and Froceedhigs of the lale President of the Royal Society. 249 



ful eagerness with which Sir Joseph promoted the "job" (as it is 

 universally designated) of transplanting the late Dr. Barney's 

 library to the British Museum. But I forbear. 



The Trigonometrical Survey of England and Wales was placed 

 by the Duke of Richmond under the direction of Colonel 

 WilUams, and Lieutenant (afterwards General) Mudge, on the 

 recommendation of Dr. Hutton. Here was a double cause of 

 offence to Sir Joseph: 1st, In not confiding the superintendence 

 of the Survey to him (for which, however, one of his grooms was 

 just as competent as himself) : 2dly, In acting upon the opinion 

 of Dr. Hutton, to whom he had long evinced an inveterate ho- 

 stility. The result, alas ! too natural in a man of his disposition, 

 was, that for a series of years he continued to oppose the Trigo- 

 nometrical Survey, and to traduce the character of its conductors. 

 The accounts of "the Trigonometrical Survey had been regularly 

 published in the Philosophical Transactions; but at length, 

 through the instrumentality of Sir Joseph, further accounts were 

 excluded. The conductors then laid them before the world in 

 a separate volume ; but this was a new occasion of offence. A 

 few years afterwards, a foreigner, Don Joseph Rodriguez, was 

 employed to deteriorate the reputation of Colonel Mudge's ope- 

 rations, and to detect, or pretend to detect, mistakes. This 

 foreigner was received by Sir Joseph with open arms, and his 

 memoir was inserted in the Philosophical Transactions ; although 

 the papet on which Rodriguez animadverted had not been ad- 

 mitted, and although Sir Joseph knew that at the time when he 

 and "his Council" admitted the strictures of thio foreigner Co- 

 lonel Mudge was too ill to read them, much less to reply to them. 

 Ill that exigency, however. Dr. Gregory, of the Royal Military 

 Academy, undertook to expose the fallacy, inaccuracy, and iVii- 

 berality,'of Don Joseph's animadversions ; and such was the s\k> 

 re.~s of his efforts, that from that moment the President of the 

 Royal Society was glad to slink out of his opposition to the Sur- 

 vey, and to lay the l)lame of the encouragement given to Rodri- 

 guez upon one or other of the coterie of danglers who then sur- 

 rounded him. From that period he began to smile upon the 

 rnan whom he had previously so deeply injured, and Colonel 

 Mudge was found among the visitors at Soho S(]uare ! But in- 

 •^^enious men can account for tlie strangest phrrinomena; and 

 :,uch have atfirmed that Sir Joseph's ref^ent behaviour to the con- 

 ductor of the Trigonometrical Survey, was only a temporary 

 cloak assumed for awhile, to be laid aside as soon as a parti- 

 cular pmi)ose was accomplished. Sir JoBcph had large estate? 

 in LincohiNhirc, of which he wished to possess an accurate map. 

 None could execute thi» work so well as the Ordnance Surveyors ; 

 ;umI when it was finished, ii few guineas wouhl purchase the map 

 Vol. :■)(!. -No. -'70. Oct. isi:f>. I i of 



