50 PROFESSOR OWEN ch. n. 



labour. During this visit to Paris, Owen ex- 

 amined the fossil vertebrate collection and re- 

 ceived some hospitality and attention from Cuvier. 

 How far these opportunities affected his mind 

 with regard to this branch of scientific study is a 

 matter which is open to question. 



If it is the case, as nearly all memoirs of Pro- 

 fessor Owen agree in stating, that Cuvier and his 

 collection ' made a great impression on Owen, and 

 gave a direction to his after-studies of fossil re- 

 mains, in which he was so eminently distinguished 

 himself,' then Owen has left no record of that 

 ' impression.' His rough diary, which he kept 

 during his stay at Paris, seldom mentions the 

 fossil vertebrate collection, and shows that his 

 interviews with Baron Cuvier were for the most 

 part of a purely social character. It notes, for 

 example, that he attended pretty regularly Cuvier's 

 soirees, held on Saturday evenings, and that he 

 enjoyed the music. With the diary agree his 

 letters. Both devote page after page to the sights 

 and amusements of Paris. Owen, in fact, seems 

 to have regarded this stay at Paris as an ex- 

 ceedingly pleasant and entertaining holiday. At 

 the same time it is impossible to form a just 

 estimate of Owen's work without taking the 

 labours of Cuvier into account. Although 

 Owen stands on ground wholly his own, he was 

 ever willing to acknowledge the debt which he 

 owed to Cuvier. The relationship of the work 



