378 On the Errors in the Nautical Almanac. : 
tioned his age, he replied that Nestor was not altogether useless 
in an army which boasted such heroes as Achilles, Ajax, and 
Diomede. Although his temperance and sobriety were great, 
and we had hoped to have him long among us, he died on the 
8ist of August 1811, after a sharp illness of ten days. 
He had frequently spoken to me of his intention to intrust all 
his memoirs and journals to my care. This promise prevented 
me in some measure from presenting myself before him when he 
was in danger, and I have lost much by this reserve. Let us 
hope that some more adequate person will profit by the possession 
of his valuable materials. 
He was an excellent father and a warm friend. Incessantly 
occupied with the interests of science, he seized every oppor- 
tunity of being useful to it. Frank and loyal in his disposition, 
he rose in life without intrigue, and conducted himself so as to de- 
serve the esteem of all parties. He left three sons equally distin- 
guished with their father for zeal in the service of their country. 
His place at the Institute was filled up by M. de Rossell, the 
companion, continuator and editor of D’Entrecasteaux’s voyages. 
LXXXI. On the Errors in the Nautical Almanac. 
May 24, 1814. 
Srrs,— Somz time ago the public attention was called (through 
the medium of your Journal) to some errors which had appeared 
in one of the Nautical Almanacs; and it was hoped that the 
observations then made would have induced the editor of that 
truly valuable work to have taken the requisite precautions to 
prevent the recurrence of any similar complaint. It is indeed 
with much regret that I now write to you, with a view of point- 
ing out some very striking errors which appear on opening the 
Nautical Almanac for 1816, and which ought to be corrected 
as soon as possible; because a discovery of this kind very na- 
turally excites a suspiciom that other parts of the work may be 
equally inaccurate ; the truth or falsehood of which I have not 
time to investigate at present. 
To return, however, to the subject above alluded to:—In the 
Introduction to the Nautical Almanac for 1816, you will find 
that Septuagesima Sunday, Shrove Sunday, Midlent Sunday, 
Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Low Sunday, Rogation Sunday, 
Whit Sunday, Trinity Sunday, and Advent Sunday, are all re- 
presented as happening on a Friday: thus, Easter day (which 
really falls on Sunday April 14) is said to fall og Friday, March 
29; Ash Wednesday is said to fall on a Monday; and Holy 
Thursday on a Tuesday ! ! ! 
The Chronological Cycles likewise are all wrong: the ges 
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