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scarce a hope of recovery; and on the very day when she was in the greatest peril, Fichte, who had been engaged in close and anxious attendance upon her during her illness, was compelled to leave her, to deliver the first of a course of philosophical lectures, which he had now recommenced. With wonderful self-command, he continued to speak for two hours on the most abstract subjects, scarcely hoping to find, on his return, his beloved companion still alive. This was, however, the crisis of her illness, and those who witnessed the transports of joy and gratitude with which he hailed the symptoms of recovery were able to estimate the power of self-control he had exercised. It was probably at that moment that, innocently and unconsciously, she communicated to him the fatal infection. On the following day the commencement of a serious indisposition was evident, but Fichte could not be induced to relax any of his customary exertions. The continued sleeplessness, however, soon produced its usual effect on his mental faculties, and in the course of fourteen days the attack terminated fatally.

Thus passed away the amiable spirit of one of the great thinkers of the age—a man who shed on the country of his birth not only intellectual splendor, but rays of moral worth that will burn and glow on the nation's brow when much that is purely philosophical shall be forgotten.

"So robust an intellect," says Mr. Thomas Carlyle, in one of his tempestuous bursts of enthusiasm," a soul so calm, so lofty, massive, and immovable, has not mingled in philosophical discussion since the time of Luther; for the man rises before us, amid contradiction and debate, like a granite mountain amid clouds and winds. Ridicule of the best that could be commanded has been already tried against him, but it could not avail. What was the wit of a thousand wits to him. The cry of a thousand choughs assaulting that old cliff of granite. Seen from the summit, these, as they winged the midway air, showed scarce so gross as beetles, and their cry was seldom even audible. Fichte's opinions may be true or false, but his character as a thinker can be slightly valued only by those who know it ill; and as a man approved by action and suffering in his life and in his death, he ranks with a class of men who were common only in better ages than ours.”

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DAVID RITTENHOUSE, whose scientific eminence characterized a period of our history when such eminence was uncommon in the most advanced circles of the world, was born at Germantown, Pennsylvania, on the 8th of April, 1732. His parents were of Dutch descent, and emigrated to the New World at an early period of its history. Concerning David's education and youth we have no satisfactory information. It has been supposed that he received some tuition from a humble relative, a joiner by trade, who lived in the house of Rittenhouse, and died there. This relative appears to have been a superior man, for among his papers were discovered some elementary treatises on mathematics and astronomy, and numerous manuscripts containing calculations and investigations. When he died David was in his twelfth year, and the books and papers were treasures to him, which, even then, he appreciated. The barns and fences about the farm, and even the implements of industry, were covered with diagrams and figures by the young mathematician.

When David was nineteen years of age (1751), he made the

acquaintance of the Rev. Thomas Barton, a well-informed clergyman of the Episcopal Church. This gentleman was astonished at the intelligence and natural aptitude of young Rittenhouse, and, being but a few years older, a strong intimacy sprung up between them, cemented subsequently by the marriage of Mr. Barton to a sister of David's. Under the auspices of this gentleman, Rittenhouse obtained a satisfactory knowledge of the Latin language, and a rudimental acquaintance with the Greek. In addition to these valuable acquirements, Mr. Barton assisted David in his mathematical studies, and added to his knowledge by judicious loans of books.

Rittenhouse had no inclination toward agriculture, and chose the profession of clock-maker, as more in accordance with his tastes and predilections. His first store was erected on his father's farm (1751), where he turned out some unusually good work, and made some important improvements in the rude timepieces of that day. For seven years he devoted himself to the philosophical pursuit of this business, but was compelled for a time to abandon it on account of ill health. A short period of relaxation restored him, but the intense and unremitting attention he paid to every thing laid the foundation of a complaint which compelled him later in life to abandon the business to which he had so enthusiastically devoted himself. He became noted for the excellence of his workmanship, and the philosophical accuracy with which he examined and perfected his instruments and pieces. He made many acquaintances, and some friends; among the latter were Dr. Smith, provost of the College of Philadelphia, and John Lukens, surveyor general of the province. The unusual capacity of Rittenhouse's mind became known to them, and on the first opportunity they availed themselves of his high philosophical and astronomical attainments. The boundary-lines of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland were at that time subjects of much discussion and litigation. They existed merely on paper, and had never been determined by actual survey. The governor of the province of Pennsylvania was therefore directed to seek out a competent person to trace the lines on the ground, and thus settle all causes of complaint and dispute. For this important and extremely difficult task Mr. Rittenhouse was selected (1763), and he performed it so much to the satisfaction of his employers, that he was proffered and received more than the stipulated compensa

tion. What was even a greater compliment was the fact that the British commissioners-two eminent astronomers, Messrs. Mason and Dixon-corroborated the accuracy of Mr. Rittenhouse's calculations. Subsequently he was employed in defining the limits of nearly all the thirteen original states. He was probably the only American capable of doing so in those days.

