First Astronomer- Royal. 9 



But herein, I soon found myself deceived. This would 

 not satisfy. I would not yet cry up Sir Isaac as others did. 

 To bring me to that baseness, now he has got my book of 

 Night Notes, he wants a copy of so much of the Catalogue 

 as I had gone through with, to be trusted into his hands. 

 He therefore demanded it ; I answered, that it was not then 

 perfected ; that I believed it would contain a good number 

 more than I had yet observed and rectified ; that the stars 

 already in it were about 1500, but, probably, I should make 

 them 2500 ; that these were the result of all my labours, in 

 which, having spent above £2000 of my own money, above 

 my allowances, it would neither be prudent nor safe to 

 trust a copy of them out of my own keeping. He answered, 

 that I might then put them into his hands sealed . up : 

 whereby I understood, they were to be so kept by him, till 

 1 had finished the whole and was ready to print it. I con- 

 sidered also, that this half of my Catalogue would be of no 

 advantage to him, and consented. I, therefore, delivered 

 the copy of so much of the Catalogue as was finished into 

 Mr. Hodgson's hands, with orders to seal it up in Sir 

 Christopher Wren's presence, and deliver it to Sir Isaac 

 Newton, when ten sheets were printed, and £125 (which 

 would then be payable by the articles) should be paid me. 

 This was March 8th, 1706, but this direction I waived 

 afterwards, and it was put into his hands the week after, 

 without receiving a farthing for the board or pay of my 

 amanuensis or calculators. For honest Sir Isaac Newton, 

 (to use his own words) would have " all things in his own 

 power" to spoil or sink them; that he might force me to 

 second his designs and applaud him, which no honest man 

 would or could, and God be thanked, I lay under no neces- 

 sity of doing. 



This business being over, a week after meeting me in 

 London, he told me he would now draw £800 of the Prince's 

 money, but said nothing of paying me what I had disbursed. 

 However, we must now put the work into the press, for, 

 after such unreasonable concessions on my part, the pre- 

 tences for further delay were all taken away, and lie had 

 no excuses for further delays. 



April, 4th, being in London, I was told that all the errors 

 which he, by mistake, thought he had found in my copy, 



