Admiral Smyth. 211 



to press your coming here to inspect Halley's comet, 

 before it should have become visible to the unassisted 

 eye. That unerring monitor, however, the barometer, 

 held forth no hope, and the ceaseless traveller is already 

 an object of conspicuous distinction without artificial 

 aid, except, perhaps, to most eyes an opera-glass, mag- 

 nifying three or four times, will be found a pleasant 

 addition. It is now gliding along with wonderful celerity, 

 and the nucleus is very bright. It is accompanied with 

 a great luminosity, and the nucleus has changed its 

 position therein ; that is, on the 29th August, the nucleus 

 was like a minute star near the centre of the nebulous 

 envelope ; on the 2nd September it appeared in the n. f. 

 quarter, and latterly it has been in the s. f. 



How remarkable that the month of August this year 

 should rattle Halley's name throughout the globe, in 

 identity with an astonishing scientific triumph, and that 

 in the selfsame month the letters of Flamsteed should 

 have appeared ! How I wish some one would give us a 

 life of Newton, with all the interesting documents that 

 exist of his labours ! Till such appears, Flamsteed's 

 statements, though bearing strong internal evidence of 

 truth, are ex-parte, and it is evident his anxiety made 

 him prone to impute motives which he could not prove. 

 The book is painfully interesting, but except in all that 

 relates to the personal character of Flamsteed, I could 

 almost have wished the documents had been destroyed. 

 People of judgment well know that men without faults 

 are monsters, but vulgar minds delight in seeing the 

 standard of human excellence lowered. 



Dear Madam, 



Yours faithfully, 



W. H. SMYTH. 



