144 STUDIES IN ANIMAL LIFE. 



and Kay, rapidly sketching the history of natural 

 history as a science, and concluding with this criti- 

 cism on these attempts at a nomenclature which 

 neglected real science: " These are the dictionaries 

 of natural history ; but when will the language be 

 spoken ?" 



No one who reads these letters attentively will 

 be surprised at the young Cuvier's taking eminent 

 rank among the men of science in France ; and 

 Pfaff, on arriving in Paris six years afterward, 

 found his old fellow-student had become " a per- 

 sonage." The change in Cuvier's appearance was 

 very striking. He was then at his maturity, and 

 might pass for a handsome man. His shock of red 

 hair was now cut and trimmed in Parisian style; 

 his countenance beamed with health and satisfac- 

 tion ; his expression was lively and engaging ; and, 

 although the slight tinge of melancholy which was 

 natural to him had not wholly disappeared, yet the 

 fire and vivacity of his genius overcame it. His 

 dress was that of the fashion of the day, not with- 

 out a little affectation. Yet his life was simple, 

 and wholly devoted to science. He had a lodg- 

 ing in the Jardin des Plantes, and was waited on 

 by an old housekeeper, like any other simple pro- 

 fessor. 



On Pfaff 's subsequent visit things were changed. 

 Instead of the old housekeeper, the door was open- 

 ed by a lackey in grand livery. Instead of asking 



