86 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF FRANCIS ARAGO. 
number of adepts, such as Lesueur, the musician, Colin, | 
private teacher of chemistry at the school, M. Binet, &e. 
A report from the prefect of police had signified to the 
Emperor that, the frequenters of the Grey House were 
connected with the Society of Jesuits. The Emperor 
was uneasy and irritated at this. ‘“ Well,’ said he to M. 
Monge, “there are your dear pupils become disciples of 
Loyola!” And on Monge’s denial, “ You deny it,” an- 
swered the Emperor; “ well, then, know that the private 
teacher of your course is in that clique.” Every one 
can understand that after such a remark, Monge could 
not consent to being succeeded by M. Binet. 
Having enfered the academy, young, ardent, and im- 
passioned, I took much greater part in the nominations 
than may have been suitable for my position and my time 
of life. Arrived at an epoch of life whence I examine 
retrospectively all my actions with calmness and impar- 
tiality, I can render this amount of justice to myself, that, 
excepting in three or four instances, my vote and interest 
were always in favour of the most deserving candidate, 
and more than once I succeeded in preventing the Acad- 
emy from making a deplorable choice. Who could blame 
me for having maintained with energy the election of 
Malus, considering that his competitor, M. Girard, un- 
known as a physicist, obtained twenty-two votes out of 
fifty-three, and that an addition of five votes would have 
given him the victory over the savant who had just dis- 
covered the phenomenon of polarization by reflection, 
over the savant whom Europe would have named by ac- 
clamation? ‘The same remarks are applicable to the 
nomination of Poisson, who would have failed against 
this same M. Girard if four votes had been otherwise 
given. Does not this suffice to justify the unusual ardour 
