ReEASAlNIS naturalist was born at Aix, in Pro-
@} 154} vence, on the 7th April 1727. His father,
of Scotch extraction, was attached to the
service of M. de Vintimille, then Arch-
bishop of Aix, but on the removal of that ecclesi-
astic to Paris followed him thither, and at three
years of age the little Michel became an inhabitant

  

>
fen

    
  

of the French capital. His education was very
carefully attended to, and his natural ability well
rewarded the labours of his instructors. He was
very small of stature, and passed for much younger
than he actually was; and when he was seen
carrying away the prizes of the University, people
laughed at the boy, hidden behind a huge volume
of Pliny and Aristotle. (Such was the description
of books then constantly given as rewards.) It
ehanced on one of these occasions that Needham,
a naturalist famous for his microscopic discoveries,
delighted at the talent of this juvenile prodigy,