164 Biographical Notice of [Sept. 



The fury of the revolutionary storm was now for the most part 

 overblown, and, among other encouragements offered to science 

 by the new government, the Ecole des Mines and the National 

 Institute were founded. The merits of Dolomieu obtained for 

 him a seat among the members of the Institute, and he enriched 

 the Journal des Mines with several interesting papers, among 

 which may be particularly distinguished his history of the species 

 beryl, intended as a model of the manner in which the history 

 of minerals ought to be drawn up ; and his memoirs on the heat 

 of lava, and on leucite, in which he expounds his opinions on some 

 of the principal questions relating to volcanos. 



He now undertook a new journey to Switzerland and the south 

 of France, and renewed his former acquaintance with Saussure ; 

 when the illustrious veteran formally devolved upon him the 

 office of completing the survey of the Alps, which his own 

 infirmities compelled him at length to relinquish, and of deduc- 

 ing from the multitude of important facts, the joint product of 

 their several laborious journeys, some fundamental axioms in the 

 science of geology. The extinct volcanos of Auvergne also 

 attracted the special notice of Dolomieu during this excursion : 

 being less encumbered by ejected matter than either the active 

 or quiescent volcanos of Sicily and Italy, their connexions with 

 the regular strata are much more easily traced, and many parti- 

 culars of the very first consequence in their history, which else- 

 where are the indirect result of dubious observation, offer 

 themselves in full view to the student of Auvergne. 



After an interval of six months thus employed, he returned to 

 Paris, laid before the Institute a sketch of his labours, and made 

 the commencement of a very extensive work on mineralogy, 

 which he had long meditated, and which, founded on researches 

 so extensive and so accurate, must of necessity have added 

 greatly to our knowledge of volcanic rocks, as well as to the 

 science in general. 



Unfortunately for Dolomieu himself and for the public, the 

 prosecution of this great design was interrupted by the offer of 

 a situation in the expedition then preparing by Bonaparte for the 

 conquest and colonization of Egypt. With the military rank of 

 General, but probably with no other objects in view than those 

 of science, in an evil hour he quitted the shores of France. The 

 first blow struck by this great armament was the conquest of 

 Malta ; and in the arrangement of the articles of its surrender, 

 Dolomieu was unwisely induced, by the joint persuasions it is 

 said of the Order and of the French commander, to take a prin- 

 cipal share. Bound by ties of allegiance to the sovereign 

 authorities on each side, it was manifestly his duty not to inter- 

 fere ; and, involved as he had been in the party disputes of the 

 Knights of Malta, there could be no doubt that his interference, 

 even if really impartial, would render him extremely obvious both 

 to wilful misrepresentation and to involuntary misunderstanding' 



