MEMOm OP PALLAS. ^5 



French government despatched the Abbe Chappe 

 d'Auteroche to Tobolsk to make the required ob- 

 servations; and he, on his return, published an 

 account of what he had seen, the sarcastic tone of 

 which so irritated the Empress that she took the 

 trouble, it is stated, to refute him herself. On this 

 account, too, she was unwilling that foreigners should 

 again undertake the examination of a similar transit 

 of Venus in 1769, and she therefore appointed 

 astronomers of the Imperial Academy to undertake 

 it, conjoining with them naturalists also, who were to 

 examine and report on the face of the country. To 

 this latter project she was the more excited, from 

 her recently having made a progress down the Volga 

 and through the interior provinces of European 

 Russia. She had then become aware of the great 

 deficiencies of the existing topographical and geo- 

 graphical information, and saw the advantages 

 which would accrue from deputing learned and 

 skilful men to visit the distant provinces of her 

 extensive dominions, with a view to enlarge the 

 boundaries of science a^d extend a knowledge of 

 the useful arts among the natives. On being made 

 acquainted with these plans, Pallas immediately 

 offered to accompany the expedition, and was 

 eagerly accepted. In consequence of the orders of 

 the sovereign, the Academy amongst others named 

 Messrs Pallas, Lepechen, Gmelin the nephew, Gul- 

 denstragdt, and Georgi as members of the commis- 

 sion, which upon the whole consisted of these ^yq 

 naturalists and seven astronomers and mathemati- 



