169 _~ditoria~ Correspondence.

In order to demonstrate to the public ~t large, the visible rotation of the earth by Foucault's well known pendulum experiment~ M. l~Iaumen6, in 1851, with the sanction of the late Cardinal Gousset then Archbishop of Reims, erected a large pendulum in the cathe- dral itself, and the experiments were several times repeated with the greatest success.

Now, I~{onsiegneur Landriot, present Archbishop of Amiens, has just authorized M. ~aumen6 to reproduce in the cathedral of Amiens the same experiments that he made seventeeu years ago in the cathe- dral of Reims. While we write, the preparations are being made with every care, and as speedily as possible, and •[. Naumen6, who constructed the Reims pendulum with his own hands, is having the same instrument erected at Amiens. He is ably assisted in this inte- resting work by M. Dubois, professor of mathematics ' and ~ . Poir6, professor of physical science. The ball of the pendulum, without the envelope, weighs about forty-three and a half pounds. The sus- pending cord is of steel, and is upwards of 164 feet in length, the available height inside the Amiens cathedral being 165 feet. The diameter of the circle of oscillation is to be nineteen feet five inches. Under these conditions, spectators can be convinced by eyesight, on watching the motion of the pendulum, for only half an hour, that the earth does go round on its axis and no mistake.

F. 3/iom~o.

THE REWARD OF GENIUS, TKERE is no market for genius. To conduct such a market re-

quires the highest order of talent, combined with a full purse at the outset; and as the two are rarely combined, genius n:mst go begging, or be dependent on slight favors, when it often possesses that, which, after its death, is found to be worth millions to the eom- • munity. And this will ever be : so long as genius continues ahead of its time, it necessarily leaves those who are incompetent, so far behind.

New discoveries or inve)~tions are not saleable nntil they are understood; and to have it known, it must be taught, which re- quires often repeated explanation and frequent illustration, con- suming near!y alt the time of the man of genius, which is generally spent without any equivalent. Great truths, like great medicines I are sometimes quite sharp and unpalatable. T . S .