but still so delicate that I wrote in bed till
one o'clock. The "Connexion of the Physical Sciences" was a tedious
work, and the proof sheets had to be sent through the Embassy.

M. Arago told me that David, the sculptor, wished to make a medallion
of me; so he came and sat an hour with me, and pleased me by his
intelligent conversation and his enthusiasm for art. A day was fixed,
and he took my profile on slate with pink wax, in a wonderfully short
time. He made me a present of a medallion in bronze, nicely framed, and
two plaster casts for my daughters.

* * * * *

I frequently went to hear the debates in the Chambers, and occasionally
took my girls, as I thought it was an excellent lesson in French. As
party spirit ran very high, the scenes that occurred were very amusing.
A member, in the course of his speech, happening to mention the word
"liberte," the President Dupin rang the bell, called out "Stop, a propos
de liberte," ... jumped down from his seat, sprung into the tribune,
pushed out the deputy, and made a long speech himself.

The weather being fine, we made excursions in the neighbourhood. At
Sevres I saw two pieces of china; on one of them was a gnu, on the other
a zebra. Somerville had told me that soon after his return from his
African expedition, he had given the original drawings to M. Brongniart
then director of the manufactory.

Baron Louis invited me to spend a day with him and his niece,
Mademoiselle de Rigny, at his country house, not far from Paris. I went
with Madame de la Place, and we set out early, to be in time for
breakfast. The road lay through the Forest of Vincennes. The Baron's
park, which was close to the village of Petit-Brie, was very large, and
richly wooded; there were gardens, hot-houses, and all the luxuries of
an English nobleman's residence. The house was handsome, with a
magnificent library; I remarked on the table the last numbers of the
"Edinburgh" and "Quarterly" Reviews. Both the Baron and his niece were
simple and kind. I was greatly taken with both; the Baron had all the
quiet elegance of the old school, and his niece had great learning and
the manners of a woman of fashion. She lived in perfect retirement,
having suffered much in the time of the Revolution. They had both
eventful lives; for Baron Louis, who had been in orders, and Talleyrand
officiated at the Champs de Mars when Louis the Sixteenth took the oath
to maintain the constitution.