73 



BUFFON. 



Button. 



trcmity of the garden, about a furlong from the 

 house ; and '.he only furniture which it contained 

 was a large wooden secretary, and an arm-chair. No 

 hooks or pictures relieved the naked appearance of 

 the apartment, or distracted the thoughts of its 

 learned possessor. The entrance was by green fold- 

 ing doors, the walls were painted green, and the in- 

 terior had the appearance of a chapel, on account of 

 the elevation of the roof. Within this was another 

 cabinet, where Buffon resided the greater part of the 

 year, on account of the coldness of the other apart- 

 ment, and where he composed the greater part of 

 his works. It was a small square building, situated 

 on the side of a terrace, and was ornamented with 

 drawings of birds and beasts. Prince Henry of 

 Prussia called it the cradle of natural history ; and 

 Rousseau, before he entered it, used to fall on his 

 knees and kiss the threshold. At nine o'clock Buf- 

 fon usually took an hour's rest ; and his breakfast, 

 which consisted of a piece of bread and two glasses 

 of wine, was brought to the pavilion.* When he had 

 written two hours after breakfast, he returned to his 

 house. At dinner, he spent a considerable portion 

 of time, and indulged in all the gaieties and trifles 

 which occurred at table. After dinner, he slept an 

 hour in his room, took a solitary walk, and during 

 the rest of the evening, he either conversed with his 

 family or guests, or sat at. his desk examining the pa- 

 pers that were submitted to his judgment. At nine 

 o'clock he went to bed* to prepare himself for the 



same routine of exertion and pleasure. In this maH- 

 ner were spent no fewer than 50 years of his life, 

 which were not marked by many of those occur- 

 rences which give variety to the lives of le^s recluse 

 and more active philosophers. With a strong consti- 

 tution, he was for a long time exempted from those 

 debilities which old age generally brings along with 

 it ; and, though tortured by the cruel disease of the 

 stone, which shortened his existence, he continued 

 his labours under the severest bodily sufferings ; and, 

 to use the expression of Condorcet, it was only for 

 a few days that he ceased to be that illustrious man 

 whose genius and labours had filled Europe for more 

 than forty years. He retained his reason till within 

 a few hours of his death, which happened on the 

 16th of April 1788, in the 81st year of his age. 

 When his body was opened, no fewer than 57 stones 

 were found in his bladder ; and it was the opinion 

 of the faculty, that the operation of lithotomy might 

 have been successfully performed, but Buffon would 

 never consent to this mode of relief. After the body 

 was embalmed, it was presented at St Medard's 

 church, and afterwards conveyed to Montbard, to 

 be interred, according to his orders, in the same 

 vault with his wife. A great concourse of acade- 

 micians, and of persons of rank and literary distinc- 

 tion, attended the funeral of Buffon ; and a, crowd of 

 20,000 spectators assembled in the streets through, 

 which the body was to pass. The monument erect., 

 ed to the memory of this distinguished naturalist, 



" The following account of Montbard is given by Millin in his Travels throvgh the South of France in 1804 and 1805. The 

 anecdotes are extremely interesting, and could not easily have been transfused into the text. 



" We w.-re introduced by Lapierre, who had been gardener to the Count de Buffon during 43 years, and still takes care 

 of this place for the widow of his unfortunate son. The house seems the large habitation of a tradesman, rather than the 

 residence of a man of rank. It is in the High Street, and the court is behind. You ascend a staircase to go into the gar- 

 den, which is raised on the ruins of the ancient mansion, of which the walls make the terraces. On the top, there still re- 

 mains an octagon tower, where Buffon made his observations on the reverberation of the air. The elevation of this tower is 

 an hundred and forty feet above the level of the little river Braine, which crosses the town. This singular and picturesque 

 garden is well worthy of the notice of the curious. It is not so well taken care of as in the time of its illustrious proprie- 

 tor ; but the numerous foreign trees which he had collected, form several agreeable arbours. The kitchen garden is to the 

 south-west, on seven different terraces. 



" Lapierre shewed us all those places in which his master most delighted; and particularly the room in which he laboured 

 during the heats of summer. It is in a pavilion, which is called the Tower of St Louis. Lapierre made us, above all, take 

 notice of another closet, situated on the side of a terrace. Bui?on used to reside there a great part of the year, because the 

 other place was too cold. From this pavilion, the prospect extends to a plain, separated by the river Braine, and boidcred 

 by hills, which make a beautiful scenery. It was there that Buffon composed most of his works. He used to rise with the 

 sun, make fast the shutters and the doors, and work for two hours by the light of wax-candles. In the time of Buffon, inks 

 study was ornamented with drawings of birds and beasts. What pleasure we should have had now to have contemplated 

 those representations ; to have seen the old leather chair ; the table of black birch ; the large walnut-tree secretary which de- 

 corated this apartment ; the old elbow chair in which Buffon used to sit with the engraving of Newton before him ! But 

 the brigands of the revolution envied this luxury to men of letters : they have pillaged this sanctuary of the muses the 

 simplicity of which ought to have been its protection against their sacrilegious rapacity. We could not be prevailed upon to 

 leave this cabinet ; we imagined we saw Buffon in his grey silk night-cap, and in his ivd night-gown with white stripes ; we 

 thought that we heard him intermix with the familiar expressions, ' C'est $a,. tout 93, pardieu !' those profound and strik- 

 ing remarks which manifested his genius. We, however, quitted these gardens to see the rest of the town, that we might 

 proceed on our journey early the next morning. In descending, we passed before the column that M. de Buffon, the son, 

 raised to the memory of his father. They have permitted it to remain, but have effaced the inscription, which consecrated 

 filial affection. . 



" Lapierre shewed us tbfi house of Daubenton, the assiduous companion of the labours of Buffon, and took us up the 

 same staircase which he ascended every morning at five o'clock, to go to the study that we had just visited. We went to the 

 church, situated on very high ground ;- we saw not any of the monuments consecrated to the memory of Buffon. The hum- 

 ble tomb which was raised to the memory of his interesting wife, Mademoiselle de Saint Belin, is also no more to be seen. 

 We arrived at the church by a flight of steps, but there is a way for carriages. Near it is a little esplanade, and an alley, 

 bordered with trees. It was here that Baffon-, after having assisted at high mass, which he regularly attended, walked in a 

 coat richly covered with lace, escorted by his son, accompanied by Father Ignatius, and surrounded by peasants. 



" We shonld have liked much to see the forges frorn which the. greater part of the revenues of Buffon were derived ; but 

 we must have gone a league beyond the town. The sheep-fold in which the illustrious Daubenton made his experiments for 

 the improvement of wool, would also have deserved our attention j but thor,e are no longer any animals kept there." See 

 MiHin's Travels, chap. viij. 



