APPENDIX. 317 



as keepers, and taking upon himself the responsibility of 

 all the expenses. Some of his colleagues were alarmed 

 at the consequences, and blamed his conduct, whilst 

 others approved of it ; nevertheless, Geoffrey persevered, 

 and in the course of a month, a vote of the Assembly 

 confirmed the happy initiative of the young professor. 

 But the decree of the Convention, which bears the date of 

 the 11th of September, 1794, only gave an official con- 

 firmation to an establishment which had been in existence 

 for more than a year. 



Here we must record an event of much consequence in 

 the history of science, and which is highly honourable to 

 Geoffrey. The Abbe Tessier, who had taken refuge in 

 the provinces, wrote to his colleague, Parmentier, " I 

 have found a treasure in the wilds of Normandy." It 

 was thus that Tessier described a young man, who, while 

 discharging the humble duties of a private tutor, devoted 

 all his leisure time to Natural History. He wrote in a 

 similar strain to Lamarck and to Geoffrey entreating them 

 to draw this young naturalist to Paris. To aid his 

 friend in the accomplishment of his wishes, Geoffrey re- 

 quested that the young man might send him some of his 

 manuscripts, and immediately on the receipt of a commu- 

 nication from the stranger, wrote thus to his unknown 

 correspondent, " Come to Paris without loss of time ; 

 come and assume the place of a new Linnagus, and 

 become another founder of Natural History." It was 

 thus that Cuvier, for it was he, was called to Paris by the 

 prophetic summons of Geoffrey. An intimate friendship 

 was soon established between the two ; and although this 

 friendship may afterwards have appeared to be broken by 

 the keenness of scientific discussions, we have pleasure in 

 certifying from personal knowledge that it revived with 

 all the intensity of earlier days as soon as one of the two 

 antagonists was struck by some of those trials which fall 



