'
When he visited Paris in 1605, his first object, he said, was to see the
illustrious De Thou, to thank him for his kind letters, and to enquire
for messages from Scaliger. 'I cannot express,' he repeats, 'how joyfully
he entertained me.' De Thou took down his books for the visitor, and
showed him the records under lock and key that contained the secrets of
his history, 'opening his very heart, and brimful of a wonderful
sincerity.' Next day Casaubon came in from the _Bibliotheque du Roi_, and
showed much pleasure at being introduced to the traveller. His letters of
a later date show his high esteem for Peiresc. 'I am eagerly waiting to
hear what Scaliger will say about the antiques, but I foresee that you
will have room to glean after his harvest.' On another occasion he wrote:
'I do not know if you heard that the Duke of Urbino has sent me the
Polybius, but I am indeed most beholden to you for the kindness.'
Ten years afterwards Peiresc came to Paris again, wishing to explore the
Oriental treasures in the library of De Mesmes, and to visit the huge
collections in the houses of St. Victor and St. Germain. Here he gained
the friendship of Pierre Seguier and the elegant Nicolas Rigault, and of
Jerome Bignon, the first of a long dynasty of librarians. In England he
saw the Bodleian, and talked with Savile, and admired Sir Robert Cotton
as 'an honestly curious sort of man.' In Holland his chief business was
to visit Scaliger, and we are told that he was careful not to ask about
the treatise on squaring the circle, or to hint any doubt as to the truth
of the Verona romance.
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