LALANDE, JOSEPH-JEROME LE FRAN9AIS DE, was born at Bourg, in the department of Ain, on the Ilth of July 1732. His parents were Pierre he Francais and Marie Monchinet, of whom he was the only eon. By their inordinate indulgence and extreme solici tude in anticipating all his wishes, he soon contracted habits of impatience aud an irritability of temper, which iu after years he frequently found himself unable to control. Surrounded by Jesuits, and nurtured by his mother in the strict observance of devotional are told that at the age of ten years it was not unusual for him, being disguised as a priest, to deliver a sermon of his own composition, to a select society, who requested as a favour to be present at the declamations of so precocious an orator. As his reason however began to be developed, ha gradually detached himself from those occupations, notwithstanding the applause which his auditors were ever ready to bestow, and he as eager to receive ; for while yet a child he evinced an unusual love of adulation. Many anecdotes are told in proof of the early acuteness of his perception and the strong desire which lie manifested to comprehend the relation which one event bore to another.
When about thirteen or fourteen years old he was sent to a college at Lyon, where for a aims he appears to have derived equal pleasure from the study of poetry and eloqtiecce, and from attending the lectures of the several professors on natural and metaphysical philo sophy. Upou the occurrence of the great eclipse of 1748, of which, with the assistance of his tutor, Le Nre Bdraud, he made a telescopic observation, he took great interest in the explanation given to him of that phenomenon, and thenceforward showed a more decided partiality fur the mathematical sciences. But it was the perusal of Fontanelle's 'Entretiens cur la Pluralite des Monies; which, more than any other circumstance, influenced his choice of a profession by familiarising Lim with the sublitue speculations of astronomers, and uouriehiug that love of distinction which charactrrised the whole of his career. "It is with pleasure," says Lalaude himself, in his preface to au edition of that amusing book, which he afterwards edited, "that I acknowledge my obligation to it for that devouring activity which its perusal first excited at the age of sixteen, and which I have since retained ; from that time there appeared to me nothing comparable to the Academy of Sciencee, and I desired ardently to see it long before I imagined there was a possibility of my ever becoming one of its members." In order that he might devote himself more exclusively
to the pursuit of the mathematics, he requested permission of his parents to become a Jesuit; but they now entertained views of a more ambitious and worldly nature, and, instead of yielding to his request, held out the prospect of obtaining for him a lucrative appointment in the law, if he would consent to adopt that pro fession.
Under the pretext of acceding to their wishes be removed to Paris, where he commenced the study of jurisprudence; but his first visit to the observatory decided his vocation, for he immediately determined upon attending the course of astronomy at the College of France. Delille, who bad recently returned from Russia, was then professor of astronomy to that institution ; but he was old, and his long absence had occasioned him to be almost forgotten by the public, so that his lectures were very thinly attended. This latter circumstance enabled him to proportion his lessons to the progress of Lalande, whose rapid advances gave him the greatest satisfaction. They soon became mutually attached to each other, and Leland° was iu the habit of frequenting the house of his tutor, where his mathematical difficulties could be more readily removed, and where he could gain experience in astronomical observation. About the same time he likewise attended the lectures of Lemonnier, whose reputation as an astronomer was perhaps greater than that of Delille; and as both were fully competent to nppreciate the ability of Lalande, there arose between these pro fessors a sort of emulation as to which Fla oul d contribute moat to his future eminence. But notwithstanding the ardour with which Lalaude applied himself to his favourite science, the study of the law was not altogether neglected. At the age of eighteen he received from the judicial authorities of Paris the title of Advocate, soon after which lie received instructions from his parents to return to Bourg, where they were anxious that he should practise his profession for some years. A fortuitous circumstance induced them to abandon the plans which they had formed for the promotion of his welfare and happiuess.