LABORDE, COMTK LKOH. 



LA CAILLE, NICHOLAS-LOUIS DE. 



appoint*.! Adjutant-Major of the National Guard of Paris, nd on the 

 Sltt of March in that year he was sent to the camp of the allied army 

 to treat of the capitulation M far ai regarded the National Guard. 

 After hU return be was appointed Colonel of the Ktat-Major of the 

 National Guard, and received from Louis XVIII. the crow of St. Louis 

 and that of the Legion of Honour. He afterwards travelled again in 

 England. On his return to France in 1815 be published a 'Plan 

 d' Education pour Iw Enfant* Pauvres, d'apres lea Methods* combines 

 de Bell et de Lancaster,' and was during three jean Secretary-General 

 to the Central Society which founded the system of mutual instruction 

 in France. In 1816 he published a ' Rapport sur lea Travaux de la 

 Societd de Park pour 1'Iuatruction Elomentaira.' In 1819 he was 

 appointed Maltre des Requetea en Service Ordinaire. In 1822 he was 

 elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies by the College de la 

 Seine, and spoke frequently and fervently in favour of liberal insti- 

 tutions. He opposed the war with Spain, and in 1824 was struck off 

 the list of the Conseil d'fttat. Having been again elected a member 

 of the Chamber of Deputies in 1827, he opposed the Martignac 

 ministry, and was also one of the opposition during the Polignac minis- 

 try. When the ordinances of July 1S30 were promulgated he spoke 

 against them decidedly and energetically, declared himself in favour 

 of the insurrection, and risked his life in the popular cause on the 

 27th of July. On the 29th ho advised tho deputies to place them- 

 selves at the head of the movement ; and when the HOtel de Ville wan 

 taken by the insurrectionists he was one of those who proposed that 

 the cittingg should be held there. The contest having been decided 

 in favour of the people, he accepted the post of Prefect of the Seiue, 

 or first magistrate of Paris. Louis-Philippe FOOD afterwards appointed 

 him one of his aides de-camp, with the rank of General of Brigade of 

 the National Guard, and restored him to his place in the Conseil 

 d'Etat. He was afterwards a deputy for the department of Seine-el- 

 Disc. He died on the 24th of October 1842. 



Count Alexandra de Laborde was elected a member of tho Institute 

 (Acade'mie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres) in 1813. He was also a 

 member of the Acade'mie des Sciences Morales et Pulitiques (section 

 d'Economie Politiqne), and of the Society of Antiquaries of London. 

 He was one of the editors of the ' Revue Encyclopedique ' from its 

 commencement He was also a contributor to the ' Univers Pitto- 

 resque ' (departments of Spain and Portugal), and to the ' Journal des 

 Connaistances Utiles.' Besides his contributions to periodical litera- 

 ture, he was the author of several splendid works, of which the 

 following are the most important : ' Voyage Pittoresque et Historique 

 de 1'Espagne,' 4 vols. folio, Paris, 1807-18. ' Itinerairo Descriptor <le 

 1'Espagne,' 5 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1808, with Atlas in 4to. The third 

 edition was considerably enlarged, and was preceded by a ' Notice BUT 

 la Con&guration de 1'Es.pagne, et He son Climat, par M. de Humboldt, 

 et d'un Apercu sur la Goographie Physique, par M. le Colonel 

 Bory de Saint-Vincent, et d'un Abrcgc' HUtorique de la Monarchic 

 Espaguole et des Invasions de la Peninsule jusqu'h nos Jours,' with 

 vignettes, maps, 4c. ' Voyage Pittoresque en Autriche,' 2 vols. folio, 

 Paris, 1821. 'Collection des Vases Grecs de M. le Comte de Lam- 

 berg,' 2 vols. folio, Paris, 1813-24, containing 154 plates printed in 

 colours and carefully retouched. ' Lea Monuments de la Prance 

 classes chronologiquement, et considered sous le Rapport des Arts,' 

 2 vols. folio, Paris, 1832-36, containing 259 plates, originally published 

 in 45 numbers, 1816, &c. 'Description des Obelisques de Louqsor, 

 figure's sur lea Places de la Concorde et des In valid es, et Pre'cis dea 

 Operations relatives au Transport d'un de ces Monuments dans la 

 Capitate,' Svo, Paris, 1834. 'Voyage de la Sync,' in conjunction with 

 his son Comte Leon de Laborde. 'Versailles, Anckn et Moderne,' 

 Svo, Parin, 1889-40, with upward* of 400 woodcuts. 



