1800. ] 
appoint proper perfons to fill the different 
offices of the Depot.* Méchain accor- 
dingly a third time entered upon his office 
of Aftronome-hydrographe. 
Soon after, the new Infpetor-general 
removed the Depot de la Marine from 
Verfailles to Paris, for the purpofe, he 
faid, of freeing himfelf from the intrigues 
and influence of the minifter and his agents, 
and that he might be nearer the learned 
men and artifis whofe advice and afhi{- 
tance he might require. It was he who 
conceived the projeét of forming, from 
actual obfervations, new charts of the whole 
coaft of France on the Atlantic. All 
harbours, promontories, rocks, and fand- 
banks, were to be determined and laid 
down with the greateft geographical exact- 
nefs, all anchorage- places, roads, fhallows, 
&c. moft carefully founded, and the times 
of high-water obferved. Our Méchain 
received the important and honorable com- 
miflion, conjointly with La Bretonniere, an 
officer of the royal navy, to conduét this 
bufinefs, and put the plan in execution. 
The neceflary preparations were imme- 
diately ordered ; and they made two voy- 
ages, the firft with a floop and cutter, and 
fecond with only two floops. The Ame- 
rican war, which commenced in 1778, 
foon put an end to this ufeful expedition ; 
and during the fhort time they had been 
employed on the work, they were only able 
to furvey the tract between Nieuport and 
St. Maloes, a fpace, if meafured-along the 
coalt, of about 100 French fea-miles. 
Eight charts, in the largeft grand-aigle 
fize, were the refult of this well-conduécted 
furvey. They were engraved already in 
1778; but from unfavorable circumftances, 
the war, and fume jealoufies, they were not 
publithed tilltwo years ago. Other caufes, 
which this is not the place to develope, 
hindered the profecution of this ufeful and — 
neceflary undertaking. 
The new Infpeétor furvived his reftora- 
tion to his ofice not above one year. 
During the whole time of his adminiftra- 
tion, he honored Méchain with his friend. 
fhip and unbcunded confidence. When 
Méchain returned from his fecond expedi- 
tion along the coaft, the Infpector was 
dead; and the Marquis de Chabert had 
fucceedcd him. In the Marquis he found 
an unaltered friend ; and from that time 
their connection became till more intimate. 

* Lalande’s greateft enemy (and fuch the 
new Infpeétor was) muft however acknow- 
jedge that he had not abufed his influence by 
recommending any perfon, either unworthy or 
not properly qualified. 
Memoirs of Mechain. 15k 
Chabert had, fince the year 1757, made 
feveral literary voyages in the Mediterra- 
nean, and to America, for the purpofe of 
perfectionating the fciences of geography 
and navigation, and brought back a num. 
ber of ufeful and interefting obfervations, 
Thefe Méchain reduced and calculated, 
and drew from them important refults, par- 
ticularly for reGlifying the charts of the 
Mediterranean fea.* 
It is incredible what an immenfe number 
of obfervations Méchain has calculated af- 
tronomically for the correétion of fea-charts 
of various parts of the four quarters of 
the globe ; and how many doubtful fitya- 
tions of iflands, rocks, coafts, &c. he hag 
with critical diligence determined from the 
journals of navigators. Mé€chain is the 
Dalrymple and Rennel cf the French ; jf 
he be not, like them, known in the litera< 
ry world as a great geographer, but rather 
as an aftronomer, the caufe is that he ne-= 
ver publithed fingle maps on his own ac~ 
count and bis own name, but has cone 
ftantly worked for the Depot ; and that the 
charts which are there publifhed, never 
bear the names of the fingle members em- 
ployed in forming them, but are called the 
charts of the Royal Defot. Wor has Mé- 
chain publifhed any of his calculations, 
which would fill many volumes ;+ he only 
communicated refulis, which ferved ag 
the ground-work of the new charts of the 
Depot. 
Méchain did not confine himfelf to the 

* See in the Memoirs of the Royal Aca 
demy of Paris for 1759, p. 217 and p. 4&4, 
the Marquis * Projet d’ Ob fervations ajironos 
migues et bydrographiques, pour parvenir a Sere 
mer pour la Mer Méditerrancé une Suite des Cartes 
exacies, accompagnees d’un Portulun, fous le titre 
de Neptune Francais, fecond volume. This is 
the fame Marquis de Chabert, of whom mene 
tion is made in vol. vii. p. 626 of our Maga. 
zine, as having received permiffion from Louis 
XVI. to obferve along with Le Mounier, in 
the king’s prefence, as the chateauof St. Hy» 
bert, the tranfit cf Venus in 1769. 
+ Méchain was never eager to acquire Cee 
lebrity by authorfhip. He left it to others ¢@ 
make known the refults of his labours; and 
contented himfelf with having furnifhed wha¢ 
was ufeful. Thus, for infance, Captaig 
Fleurieu in his work, which appeared in 1798, 
entitled ¢* Decouzertes des Francais en 1768 ¢¢ 
1769 dans le Sud-Eft dela Nouvelle Guinée, 
publifhed Méchain’s treatife relative to the 
true pofition of Port Praflin in New Ireland, 
But there is a’ va number of fimilar labours 
which Méchain might and fhould publith: 
and it will be a real lofs for the fciences of 
aftronomy and geography, if they are not pubs 
lished, 
. IoOLY 

