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wise served as a drawing room. One of those ladies was in bed
but employed in preparations for the kitchen & was ac-
-tually [xxxx] paring trouffles |truffles|. Vauquelin wished some imme-
-diately to be dressed for my breakfast & I had some difficul-
=ty to prevent Mademoiselle from rising even when I
was in the room. n |N|othing could be more extraordinary
than the simplicity of his conversation; he had
not the slightest tact & even in the presence of
young ladies talked of subjects which since the paradisaical
times can never have been objects of common conversation. When
I was President of the Royal Society he sent me a long letter
in favour of a gentleman that he called his intimate
friend with various testimonies & memorials of his
merits. I had supposed that they must be scientific
what was my surprize when I found that it
was a french gentleman who had had mauvaise
fortune but who was seeking for bonne fortune
& |was a fortune hunter & anxious to be introduced to| who was anxious to be employed by Madame
La veuve Coutts & that he had a handsome