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314 OUTHIER’s JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO THE NORTH.
air: he kept continually in his apartment two of the wooden toifes that we had adjufted
in the iron ftandard, and two ‘others without in the court; he never diflinguifhed any
fenfible diminution or lengthening ; he was rather of opinion that thofe which had been
expofed to the cold were lengthened. By the height or diftance from the zenith of the
ftar d of the dragon, taken at Pello and ‘Torneo, we obtained the amplitude of the arc
of the meridian comprehended between the two obfervatories. We had but to com-
pare it with the diftance in toifes from Kittis to Torneo, which we were enabled to cal-
culate after afcertaining the length of our bafe. The parallel of the obfervatory of
Torneo was different from that of the f{teeple, which ferved for the point -of the laft
triangle. We had not meafured the diftance between thefe parallels; but from the
meafurement I had made for taking a plan of the town, I knew within a trifle the dif-
tance between them. We every one were occupied in private, calculating our triangles.
M. de Maupertuis has publifhed thofe which he made by feveral fucceffions of triangles,
in his book on the Figure of the Earth ; with all the corrections, and fubtractions
which the moft rigid geometrician could require.
Befides our ufual occupations, and the obfervations which we had fometimes the op-
portunity of making, although very rarely, every one had fome diftinét paftime: 1
paffed many of my leifure moments in copying fair the plan of the town of Torneo
which I had taken, and the courfe of the river comprized within the extent of our tri-
angles: M. de Maupertuis had brought a great number of books which he lent to us :
we were rather long at table after dinner and fupper: frequently vifited each other:
went often to fee our friends in the town and neighbourhood. ‘Thefe together made
our time pafs pleafantly enough.
During the night the wind abated, and Tuefday, the eight, it was fair, and not fo cold.
In the morning I went to fee our old landlord the burgo-mafter, and afterwards we all
went to’dine with the lieutenant-colonel who had invited us. There was a large com-
pany, we were twenty-nine at table, fourteen,Jadies and fifteen gentlemen. . It was All
Saints Day ; we faw one hundred Finns come out of church at noon, who were re-
turning to their houfes, fome in town, fome in the country higher up the river. _ This
fucceffion of fo large a number of fledges formed a fingular fpectacle, and at Hapa
Niemi we were moft advantageoufly placed for feeing it.
Wednefday the ninth was fine and rather mild, as well as the next day; ftill the
thermometers were at 17° to 19°, and although the cold was much more intenfe than it
was in France in 1709, we could bear it very well.
Thurfday the tenth, there was a grand dinner at Papilla, or Prefkhot, (the prefbytery,
or prieft’s houfe), at Mr. Foulq’s the rector of Torneo: during the night, and on Fri-
day the eleventh, it fnowed with very mild weather; the thermometer of mercury was
no more than 3° below the freezing point, and that of fpirits of wine 5°, inftead of
which difference before the fevere colds of Sunday and Monday, they were both of
them at the fame degree 4° or 5° below o.
Saturday the twelfth, was new year’s day, a great holiday in this country ; it was fine
but rather cold. After dinner M. Duriez arrived with his lady ; they fupped with us,
and did not leave us till midnight. The cold increafed continually, and on Sunday the
thirteenth, at noon the thermometers were, that of mercury at 27°, and that of fpirit of
wine at 23°. Monday the fourteenth it was lefs cold, and in the afternoon it {nowed
with a ftrong South wind. ‘Tuefday the fifteenth, the two thermometers were at 13°, it
was cloudy, and fnowed all night.
Thurfday the feventeenth it continued to be very mild; at leaft we found it fuch,
although it froze hard: M, de Maupertuis invited to dinner all thofe who had fhewn us
civilities,
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