4 Life of the Rev. John Flamsteed, 



the printing of the whole should be recommended to Prince 

 George by the Society. 



Accordingly a committee was appointed, who, with Mr. 

 Newton, waited on the Prince. But who they were when 

 they waited on him, and how they made their recommenda- 

 tion, I was never informed : nor did they vouchsafe to con- 

 sult me about it, or take me along with them. All that I 

 can tell of it is that the estimate was wrote in November, 

 1704; the Prince chosen into the Society November 30th : 

 a letter from the Prince's secretary, Mr. George Clarke, 

 directing Mr. Roberts, Sir C. Wren, Dr. Gregory, and Dr. 

 Arbuthnot, with Mr. Newton, to inspect my papers, dated 

 December 11th 1704, which they did, and sometime after 

 gave in their report of the charge of preparing and printing 

 the observations and catalogue, mentioned in the estimate 

 about £863, viz. 283 reams of paper for 400 copies, at 20s. 

 per ream, £283 ; composition and press-work for 300 sheets, 

 at 20s. per ream, £300; charges of an amanuensis for 

 copying ditto, £ 100 ; to comjDute the planets' places for two 

 calculators, £180. But the last particular of the charge 

 (£180 for two calculators) was not mentioned in it, but 

 added in a note under it ; for what reason those know best 

 who drew it up. Nor the charge ef designing and engraving 

 about 50 plates of the constellations : though this was likely 

 to be the heaviest part of the charge, and the observations 

 could not be understood without them. I had further pro- 

 posed them to be the first taken care of and begun. I had 

 them all drawn ; and twelve of them anew designed by a 

 skilful workman, by me. These were the most sumptuous 

 parts of the work ; and, had it not been for them, I had no 

 or little need to crave the Prince's help to print. Why 

 they were neglected, Sir Isaac Newton best knows. Betwixt 

 March 22, 1704-5, and April 21, 1705, Mr. Newton was 

 knighted by the Queen, at Cambridge, (April 21st 1705.) 



Whereby I was plainly convinced that Sir Isaac Newton 

 was no friend to (my) work ; and every step he took after- 

 wards, proved plainly that, whatever he pretended, his design 

 was either to gain the honour of all my pains to himself, 

 to make me come under him, (as Dr. Arbuthnot sometime 

 after expressed), or to spoil and sink it : which it was my 

 chief concern and business, if possible, to prevent. I, there- 



