CUVIER. |Jl 



depended on it; and though Cnvier afterwords felt 

 that the change in his destiny — he was preparing 

 himself for the Church — which resulted from this 

 circumstance was one for which he had much reason 



to be thankful, yet at the time its evident injustice 

 was severely felt. 



The fame of the young student, however, and his 

 disappointment, reached the ears of Duke Charles, and 

 when on a visit to Montbeliard, he sent for Cuvier, 

 and took him under his special favour, and sent him 

 to the Academy of Stuttgart, in March, 1784. 



After studying philosophy for twelve months, he 

 applied himself to the science of fiscal administration, 

 because it gave him an opportunity to pursue his 

 favourite natural history in books, in the fields, and 

 in cabinets. One of the professors gave him a copy 

 of Linnaeus' "System of Nature," which was his 

 library on natural history for several years. While 

 occupied by such reading and the collection of 

 specimens, he also obtained several prizes in his 

 class studies, including the prize for the German 

 language. 



At the termination of his academical career, Cuvier 

 wag promised a place in the service of his country 

 when a position became vacant ; but circumstances 

 compelled him to seek employment in a manner 

 wholly different from his own wishes, or the hopes of 

 his patron. The unsettled state of finance in France 

 caused his lather's pension to be withheld ; and 

 being thus unwilling to burden his father, and unable 

 to wait, perhaps two or three years, till an oppor- 



