school unless his nationality had
been proved." "I maintain that he is not French whose name is Arago." "I
maintain, on my side, that I am French, and a very good Frenchman too,
however strange my name may appear to you." "Very well; we will not
discuss the point farther; go to the board."

I had scarcely taken up the chalk, when M. Legendre, returning to the
first subject of his preoccupations, said to me: "You were born in one
of the departments recently united to France?" "No, sir; I was born in
the department of the Eastern Pyrenees, at the foot of the Pyrenees."
"Oh! why did you not tell me that at once? all is now explained. You are
of Spanish origin, are you not?" "Possibly; but in my humble family
there are no authentic documents preserved which could enable me to
trace back the civil position of my ancestors; each one there is the
child of his own deeds. I declare to you again that I am French, and
that ought to be sufficient for you."

The vivacity of this last answer had not disposed M. Legendre in my
favour. I saw this very soon; for, having put a question to me which
required the use of double integrals, he stopped me, saying: "The method
which you are following was not given to you by the professor. Whence
did you get it?" "From one of your papers." "Why did you choose it? was
it to bribe me?" "No; nothing was farther from my thoughts. I only
adopted it because it appeared to me preferable." "If you are unable to
explain to me the reasons for your preference, I declare to you that you
shall receive a bad mark, at least as to character."

I then entered upon the details which established, as I thought, that
the method of double integrals was in all points more clear and more
rational than that which Lacroix had expounded to us in the
amphitheatre. From this moment Legendre appeared to me to be satisfied,
and to relent.

Afterwards, he asked me to determine the centre of gravity of a
spherical sector. "The question is easy," I said to him. "Very well;
since you find it easy, I will complicate it: instead of supposing the
density constant, I will suppose that it varies from the centre to the
surface according to a determined function." I got through this
calculation very happily; and from this moment I had entirely gained the
favour of the examiner. Indeed, on my retiring, he addressed to me these
words, which, coming from him, appeared to my comrades as a very
favourable augury for my chance of promotion