infer that our judgment of the work is highly favourable. We have seldom, indeed, perused an historical composition which appeared to us to be written so entirely in a spirit of impartiality; though it discusses the events of a period which still too frequently produces animosity and party-spirit. The reflections are candid, judicious, and moderate; the facts are well arranged, and stated with distinctness: but we think that, in his attempts at elegant composition, the author is too frequently betrayed into obscurity.

At the end of the second volume, we find a dissertation on Ossian's Poems; in which, without hesitation, Mr. L. attributes those productions to the pen of their supposed editor, Mr. Macpherson. This opinion is supported by some powerful arguments; among which must be reckoned a strong resemblance discoverable between the Highlander, a poem written by Macpherson, (not favourably received by the public,) and Fingal, with respect to both sentiment and expression. The resemblance to other authors, antient and modern, necessarily creates suspicion respecting the origin of these poems.

ART. III. Travels in the French Republic: containing a circumstantial View of the present State of Learning, the Arts, Manufactures, learned Societies, Manners, &c, in that Country. By Thomas Byggé, Professor of Mathematical Astronomy in the University of Copenhagen, and Member of several learned Societies and Academies of Sciences, &c. &c. Translated from the Danish by John Jones, LL. D. 12mo. PP. 430. 6s. Boards. R. Phillips. 1801.

IN

N consequence of the French Government having invited neutral and allied powers to send deputies to confer with certain members of the National Institute, on the means of establishing an invariable and uniform standard of weights and measures, M. Byggé was deputed for this purpose by the Court of Denmark; and the observations made during his residence in Paris, and in his journey thither, constitute the materials of the present work. Very little room is given to the description of places, the narration of events, or the delineation of manners: since, biassed by his own disposition and pursuits, the author has confined himself to the description of those matters in which he was chiefly interested. From this limitation of subject, therefore, the volume wants the diversity which many books of travels possess; yet it will not, on this account, be unacceptable to those readers who regard the depth of information rather than extent, and love precision more than variety. The necessity which the writers of travels seem to have imposed on themselves, of pronouncing on every object

which is obtruded on their notice, and on every subject that is worthy of discussion, has been the fruitful source of false judgments and vague notions.

The first part of this volume contains little that requires our notice; and we dismiss it with a solitary disapproving remark, on an opinion concerning the tides (p. 11.), which seems to be a very strange one as coming from a mathematician.

The author's route lay through Osnaburgh, Munster, Wesel, Brussels, Valenciennes, Bouchain, and Chantilly. Osnaburgh and Hanover, he remarks, in a space of 22 years have been little or scarcely at all improved: agriculture has made no advances; and the roads are miserably bad. Here the traveller finds occasion for gratifying his national pride, by contrasting the state of these two places with the appearance of Denmark. At Wesel, contrary to his expectation, (founded on reports industriously propagated,) M. Byggé met with civility from the. French officers.-The roads and cottages near Valenciennes are described as being in a deplorable state, in consequence of the ravages of war. In that part of the town which is next to the rampart, whole streets and lanes have been demolished: some buildings levelled with the ground, and others burnt but the most distressful sight, which Valenciennes presents, is a swarm of importunate beggars, consisting of the youth of both sexes, who have been deprived of employment by the stoppage of the manufactures.-The destruction of the fine park and palice of Chantilly is well known:-but let us hasten the author to Paris, the most interesting scene.

M. Byggé gives a description of the Primary and Normal Schools. In the former, are taught reading, writing, arithmetic, &c. and properly, in the metropolis: but the Provincial Schools are conducted in a slovenly manner. The Normal Schools sprang up hastily from a decree of the Convention, in 1795; and, if we judge from the abilities of such men as La Grange, La Place, Berthollet, &c. they must have been ably superintended. They lasted only a year, and were superseded by the Central and Polytechnic Schools, and the Schools of Public Service. These are next described, with an account of what is taught in them, their professors, &c.; and within this description is contained some notice of those men who have been long known and much celebrated in Europe, for their inventions and the depth of their researches. The following extract relates the examination of the pupils in the Polytechnic Schools:

When the lectures are closed, which happened this year in Brumaire, there is an examination of all the pupils who have finished their course, and who would wish to enter into the schools destined for the accomplishment of candidates for the public service, in the construction

K 4

construction of roads and bridges, ship-building, &c. or of those who would wish to become masters in other useful arts. For the present examination, the Directory appointed Laplace and Bossut. The first examined the students in the analytic sciences, and the other in mechanics. Those who were to be examined were called up in order, and were obliged to demonstrate without book the proposed theorems, and to solve the problems on a black table; which was considered at once as a proof of talents and readiness. Laplace proposed questions in series, logarithms, and curve lines, in that part of algebra which is applicable to geometry and trigonometry, and in the differential and integral calculi. He proposed every question with much perspicuity and precision, and gently recalled the pupil to the right point, if he happened to wander from it.

It is

Bossut, in another room, examined in mechanics, statics, hydrostatics, hydraulics, &c. I found most of the pupils answer very well, and with great readiness, difficult problems of the higher mathematics. But it must not be expected, that amongst so many, some would not be found of moderate and some of indifferent talents. Deshautchamps, the director, told me, that Laplace, on the whole, was not well satisfied, and that some of the pupils were not entitled to that attestation, by which alone they could be admitted into the Schools for the Public Service. He lamented, and not without reason, that in those examinations, the young men were left without any occasional assistance to their memory or conception, especially when they found themselves bewildered in algebraic calculations. certain, that a wink would often set them right, provided they had understanding and knowledge enough to avail themselves of it, which in itself would be a proof that they had not mis-spent their time. I informed Deshautchamps, that with us public examinations were held in gunnery, navigation, land-surveying, &c.; that part of these examinations was by word of mouth, and part in writing; that all the abstruse theorems and problems were proposed in writing, to which the candidate was required to give written answers; and that this mcthod allowed him time to reflect on the subject, to arrange it in his mind, and to revise and correct his piece as often as he pleased. Deshautchamps highly approved of this mode, and said he would spare no pains to have it introduced. These examinations were public, though I very seldom found that foreigners, and those who were not in some measure connected with the Polytechnic School, were present.'

