2/8 SCIENCE AND METHOD. 



storms, war, pestilence, and dark intrigues — are let 

 loose against me ! " 



The fact is that he found among his collaborators 

 more headstrong arrogance than good-will, and that 

 a thousand incidents delayed his work. The plague 

 was nothing ; fear of the plague was much more 

 formidable. All the islands mistrusted the neighbour- 

 ing islands, and were afraid of receiving the scourge 

 from them. It was only after long weeks that 

 Mechain obtained permission to land, on condition of 

 having all his papers vinegared — such were the anti- 

 septics of those days. Disheartened and ill, he had 

 just applied for his recall, when he died. 



It was Arago and Biot who had the honour of 

 taking up the unfinished work and bringing it to a 

 happy conclusion. Thanks to the support of the 

 Spanish Government and the protection of several 

 bishops, and especially of a celebrated brigand chief, 

 the operations progressed rapidly enough. They were 

 happily terminated, and Biot had returned to France, 

 when the storm burst. 



It was the moment when the whole of Spain was 

 taking up arms to defend her independence against 

 France. Why was this stranger climbing mountains 

 to make signals ? It was evidently to call the French 

 army. Arago only succeeded in escaping from the 

 populace by giving himself up as a prisoner. In his 

 prison his only distraction was reading the account 

 of his own execution in the Spanish newspapers. The 

 newspapers of those days sometimes gave premature 

 news. He had at least the consolation of learning 

 that he had died a courageous and a Christian death. 



Prison itself was not safe, and he had to make his 



