Academy from making a deplorable choice. Who could blame me for having
maintained with energy the election of Malus, considering that his
competitor, M. Girard, unknown as a physicist, obtained twenty-two votes
out of fifty-three, and that an addition of five votes would have given
him the victory over the savant who had just discovered the phenomenon
of polarization by reflection, over the savant whom Europe would have
named by acclamation? The same remarks are applicable to the nomination
of Poisson, who would have failed against this same M. Girard if four
votes had been otherwise given. Does not this suffice to justify the
unusual ardour of my conduct? Although in a third trial the majority of
the Academy was decided in favour of the same engineer, I cannot regret
that I supported up to the last moment with conviction and warmth the
election of his competitor, M. Dulong.

I do not suppose that, in the scientific world, any one will he disposed
to blame me for having preferred M. Liouville to M. de Pontécoulant.

Sometimes it happened that the Government wished to influence the choice
of the Academy; with a strong sense of my rights I invariably resisted
all dictation. Once this resistance acted unfortunately on one of my
friends--the venerable Legendre; as to myself, I had prepared myself
beforehand for all the persecutions of which I could be made the object.
Having received from the Minister of the Interior an invitation to vote
for M. Binet against M. Navier on the occurrence of a vacant place in
the section of mechanics, Legendre nobly answered that he would vote
according to his soul and his conscience. He was immediately deprived of
a pension which his great age and his long services rendered due to him.
The _protégé_ of the authorities failed; and, at the time, this result
was attributed to the activity with which I enlightened the members of
the Academy as to the impropriety of the Minister's proceedings.