392 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [Sess. lxxix. 



But all our interest coud" not perswade him to goe back 

 nor could we all convince him of the absurdety of sending 

 such a letter, or the impropriety of one so much labour'd 

 from a person to be suppos'd in so great a hurry giving for 

 his reason that it was no matter tho' some incidents vary'd 

 and that his occupations within the rest of the night would 

 not give him time to write. Formerly we had no other excep- 

 tion against him but for the accidents he was lyable unto 

 by his beeing doublely obnoxious to the Messingers but now 

 to our great wonder we found him invincibly possesst with 

 the most unseasonable vanity that ever enter 'd the heart of 

 man, to which all considerations else were like to be a 

 Sacrifice. We parted near eight not without abundance of 

 Remonstrances and that he might meet us precisely under 

 the wall at eleven. Barns gave him his watch which was 

 set at the same time with my Brother's. I'm sensible 

 now that I must trouble weary your Grace with a great 

 many triffles most partly relating to myself for no other 

 reason but because I would gladly lay the whole before 

 y[ou]r Grace otherwise without any discontinuation or 

 disjointedness which without that method I know not 

 how to avoid. We all thought it necessary to have poor 

 Wilson the Mathematician 1 but he not beeing fam'd for 

 his talent of keeping Counsel I only orderd him by a 

 billet to meet me at the Exchange Coffee house 2 at eight 

 ocl[ock] from whence I led him to a private Room in the 

 s[ai]d tavern. He exulted at the proposall and gave us 

 some mirth by saying frankly that he had two books 

 and that if he had other two he wou'd soon shew the 

 town greater wonders than ever Archimedes did at 

 Syracuse with a great deal of that kynd of sublime. I 

 soon got the books and giving him directions to the house 

 mention'd without the port where my brother and I was 

 to call he went off with a lusty fellow from Leith. Dr. 

 Montgomery had sent me with my promise to bring him 

 a pair of fine brass blunderbuss pistolls which Barns had 

 lying for his use at his house in the Potterrow Street. My 

 other offices were to take up six men Aphosk 3 promis'd 



1 Wilson the Mathematician. Who was he ? 



2 Exchange Coffee House. Where was this, and what its history ? 



3 Aphosk. Cypher for whom ? 