LABORDE, COMTE LEON-EMMANUEL-SIMON-JOSEPH DE, 



was born June 13, 1807, at Paris. He is the son of Count Alexandra 

 de Laborde. In the year 1 828 he waa appointed secretary to the lega- 

 tion at Rome, but resigned this office when M. de I'oli.-nai: came into 

 power under Charles X. After the Revolution of July 1830 he 

 became aide-de-camp to General La Fayette, and waa sent to London 

 as secretary to the embassy. In 1832 he went in the same capacity 

 to the Hague, and in 1834 to Caseel. He succeeded his father m 

 deputy for the department of Seiue-et-0ie, and is a member of the 

 Institute (Academic des Inscriptions etde Belles Lettres), and an officer 

 of the Legion of Honour. He is at present Conservator of the collec- 

 iona of the Middlu Ages and the Renaissance in the Muaeum of the 

 Louvre. He bat, like his father, distinguished himself by the publi- 

 cation of magnificent works descriptive of foreign countries, as well as 

 by his arcbreological investigation*. The following are the moat im- 

 portant of these works : ' Voyage dans 1' Arabic Petree,' Svo, Paris, 

 1880-33, with Plates and Atlas in folio. 'Voyage en Orient,' illus- 

 trated by about 400 views in Asia Minor and Syria, folio, 1837, &c. 

 ' Histoire de la Gravure en Mauiere Noire,' Svo, Paris, 1839. 'Debuts 

 de rimprimerie a Strasbourg, ou Recherche* sur lea Travaux Mystc- 

 rieux de Gutenberg dans cette ville, et sur le Procea qui lui fut intentd 

 en 1439 a cette Occasion,' Svo, Paris, 1840. ' Le Parthenon : Docu- 

 ment* poor tervir a line Rrstauration,' folio, Paris, 1848, &c. ' Les 

 Dues de Boulogne ; Etude* sur lea Lettres, les Arta, et 1'Industrie 

 pendant le 15ieme Siecle, et plus particulieremcnt dans le Pay* Has et le 

 Duchd de Bourgogne,' Svo, Paris, 1849, 4c. ' Easai d'un Catalogue dea 

 Artistes originairea dea Pays Baa, ou employes h la Cour dea Due* de 



Bourgogne, au ISiemeet 16iemeSieoles,' Svo, Paris, 1849. 'La Renais- 

 sance des Art* a la Cour de Franco : Etudes da la 16iorne Sieote,' Svo, 

 Paris, 1850, *c. ' Notice dea Kmaux expose* dan* le* Calories dti 

 Museedu Louvre,' 12mo, Paris, 1852, 0. 'Me 1 moires et Disserta- 

 tions,' 4 to, Paris, 1852. 



LABORDE, JKAVHKN'JAMIN, a voluminous writer on th* history 

 of music, was born in Paris in 1734, of a rich family, and received a 

 liberal education, including music, which he studied under tho cele- 

 brated Rameau. Ho was intended for the financial department of 

 government, but hia inclination prompted him to seek admission to 

 the gay court of Louis XV., to whom he was appointed ' premier valet 

 de chambre,' and soon becoming the favourite and confidant of that 

 prince, wag, as a matter of course, led into great extravagance and 

 dissipation. But a passion for music saved him from much of the 

 evil that most likely would otherwise have ensued from Inn connection 

 with a profligate monarch and a vicious court : he composed several 

 operas, and these, though possessing little merit, proved successful, 

 and occupied time which, in all probability, would have been devoted 

 to less innocent pleasure*. On the death of LouLi, in 1774, M. Laborde 

 resigned his office, married, and entered into a life of comparative 

 tranquillity. He became one of the ' fermiers-go'ne'raux,' devoted his 

 spare hours to study, and, in 1780, published his 'Essui sur la 

 Musique Ancienne et Moderne,' in four 4 to volumes, a splendid work, 

 got up at a vast expense, embellished by a great number of remark- 

 ably well executed engravings, and illustrated by numerous examples 

 of French national music in various forms. It contains an abundance 

 of information, drawn with great labour from authentic sources, and 

 though exhibiting occasional prejudiced, and so desultory that it 

 ought to have been entitled a Collection of Essays, rather than an 

 Essay, it has supplied with facts and materials writers some of them 

 of no mean reputation who have not had the candour to acknowledge 

 the slightest obligation. 



