SECOND PERIOD. Si 



M. Yan Spaendonck, who immediately assumed 

 its active duties, and succeeded Mademoiselle 

 Basseporte in 1780. This choice had the unfore- 

 seen and happy consequence of founding a chair 

 of iconography in the Museum. 



The garden and cabinet being open to the pub- 

 lic, it became necessary to maintain an exact 

 police, and the requisite authority for this purpose 

 was vested in an inspector, with a body of guards 

 at his disposal, and a salary of 4000 fr; but the 

 place has since been suppressed, and the service 

 of the Museum confided to a company of invalids. 



Thus, in the space of sixteen years, Buffon ac- 

 complished the extensive plans of improvement 

 which he had conceived on fixing his residence 

 in the garden : it now remains for us to trace the 

 progress of instruction, which depended not di- 

 rectly upon him, but which was principally 

 owing to his judicious choice of professors. 



There were chairs at that time for botany, 

 chemistry, and anatomy only ; but as Daubenton 

 and his assistant repaired daily to the cabinet, 

 naturalists were enabled to obtain explanations 

 of the objects before them ; and these private 

 lessons were the more useful, as they were 

 adapted to the capacity and knowledge of the 

 hearer. 



Lemonnier had been professor of botany since 



4- 



