Almospherkal Phcenomena in the River St. Laivrence. 91 



and the most various technical details of science, with clearness, 

 is not the same pereon when he writes upon the pure mathe- 

 matics. Something similar has happened to D'Alembert ; and 

 perhaps both may be excused on the ground that profound geo- 

 metricians like them, when writing on a science so familiar to 

 themseU'es, have no idea of submitting to that plainness of lan- 

 guage which the universality of readers requires. The manner 

 in which Coudorcet expresses himself as to style in the preface 

 to his JisemL'lees Provviciales proves clearly that he knew what 

 was wantin<^ in this respect, and hov/ it was to be attained. 

 Nevertheless it cannot be denied that, by dwelling too much on 

 abstract propositions, as if he h&d wished to give proofs of his 

 finesse, his ideas sometimes lead as it were into a labyrinth, 

 and to conclu'^ions which are a little strange : but, once for all, 

 these were mere negligences, which did not prevent Condorcet, 

 who was endowed with the most fortunate qualities for uniting 

 the culture of the sciences to that of letters, and spreading the 

 charm of the former over the latter, from ahnost always making 

 a splendid and usefiil application of his diversified talents. 



The name of Coudorcet was enrolled in the chief academies 

 of Europe : he enjoyed a moderate affluence from the inherit- 

 ance left him by his uiic'p, the Bishop of Lisieux : he occupied 

 the place of inspector of the mint; but he resigned it during the 

 second administration of Necker, whose financial opinions were 

 directly opposed to those of Turgot and his friends. In 1786 

 Condorcet married Mademoiselle Sophie de Grouchy, by whom 

 he had one daughter. 



XV. Accouvt (if some singular atmo^pitericnl Phrenovipna in 

 the Ricer St. Lawrence in the Begitiuing of July 1814. 



To Mr. Tilloch. 



Sir, — i SKND for insertion in your excellent Journal the follow- 

 ing narrative, drawn up by a British officer of engineers, of some 

 remarkable occurrences in his passage from Cork to Quebec. 

 Your philosophical readers will not fail to notice the coincidence 

 between the phaenomena described below, and those which were 

 observed at St. Vincent's and other islands of the West Indies 

 upwards of a year ago. I am, &c. 



A Correspondent. 



*' Remarks on hnard Ship in the River St. Lawrence, distant 

 about 20 Miles from the Bay of Seven Llands above the 

 Islaiid of Anlicosti, '^d July 1814. 



"Yesterday morning at 6 A.M. the weather dark and cloudv, 



with 



