Telescopes—Life of Fraunhofer. 311 
third as a spare one in case M. Bessel’s object-glass should 
meet with any accident in the bisection; and, fortunately 
for science, these object-glasses are all complete 
a degree, that fifty workmen are at present employed. 
In 1823 M. Fraunhofer was appointed keeper of the phys- 
ical cabinet of the academy of Munich, a situation to which 
a pension was attached. In 1824 after the public exhibition 
of thé great telescope of Dorpat, the King of Bavaria hon- 
ored him with the rank of -a chevalier of the order of Civil 
Merit. He was also elected a member of several foreign so- 
cieties, among which we may mention the Society of Arts 
in our own city. The university of Erlangen also conferred 
upon him the title of Doctor in Philosophy. 
Thus honored and respected both at home and abroad, 
Fraunhofer was enjoying all the happiness which character 
and reputation and a moderate independence never fail to 
yield, His mind was occupied with great views of scientific 
ambition which he could not have failed to realize, and such 
was the perfection to which he had brought his art, that he 
was willing to undertake an achromatic telescope, with an ob- 
ject-glass eighteen inches in aperture, and we have now be- 
fore us a letter in which he fixes even the price of this stu- 
pendous instrument. But he was not destined to accomplish 
SO great an undertaking. In October 1825 he was attacked 
