86 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF FRANCIS ARAGO. 



number of adepts, such as Lesueur, the musician, Colin, 

 private teacher of chemistry at the school, M. Binet, &c. 

 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 entered 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 



