ly Dr. Kelly in the Nautical Almanac. 453 



siich a mistake than astronomers oF higher pretensions. I 

 fiave been for many years in the constant practice of teach- 

 ing mathematical students to compute the columns of the 

 Nautical Ahnanac ; and I believe 'hat n)y work on Spherics 

 and Nautical Astronenny is the only publication where such 

 calculations are particularly exemplified. It was not there- 

 fore surprising-, that in the course of such practice an inac- 

 curacy should be discovered which had escaped the notice of 

 the principal astronomers of Europe. As soon as I had as- 

 certained the extent of the error, I showed it to a few astro- 

 nomical friends, who considered it till then unobserved, and 

 advised that it should be iuimediatelv subujitted lo the 

 Board of Longitude; which f resolved to do. But I first took 

 care to consult the Astronomer Hoyal, lest the mistake 

 might have been already known, and thus I should make 

 myselt ridiculous in announcing that as new, which was 

 not so, and which I might therefore have had from 

 hearsay. I accordingly waited on Mr. Pond on the 

 10th of September last ; and, as I before stated, he pro- 

 fessed himself whtilly unacquainted with any such mistake. 

 He indeed said that he thought he had heard something 

 about an error in the Almanac (If 1815 or IS) 6, (he believed,) 

 but that he never looked for it; '■^ for yon know," said he 

 pleasantly, " that to search for an error in the Nautical 

 Almanac, would be like looiiins. for a needle in a bundle of 

 hay." . . 



After I had satisfied him of the, mistake by comparipo- 

 different almarjacs, I informed him that I should write to 

 Sir Joseph Banks on the subject; which he approved of, and 

 added — " The Almanac must be corrected, and I shall state 

 in the preface who it was that discovered the error." 



Tt may not be improper to notice, that on my way to the 

 Observatory I called on the Kev. Dr. Burney, and informed 

 him of the purpose of my visit ; and immediately on my 

 return, I stated to him the substance of the above conver- 

 sation. 



Being now convinced that the error had not been previ- 

 ously known at the Royal Observatory, where it was chiefly 

 interesting, I concluded that I might safely communicate 

 it lo the Connnissioners of Longitude. I accordingly wrote 

 lo Sir Joseph Banks and to Professor Vince ; and The latter 

 gentleman in his answer observes, <' The Board of Lon- 

 gitude must consider themsclvc? much obliged to you for 

 ihc discovery of the error in the NauticarAlmanac ;" by 

 vhich il appears iliat even this great Astronomer, who was 

 V f 3 Dr. 



