50 
PROFESSOR OWEN 
CH. II. 
labour. During this visit to Paris, Owen ex- 
amined the fossil vertebrate collection and re- 
ceived some hospitality and attention from Cuvier. 
H ow 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 
soirdes^ 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 
