and not merely so, but that
at eight of the nine stations it has uniformly tended to diminish the
differences between the partial results, and that at the ninth station
it only increased it by a small fraction of a second, I cannot help
feeling that it is more probable even that Captain Kater, with all his
admitted skill, and that Captain Sabine himself, should have been both
mistaken in their measures of the divisions of the level, than that so
singular an effect should have been produced by one error; and I cannot
bring myself to believe that such an anticipation is entirely without
foundation.

Whatever may be the result of a re-examination, it was a singular
oversight NOT TO MEASURE the divisions of a level intended to be used
for determining so important a question; more particularly as, in the
very work to which reference was made by Captain Sabine for the purpose
of comparing the observations, it was the very first circumstance which
occupied the French philosophers, and several pages [See pages 265
to 275 of the RECUEIL D'OBSERVATIONS GEODESIQUES, &c. PAR MM. BIOT ET
ARAGO, which forms the fourth volume of the BASE DU SYSTEME METRIQUE.]
are filled with the details relative to the determination of the value
of the divisions of the level. It would also have been satisfactory,
with such an important object in view, to have read off some of the sets
after each pair of observations, in order to see how far the system of
repetition made the results gradually converge to a limit, and in order
to know how many repetitions were sufficient. Such a course would almost
certainly have led to a knowledge of the true value of the divisions of
the level; for the differences in the altitude of the same star, after a
few minutes of time, must, in many instances, have been far too great to
have arisen from the change of its altitude: and had these been noticed,
they must have been referred to some error in the instrument, which
could scarcely, in such circumstances, have escaped detection.

I have now mentioned a few of the difficulties which attend Captain
Sabine's book on the pendulum, difficulties which I am far from saying
are inexplicable. He would be bold indeed who, after so wonderful an
instance of the effect of chance as I have been just discussing, should
venture to pronounce another such accident impossible; but I think
enough has been said to show, that the feeling which so generally
prevails relative to it, is neith