In 1767, the College of Philadelphia conferred on Mr. Rittenhouse the honorary degree of Master of Arts as a reward for a number of ingenious inventions which he introduced in the construction of time-pieces, and which were intended to counteract the atmospheric influence on the metals composing their works. His clocks were celebrated not only for unusual accuracy, but for great elegance. They were supplied with apparatus for striking the hours and the chimes, and sometimes musical pieces. Among other embellishments, he adapted to one of his time-keepers a small planetary machine, in which the mean motions of the bodies of the solar system were made to keep their proper rate with the time marked by the instrument. While perfecting this toy, his attention was directed to a more perfect instrument, and he projected an orrery, differing in many important respects from the machines commonly designated by that name, and much more philosophical and ingenious.

The year 1769 was famous among astronomers by the recurrence of that rare phenomenon, the transit of the planet Venus over the sun's disk. (A similar event will take place, it is calculated, in 1874.) In all parts of the world, men of eminence in the sciences were on the alert, and more than usual on account of the failure of the observations of 1761, when a similar event took place, and gave rise to a vast number of contradictions. The anxiety was enhanced by the fact that but a small part of the transit of 1769 was to be visible at any of the great observatories of Europe. At Stockholm, London, Paris, Lisbon, and Madrid, the immersion might be seen just before sunset, and the emersion at St. Petersburg soon after sunrise on the following morning, but at no other European capital. In the northern frozen zone, beyond the latitude of sixty-seven and a half degrees, the sun was not to set on the day of the transit; the whole of the phenomenon would therefore be visible; and at Wardhuys, in Lapland, where the observation would be included between the hours of half past nine in the afternoon and three in the morning, the circumstances

would be the most favorable possible. In less high northern latitudes, near the same meridian, the beginning might occur before sunset, and the end take place after sunrise. The British astronomers were perfectly aware of these facts, and dispatched their expeditions to all quarters of the globe. But they overlooked one very important circumstance, namely, that a much better position for making observations could be found in Pennsylvania. Rittenhouse, alive ot this fact, communicated to the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia a calculation of the anticipated times and phenomena of the transit, as likely to be visible at Norriton, and set about preparing instruments for his own observations. The society was fully sensible of the importance of the occasion, and appointed a large and well-informed committee to attend to it, of which Rittenhouse was of course one. Three places of observation were selected the State House Square of Philadelphia; Cape Henlopen, at the mouth of the Delaware; and Norriton, the residence of Rittenhouse. At the latter station, Provost Smith and Mr. Lukens were detailed to assist Mr. Rittenhouse. Liberal aid was extended to the operators, and the best instruments that could be obtained supplied. Rittenhouse, however, was left to prepare and furnish his own observatory—probably out of deference to his own mechanical and philosophical skill. He erected a suitable building, and furnished it with an apparatus from his own hands, with the exceptions of an instrument for determining the latitude, which was supplied by an associate, and a micrometer and telescope sent out by Mr. Penn. All the preliminary arrangements were intrusted to Rittenhouse; and so assiduously did he apply himself to the task, that, when the morning arrived, his anxiety and exhaustion were so great that he could scarcely apply himself to the close and serious matter of observation. The morning of the expected day, however, says Dr. Renwick, in his excellent sketch, broke without a cloud, and not even a floating wreath of vapor appeared to interfere with the observations. Exhilarated by the favorable state of the atmosphere, and stimulated by the near approach of the time when he was to reap the fruit of his long and patient labors, excitement supplied the place of strength. But when the contact had been observed, and the planet had entered fairly upon the disk of the sun, his bodily strength was exhausted, and he sunk fainting to the ground, unable to bear the intense feelings of delight which attended the

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