18 MEMOIRS OF 



hope of better times failing, he determined to 

 undertake the office of tutor, an idea in some 

 measure familiar to him, as Montbdiard had 

 long supplied instructors to the young nobles of 

 Russia. To Russia, however, he had no wish to 

 proceed, for his lungs, always delicate, were 

 rendered still weaker by close application to his 

 studies, and he sought an appointment in a more 

 genial climate. Such a step was deemed by his 

 companions, considering his already acquired 

 honours, his extraordinary talents, and great at- 

 tainments, desperate ; but he was again to prove, 

 that that which at first appears a severe misfortune 

 often becomes a stepping stone to future fame 

 and success ; for, in a manner compelled to ac- 

 cept that which in every way appeared unwor- 

 thy of him, M. Cuvier, by so doing, laid the 

 foundation for the cosmopolitan honours which 

 attended his after years. We are now to behold 

 him, then, arriving at Caen in Normandy, in 

 July, 1788, and stationing himself in a Protestant 

 family for the education of the only son, and 

 although not quite nineteen years of age, in pos- 

 session of that variety and depth of knowledge 

 which was so soon to ripen into the great savant; 

 *' bringing with him from Germany that love of 

 labour, that depth of reflection, that persever- 



