fore 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 riles. 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 fpeak of this difcovery to others, I can eafily perceive by their countenances, though they forbear expreffing it in words, that they do not quite believe me. One, indeed, who is a learned narural philofopher, has affured me, that I must certainly be miit ken as to the circumstance of the light coming into my room; for it being well known, as ke fays, that 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 darkneís: and he uf.d many ingenious arguments to fhew me how I might, by that means, have been deceived. I own that he puzzled me a little, but he did not fatisfy me; and the fabfequent obfervations I made as above-mentioned, confirmed me in my first opinion. This event has given rife, in my. mind, to feveral ferious and important reflections. I confidere i that if Ihad not been awakened fo carly in themorning, I should have flept fix hours longer by the light of the fun, aad in exchange, have lived fix hours the following night by candle

light;

and the later being a much mare expenfive light than the dormer, my love of economy induced me to mußer up what little arithmetic I was matter of, and to mage fome calculations, which I full give you, after obferving; that hall

utility is, in my opinion, the test of value in matters of invention, and that a difcovery which can be applied to no ufe, or is not good luc fomething, is good for nothing.

I took for the bafis of my calculation the fuppofition that there are 100,000 families in Paris, and that thefe families confu.ne 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 mre. Then ellimating 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, add there being feven, hours of courfe 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

183 Hours of each night in which we

burn candles

7

Multiplication gives for the total number of hours 1,281 Thefe 1,281 hours multiplied by 100,000, the number of inhabi128,100,000 tants, g ve

One hundred twenty eight millions

and one hundred thousand hours, fpent at Paris by candle light, which, at half a pound of wax and tallow per hour, gives the weight of 64,050,000 Sixty-four millions and fifty thoufand of pounds, which, eftinating the whole at the medium price of thirty fols the pound, makes the fum of ninety-fix millions and feventy-five thousand livres tour96,075,000

nois

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 rife before noon, confequently my difcovery can be of little ufe; I anfwer, 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 compel the reft, I would propofe the following regulations:

First. 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 last winter to be more œconomical in burning wood; that is, let guards be placed in the fhops of the wax and tallow-chandlers, and no family be permitted to be fupplied with more than one pound of candles per weck.

Third. Let guards alfo be posted to flop all the coaches, &c. that would pafs the streets after fun-fet, except thofe of phyficians, furgeons, and midwives.

Fourth. Every morning, as foon as the fun rifes, let all the bells in very church be fet ringing; and if that is not fufficient, let cannon be fired in every street, to wake the fluggards effectually, and make them open their eyes to fee their true interest.

All the difficulty will be in the first two or three days; after which the reformation will be as natural and eafy as the prefent irregularity: for, ce ne'ft que le premier pas qui coute. Oblige a man to rife at four in the morning, and it is more than probable that 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 fol

'owing morning. But this fum of ninety fix millions and feventy five thousand livres is not the whole of what may be faved by my œconomical 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 stock of wax and tallow left unconfumed during the fummer, will probably make candles much cheaper for the enfuing winter, and continue cheaper as long as the propofed reformation fhall be fupported.

For the great benefit of this dif covery, thus freely communicated and bestowed y me on the public, I demand neither place, penfion, exclufive privilege, or any other re. ward 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 the 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 thefe 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 difcovery. If the ancients knew it, it must have been long fince forgotten, for it certainly unknown to the moderns, at leaft to the Parifians; which to prove, I need use but one plain fimple argument. They are as well inftructed, judicious and prudent a people as exist any where in the world, all profef fing like myself to be lovers of œconomy; and, from the many heavy taxes required from them by the neceffities of the ftate, have furely reafon to be economical. I fay it is impoffible that fo fenfible a people, underfuch circumstances, fhould have lived fo long, by the fmoaky, unwholefome, and enormously expen