QO MEMOIRS OF 



1791, to 1794,) that some Terebratulge having 

 been dug up near Fecamp, the thought struck 

 him of comparing fossil with recent species*; 

 and the casual dissection of a Calmart led him to 

 study the anatomy of Mollusca, which afterwards 

 conducted him to the developement of his great 

 views on the whole of the animal kingdom. It 

 was thus, from an obscure corner of Normandy, 

 that that voice was first heard, which, in a com- 

 paratively short space of time, filled the whole 

 of the civilised world with admiration, — which 

 was to lay before mankind so many of the 

 hidden wonders of creation, — wliich was to dis- 

 cover to us the relics of former ages, to change 

 the entire face of natural history, to regulate 

 and amass the treasures already acquired, and 

 those made known during his life ; and then to 

 leave science on the threshold of a new epocha. 

 The class called Vermes by Linnaeus, included 

 all the inferior animals, and was left by him in a 

 state of the greatest confusion. It was by these, 



* The idea of making fossil remains subservient to geo- 

 logy was not due to M. Cuvier alone, for several others seem 

 to have entertained the same views ; but his pre-eminence 

 consisted in making use of this idea, and carrying it to an 

 extent far beyond the calculations of his predecessors or 

 contemporaries. 



f A species of Cuttle fish. 



