1801.] De Lalande’s Hiftory of Aftronomy far. the Year, 1800, 
of the Bofphorus, and the canal at Conftanti-: 
nople, where he made obfervations, when he 
was with Choifeul Goufier, the French Am- 
baffador. 
Nouet has fent drawings of the pofitions of 
35 cities of Egypt, as far as Syene, which he 
finds to be 24° 8’, although generally 
fuppofed to be under the tropic. 
A notice feat by C. Corabeeuf, engineer. in 
Egypt, informs us that the Egyptians. had 
marked the folftice on two zodiacs, difcovered 
at Henné by 25 north latitude, and at Dindara 
by 263 the folftice being formerly placed in 
the conftellation Virgo, then in Leo in ap- 
proaching to Cancer, 
C. Grobert, chief of brigade of artillery, 
has publithed a defcription of the pyramids of 
Ghizé and of the City of Cairo; there has 
been found an aftronomical note of C. Burck - 
hardt, who, having been to fee the drawing, 
made by C, Denon, of the zodiac of Dindara, 
found that the folftice was there advanced 
60° more than itis at'prefent, which leads to 
aconclufion that its antiquity is 4000 years. 
On ftudying the furrounding figures this may 
be more pofitively afcertained. But we know 
that C. Fourier has prefented further details 
to the Inftitute of Egypt. 
The Zodiac of Henné or Efma is: much 
More ancient : for there the folftice is in the 
conftellation of Virgo; which makes an age 
of 7ooo years. But the folftice is there. more 
vaguely expreffed, and an uncertainty may 
arife of fome hundred years; but this 
fill appears to give fome degree of probability 
to the hypothefis of C. Dupuis, quoted in 
vol. iv. of my Aftronomy, which afcribed 
our zodiac to the climate of Egypt, when the 
fummer folftice was in Capricorn, 14 or 15 
thoufand years prior to our epoch, and who 
difcovered that the Indian zodiac which Bailly 
has caufed to be engraved, was of 7000 years 
antiquity. 
General Defaix difcovered the zodiac of 
Henné with C. C. Fourier and Coftas, after 
the departure of C. Denon, But C. Cora- 
beeuf fays in his letter, that this zodiac places 
the folftice in Virgo. General Menou an- 
nounces a new journey 150 leagues farther; 
where he is aflured there are more Egyptian 
antiquities, and the learned who go, may per- 
haps difcover a zodiac more ancient than that 
of Henné. 
Whien C. Corabeuf fays that the great 
pyramid of Memphis declines twenty minutes 
to the north-weft, he adds that Picard found a 
deviation jof eighteen in the meridian of 
Tycho. . 
The voyage of the geographer and ,natu- 
ralift Captains Baudin and Hamelin is. one 
of the generous ats of government for. the 
advancement of fcience. Captain Baudin 
having four years ago broughta quantity cf 
plants and infe&ts from America, the natu- 
ralifts of Paris were defirous that he fhould 
undertake a voyage of more confequence. 
In February he came to Paris to folivi¢ this 
227 
enterprife ; the aftronomers united with the 
naturalifts to difplay the advantages likely to 
refult from fuch a voyage. Geography has 
fo m:ny points in which to excite’ emu- 
lation, that we could not fail to feize the op- 
portunity of filling up fome gap, and the 
French people, who are defirous of poffeffing 
a navy are eager to know every fea, and enable 
themfelves to fuccour the navigators of all 
countries ; the difcovery of a few plants and 
infeéts donot hold a paralle! with the import 
ance of the defign of this voyage. Some defired 
to wait for peace; but the Firft Conful in or- 
der to. make difficulties vanifh, when great 
objects are in contemplation, was eager that 
their immediate departure fhould take place, 
and the rgth of OGober at ten inthe morn- 
ing the navigators fet fail from Havre de 
Grace making for the north; at ten at | 
night, they had failed from thirty to thirty- — 
five leagues, notwithftanding a vifit from the 
Englifh which detained them an hour. M. 
Belfin, whoaccompanied them till two in the 
morning, was pleafed with their concord and 
the high fpirits which they evinced. Captain 
Hamelin is generally beloved; in fhort, it 
feems as though the JNaturaiife floop was 
manned by one family. / 
The Longitude Office in concert with the 
commiffaries of the Infitute has chofen two 
aftronomers, Frederic de Biffy, born at 
London, May 10, 17683 who had affifted 
from 1795 to 1798 at my obfervatory in the 
military {chool ; and Pierre Francois Bernier, 
born at Rochelle, November 10, 1779, who, 
after exerting himfelf at Montauban with C. 
“Duc Lachapelle, has employed himfelf during 
eight months very ufefully, in my obferva- 
tory inthe French college, and has exercifed 
himielf in nautical aftronomy with extreme 
alliduity; he will fhortly be accuftomed to 
the obfervations on fhip-board 5 his zeal and 
knowledge give affurance of fuccefs, and I 
have already feen his panegyric in the Four- 
nal de Paris. 
This young aftronomer is not unmindful of 
the care I have taken of him; I recognized 
his gratitude on reading in the journals; 
that in the middle of a feaft which the officers 
gave to the Savans, when after giving as 
toatts, the Republic and the Navy, Bernier in 
a tender effufion of gratitude exclaimed, 
** To thofe who have guided our fteps in 
the career of the Sciences,” This fenti- 
ment worthy of his feelings, was applauded 
by all the affembly. 
I propofed another aftronomer, C. Louis 
Ciccolini, a chevalier of Malta, born at Ma- 
cerata, November 22,-1767, who has ftudied 
with me for two years, and feveral of whofe 
calculations I have publifhed; but he is 
not a Frenchman. This reafon was decifive, 
efpecially when we were defirous of difplay- 
ing the zeal of the French. I ftrove in vain 
to combat this national prejudice. As to the 
others, I obferved with pleafure that they 
were extremely defiroys. to undertakes 
Gg2 the 
