lxiv PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [May 1909, 



father, who was President of the Order of Advocates, and familiarly 

 known among his colleagues as the Nestor of the Bar, had a great 

 liking for Natural History, especially minerals, of which he had 

 made a large collection. 



After obtaining his doctor's degree in 1852 by original work 

 in Zoology and Palaeontology, Gaudry was appointed Assistant 

 Naturalist in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes, and almost 

 immediately afterwards he was entrusted with the leadership of 

 a scientific expedition to the East. Accompanied by his friend, 

 Damour the mineralogist, he travelled in Syria, Cyprus, Egypt, 

 the Ionian Isles, and Greece. The results of the expedition were 

 published under the title of ' Recherches scientifiques en Orient — 

 Partie agricole.' On passing through Athens, he had heard of a 

 locality where fossil bones were found in great numbers : this was 

 Pikermi, a hamlet at the foot of Pentelicus. After his return to 

 Paris he obtained a commission from the Academie des Sciences to 

 make excavations at Pikermi. These were carried on under many 

 difficulties — floods, fever, and even brigands — for several years. 

 His account of this important work is so charming and so charac- 

 teristic that a free translation may be inserted here. 



' Our life in camp,' he says, ' was not without its hardships : the 

 heat was extreme, the insects relentless. We had to rise with the 

 sun and to work all day, without even a short siesta. The crowd 

 of poor workmen, who came to dig, took fever instead. 



' Yet, I confess, when I recall those times — the sunshine of 

 Greece beating on my tent, the blue sky without a cloud, the 

 marble mountains with their noble profile, and the sea of Marathon 

 glistening in the distance — I could almost wish myself, even now 

 that I am back in our beloved France, once again at the foot of 

 Pentelicus. 



' After all, our laborious hours were not without their moments 

 of pleasure. We had only to find a new fossil to be inspired with 

 fresh courage. If the day was signalized by an important dis- 

 covery, we celebrated the event in the evening by a little festival. 

 We had a skin of Greek wine, honey from Hymettus, and some- 

 times we broke off the branches of old pines to make a bonfire, 

 whereon we roasted a sheep a la pallicare, that is whole, in 

 Homeric fashion. When the wine had diffused its genial influence, 

 the workmen, shepherds, and soldiers surrounded the glowing 

 embers and started up old Albanian songs. Some of them began 

 to dance, others giving the time by clapping of hands. If a 



