326 Life of the Rev, John Flamsteed, [Nov. 



and a shortness of breath afflicting me ; which, by God's 

 mercy, and the means applied by my uncle, John Spateman, 

 were removed : but my weakness held as ill as at first, and 

 neither amended nor impaired this year. 



I collected a calculative method of dialling from Mr. 

 Gunter's Sector, and transcribed it (with a method for the 

 construction of the quadrant, and tables fitted thereto, 

 calculated by my own hand) in a small paper book ; in 

 which task, and perusing some other authors of various 

 subjects, I spent my vacant time this year and the beginning 

 of the following. 



The winter came on and my father thought it fit that I 

 should undergo a course of physic, to try if thereby my 

 weakness (which, according to its usual course, began to 

 increase with the year upon me) might either be diverted or 

 decreased. But it being thought too far in the year, it was 

 remitted to the spring (1664); when Mr. Cromwell was 

 cried up for cures by the Nonconformist party, to whom my 

 father sent me, to be his patient, under whom I passed a 

 course of purges and cordials : after all which I found my- 

 self no better than formerly, and so was by him left off to 

 the mercy of God. My disease was indeed, inscrutable by 

 the physicians : its cause (for aught I perceived) being not 

 understood by any of them. However, I am bound to 

 acknowledge the mercy of God in that he hath removed 

 my pains, and left me only under my weakness ; whilst 

 others, smaller offenders, suffer both weakness, intolerable 

 pains, and other incommodities all together. And further, 

 I am bound to bless and praise Him, for that he hath 

 afforded my father a competent means and fortune to main- 

 tain me ; whilst to a meaner man I might have been a 

 burthen — nay (without a mighty providence), an undoing. 



This year I also became acquainted with my friends Mr. 

 George Linacre and William Litchford. I affected the 

 friendship of the former because of his knowledge of the 

 fixed stars (few of which were unknown unto him, and by 

 whom I learned those few I know) ; of the latter, for his 

 knowledge of the erratic, and judgments on them. Some- 

 while it was ere that he would admit me that knowledge of 

 his studies after our first acquaintance ; but that day when 

 he confessed it unto me, he also told me (amongst several 



