1799-] 
ences the philofopher is expofed during an 
uninterupted feries of lunar obfervations, 
As the moon during a revolution may pafs 
through the meridian at all hours of the 
day or night; the aftronomer who day 
after day profecutes fuch obfervations, mutt 
be prepared at all, even the moft inconve- 
nient, hours, and facrifice to them his fleep 
and all his enjoyments. How fecluded 
from all the pleafures of focial intercourfe, 
and how fatiguing fuch a mode of life is; 
thofe aftronomers, indeed, know not who 
then only fet their pendulum-clocks in 
motion, when fome of the eclipfes of the 
fun, moon, or of the fatellites of Jupiter, 
are to be viewed. 
the prefent ftate of the fcience, thefe are 
juft the moft infignificant obfervations ; 
and an able aftronomer, well fupplied with 
accurate inftruments, may every day, if he 
take into his view the whole of his pro- 
feflion, make more important and more 
neceflary obfervations. 
Le Monnicr was Lalande’s preceptor, 
and worthy of fuch a fcholar: and he pro- 
moted his ftudies by his advice and by every 
other means in his power. Le Monnier’s 
penetrating mind, indeed prefaged in 
- young Lalande, then only {ixteen years old, 
what in the fequel has beem fo {plendidiy 
confirmed. In his twentieth year, he be- 
came, on the recommendation of his pre- 
ceptor, a member of the Royal Academy: 
and.in 1752 he was-propofed by him as 
the fitteft perfon to be fent to Berlin, to 
make with La Caille’s, who had been 
fent to the Cape of Good Hope, corre- 
fpondent obfervations for the purpofe of whom Le Monnier mortally hated. 
determining the parallaxes of the moon, 
then but imperfe€&tly known. Le Monnier 
lent his pupil for this expedition his mu- 
ral quadrant of five feet, His zeal for 
altronomy knew no bounds. For this rea- 
fon, Lalande, in his Notice des Travaux 
du C. Le Monnier, fays of himfelf: ** Fe 
fuis moi-méme le principal refiltat de fon {cholars of Le Monnier. 
xéle pour Pafironomie.”’ 
Te Monnier was naturally of a very ir- 
At this time, and in» 
Memoirs of Le Monnier. 
e 
627 
not ceafed to exclaim (writes Lalande), as 
Diogenes exclaimed to his matter Antif- 
thened: you cannot find a ftick ftreng 
enough to drive me'away from you!” 
What a noble trait in the charagter of 
Lalande! If the readers of his correfpon- 
dence in the General Geographical Epheme- 
vides have not already perceived that no- 
blenefs of foul and unaffected candour form 
the outline of his characier; they would 
be completely convinced of it, if I were 
permitted to print many other interefting 
paffages in his letters. Such charaéterif= 
tic traits of celebrated men deferve to be 
recorded and made public; not. their 
trifling and innoxicus weakneffes held up 
to view with all the glaring colours of 
witticifm. In+1797, Lalande wrote an 
eulogium on Le Monnier for the Conn. des 
Tems, w the language of a grateful pupil, 
penetrated with fentiments of profound 
veneration and efteem for his beloved 
mafter :. but Le Monnier refufed’ to read 
it. WhenTI hed the pleafure of enjoying 
the familiar converfation of Lalande in 
1798, often has herelated to me many par- 
ticulars of the harfh and implacable treat... 
ment and refentment of Le Monniex, 
whom he never ceafed to revere; and ashe 
told me the affeéting hiftory of their va- 
riance, tears would involuntarily ftart into 
the eyes of the worthy old man. 
This is not the place to give a circum-= 
ftantial account of this.intricate quarrel 3 
we fhall only farther remark, that La- 
lande was the warm friend and admirer of 
the no lefs eminent. aftronomer La Caille, 
An 
intimate friendfhip likewife fubfifted. be- 
tween Le Monnier and D’Alembert, but 
Laiande had tio friendly intercourfe with » 
the latter, ne 
The celebrated geometrician and pro- 
feffor of Mathematics at Utrecht, Hennert, 
may likewife be reckoned among ‘the 
I here fub- 
join an extract from a letter which Mr... 
H. wrate me from Utrecht, the 26th of 
ritable temper; as ardently as he loved May, 1797: ‘*Le Monnier is a pene- 
his friends, as eafily could he be offended ; trating and philofophical aftronomer:. E 
and his hatred was then implacable. »La-. 
lande, as he himfelf-exprefles it, had the 
misfortune to incur the difpleafure- of his 
beloved preceptor; and he never after with Meffier. 
could regain his favour. But Lalande’s 
learned much from him in Paris; though 
F lodged with the late De l’Ifle, where I 
frequently made obfervations in company 
Le Monnier was the friead 
of D’Alembert ; and confequently an op- 
gratitude and refpe&t for him always con-  pofer of Lalande.”’ 
tinued undiminifhed, and were on every 
occafion with unremitting conftancy pub- 
Le Monnier left behind him fome valu-. 
able manufcriprs; and a number of good 
licly declared: patiently he endured from obfervations, with refpect to which he had 
him. undeferved ill-treatment; fo much 
did he love and elteem his inftruétor and 
matter to the day of his death. 
«‘T have any thing. He had by hima 
always been very whimfical, and of which 
in his latter years he never would publifh 
feries of lu- 
2 nar 
