272 MEMOIRS OF 



study of such writers. The minor accompUsh- 

 ments which he added to these mental stores are 

 ahnost surprising, because each must have taken 

 time to acquire. Among them was a thorougli 

 knowledge of heraldry, which, it is well known, 

 contains a large portion of detail. 



There cannot be a stronger proof of the pre- 

 cocious perfection of M. Cuvier's universal ta- 

 lents than the occurrences of tliat part of his 

 life which was spent in Normandy. One or two 

 of these (in addition to those already mentioned) 

 I have extracted from the eloquent 61oge de- 

 livered by Dr. Pariset at the late meeting of 

 the Institute.* " A citizen of Caen, who was 

 a great amateur of natural history, possessed 

 a magnificent collection of the fishes of the 

 Mediterranean : the instant M. Cuvier heard 

 of it, he flew to inspect the treasures, and, 

 after several visits, he, by means of his pencil, 

 that precious instrument of observation and me- 

 mory, became in his turn the possessor of the 

 collection ; for, in natural history, the faitliful 

 representation of an object is the object itself. 

 Nearly six years passed in this manner, terribly, 



* Dr. Pariset is one of the physicians to the Hospital of 

 La Salpetriere, and, as Member of the Academy of Medicine, 

 composed and read the above eloge, which was heard with 

 the most reverential attention, and followed by enthusiastic 

 applause. 



