I
��not rGached even the jiciTectioii wliiuh systems of dectrical ligUtiiig have attained.
John TuowmtiDOE.
��[Tun Boston paperii of last week lliursda; gave a full account o[ the complimentary dinner given to Dr. Benjamin A. Goulil on bla return to Ihis country, after the completion of his long series of observaiions In the Argentine Republic. We place before our readers that portion of the aildreis made by Dr. Gould after the dinner, wblcli narrates the history of bis undertaking, on whicb he lias expended nearly fifteen years. Want of space prevenls our glvlrie the inlroduelory remarks in response to the warm wel- eome wlticli he received from iiis hosts, or the many Other excellent addresses upon the occasion,]
The undertaking began, as you Itnow, with the project of a private astronomical cxpedilioii, for which my friends In Boston and vicinity had promised the pecuniary means. The selection of Cordoba as an •specially desirable place was chleQy due to our la- mented countryman, Gillias, whose astronomical mis- ■iou to Santi^o de Chile had resulted in extensive
- nd valuable observations of KOUthem itan, and In
the establliibment of a naliimal observal^iry, while it liad enabled bim to form a sound judgment as to the relative advantages of different points in South Amer- ica for astronomical purposes, notwithstanding the total want of trustworLliy meteorological data. This Choice of place was confirmed by the counsel of the Argentine minister lo this country. That minister was Sanniento, a man who needs no encomium here ; for during his brief residence in the Unlled Slates he gained an exceptional number of friends and admirers. He iransmilled to his government, then under the presidency of Gen. Mitre, my application for certain privileges and assurances, all of which were at once cordially conceded; but his interest in the plan became furthermore so great, that when, soon afterwards, he was himself elected president, lie obtained the absent of the Ai^ntine congress to the establishment of a national observatory, and wrote ashing me to cliange my plaits accoi'dingly. The official invitation was sent In due time by the minis- ter of public Instruction, Dr. Avellanedo. The gov- ernment assumed the expense v( the Instruments and equipments already bespoken, and authorized the en- gagement of the rcquislie as^istanti.
In IBT-1 Dr. Arellnneda succeeded Snriniento in the presidency, and In 1880 he wai himself succeeded by Gen. Koca, Thus four successive administrations have encouraged and sustained the uiidertakln);; and notwithstanding the high political excitement which often prevails, and might easily have disinclined the members of any one party to give cordial aid to insil~ lutlons established or fostered by their opponents, Itiere has never been wanting a spirit of decided friendliness to the obsenatory, and to the scientific
��interests which h.iie been developed under its au- spices. No president of the nation, and no minister of the department under which the observatory is placed, has failed to give strong practical evidence of his good will. There has been none of them to whom I do not owe a debt of gratitude. I have never made an official request which has not been granted, and in such a way as to enhance ilie favor. And just as the official founders of the observatory met us with a cordial welcome ou our arrival, so the gov- ernment of to-d.iy has overwhelmed me with kind- ness, and tokens of regard, un my departure. On the very last evening before embarking, wlien it was my privilege lo receive the farewells of a crowded assem- blage In the halls of the Argentine geographical institute, and to hear words ut sympathy and com- mendation from the lips of Gen. Sarmlento, my earliest Argentine friend, speaking in behalf of that society, I replied in [he few words which alone were possible at the time, but with all sincerity and Inith- tulneiB, as follows: —
" It was you, rir, who provided the opportunity for which I was yearning: it was the Ai^ntlne Bepublic which made It easy for me to avail myself of it. It has been the national government whicb, in Its vari- ous phases, and under so many different atlminislra- tlonR,alwaysprovided all needful means and resources: it is the Argentine people which has accompanied me in my tasks, giving support by their sympathy, and inceiiiive by their kindness."
The original pui-puse of the expedition was to make a thorough survey of the southern heavens by obsen'ailons made In xoncs between the parallel of 31)" and the polar circle ; but the plan grew, under the Influence of circumsiances, until the scrutiny com- prised the whole region from the tropic to within ten degrees of the pole, — somewhat more than fltiy-seven degrees in width, instead of thirty-seven degrees. And although it was no part of the original design . to perform all the numerical computations, and still less to bring the results into the form of a Qnished catalogue. It bos been my exceptional privilege, unique in astronomical history so far as I am aware, to enjoy the means and opportunity for per- sonally supervising all llml vast labor, and to see the results published In iheir dellnlte, permanent form. Of course this has reqnired time. The three years which I had purposed devoting to the less complete work have been drawn out to nearly fifteen; and you will comprehend what ihnt Implips for one who loves the friends of his youth, his kindred, and bis coun- try. Yet even here there has been consolation, For, while the work has demandeil all that period, it did not abiiorb the whole time, and opportunity was left for other studies. Among the asironumlcal ones. It has been passible to examine all the stars as bright as the seventh magnitude, up to 10° of north declina- tion, for careful esttmales of Iheir respective bril- liancy, and Id reform the arrangement and boundaries of the southern constellations; also to carry out the observations and computations for another stellar catalogue, more exact than that of the zones, and extending over the whole southern hemiiplierc. The
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