M. Quetelet's Memoir of Prof. Moll. 291 



he also communicated to the Royal Astronomical Society of 

 London, the whole of the observations that were made in 

 Holland of the fine eclipse of the sun in September 1820, at 

 which time M. Moll was himself in England*. The preceding 

 year, when he resigned the rectorate of the University of 

 Utrecht, he had published a Latin dissertation on the ulterior 

 progress of astronomy, which is inserted in the annals of this 

 learned body. 



That which, moreover, seems to have contributed most to 

 turn aside our colleague from his astronomical labours was 

 the versatility of his mind, which loved to spread itself at once 

 over a great number of objects ; it was this desire of change of 

 place and of keeping pace with the progress of science, which 

 led him to visit his neighbours, and especially the English, as 

 often as his duties of professor allowed him, and we should 

 add, almost always longer than these duties permitted. The 

 government, however, well understood that the inconveni- 

 ences which resulted from this were very trifling in compari- 

 son with the advantages to be derived from these repeated ex- 

 cursions, and had the wisdom to wink at what might be irre- 

 gular in his conduct as professor. As a natural philosopher 

 Moll was truly at home ; there are labours of his which can 

 leave no doubt in this respect; but the service in which he 

 has been most especially useful to his country was in keep- 

 ing her acquainted with all that was doing abroad, not only 

 in the sciences, but in all the uses to which they may be applied 

 for the wants of society. Was any important discovery made, 

 any useful improvement, he not only hastened to communicate 

 it in lectures and in the scientific societies to which he be- 

 longed, but he endeavoured through the journals to make 

 the results comprehensible to the generality of readers ; thus, 

 navigation by steam-boats, artesian wells, warming hot-houses 

 by steam, submarine discoveries by the diving-bell, the con- 

 struction of lightning conductors, each in its turn found in 

 him a zealous patron always disposed to make their advan- 

 tages available f. He loved especially to throw light on 

 the scientific subjects, so to speak, in the order of the day, 

 and to which circumstances gave an interest ; thus, imme- 

 diately after the burning of a part of the beautiful church of 

 St. Bavon at Ghent, he presented his remarks on the im- 

 provement of fire-engines. On the subject of horse-races, he 

 communicated in a notice a statement of the swiftness of horses 

 of different countries and of different breeds. If any remark- 



• Vol. i. H4, Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, 

 t Memoirs on these iliftercnt subjects have been inserted by M. Moll 

 in the Letlerbode and in the Mimoires de la Hociete de Uaarlem. 



U2 



