Natural History. 415 



haste, you ask me what the hour is, I shall reflect a second or two, 

 and my answer will not be ten minutes in error. The approach of 

 day renews the movement if it has been stopped, or rectifies it, if 

 it has been deranged, for the rest of the day." AVhen asked how 

 he could renew the movement when it had ceased, or was very in- 

 distinct, he said " Sir, I am only a poor man, it is not a gift of 

 heaven ; I obtained this faculty as the result of labours and calcu- 

 lations too long to be described ; the experiment has been made at 

 night many times, and I will make it for you when you please." 

 M. Chavannes had not, however, the opportunity of making this 

 experiment, but he felt quite convinced of the man's powers. He 

 states that the man is deaf, and cannot hear, at present, the sound 

 of his clock or watch; and further, that neither of these vibrate 

 twenty times in a minute, which is always the number indicated by 

 the motions of Chevalley when he wishes to illustrate his internal 

 movement ; and he is convinced, according to what he has seen, 

 that this man possesses a kind of internal movement, which indicates 

 minutes and seconds with the utmost exactness. 