Tho French revolution brought in its train the ruin of M. Laborde. 

 A ' farmer general ' could expect no favour from those whom the new 

 order of things had placed in power ; he therefore withdrew into the 

 country, and lived concealed till the indiscretion of a person intimately 

 connected with him made his retreat known. He was conveyed to Paris, 

 tried, condemned, and guillotined on the 20th of July 1794, just five 

 days before the fall of Robespierre and his sanguinary colleagues. 



The great pecuniary resources of M. Laborde, together with his 

 activity and indefatigable industry, enabled him to publish, in a 

 sumptuous manner, many original works; also some translations from 

 the English. Among the former are: an ' Essai sur 1'Histoire 

 Chronologique de plus de 80 Peuples de 1'Antiquitd,' 2 vols. in 4to ; a 

 ' Description gcuerale et particuliere de la France,' in folio ; and 

 'Tableaux Topographiques, Geographiques, Historicities, &c., de la 

 Suisse,' 4 vols. in folio. 



LA BRUYERE. [BRUIERE, JEAN LA.] 



LA CAILLE, NICHOLAS-LOUIS DE. The following account is 

 almost entirely from Delambre, either from the memoir by him inserted 

 in the ' Biographie Universelle,' or the 'Hist.de 1'Astrou. au ISieme 

 Sieole.' There are two cloges, one by Grandjeau de Fouchy, the otlitr 

 by G. Brotier, prefixed to the ' Coolum Australe.' As Delambre knew 

 of these tiloges, we have not thought it necessary to examine them. 



La Caille was, born at Rumigny, near Rosoy, in Thierache, March 15, 

 1713. His father, a retired military officer, was in the service of the 

 Duchess of Vendfime, and was himself attached to science, and endea- 

 voured to cultivate the same taste in his son. He died however while 

 the latter was at the College of Lisieux, and his son was enabled to 

 continue his studies by the generosity of the Duke of Bourbon. He 

 chose theology as hia profession; but in passing his first examination 

 he showed so much frankness in his answer to some questions proposed 

 by a doctor of the old school, that this examiner would have refused him 

 hia degree but for the remonstrances of the rest. This incident dis- 

 couraged him, and he remained content with the title of abbe", beyond 

 which he never proceeded. He had previously turned his attention 

 to astronomy under great disadvantages ; and upon bis renunciation 

 of theology, Fouchy, above mentioned, who relates that his knowledge 

 of astronomy waa above all comprehension in so young a person, 

 introduced him to James Cassini, who gave him employment at the 

 Observatory. In the following year, and in conjunction with M.iraMi, 

 he made a survey of part of the coast of France, where the talent 

 which he showed occasioned his being employed in the verification of 

 the arc of the meridian. This operation (in which Cassini de Thury 

 was associated) commenced at the beginning of May 1739, and before 

 the end of the year he had completed the trinngulatiou from Paris to 

 Perpignan, had measured three bases, made the requisite astronomical 

 observations at three stations, and had taken a prominent part in the 

 measurement of a degree of longitude. In the winter of 1740 be 

 extended his operations to the mountains of Auvergne, in order to test 

 some suspicious which he had formed upon the accuracy of 1'icard's 

 measurement. The result of these labours was the complete establish- 

 ment of the gradual increase of the degree in going from the equator 

 to the poles ; which, though long known to be theoretically true, had 

 not previously been confirmed by measurement In the mcair.Unlt! 

 La Caille had b< en appointed to a chuir of mathematics in the Max ,nu 

 College, the duties of which he fulfilled with care, and for which ho 

 publiahed treatises on geometry, mechanics, astronomy, and optics 



