140 LIFE OF AUBUBON. 



pocket a letter of introduction to Geoffroy de St Hilaire, we 

 went to his house in the gardens, and with him we were parti- 

 cularly pleased. He offered his services with good grace, much 

 as an English gentleman would have done. M. Geoffroy 

 proved to us that he understood the difference of ideas existing 

 between English and Frenchmen perfectly. He repeated the 

 words of Cuvier, and assured us that my work had never been 

 heard of anywhere in France. He promised to take us to the 

 Academy of Sciences on Monday next. 



" We finally reached home, dressed, and started to dine with 

 Baron Cuvier. We arrived within a minute of the appointed 

 time, were annoimced by a servant in livery, as in England, and 

 the Baron received and presented us kindly to his only daughter, 

 a small, well-made, good-looking lady, with black sparkling eyes, 

 and altogether extremely amiable. As I seldom go anywhere 

 without meeting some person I have known elsewhere, so it 

 proved here. I found among the company which had arrived 

 before me a fellow of the Linnaean Society, who knew me, and 

 who seemed to have spoken to the Baron and his daughter of 

 my work ; and I now perceived a degree of attention from him 

 which I had not noticed at my first interview. The Baroness 

 came in, an old, good, motherly-looking lady, and the company, 

 sixteen in number, being present, dinner was announced. The 

 Baroness led the way with a gentleman, the Baron took his 

 daughter under his arm, but made Mr. Swainson and myself go 

 before him ; and so the company all followed. Mr. Swainson was 

 seated next to Mademoiselle Cuvier, who, fortunately for him, 

 speaks excellent English. I was opposite her, by the side of the 

 Baron, and had at my right elbow the F.L.S. There was not 

 the same show of opulence at this dinner that I have seen in 

 the same rank in England — no, not by any means ; but we had 

 a good dinner, served a la Fran^aise : all seemed happy, and all 

 went on with more simplicity than in London. The waiter who 

 handed the wine called out the names of three or four different 

 sorts, and each person had his choice. The dinner finished 

 (I mean the eating part), the Baroness rose, and all followed 

 her into the drawing-room, which is the library of the Baron; 

 and I liked it much, for I cannot bear the drinking-matches of 

 wine at the English tables. We had coffee, and the company 



