kept inces- 

 santly smoking. On the third day he is at Limoges, and breakfasts in 

 company with a good-natured gentleman from the interior ; but his own 

 company does not much improve ; the butcher leaves, but a very dirty 

 jille^ with an eruption in her face, keeps up his annoyance. The fol- 

 lowing day a vacancy occurs in the interior, and he claims it as the 

 passenger of longest standing ; a lady contests it with him, and it has 

 to be referred to the maire ; the retiring passenger, a young avocat, 

 pleading his case. He is now in good company, and his account of the 

 •successive localities is minute and cheerful. 



He arrives at his destination at 2 A. M., the 2d of June, is received 

 by Mr, George Bentham, and meets the family at breakfast. They take 

 hun out for a walk, and he does no work that day, but begins a letter 

 to his father. Next day he makes an excursion to Toulouse, spends 

 the night there, and gives up a second day to sight-seeing ; there was 

 a great religious procession that day. He makes the acquaintance of a 

 Dr. Russell, resident at Toulouse, with whose family he afterward asso- 

 ciates. The following day, the 5th, he sees the Marquis and Madame 

 de Pompignan, the proprietors of the chateau. On the 6th, he com- 

 mences work ; and now begins our information as to his mode of allo- 

 cating his time to study. The entry for this day merely sets forth tha'j 

 he got up early ; went into the library ; read some of Lucia n (who is 

 his chief Greek reading for the weeks to follow) ; also some of Millot, 

 by Mr. George's advice ; " learned a French fable by rote " — the begin- 

 ning of his practice in French. 7th. "Learned a very long fable; 

 wrote over again, with many improvements, my Dialogue, part L" 

 This dialogue frequently comes up, but without further explanation. 

 We must take it as one of his exercises in original composition, per- 

 haps in imitation of the Platonic Dialogues. 8th. Engaged with Mr. 

 G. in arranging the books of the library, which seems to have been set 

 as a task to the boys. " Wrote some of dialogue ; learned a very long 

 fable by heart ; resolved some problems of West (Algebra) ; did French 

 exercises (translating and so forth)." 9th. " Breakfasted early and 

 went with Sir S. and Lady Bentham in the carriage to Montauban ; took 

 a volume of Racine in my pocket, and read two plays ; " remark his 

 reading pace. On returning home he reads a comedy of Voltaire. 

 10th, " Before breakfast, learned another fable, and read some of Vir- 

 gil. After breakfast, wrote some of my Dialogue, and some French 

 exercises. Wrought some of the Differential Calculus. Read a tragedy 

 of Corneille." 11th. " Learned another fable ; finished my Dialogue. 

 If good for nothing beside, it is good as an exercise to my reasoning 

 powers, as well as to my invention, both which it has tried extremely." 

 We may be sure that it aimed at something very high. "Wrote some 



