676 THE GEOEGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 



a pleasaut day was always sure to put the Doctor into the best of humor, and gener- 

 ally when he was in such a mood there would be wit and drollery enough in him and 

 his good friend Jim to influence the whole group. They were usually in good spirits, 

 and when so were sure to please ; and thus were they on that, the first of their morn- 

 ing's entertainments; and it happened luckily, for we had in the rooms some of the 

 most fashionable and literary personages of Paris, amongst these the famous writers 

 Victor Hugo, Madame George Sands, and several others, to whom the Indians and 

 myself were personally introduced. 



While our exhibitions were now in such a train we were studying how to make the 

 most valuable use of our extra time by seeing the sights of Paris and its environs. 



VISIT TO THE LOUVEE, - 



The Louvre was one of the first objects of our attention, and, having procured an 

 order from the director to visit it on a private day, we took an early hour and made 

 our entry into it. We were received by the director with kindness, and he conducted 

 the party the whole way through the different galleries, pointing out and explaining 

 to them and to us the leading and most interesting things in it. 



The director, M. de Cailleux, had invited several of his distinguished friends to 

 meet him on the occasion, and it was to them, as well as to us, interesting to see the 

 Indians under such circumstances, where there was so much to attract their attention 

 and calculated to surprise them. M. Vattemare was with us on this occasion, and of 

 very great service in his introductions and interpretations for us. 



BARON VON HUMBOLDT. 



Amongst the distinguished persons' who were present, and to whom I was introduced 

 on the occasion, was the Baron von Humboldt. He accompanied us quite through the 

 rooms of the Louvre, and took a great deal of interest in the Indians, having seen 

 and dealt with so many in the course of his travels. I had much conversation with 

 him, and in a few days after was honored by him with a private visit to my rooms, 

 when I took great pleasure in explaining the extent and objects of my collection. 



The view of the Louvre was a great treat to the Indians, who had had but little 

 opportunity before of seeing works of art. In Loudon we thought we had showed 

 them all the sights, but had entirely forgotten the exhibitions of paintings ; and I 

 believe the poor fellows had been led to think before they saw the Louvre that mine 

 was the greatest collection of paintings in the world. They had a great deal of talk 

 about it when they got home and had lit their pipe. The one great objection they 

 raised to it was that "it was too long; there were too many things to be seen; so 

 many that they said they had forgotten all the first before they got through, and they 

 couldn't think of them again." There was one impression they got while there, how- 

 ever, that no length of room or number of pictures would easily eradicate from their 

 memories — the immense number of marks of bullets on the columns of the portico, and 

 even inside of the building, shot through the windows in the time of the revolution 

 of July. This appalling scene was described to them on the spot by M. Vattemare, 

 which opened their eyes to a historical fact quite new to them, and of which they 

 soon taxed him and me for some further account. 



lOWAYS ATTRACT MUCH ATTENTION IN PARIS. 



By this time the loways had made so much noise in Paris that they were engaging 

 the attention of the scientific, the religious, and the ethnologic, as well as the mere curi- 

 ous part of the world, and daily and almost hourly applications were being made to 

 Mr. Melody and myself for private interviews with them for the above purposes. We 

 were disposed to afford every facility in our power in such cases, but in all instances 

 left the Indians to decide who they would and who they would not see. 



