BARON CUVIER. 165 



Seine, could he again fancy himself in the capricious capital 

 of fashion, or time-serving show." It was at once to see 

 intellect in all its splendour ; and the stranger was astonish- 

 ed to find himself conversing, without restraint, without 

 ceremony, with, or in presence of, the leading stars of Eu- 

 rope : princes, peers, diplomatists, savants, and the great 

 host himself, now receiving these, and now the young stu- 

 dents from the fifth pair ^of stairs in a neighbouring hotel, 

 with equal urbanity. No matter to him in which way they 

 had directed their talents, what was their fortune, what was 

 their family; and wholly free from national jealousy, he 

 alike respected all that were worthy of admiration. He 

 asked questions from a desire to gain information, as if he 

 too were a student ; he was delighted when he found a 

 Scotchman w^ho spoke Celtic ; he questioned all concerning 

 their national institutions and customs ; he conversed with 

 an English lawyer as if he had learned the profession in 

 England ; he knew the progress of public education in 

 every quarter of the globe; he asked the traveller an infi- 

 nity of things, well knowing to what part of the world he 

 had directed his steps ; and seeming to think that every 

 one was born to aftbrd instruction in some way or other, he 

 elicited information from the humblest individual, who was 

 frequently astonished at his interest in what appeared so 

 familiar to himself. One thing used particularly to annoy 

 him ; wbich was, to find an Englishman who could not 

 speak French. It gave him a restraint of which many 

 have complained, but which, on these occasions, solely arose 

 from a feeling of awkwardness on his own part at not be- 

 ing able to converse with his foreign guest. No one ever 

 rendered greater justice to the merit of his predecessors or 

 contemporaries than M. Cuvier. " Half a century," he said 

 "had sufficed for a complete metamorphosis in science; 

 and it is very probable that, in a similar space of tune, we also 

 shall have become ancient to a future generation. These 

 motives ought never to suffer us to forget the respectful gra- 

 titude we owe to those who have preceded us, or to repulse, 

 without examination, the ideas of youth ; which, if just, 

 will prevail, whatever obstacles the present age may throw 

 in their way." This was a delightful manner of satisfying 

 every body with himself: the naturalist, from a remote 



