Some Account of the late M. Guinand. 349 



bours of this interesting person, abridged from the details in the pamphlet 

 under our consideration. 



About 70 years have elapsed since M. Guinand was employed in assist- 

 ing his father as a joiner. At the age of thirteen he became a cabinet- 

 maker, and occupied himself chiefly in making clock-cases- 



At this period he had become acquainted with a buckle-maker in his 

 neighbourhood, of whom he learned the art of working in various metals, 

 which enabled him, about the age of twenty, to attempt the construction of 

 a watch-case; and, having succeeded, he followed the occupation of a watch- 

 case- maker. 



Having constructed clock-cases for M. Jaquet Droz, he saw, at the 

 house of that mechanist, a fine English reflecting telescope, an instrument 

 then very rare in Switzerland. M. Guinand was then in his 20th or 23d 

 year, and it cannot be doubted that this circumstance first turned his 

 mind towards that subject to which he afterwards devoted his attention. 

 Having expressed a wish to take this telescope to pieces, that he might 

 examine it in detail, M. Jaquet Droz gave him permission, and undertook 

 to put it together should that task prove too difficult for him. M. Guin- 

 and took the instrument to pieces ; measured the curves of the mirrors and 

 glasses, and afterwards readily put it together ; then availing himself 

 of his experience in casting ornaments for clock-cases, he attempted the 

 construction of a similar telescope ; and his second experiment succeeded 

 so well, that it was impossible to determine whether his telescope or its 

 model was the best. 



M. Jaquet Droz, surprised at this success, asked our artist what treatise 

 on optics he had followed as his guide ; but he was still more surprised 

 when the young man told him that he was not acquainted with any : he 

 placed one in his hands, and it was not until this period that M. Guinand 

 studied, or rather deciphered, (for he read with difficulty,) the principles 

 of that science. 



Having been always weak-sighted, he found, when he began to make 

 watch-cases, that his spectacles were no longer of service; and, being di- 

 rected to a person whose glasses were said to have given great satisfaction, 

 he obtained a pair which really suited him no better than the others ; but, 

 by looking on while they were in progress, he learned the art of forming 

 and polishing the lenses. He therefore undertook to make spectacles, not 

 only for himself, but for various other persons. This new acquirement he 

 found very useful in his favourite pursuit ; and he amused himself in ma- 

 nufacturing telescopes of an inferior quality, for which he made the tubes 

 of pasteboard. 



The discovery of achromatic glasses having reached that country, it 

 could not fail to be interesting to M. Guinand. M. Jaquet Droz, having 

 procured one of these new glasses, permitted M. Guinand to take it to 

 pieces, and to separate the lenses. It will readily be conceived that the 

 purpose of the latter was to construct a similar instrument, but in this he 

 was disappointed, by the difficulty of procuring glasses of different refrac- 

 tive powers. It was not until some years afterwards, that an acquaintance 



