M. LE COMTE DE LACEPEDE. 21 



the lapse of a few years, he was so convinced of 

 their imperfection, that he used his best exertions 

 to suppress them. 



At this time, Buffon very opportunely opened up 

 a way by which the Count might usefully exercise his 

 talents. He proposed that he should continue that 

 part of his work on Natural History which treated 

 of animals; and that he might do so with the 

 greater advantage, he offered hi^ the situation of 

 under -demonstrator of the Cabinet du Roi, which 

 had been just vacated by the younger Dauben- 

 ton. Lacepede gladly accepted these proposals, 

 and though some of the attendant duties were 

 somewhat menial, he discharged them with the 

 greatest assiduity. He attended in the museum on 

 public days, arid with his accustomed politeness 

 answered the inquiries of the curious, whether 

 poor or rich. To many this task might have been 

 disagreeable, but he did it to please a beloved mas- 

 ter, and to fit himself for being his successor, and 

 these ideas ennobled every thing. 



In 1788, some months before the death of Buffon, 

 Lacepede published the first volume of his History 

 of Reptiles, which comprehended the oviparous qua- 

 drupeds ; and the following year, the second, which 

 treated of Serpents. These quartos, by the elegance 

 of their style, and the interest of the numerous facts 

 they embodied, were judged worthy of the great 

 work of w^hich they formed the continuation. He 

 established classes, orders, and genera, and accu- 

 rately characterized these divisions ; he enumerated 



