room filled with light; and I imagined at first, that a number of thofe lamps had been brought into it but, rubbing my eyes, I perceived the light came in at the windows. I got up and looked out to see what might be the occafion of it, when I faw the fun juft rifing above the horizon, from whence he poured his rays plentifully into my chamber, my domeftic having negligently omitted the preceding evening to close the shut ters. I looked at my watch, which goes very well, and found that it was but fix o'clock; and ftill thinking it fomething extraordinary that the fun fhould rife fo early, I looked into the almanack, where I found it to be the hour given for his rifing on that day. I looked forward too, and found he was to rife ftill earlier every day till towards the end of June; and that at no time in the year he retarded his rifing fo long as till eight o'clock. Your readers, who with me have never feen any figns of funfhine before noon, and feldom regard the aftronomical part of the almanack, will be as much aftonished as I was, when they hear of his rifing fo early; and especially when I affure them, that he gives light as foon as he rifes. I am convinced of this. I am certain of my fact. One cannot be more certain of any fact. I faw it with my own eyes. And having repeated this obfervation the three following mornings, I found always precifely the fame refult. Yet fo it happens, that when I speak of this difcovery to others, I can easily perceive by their countenances, though they forbear expreffing it in words, that they do not quite believe me. One, indeed, who is a learned natural philofopher, has affured me, that I muft certainly be mistaken as to the circumftance of the light coming into my room; for it being well known, as he fays, that there there could be no light abroad at that hour, it follows that none could enter from without; and that of confequence, my windows being accidentally left open, instead of letting in the light, had only ferved to let out the darkness: and he used many ingenious arguments to fhew me how I might, by that means, have been deceived. own that he puzzled me a little, but he did not fatisfy me; and the fubfequent obfervations I made, as above mentioned, confirmed me in my firft opinion. I This event has given rife, in my mind, to feveral ferious and important reflections. I confidered that, if I had not been awakened fo early in the morning, I fhould have flept fix hours longer by the light of the fun, and in exchange have lived fix hours the following night by candlelight; and the latter being a much more expenfive light than the former, my love of economy induced me to mufter up what little arithmetic I was mafter of, and to make fome calculations, which I fhall give you, after obferving, that utility is, in my opinion, the teft of value in matters of invention, and that a discovery which can be applied to no ufe, or is not good for fomething, is good for nothing. I took for the basis of my calculation the fuppofition that there are 100,000 families in Paris, and that these families confume in the night half a pound of bougies, or candles, per hour. I think this is a moderate allowance, taking one family with another; for though I believe fome confume lefs, I know that many confume a great deal more. Then eftimating feven hours per day, as the medium quantity between the time of the fun's rifing and ours, he rifing during the fix following months from fix to eight hours before noon, and there being seven hours of course per night in which we burn candles, the account will ftand thus In the fix months between the twentieth of March and the twentieth of September, there are Nights Hours of each night in which we burn candles Multiplication gives for the total number of hours Thefe 1,281 hours multiplied by 183 7 1,281 128,100,000 64,050,000 96,075,000 An immenfe fum! that the city of Paris might fave every year, by the economy of ufing funfhine inftead of candles. If it fhould be faid, that people are apt to be obftinately attached to old cuftoms, and that it will be difficult to induce them to rise before noon, confequently my difcovery can be of little ufe; I answer, Nil defperandum. I believe all who have common fenfe, as foon as they have learnt from this paper that it is day-light when the fun rifes, will contrive to rife with him; and, to to compel the reft, I would propofe the following regulations. Firft. Let a tax be laid of a louis per window, on every window that is provided with fhutters to keep out the light of the fun. Second. Let the fame falutary operation of police be made ufe of to prevent our burning candles, that inclined us laft winter to be more œconomical in burning wood; that is, let guards be placed in the shops of the wax and tallow-chandlers, and no family be permitted to be fupplied with more than one pound of candles per week. Third. Let guards alfo be pofted to ftop all the coaches, &c. that would pafs the streets after funfet, except thofe of phyficians, furgeons, and midwives. Fourth. Every morning, as foon as the fun rifes, let all the bells in every church be fet ringing: and if that is not fufficient, let cannon be fired in every street, to wake the fluggards effectually, and inake them open their eyes to see their true intereft. All the difficulty will be in the first two or three days; after which the reformation will be as natural and easy as the prefent irregularity: for, ce n'eft que le premier pas qui coute. Oblige a man to rife at four in the morning, and it is more than probable he fhall go willingly to bed at eight in the evening; and, having had eight hours fleep, he will rife more willingly at four the morning following. But this fum of ninety-fix millions and feventy-five thoufand livres is not the whole of what may be faved by my oeconomical project. You may obferve, that I have calculated upon only one half of the year, and much may be faved in the other, though the days are fhorter. Befides, the immenfe ftock of wax and tallow left unconfumed during the fummer, will proba bly bly make candles much cheaper for the enfuing winter, and continue cheaper as long as the proposed reformation fhall be fupported. For the great benefit of this discovery, thus freely communicated and bestowed by me on the public, I demand neither place, penfion, exclufive privilege, or any other reward whatever. I expect only to have the honour of it. And yet I know there are little envious minds who will, as ufual, deny me this, and fay that my invention was known to the ancients, and perhaps they may bring paffages out of the old books in proof of it. I will not dispute with these people that the ancients knew not the fun would rife at certain hours; they poffibly had, as we have, almanacks that predicted it: but it does not follow from thence that they knew he gave light as foon as he rofe. This is what I claim as my discovery. If the ancient knew it, it must have been long fince forgotten, for it certainly was unknown to the moderns, at least to the Parifians; which to prove, I need ufe but one plain fimple argument. They are as well inftructed, judicious, and prudent a people as exift any where in the world, all profeffing, like myself, to be lovers of œconomy; and, from the many heavy taxes required from them by the neceffities of the ftate, have furely reason to be œconomical. I fay it is impoffible that fo fenfible a people, under fuch circumftances, fhould have lived fo long by the fmoky, unwholsome, and enormously expensive light of candles, if they had really known that they might have had as much pure light of the fun for nothing. I am, &c. AN ABONNE. ON |