452 
at their own houfes. Caffini loft by the 
revolution his ofiice and income, was 
confined more than a year in prifon, and, 
faved only his life, and a {mall eitate, 
which he had inherited from his anceftors. 
‘There the worthy man ftill lives with- his 
family, uponafcanty income. Some are 
of opinion, thatthe ambition, envy, and 
egotifm of certain other aftronomers con- 
tributed much to drive him, as wellasJeau- 
rat, from the obiervatory: Of the prefent 
four aftronomers of the obfervatory, none 
is fubjeét to the control of the other ; they 
have all equal rights and privileges. Mr. 
B. juftly condemns this regujation, and 
thinks it may be productive of difagreea- 
ble contentions ; for what muft enfue, if 
all the.four fhould with to obferve the 
fame phenomenon at the fame time and 
with the fame inftruments? If indeed 
there were a feparate fet of inftruments’ 
for each of them, the regulation would be 
excellent; but, as that is net the cafe, it 
would have been better to have done here 
as inall che other obfervatories of Europe, 
where one only is chief aflronomer, and 
the others labour with, and under, him. 
-Befides the large National Obfervatory, 
there are other public and private ones in 
Paris, on a lefs extenfive fcale. The 
former belong to the Military School and 
to the Collése de Biance; the latter to 
Meffier and\Delambre. The obfervatory 
at the Military School was put in order by 
Jeaurat ; and, in the fequel, Lalande was 
appointed director of it. Here Lalande has 
feveral apartments, though he does not re- 
fide in them ;, and here, in conjenction 
with his nephew, Frangois Lalande, he 
obferves the many thoufands of ftars, 
which almoft ail efcape the naked eye. 
‘The obfervatory of the College de France 
is likewife under the direction of Lalande, 
who refides there. It feems that this 
great aftronomer has Jof& much of his cre- 
dit in Paris, and that fufficient juftice is 
not done to his merit. 
LETTER xill. The BUREAU de LONGI- 
TUDE, the GEOGRAPHICAL COMP- 
ToIR, the NATIONAL LIBRARY, and 
ihe LIBRARIES Of the ARSENAL and the 
PANTHEON. 
The Bareau de Longitude is formed upon 
a moré extenfive plan, and pofleffes greater 
authohity, than the Englifh board of the 
fame naine. It has the fuperintertdance 
over the national obfervatory, the obferva- 
tory at the military {chool, and all the in- 
ftruments belonging to the nation. The 
members of the commiffion are men of 
the greateft celebrity; Lagrange and La- 
Abfiraét of Profefor Buggé’s Fourney to Paris. [June zr, 
place; Lalande, Mechain, and Delambre ; 
Borda and Fleurieu; Buache ; Caroche ; 
Francois Lalande, and Bouvard. ‘Thele 
meet regularly once in every decade.— 
The Board of Geography, ox of Land-fur- 
weying (Bureau de Cataftre), is under the 
diretion of the excellent Prony. The 
geographers employed by this board:are 
all taken from the geographical fchool. 
All geographical and topographical men- 
furations and defcriptions, the geographical 
maps and plans of woods, canals, &c. thé 
ftatiftical calculations of fquare contents, of 
population, &c. are here executed. To 
it is likewife committed the calculating of 
the tables of fines according to the cen- 
tefimal {yftem, 100 degrees to a quadrant, 
tco minutes to a degree, and 100 feconds 
to a minute; whith is performed with 
the greateft limplicity and accuracy. Thefe 
new tables are printed with fereotypes, 
and will be the moft complete and accu- 
rate work of thekind. The maps by Caf- 
fii lie here negle&ed in a heap; no im- 
preffion of them can be obtained: perhaps 
the government prevents the circulation 
of them at prefent for fear they might be 
ufeful to the infurgents. Caflini com- 
plains bitterly that all his petitions to 
have his loffes made good are difregarded. ° 
The edifice for the National Library is 
85 toifes long, and 20 broad. Mr. B. 
found here, as long as the weather conti- 
nued mild, confiantly from forty to fifty 
perfons, and fome of them ladies, occupi- 
ed with reading. No books are lent oute 
The library contains, according to the 
affertion of the hbrarian, Caperronnier, 
about 300,000 volumes. The manu- 
{cripts amount to 80,000, and are well 
arranged. Two rooms are filled with a~ 
large colletion of prints. ‘There is alfo 
a yaluable collection of antiques and coins, 
Millin reads public le€tures on archeology 
four times inevery decade; but complains 
that this branch of fcience is now whol- 
ly neglected and defpifed. Annexed to | 
the library is a /chool for the living Oriene 
tal languages, where the’ Perfian, Malay, 
learned and»common Arabic, and the 
Turkifh and ‘Tartarian languages are 
publicly taught, - The Library of the Are 
jena, which formerly belonged to the 
Count d’Artois, contains about 75,000 
printed. books, and 6c00 manu{cripts. — 
The Library of the Pantheon confifts of 
100,0c0 printed volumes, and 2060 ma- 
nufcripts. ‘The depots of books that be- 
longed to thofe who have been executed or | 
emigrated, of which there are three, are 
gradually put in order, and the books 
diftributed among the libraries of other 
2 ‘infti. 
C7 
. 
“5 
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