the Journals of the late Reuben Burrow. 199 



for some of the Altitudes were palpably erroneous, owing to the 



stupidity of the observers 



I expected, when I came on board, to have found some of the 

 officers qualified for making such observations and calculations 

 as were at least absolutely necessary ; but, except the Captain, 

 I did not find any one that had the least knowledge of such 

 matters. They did not even so much as know how to allow for 

 the change in the Sun's declination, nor how to take out the 

 proper refraction in finding the Latitude from the Sun's meridian 

 altitude ; and they were likewise so conceited and ignorant as to 

 be above being shown. I endeavoured to teach them better, 

 and the Captain, with very great liberality of sentiment, advised 

 them to learn, but they only made ridicule of it and pretended 

 that they could carry a ship to India without it. The worst of 

 these was Newton, the second mate. I had sent for him one 

 afternoon to take the Sun's Azimuth while I took his Altitude, 

 and he began at night to accuse me, before Captain Shippey, for 

 breaking in upon his time to take observations. He seemed to 

 think that I did him a great injury, and that his time was too 

 sacred and of too much consequence to himself to be employed 

 in making useless observations, and that he prided himself in 

 being ignorant of such matters. 



" I gave him to understand that I always 



expected my offer of showing them the methods of observing or 



calculating to be looked upon as a favour that 



I expected different treatment and as to 



his despising observations, &c, since it was looked upon as of 

 such consequence by the East India Company as to be ordered 

 in their directions, and considered as absolutely necessary to 

 every officer, I could not conceive how he could vindicate his 

 conduct to his employers ..... he might be the 

 means of destroying the lives of thousands if there was nobody 

 on board better informed than himself. 



" They had another piece of stupidity, which was, to take the 

 Amplitudes when the Sun was as low as possible, instead of 

 taking them at a proper time. I do not think the Chief Mate 

 knows how to observe Azimuths at all : — he attempted it one 

 day, and I formed the opinion from his awkwardness. 



" I had some time before investigated a proper rule for finding 

 the fittest time of observing the Azimuth 

 between the Tropics, and informed them 

 about it, but they were all obstinate, and 

 would have it that the lower the Sun was 

 and the better would be the Azimuths. 

 Let S = pole; mnt, circle of declination; 

 £ = zenith, and let zv touch the parallel of 

 declination in . Then, when the Sun 



