364 Biographical Notice of Hay. 
Revxe-Just Havy honorary canon of Notre-Dame, 
member of the Academy of Sciences, and of the greater 
part of those of Europe, was bora on the 28th of February 
1743, at Saint-Just a little village in the department of 
POise. He was the elder brother of the late Mr. Haily, 
so well known as the ifiventor of a method of instruction 
for the blind. The father of these two children, who were 
destined to extend the bounds of science, and eniarge its 
applications, was a poor weaver, who, according to all 
appearances would never have been able to give his sons 
any other profession than his own, if some generous per- 
sons had not come to his assistance. There was then at 
St. Just an Abbey, in which the young Haity attended with 
assiduity to the religious ceremonies that were practise 
and shewed much taste for the sacred music of the church. 
He drew the attention of the Prior who sent. for him, in- 
terrogated him, and struck with the extraordinary tntelli- 
gence of the child, had him instructed by some of the re- 
ligious incumbents of the Abbey. The progress of the 
scholar was so rapid that his masters engaged his mother _ 
to take him to Paris, where he would cenginly find the 
means of continuing his studies. The courageous mother 
followed this advice, notwithstanding that difficulties of all 
kinds presented themselves, and persevered through all the 
trials which she had to sustain in supporting herself and 
her son in a great city, where she found herself without 
resources. The first relief which she obtained after a 
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