No one was more attentive to me than Dr. Milne-Edwards, the celebrated natural historian. He was the first Englishman who was elected a member of the Institute. I was indebted to him for the acquaintance of MM. Ampere and Becquerel. I believe Dr. Edwards was at that time writing on Physiology, and, in conversation, I happened to mention that the wild ducks in the fens, at Lincolnshire, always build their nests on high tufts of grass, or reeds, to save them from sudden floods; and that Sir John Sebright had raised wild ducks under a hen, which built their nests on tufts of grass as if they had been in the fens. Dr. Edwards begged of me to inquire for how many generations that instinct lasted. Monsieur and Madame Gay Lussac lived in the Jardin des Plantes. Madame was only twenty-one, exceedingly pretty, and well-educated; she read English and German, painted prettily, and was a musician. She told me it had been computed, that if all the property in France were equally divided among the population, each person would have 150 francs a-year, or four sous per day; so that if anyone should spend eight sous a-day, some other person would starve. The Duchesse de Broglie, Madame de Stael's daughter, called, and invited us to her receptions, which were the most brilliant in Paris. Every person of distinction was there, French or foreign, generally four or five men to one woman. The Duchess was a charming woman, both handsome and amiable, and received with much grace. The Duke was, then, Minister for Foreign Affairs. They were remarkable for their domestic virtues, as well as for high intellectual cultivation. The part the Duke took in politics is so well known, that I need not allude to it here.