110 



C O N D A M I N E. 



Cfendamine CONDAMINE, ©harles Maria re la, a celebra- 

 T— ^ ted French traveller and philosopher, was born at Pa- 

 ris on the 28th January 1701, and was the son of 

 Charles de la Condamine, receiver-general of finances 

 for the province of Bourbonnois, and of Margaret Loui- 

 sa de Chources. At an early age he was sent to school, 

 where he- exhibited no marks either of industry or ta- 

 lents ; and he was afterwards instructed in literature 

 and philosophy at the College of Louis le Grand, un- 

 der P. Poree and P. Brisson, the latter of whom, even 

 so late as 1717, still taught the philosophy of Des- 

 cartes. 



After quitting college, Condamine went as a volun- 

 teer to the siege of Roses in 1719, along with his uncle 

 the Chevalier de Chources, who was captain of the 

 Dauphin's regiment of cavalry. In the course of this 

 siege, Condamine displayed a degree of courage bor- 

 dering on temerity ; and he was on one occasion found 

 upon an eminence, examining through a telescope one 

 of the enemy's batteries, the balls from which were 

 falling thick around him. This carelessness and con- 

 tempt of danger, which was afterwards a predominant 

 feature in the character of our author, he had exhibit- 

 ed on a very different occasion, and at an early period. 

 When he was scarcely twelve years of age, he went on 

 a visit to the country; and having learned, that one of 

 the fields near the house where he lived was visited by 

 an apparition, he requested two of the domestics to 

 conduct him to the park. They had scarcely reached 

 the spot, when his two attendants fled with terror at 

 the sight of the apparition, who, clothed in white, ad- 

 vanced towards them. Condamine kept his position, 

 and having drawn a sword which he had concealed un- 

 der his coat, he broke it in pieces upon his spiritual op- 

 ponent. " The phantom is corporeal," he cried, " and 

 has broken my sword." The coachman instantly 

 emerged from his white covering, and acknowledged, 

 that the plan was laid to try the courage of Conda- 

 mine. 



Although Condamine was particularly qualified for a 

 military life by his intrepidity and personal courage, 

 yet the ardour of his mind, and his indefatigable cu- 

 riosity, prompted him to abandon a profession which, 

 in the time of peace, presented few opportunities for 

 the gratification of his favourite views. He henceforth 

 resolved to devote himself to the sciences ; and in the 

 year 1730, he was admitted into the Academy of 

 Sciences as adjunct chemist, and was already well 

 known as one of the most active members of the So- 

 ciety of Arts, established at Paris by the Count de Cler- 

 mont. 



In the year 1731, Condamine embarked on board 

 the squadron commanded by M. du Guay-Trouin, and 

 visited many parts of the Mediterranean, and the coasts 

 of Africa and Asia. In his way from Jerusalem to 

 Constantinople, Condamine stopped at Bassa, the an- 

 cient Paphos. A Greek, who had been in the same 

 vessel with him, was taken suddenly ill, and entrusted 

 Condamine with 50 piastres, to be given to his parents. 

 The Cadi of the place having insisted on appropriating 

 this money to his'own use, Condamine pretested that 

 lie would give it no person but to the parents of his 

 companion, and immediately set off for his vessel. A 

 JTitafa, an officer of police, with a numerous detach- 

 ment, attempted to arrest Condamine and his servant ; 

 but after having resisted their attempts for some time, 

 they at last sought for safety in flight, and, favoured 

 fry the darkness ef the evening, they escaped to a boat. 



and endeavoured to regain their Vessel. Binding it Bond; 

 impossible, however, to reach the ship before break of "^ "\ 

 day, and being exposed to the fire of the fort and of 

 the Turkish vessels, they were compelled to surrender, 

 and were carried half naked before the officer of police, 

 who again demanded the 50 piastres. Condamine per- 

 sisted in refusing them, complained of the barbarous 

 treatment he had received, and threatening the Titafa 

 with the vengeance of the Divan, he was at last set at 

 liberty. After remaining five months at Constantino- 

 ple, he returned to Paris, and published some account 

 of his travels in a paper read to the Academy, and 

 entitled Observations Malhematiques el Physiques fc/Lcs 

 dans un Voyage du Levant, en 1731 el 1732. Another 

 account of his travels was published in 1734, by his 

 valet de chambre, and without the consent of Conda- 

 mine. 



The Academy of Sciences was now charged with 

 the splendid undertaking of measuring a degree of the 

 meridian and of the equator in Peru ; and Condamine, 

 who had the honour of proposing the expedition, was 

 one of the academicians who were selected for carry- 

 ing it into effect. We have already had occasion to 

 give some account of this great enterprise ; and in an- 

 other part of our Avork our readers may expect very sa- 

 tisfactory and copious details ; but we can only at pre- 

 sent relate the events which are particularly connected 

 with the personal history of Condamine, and which 

 could not be introduced with propriety under another 

 head. 



The academicians set out from Rochelle on the 16th 

 of May 1735, and they reached Martinique on the 22d 

 of June. On the day fixed for their departure, Con- 

 damine was seized with a violent fever ; but such was 

 the zeal of all the party to prosecute the object of their 

 mission, that Condamine was embarked in the course 

 of 24 hours after he was attacked. From Martinique 

 the academicians went to Portobello ; and, crossing the 

 isthmus of Panama, they embarked at this city, and af- 

 terwards reached Guaquil, from which it was necessary 

 to proceed to Quito by land. In order to examine as 

 wide an extent of country as possible, Condamine se- 

 parated from his companions, and chose a dangerous 

 and difficult route. He traversed immense forests on 

 foot; and after being abandoned by his guides, he- 

 wandered eight days in the deserts, without any other 

 guide but his compass, and without any other food but 

 the wild herbs that grew around him. After under- 

 going incredible dangers, and suffering the greatest 

 privations, he at last joined his companions at Quito. 



The pecuniary resources of the academicians were 

 now unfortunately exhausted. Condamine had, how- 

 ever, brought with him particular letters of credit; 

 but as there was no direct intercourse between Quito 

 and Europe, he found it necessary to undertake a jour- 

 ney of 4-00 leagues to Lima, for the purpose of obtain- 

 ing money. After an absence of three months, he re- 

 turned to Quito with 6v,00Q livres, for which he was 

 personally responsible, and with 20,000, winch were 

 sent to him by the council and the viceroy ; and al- 

 though he was obliged to carry his own bed, yet he 

 found time to compose a memoir on the tree which 

 yields Quinquina, and to collect a number of curious 

 observations. 



The geometrical mensuration of the arc of the meri- 

 dian was completed in August 1739, after two years of 

 unremitting labour; and the academicians were pro- 

 ceeding to take the astronomical measure of this arch, 



i^wt. 



