150 Notice of British Naturalists. 
The profits of it he had dedicated to a Welsh charity school in 
London, of which he was the patron; but the expense of the 
undertaking was so great, and the sale comparatively so limited, 
that he lost considerably by the work. As the editions were mul- . 
tiplied he added to it, and improved it ; and it was afi terwards pub- 
lished in octavo with profit. The first one hundred pounds 
that he realized from it, he presented to the school. ‘'T'wo years 
after this, his wife, to whom he appears to have been much at- 
tached, and of whem he speaks in the warmest terms of affection, 
died; leaving him two young children; and to relieve his mind 
from the grief natural to such an event, he paid a visit to the 
continent. 
We may imagine with what pleasure Pennant, with a mind 
constituted as his was, found himself surrounded by the great 
naturalists and literati of his day. Among them he visited, and 
became intimate with Buffon, Voltaire, Baron Haller, the tw 
Gesners, and Dr. Pallas. The intimacy thus formed, with Pallas, 
continued through life; their correspondence was frequent ; and 
Pennant tells us that to this gentleman he owed the first hint of his 
Synopis of British quadrupeds. But Buffon was then the most 
noted naturalist in that part of the continent ; and naturally there- 
fore, the person in whom Pennant felt the greatest personal interest. 
He spent a week with him at his country residence. Buffon was 
born in 1707, of a noble family, and at an early age inherited 4 
large property. He dedicated his life to the pursuit of science 
In 1749 he began to publish his “ Histoire naturelle,” and comple- 
ted it in 1767. He died about 1780. His talents were original, 
and of high order; and by the beauty and eloquence of his style, 
the earnestness with which he insisted upon the advantages of this 
study; and the magnificence of his published works, he al: 
tracted great attention to the science. Asa practical naturalist, 
he was, however, exceedingly deficient. He depended ina great 
measure upon the information afforded by others; and like Gold- 
smith, in a somewhat similar undertaking, his brilliant imagin® 
tion worked this up into an interesting and most popular book 
He pursued no regular system, although he had his own peculiat 
views. Whether he already saw the danger which was likely 
arise from too servile an adherence to Linnzus; or whether It 
was owing toa want of sufficient knowledge of scientific detail 5 
and an affected independence of mind, he merely grouped ms 
