94 Notizen. 



ings. — 3""^ In tliis position I was therefore initiated in public 

 business, so much tbe more as the Chief*) was a man of great 

 talent, of mucb influence and I had Ms special confidence and 

 good will, so that he trusted me with the direction of business 

 including the surveying part, the work being all voluntary. I 

 generally passed the summer in survej'ing, the winter in the 

 Office and still more in studies at the political Institute, which 

 was then the best public Institution in Bern and free, without 

 CoUegiate or Compulsory rules — studying Jurisprudence under 

 Professor Kuhn, Anthropology under . . . **), State rights under 

 Tuban. Besides which I followed closely private mathematical 

 Instruction with Professor Tralles of the Institution. — 4^^^^ It 

 was in the pursuit extended to practise that I measured with 

 Mr. Tralles and at my expense in 1791, the base line for the 

 survey of Switzerland of 40,000 french feet, which I marked 

 with large granite monumental stones which have since served 

 for the survey of all Switzerland and which a remeasurement 

 has found correct. A few years ago when the French finding 

 their calculations in their junction with it pretended to accuse 

 it of errors while it, on the contrary corrected their errors. — 

 5"" In 1794***) I went to Paris, introduced myself to the Astro- 

 nomer La Lande, to Chevalier Borda, Astronomer Delambre 

 and Lavoisier, coUected a fine mathematical and diplomatic Lib- 

 rary. — 6"^ Almost immediately after in the same year I went 

 to the Observatory of Gotha, staying with its Astronomer Baron 

 Zach. Thence to Göttingen where I studied Natural philosophy 

 under Professor Lichtenberg, History under Spittler and Pütter, 

 Diplomacy under Gatterer and politics under Schlözer, whose 

 definition of politics was the art of civilizing mankind. — 7"^ 

 After a stay at home in surveying and other works of the 

 Office, I left again 1796, for Paris, there frequenting the school 

 of mines for mineralogy under Hauy, for chemistry under Vau- 

 quelin, having also entered the Polytechnic school and frequen- 

 ting other scientific lectures. I again bought a valuable increase 



*) Vielleicht der Oberlehenscommissär Manuel (v. Biogr. I 375). 

 **) Vielleicht Franz Ludwig Tribolet. 

 ***) Es war im Sommer 1793. 



