Letter from Charles S. Peirce to Julius E. Hilgard
(Paris, 31.05.1883)



 
Spanish translation & annotations
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Care Messrs Morton, Rose & Co.
Bartholomew Lane
E. C. London, England

Paris
May 31, 1883

 

 

Prof. J. E. Hilgard
Superintendent

Dear Sir,     

In pursuance of your instructions, dated April 24, 1883, I sailed for Hâvre on the Steamer Labrador, and arrived May 12. I found on arrival that the box containing miscellaneous apparatus for the measurement of flexure was broken. I therefore thought it best to take the boxes out of the custom house and examine them at once. I was unprovided with my passport and should therefore have been obliged to pay duties upon the instruments if I had not fortunately had influential friends at hand. I examined all the boxes and their contents, and found them in not as good condition as I could have wished; but I do

 
not think anything sustained any real injury. I was necessarily detained several days in Hâvre, because after the voyage the condition of my toilette —to say nothing of my health— required me to remain in some place. My wife was taken away by her friends, and therefore you may be sure that I did not delay an hour longer than was necessary.

On May 17, I arrived in Paris. For some days I was unable to see Mr. Breguet and was unwilling to come to any positive conclusion in regard to the pendulum apparatus referred to in the 5th item of your instructions until I had seen either him or Mr. Faye. Mr. Faye I found was in Italy. I went to the Messrs. Brunner and found that they had in hand a pendulum apparatus for the Bureau of Longitudes, so that I was rather inclined to give our order to them, especially as they seemed very willing to undertake it. Nevertheless, the condition and general appearance of their work-shop



did not encourage me. I also went to Reine la Bourge to see Mr. Eichens, but found his shop had been transferred to Mr. Gautier, in regard to whom I did not at first hear very good accounts.

Postponing, then, item 5th of the instructions, I took up item 6th relating to Hardy’s noddy, the most pressing business because it must be used at once in England. I found Mr. Breguet had in his possession an old instrument of this description, which he said came from Sweden. He had also applied it to regulate a chronograph, very ingeniously. I was very glad to see the apparatus, for it showed me precisely what was and what was not necessary in the construction of the new instrument, and demonstrated the practicability of applying it to the measurement, in contradistinction to the mere demonstration of the flexure. Breguet made from my indications a drawing which I rejected and then another which I accepted

 
and I then positively ordered the instrument. This I did in my own name because the plan is more complicated that was contemplated by your instructions, because I didn't think I could well require them to fix a price in advance, and because I do not understand fully your supplementary instructions dated April 29 requiring me to order all instruments through Mssrs. Walberg & Co. Under the circumstances I am obliged to act outside my instructions, and I can only hope you will approve of my action and accept the instrument. The present idea is to have a little vacuum chamber for the noddy and a little air pump to produce the exhaustion. The instrument Mr. Breguet has, which has no such chamber, shows that in a vacuum, it will swing long enough for the application of the simpler of the two analyses given by me in the Report for 1881. If you will look at the paper you will see that this is a most important simplification and leaves no doubt whatever

 
—or seems to leave none— of the practicability of the invention. The only question is, can we ascertain with sufficient accuracy the fixed axis of oscillation of the noddy in order to convert the observed linear amplitude into angular amplitude. The quantity of the force g of restoration of the spring is readily determined by turning the whole apparatus upside down and noting the period of oscillation in that position.

Having disposed of this business, I went to see Mr. Gautier and was much pleased with him and with his establishment. We have had a number of discussions of the proper way of constructing the new heads and we have not yet reached an absolute decision. But Mr. Gautier is to prepare drawings which will probably be done today for a mode of construction which would not be applicable to the "Peirce" pendulums but only to the new ones which he would construct. The truth is there are serious difficulties in devising a good support for the Peirce pendulums. Mr. Gautier

 
has also made some criticisms upon the details of construction of these pendulums, which seem worthy of attention. On the whole, I am inclined to think I shall leave Paris without having come to any positive conclusion upon this subject. For a little delay is better than an ill-digested decision.

Items 9th and 10th of your instructions has also received my attention. The French are seriously working with Villarceau's apparatus. I have seen it, but cannot understand how it can be seriously thought of. But I have an engagement to go day after tomorrow with Col. Perrier and Captain Desforges to see it again and examine the objections.

The Survey has of old taken an interest in the scientific researches which its officers were enabled to make incidentally in the pursuance of their duties. I will therefore mention that I have availed myself of my proximity to a great library by copying a manuscript of a certain Peter

 
of Maricourt, the master of the celebrated Roger Bacon, relating to the properties of the magnet and breathing throughout more of the spirit of science that is found in Bacon himself. As nothing has hitherto been known about this Peter, and as it has not been known that the properties of the magnet had been known at so early a date, and as the existence of Roger Bacon has been a sporadic and unexplained fact, the present work which I am bringing to light has much interest for students of the history of human thought.

I have also taken pains to purchase a number of books of value about which little or nothing is known in America -among the rest Hermite's lithographed course on Weierstrass's theory of functions; Cournot's first work on Political Economy, Serset on the methods of geometry, etc.

I have also written for science a careful

 
review of Dr. Craig's work on projections, a job upon which I have spent a great deal of time.

The bureau of longitudes began their pendulum work in 1880, when I was last here. (Probably my presence determined them to begin at that particular time). They have so far been entirely occupied with experimentation and haven't yet constructed any definitive apparatus. This was wise. They saw by our experience and that of the Swiss and Germans that one cannot accomplish much in the early years. If we had done the same in the first place, we should have been far more advanced at this moment. I blame myself for my impatience to get into the field.

Permit me to suggest that an official passport might be of some importance in passing the custom house in Switzerland.

 
Besides that, if I had it, it would probably be best to take my boxes with me to Switzerland, which would be practically difficult without it -I should have to send them, I suppose.

Yours very respectfully,

C. S. Peirce
Assist.

 



Transcription by Sara Barrena (2019)
Una de las ventajas de los textos en formato electrónico respecto de los textos impresos es que pueden corregirse con gran facilidad mediante la colaboración activa de los lectores que adviertan erratas, errores o simplemente mejores transcripciones. En este sentido agradeceríamos que se enviaran todas las sugerencias y correcciones a sbarrena@unav.es
Proyecto de investigación "The Cosmopolitan Peirce: Cartas de C. S. Peirce en su quinto viaje europeo (2 de mayo-18 de septiembre 1883)"

Fecha del documento: 10 de junio 2019
Última actualización: 10 de noviembre 2020
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