First Astronomer- Royal. 3 



parted with me in the evening, with a short expression of 

 very good advice. " Do all the good in your power," which 

 it would have been very happy for him if he had followed 

 himself, and has been the rule of my life from my infancy. 



But I heard no more of his recommendations. On the 

 contrary, his flatterers, and such small mathematicians 

 about London as hoped to get themselves esteemed very 

 skilful, even by crying up his book, began to ask " Why I 

 did not print?" As if I were obliged to publish my works 

 just when they pleased, though they understood no more of 

 my works than they did of his books, which they so much 

 cried up. To obviate this clamour, I examined all my books 

 of observations, and took an account of what number of 

 folio pages they might fill when printed, and found it much 

 greater than I expected, Whereupon I drew my Estimate 

 into a short paper, wherein I both showed what the number 

 of pages were, and also in what order the press was to work 

 them off. And chiefly urged that the maps of the constel- 

 lations would be first of all set upon : that being carried on 

 apart, they might be finished by the time the observations 

 were printed off. 



Vansomer, an excellent designer, who had drawn about 

 a dozen figures for me, was then alive, and ready to go on 

 with the rest. My amanuensis had not left me, and might 

 have been hired again to continue in my service : Mr. 

 Hodgson's help might also have been purchased. Some of 

 my acquaintance had fallen into a suspicion that my labours 

 answered not what might reasonably be expected from me. 

 That I might cure them of these misapprehensions, which 

 had been impressed upon them by the false and malicious 

 suggestions of some few arrogant and self-designing people. 

 I gave a copy or two of his Estimate to an acquaintance of 

 mine, desiring him to shew it to those of my friends who 

 had been possessed with these unjust suspicions. At one of 

 the meetings of the Royal Society some of them were pre- 

 sent : he got my paper handed to one of them, who sat at a 

 distance, (for their meetings were thronged with company, 

 however thin they are at present), who, opening the paper 

 and finding the contents, delivered it to the Secretary, who 

 read it at the board. This convinced the members present 

 that I had been unjustly aspersed; and it was moved that 



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