10 Life of the Rev. John Flamsteed, 



were quelled ; and that the first sheets would go to the 

 press this week. 



April 19th. I waited upon him again : he told me gravely 

 that the Prince having subscribed a great sum to the 

 Emperor's loan, the money could not be received, but that 

 he had taken up money for Mr. Churchill. This was to 

 provoke me, but he failed of his design. Whatever I had 

 hitherto expended I was content to adventure a little more. 

 Mr. Churchill was put upon me, had never been at any 

 expense ; must have monies put into his hands beforehand, 

 to buy paper and pay the printer, whereby he was sure to 

 have him at his command. And, though it was covenanted 

 that he should print but 400 copies, might take as many as 

 he pleased ; for I never heard nor found that he had given 

 any bond or security for fair dealing, however, it was highly 

 reasonable he should. But this was not all. The printer 

 being to be paid by the undertaker, and not by me, was 

 likely to be careless of his work, which I urged, but to no 

 purpose. 



It was May 16th ere the first sheet was printed off, and 

 June 3d, ere we got a second ; and the third on the 7th of 

 June. So here was a whole month since the first was 

 wrought off; and not two sheets (in the room of twenty 

 that, by the articles ought to have been printed) in a month's 

 time. I complained boldly of the dilatoriness, but in vain. 

 All the answer I got was from Sir Isaac's own mouth, " that 

 we must proceed slowly at first and make sure dispatch 

 afterwards." Tbis was one of the fruits of our having an 

 undertaker, and leaving the printer to be paid by him, who 

 neglected the Historia Ccelestis if they had but a sorry 

 pamphlet to print. 



We had got two alphabets (that is about forty-six sheets) 

 out of the press by Christmas, 1706; and the whole, (5 E) 

 or ninty-seven, before December 21, 1707; that is ninty- 

 seven sheets in about eighty-nine weeks. In which time, 

 had they printed five sheets per week, according to their 

 articles, all the observations made with the mural arch 

 from 1689 to 1706 might have been easily printed, as well 

 as those made with the sextant. 



In the meantime, Sir Isaac Newton sometimes stopt the 

 press without assigning a reason for it, or any occasion 



