 @onsiderable : betweea 
1808.] 
nicated to her the preceding night. The 
horus, struck with astonishment, asks 
who had been able to make such speed 
to announce it. “ Vulcan (replies. the 
queen). His fires blazed on Mount Ida; 
and to these successively answered those 
of Lemnos, of Mount Athos, of Mount 
Macistus in Eubea, of Mount Mesapius 
in Beeotia, on the banks of the Euripus, 
of Mount Citheron, of Mount /giplanc- 
_tus, near Meyara, and, lastly, of Mount 
Arachnzus, which lies nearest to Argos. 
Hence, (she adds) this succession of 
fires, which had begun on Mount Ida, 
reached the palace of the Atrides, Such 
is the regulation of the signals, of which 
the first and the last are the most import- 
ant. By this means my husband has 
transmitted to me from Troy itself the 
news of so happy an event.” 
Ts the above founded on historie facts? 
This I shall not undertake to prove, But 
if it be further asked, whether it is pro- 
bable? Lanswer, As it is founded on geo- 
graphical positions, it may be submitted 
to the test of calculation, which I hare 
attempted in the following memoir. It 
is true that some men of distinguished 
erudition have denied the possibility of 
such a.correspondence by means of bea- 
eons; but 1 have endeavoured to de- 
monstrate it, by reference to the results 
of experiments with the modern tele 
graphs. It must be borne in mind, that 
in treating of the signals. used by the an- 
cients, we must draw our conclusions 
from observations made with the naked 
eye, because they had neither spectacles 
nor. telescopes, using only tubes for the 
urpose of insulating the points of view. 
‘he distance, in a direct line from Mount 
Ida to Argos, is 39 myriametres(80 mean 
leagues of 2,500 toises, or 100 short 
leagues). The Abbé Sallier, however, in 
his remarks on this passage, in 1736, says, 
“(it would not exceed 150 of our Paris 
leagues.” This isa half more than the 
distance which I have just given, ac- 
cording to the maps of our colleague, M. 
Barbier Dubocage; and hence we ina 
form a judgmeut of the state of geogra~ 
phical knowledge, even relative ta the 
seus and countries of Europe, betore the 
improvements ‘introdaced by the illus- 
trious Danville. 
Lhave endeavoured to prove the pos- 
Bibility of what is said by Clytemnestra, 
by submitting to calculation a fact of the 
same kind, the most ‘remarkable records 
ed by ancient writers; and where .the 
distance is mucli greater than the most 
nny of the bea- 
Proceedings of Learned Societwes. 
al 
247 
cons established by Agamemnon. Vas 
lerius Maximus (hb. i. cap. 48,) says, 
“ With what astonishment do we hear of 
aman’s having so piercing a sight as to 
be able to, distinguish, from Lilybeum 
(in. Sicily) the fleets that were coming 
out of Carthage (on the coast of Africa.”) 
This has. not only an air of the marvel+ 
lous, but appears absolutely false.- It is, 
however, only an exaggeration; and a 
passage of Polyauus (Stretag.. lib. ‘vi. 
cap. 16, No. 2,) will assist us im explain- 
ing it. That writer informs us, that the 
Carthaginians, when carrying onjwar in 
Sicily, employed the following means for 
the purpose of obtaining expeditiously 
from Africa such succours or supplies as 
they might bein want of. They took two 
clepsydre of exactly the same size, and, 
having drawn upon each of them several 
circles at equal distances, inscribed in 
each circle such short sentences as the 
following: ‘ We are in want of trans 
ports, of money, of warlike instruments, 
of corn,’ and the like. One of these clep- 
sydra was kept in Sicily, and the other 
sent to Carthage; with instructions, the 
instant they should see a signal by fire 
in Sicily, to let the clepsydra run till they 
saw asecond signal; when they should 
mark the circle to which the water had 
sunk, and sead ‘without delay the articles 
inscribed in that circle. The purport 
of their signals would, no doubt, be care~ 
fully concealed ; but a Sicilian, observing 
that the arrival of each convoy regularly 
followed the appearance of the’’sigual, 
might easily conclude that the signal caus+ 
ed the {leet to be dispatched. He might 
then, at the sight of exeh signal, forevel 
that a convey would soon arrive. But in 
order to give to his prediction an air of 
the marvellous, he might say, ‘I see a 
fleet coming out of the port of Car- 
thage.” . 
These beacons were fired on the pro- 
moutory of Lilybaum, at present Mars 
salla. They must have been observed, 
not at Carthage {for that eity did not 
stand on an eminence) but at the nearest 
promontory, that of Hermwum, at. pre- 
seut called Cape Bon, which is distant 
from Lilybeum 15 myriametres, 1051 
(31 mean jeagues, or of 2;500 toises, 
such as were always used by Vanville). 
A simple trigonometrical  culeulation has 
given me the height which these pro- 
montories must have had, to enable a 
person stationed at one of them to see, 
notwithstanding the spherical shape of 
the earth, fire on the other, This height 
is G72 metres, 42 (345 toises), a tittle 
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