Menioi?' of the Life of M. FraunUofer. 9 



less importance to science. The Astronomical Institution of 

 Edinburgh, in the year 1825, ordered from him a very large 

 and complete transit instrument, with a telescope eight feet and 

 a half in focal length, and six inches aperture. Upon the re- 

 ceipt of this order, he constructed three object-glasses of these 

 dimensions, one for the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh, 

 another for a heliometer for M. Bessel, and a third as a spare 

 one in case M. Bessel's object-glass should meet with any ac- 

 cident in the bisection ; and, fortunately for science, these ob- 

 ject-glasses are all completed. 



In the year 1820, when M. Reichenbach left the copart- 

 nery, MM. Utzschneider and Fraunhofer entered into a new 

 contract for continuing their optical establishment. The for- 

 mer presented to Fraunhofer a share in the concern, equal 

 to about 24,000 francs, so that, from having several other 

 sources of income, he was now comfortable and independent. 

 Inspired by his success and good fortune, all the activity of 

 his mind was called forth, and he took the establishment en- 

 tirely under his direction. Since 1817 it had been trans- 

 ferred to Munich, and the business had increased to such a 

 degree, ih^iijifty workmen are at present employed. 



In 1823 M. Fraunhofer was appointed keeper of the phy- 

 sical cabinet of the academy of Munich, a situation to which 

 a pension was attached. In 1824 after the public exhibition 

 of the great telescope of Dorpat, the King of Bavaria honour- 

 ed him with the rank of a chevalier of the order of Civil Merit. 

 He was also elected a member of several foreign societies, 

 among which we may mention the Society of Arts in our own 

 city. The university of Erlangen also conferred upon him 

 the title of Doctor in Philosophy. 



Thus honoured and respected both at home and abroad, 

 Fraunhofer was enjoying all the happiness which character 

 and reputation and a moderate independence never fail to 

 yield. His mind was occupied with great views of scientific 

 ambition which he could not have failed to realize, and such 

 was the perfection to which he had brought his art, that he 

 was willing to undertake an achromatic telescope, with an ob- 

 ject-glass eighteen inches in aperture, and we have now before 

 us a letter in which he fixes even the price of this stupendous 



