Books were not so much perused by him as penetrated at a glance; and what he had but casually noticed, never afterwards escaped his memory.

In the vast Venetian archives he could lay his hand on any document without referring to registers or catalogues.

The minutest details of houses visited or places passed through, remained indelibly engraved upon his memory.

The characters of men lay open to his insight through their physiognomy and gestures.

When new scientific instruments were submitted to his curiosity, he divined their uses and comprehended their mechanism without effort.