/ET. 28.] TO THE MISSES TORREY. 165 



were introduced, a number of peers made some remarks 

 which could not have been very flattering to them, the 

 creation of a new batch just at this time having given 

 much dissatisfaction to the old ones. Among others, 

 I heard a little speech from the famous Marshal Soult. 

 Lord Brougham, who is now in Paris, was present. I 

 recognized him across the room by his homely face, 

 which he is in the habit of twitching and contorting 

 incessantly, as if it pained him. He seemed to listen 

 with much attention. 



In the evening I paid a visit to Mr. Spach, 1 looked 

 over plants and so forth until ten o'clock, returned 

 shivering with cold, for the weather here is like March 

 in New York. I am now sitting by a large fire, and 

 yet I am shivering. 



Tuesday evening, April 9. In the morning went 

 to hear Mirbel 2 lecture at the Sorbonne ; he speaks 

 so distinctly that I understood him tolerably well in 

 general. The lecture-room is old and incommodious, 

 rather better, to be sure, than the accommodation for 

 the students of the university in the olden time, when 

 they used to sit upon straw spread in the streets, 

 but certainly not very fine. I went afterward to the 

 Ecole de Medecine ; heard the professor of anatomy 

 for a few minutes ; came away, saw two or three books 

 that I wanted in a stall belonging to a shop, priced 

 them ; found the price much higher than I intended 

 to give, so I named the price I would give ; was amused 

 with the perseverance of the very genteel madame, 

 who reduced her price down to within seven francs of 



1 Edouard Spach, 1801-1879; native of Strasburg, many years 

 keeper of the herbarium at the ,Jardin des Plantes. 



2 Charles Francois Brisseau Mirbel, 1776-1854 ; one of the most 

 distinguished vegetable anatomists of the age. His earliest publica- 

 tion in 1801. 



