154 Mr Baily's Account of 



the observations of Gascoigne and Crabtree, and of his own at 

 Derby, as well as the computed places of the moon and planets, 

 and a ^ew subsidiary tables, all printed afterwards at Flamsteed's 

 own charge), now forms the first volume of the Historia CceleS" 

 Hs. So that, of all the three volumes of the Historia Ccelestis, 

 there were only ninety-seven sheets, of this first volume, that 

 were printed at the public expense, all the rest having been edi- 

 ted at the risk and private cost of Flamsteed himself. 



Flamsteed, however, did not live to see the termination of his 

 labours : he died before the second volume was quite completed ; 

 and the remainder of that volume, as well as the whole of the third, 

 was finished under the care and superintendence of Mr Joseph 

 Crosthwait, his assistant at the Royal Observatory, aided by Mr 

 Abraham Sharp. In the complete and perfect execution of this 

 undertaking, they met with many difficulties ; for although Mrs 

 Flamsteed appears to have been a woman of high spirit, and im- 

 pressed with a proper sense of, and regard for, her husband's 

 honour and fame, yet a too strict attention to economy prevent- 

 ed the work from appearing before the public in the most ad- 

 vantageous light. The catalogue, which had been reprinted by 

 Flamsteed, was still found, on a new comparison with the ob- 

 servations by Mr Crosthwait, to contain many errors; some of the 

 sheets were again reprinted with amendments, but others were 

 suffered to be ultimately published with all their faults. Yet, 

 had it not been for Mr Crosthwait^s extraordinary, and in some 

 measure gratuitous exertions, the work would never have been 

 completed; and the world must have been satisfied with the 

 meagre and garbled edition published by Halley.** The Pre- 



• Mr Crosthwait had a great esteem and veneration for Flamsteed. He 

 attended him in his last illness, on his deathbed ; and, in the account which 

 he gives of that scene to Mr Sharp, he says, " He often called for me, and 

 would gladly have said something to me, but was not able, though he called 

 for me by name, and continued to do so till the last moment. You will see 

 by this, that he has not left me in a capacity to serve him, notwithstanding 

 he has often told me he would; but this I impute to his not being sensible 

 of his near approach till it was too late ; but the love, honour, and esteem I 

 have (and shall always) for his memory, and every thing that belongs to him, 

 will not permit me to leave Greenwich or London, before, I hope, the three 

 volumes are printed." — (See page 333.) And in another letter he states, 

 ' Had it not been for the love and honour I bear to Mr Flamsteed's memory 

 knowing how many potent enemies he has left; behmd, and how few friends 



