Celebrated Travels and Travellers

he Map of France-G. Delisle and D'Anville-The Shape of t

ng that period by the sciences. They rectified a crowd of prejudices and established a solid basis for the labours of astronomers and geographe

0, his important discovery had been rendered useless by the indifference of Govern

of Jupiter," which induced Colbert to send for him the following year,

or the situation of Tycho Brahe's Observatory. In that spot he calculated with the assistance of Cassini's Tabl

d moon, and to determine the distance of Mars and Venus from the earth. This voyage, which was entirely successful, was

ortly afterwards, however, the computation of a terrestrial degree given by Abbé Picard, and the determination of the Meridional arc, arrived at by the Cassinis, father and son, led scientific men to an entirety different result, and induce

ained by the calculation of a greater distance, and determined to portion out the entire length of France, from north to south, in degrees. For this purpose, they selected the meridian line which passes

found the position of the coasts on the Ocean and Mediterranean. But even these undertakings, Picard's computation of the Meridional arc, the calculations which determined the latitu

cover the whole extent of the country with a network of triangles. Such was

and La Hire was to restrict France within much nar

ny to the Bay of Biscay. And in the same way retrenched about half a degree from Languedoc and La Provence." These alterations gave rise to a "bon-mot." Louis t

maps of the Mediterranean a difference of "five hundred" miles of distance between Marseilles and Alexandria. This important rectification was set aside as non-existe

agined themselves a long way from the Strait of Sunda, when in reality they were more than sixty leagues beyond it. And they were forced to put back for two days with a favourable wind to enter it. In the same way upon their return voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to France, they found themselves at the island of Flores, the most western of the Azores, when they conceived themselves to be at least a hundred and fifty leagues eastward of it. They were obliged to navigate for twelve days in an easterly direction in order to reach the French coast. As

king, in accordance with the instructions

e of early

blindly followed the longitudes of Ptolemy, without taking any note of astronomical observations. His sons and

the age of twenty-five. His brother, Joseph Nicolas, who taught astronomy in Russia, sent William materials for his maps. At the same time his younger brother, Delisle de la Ceyére, visited the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and astro

e mass of documents. Instead of limiting his corrections to any one quarter of the earth, he directed the

merit by visiting him, and placing at his disposal all the

re excelled in these days by those of Germany and England, is it not consolatory and encouraging to them to kn

or to Adrian Valois in the matter of historical science, he deserved his high fame for the

ville was the first to construct a map by scientific methods, and that of itself is sufficient glory. In the department of historical geography, D'Anville exhibited unusual good sense in discussion, and a marvellous topographical instinct for identifications, but it is w

, inaugurated a new method in his chart of the depths of the English Ch

ndian coasts. He added to it a nautical guide, which was the more precious at this period, as it was the first of the kind. Up to the clos

heory of "Magnetic Variations," and a "History of the Monsoons," which gaine

omplished for the English. His views, however, bordered on the hypo

sburgh, whose name is j

n as to the shape of the earth. The Academy of Sciences had despatched a mission to America, to co

t a similar expedition t

s Moreau de

ttributed to possible errors of the observers, or to the imperfection of instruments. But, if the observation can be made at the Pole, the difference between the first degree of the meridian nearest the equatorial line, and, for example, the sixty-sixth degr

olution both at the Pole and the Equator-a solution which would hav

rised De Clairaut, Camus, and Lemonnier, Academicians, Albey Outhier, canon of Bayeux, a secr

aid to them, "I have been in many bloody battles, but I should prefer finding

y kind, by continued privation, by excessive cold. But what comparison can be made between their sufferings, and the agonies

the increasing degrees of frost are proclaimed by the incessant crackling of the wood, of which most of the houses are built. From the solitude which reigns in the streets, one might fancy that the inhabita

region of the Arctic climate thoroughly appreciated, which makes

d regions. They were obliged to rely upon their own resources for scaling the mountains

be found in the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences for 1737, and after incredible efforts, decided that the length of the meridian circle, comprised between the parallels of Tornea and Kittis was 55,023 fathoms and a half.

repudiated by the Cassinis, both father and son), was

hat maliciousl

physique, arg

les monts, qui, tr

mats soumis aux

secteurs et surto

mé dans ces lieu

connut sans

rs who accompanied Maupertuis upon his return, th

ur est tro

a seule qu

au cercl

story of the Academy o

to the defenders of the theory of the flattening of the globes, which was hardly theirs by right, and in the following century th

er, and Godin, three Academicians, Joseph de Jussieu, Governor of the Medical College, who undertook the botanical branch, Seni

nd continued by way of Porto Bello, and Carthagena. Crossing the Isthmus

inite toil. Bouguer went southwards towards Guayaquil, passing through marshy forests, and reaching Caracol at the foot of the Cordillera range of the Andes, which he was a week in crossing. This route had been previously taken by Alvarado, when seventy of his followers perished; amongst them, the t

ndises, which realized exorbitant prices, so much so indeed,

atal to the inhabitants, but they were not slow in discovering that they could not succeed in carrying their im

t appeared was never witnessed by any one before us. We first remarked it when we were altogether upon a mountain called Pamba Marca. A cloud in which we had been enveloped, and which dispersed, allowed us a view of the risi

lory, or aureole formed of two or three small concentric crowns of a very bright colour, containing the same variety of hues as the rainbow, red being the outer one. The spaces between the circl

y were forced to proceed most carefully, and with most minute accuracy, lest small errors accumulating should end by leading to greater ones. Thus, in th

veyed, the next point was to discover what part this was of the earth's circum

le the attraction exercised on the pendulum by mountains, the French inquirers arrived at conclusions which

a Condamine decided to return by way of the Amazon River, making a