When the pupil has resided in the Polytechnic School a year or more, and has undergone an examination, he is admitted into the Schools of Public Service and Application; which are intended to teach the construction of roads and bridges, mineralogy, geography, ship-building, artillery, fortification, and nautical affairs

The buildings appropriated to the Schools for the Construction of Roads and Bridges are said to be disposed and embellished with great taste and magnificence, and furnished with

exquisite

exquisite models, arranged in beautiful order. They also contain a mathematical library of 2500 volumes.

Under the description of the Central Museum for Arts, is given the long catalogue of capital pictures brought to Paris by the victories of the French Armies; and sorry are we to learn, by the following passage, that some of these exquisite performances have been injured by their journey *:

· The managers have had the candor to acknowledge, that some of those master pieces of art are in such bad condition that they cannot be exhibited. This seems tantamount to a confession, that they have been much injured on the journey, if not totally abraded and destroyed. In particular, it is known, that an excellent portrait of Raphael, by Foligno; the Holy Virgin and some Saints, by Bellini; the repast at the house of Levi, by Paul Veronese; the Marriage of Cana, by the same master; St. Peter, the martyr, by Titian; and several of the statues brought from Italy, have suffered greatly from the length of the journey.'

M. Byggé describes several pictures executed by French artists but apparently he is no connoisseur, and therefore little dependance is to be placed on his opinion of their merits. In his vist to the observatory, an interesting incident occurred:

When I first visited the observatory, I found below, in a kind of roomy and well furnished cellar, a door open, and an old man sitting at a table. Supposing him to be the porter, I enquired for Mechain, Delambre, and Bouvard. He told me, that Mechain and Delambre were gone to Perpignan, in order to measure a base line for determining a degree of the meridian. The supposed porter had papers before him, containing geometrical figures and algebraic calculations. I asked him, if he amused himself with geometry and algebra? “Yes, in part," replied the venerable man, but chiefly with astronomy. I was formerly astronomer of the observatory, but am now, as you see, thrust down into this cellar." "Your name?" "Feaurat." "And I am Byggé, from Copenhagen, who highly esteem you, and am well acquainted with your former labours." It gave me great pleasure to become acquainted with this worthy man, who calculated the Connoissance des Temps from 1776 to 1787. Jeaurat, who is the oldest of all the present astronomers of the Parisian Observatory, established and put in order a similar erection at the military school, and is the author of thirty essays in the Memoirs of the Academy. It happened to him, as to many more, during the revolution, to be supplanted by younger rivals of superior interest, though not always. better qualified. This astronomer, in his seventy second year, has nothing to live upon but the salary of the youngest member of the National Institute, which is 1,200 francs, two small apartments on the ground floor, and a little garden. I requested him to have the goodness to shew me the observatory; but he declined it, and de. prived me of an opportunity of thanking him. I was then obliged to

* See also our Review for August last, p. 402.

enquire

enquire who superintended the observatory in the absence of Mechain and Delambre? And was auswered, Bouvard, adjunct astronomer, who lives in a small separate building belonging to the observatory, and where Mechain formerly resided for twenty years. Bouvard again unluckily was not at home, and I was obliged to content myself with the Citoyen Portier, a follower of St. Crispin, who, for the last eighteen months, had made shoes, waited at the observatory, and shewed it to strangers, and I had great reason to be satisfied with his

service.'

The Revolution has not poured its evils solely on the partizans of royalty and the priesthood; by its overwhelming torrent, many inoffensive men, lovers of peace and cultivators of science, have been deprived of subsistence:-of which another instance is here related:

The Cassini, whom I have so often mentioned, began, in 1784, to improve the observatory, to procure new and superior instruments, and to conduct the observations on a better and more accurate plan. He published yearly, from 1785 till 1791, a number or volume of his astronomical observations, on the fixed stars, sun, moon, and planets, calculated and compared with the best astronomical tables, in order to aşcertain and correct the errors of those tables. He sent those numbers annually to other astronomers, and he had the goodness not to forget me. He did every thing, in short, that could be reasonably expected from an able, industrious, and expericaced astronomer.

In the midst of Cassini's celebrated career, the revolution took place. Having been suspected by the terrorists, he was driven from the observatory, which he had so honourably conducted, and not only deprived of his office and income, but confined in prison above a year; and he has saved nothing but his life, and a small property, which he inherited from his ancestors, where this worthy man, with his numerous family, exists upon a scanty income. In the opinion of some people, the ambition, envy, and egotism of certain other astronomers, have greatly contributed to drive both Cassini and Jeaurat from the observatory.

Among other contrivances, Cassini had a foundery built for casting the large astronomical instruments, which he intended to have had constructed for the observatory. This foundery, when France was filled with manufactories of salt-petre, powder, and fire-arms, was converted into a cannon foundery. As relics of that direful and alarm. ing period, eight cannons, twelve pounders, still remain there. But the times are now so much changed for the better, that the votarics of the beautiful and pacific Urania have now nothing to fear from these dispensers of the thunder of Mars; especially as they are not charged, or so much as furnished with touch-holes.'

Of the National Institute, and its members, some account is here given; and the author observes that, when the high talents and inventive powers of the members of that body are considered, it must be granted that it is the first society in the

world.