74 Mr. Swainson's Memoir o/'Lacepede. 



of two romances, and a volume of poetry.* At the age of twenty- 

 one years, he went to Paris, and soon formed an acquaintance with 

 Buffon. A congeniality of pursuits, strengthened by mutual re- 

 gard, laid the foundation for a friendship between these two great 

 men, which lasted during life. From this period, he became 

 enthusiastic in the love of Natural History. M. de Buffon soon 

 appreciated the talents of his young friend, and free from those 

 envious feelings, which, unfortunately, are found too frequently 

 among the votaries of science, chose his most distinguished dis- 

 ciple as his friend, his coadjutor, and appointed him the continu- 

 ator of his works. In a few years he justified this choice by 

 publishing '' I'Histoire Generalc des Cetacees, des Quadrupedes 

 ovipares et des Poissons." The elegance of the style of this work is 

 worthy of its model. On the death of his distinguished friend, 

 M. de Lacepedc was chosen to succeed him, and the Garden of 

 Plants henceforward became his adopted heritage. The fame he 

 had now acquired, induced the Editors of the Histoire Naturelle, 

 at a subsequent period, to request that he would undertake a new 

 edition of the whole work, as a guarantee to the public for its 

 excellence and correctness. At an early period he had principally 

 directed his attention to Electricity, and to the Phenomena of 

 Natural Philosophy in general; but it was the great and laborious 

 undertaking of continuing the Natural History of Buffon, that so 

 greatly influenced the advancement of Zoology in his own country. 



It is in the department of Ichthyology that the labours of Lace- 

 pede have been most conspicuous ; he reformed and amended the 

 classification, and has given the characters and history of nume- 

 rous genera and species unknown to his predecessors, including 

 all those described in the manuscripts of the celebrated Philibert 

 Commerson.+ 



The researches of the Philosopher, however, did not interfere 

 with the more important duties of the Statesman. At the com- 



* Memoirs of Madame de Genlis. Tom. II. paare 228. 



+ Whom M. Cuvier calls " Voyageur infatigahle et ires-savant naturaliste." 

 After such an eulogium, it would reflect honour on the French Government, if 

 his Manuscripts and Drawings were published under their auspices, and not 

 suffered merely to remain deposited in the National Library. 



