4 <$o Dr. Herschei? s Catalogue of One T loufxnd 
began now to fweep with a vertical motion 5 and as this in- 
creafed the labour of continually elevating and depreffing the 
telefcope by hand, I called in the afiiftance of a workman to do 
that part of the bufinefs, by which means I could obferve very 
eommodioufly, and for a much longer time than before. 
Soon after I removed alfo the only then remaining obftacle 
to feeing well, by having recourfe to an affiftant, whofecare it 
was to write down, and at the fame time loudly to repeat after 
me, every thing 1 required to be written down. In this man- 
ner all the defcriptions of nebulae and other obfervations were 
recorded ; by which I obtained the lingular advantage that the 
defcriptions were actually writing and repeating to me while I 
had the obje£l before my eye, and could at pleafure correct 
them, whenever they difag reed with the picture before me 
without looking from it. 
In about half a dozen fweeps, done according to this new 
way, I found that the ftars of Flamsteed’s Catalogue en- 
tered nearly at the time when they were expe&ed ; this fug- 
gefted the poffibility of converting my telefcope into a tranfit 
Inftrument. By way of trial, Dec. 18, 1783, I began to ufe 
a watch, and noted the times of the tranfits of ftars and ne- 
bulae to the neareft minute ; and, this fucceeding, Dec. 24, 
a fidereal time-piece was introduced. 
1 found alfo that, by the turns of the handle which gave 
motion to the telefcope, it was pradticable, in a coarfe way, to 
afcertain the difference of altitude between any two objects 
that paired- the field of view ; on which account, Dec. 30* 
I hegan to ufe an index-board, divided into inches, and marked' 
with numbers, which, being placed behind the rope that 
moved the telefcope, would point out at what altitude a certain 
index, affixed to the rope, was fituated. My tackle of ropes and- 
£ pullie$ 
