366 
Proceedings of the Royal Society 
to insult religious feelings and scientific ideas, in its mode of refer- 
ence to Sir Isaac Newton’s Sacred Cubit of the Hebrews, — the cubit 
according to whose standard Sir Isaac believed that the true G-od 
was once pleased to define to men the size of the Ark of the Cove- 
nant, the Tabernacle, and the Temple of Solomon, in the several 
revelations averred in the Holy Scriptures to have been made for 
that end both to Moses and David. As insulting, I am sorry to 
say, to other men’s, both religious and scientific, ideas as possible; 
for what is it, which the Proceedings' author brings up as being 
in length a half, or as good as a half, of that sacred primeval 
measure of the earth, — why his own ill-defined and flexible hat. 
And at the time of delivering the discourse, of which the Pro- 
ceedings' paper purports to be only a part representation of the 
substance, its author even went through the hypocritical form of 
demurely measuring the said variable and inexact hat (placed, 
together with a measuring scale, on his reading desk by an 
assistant, before the lecture began), and then finding, with smiles 
all over his countenance, before the members assembled, that 
the larger diameter of said hat’s brim was just half of the “ Sacred 
Cubit!” 
This act, — much to be regretted, — has crowned itself with con- 
fusion in the Proceedings' paper, and at the performer’s own hands, 
by all his three examples failing miserably. 
Thus the misguided, though in other things learned doctor, says 
— that his hat’s brim of 124 inches in length, is 1-20, 000, 000th of 
the earth’s polar axis, that being taken at 500,000,000 inches ; but 
any school-boy may see that it is rather the 1-40, 322,581st part 
thereof ; a result where there are few 0’s, and a very large differ- 
ence at the beginning. 
Next, he says that “ a page of the print of the Society’s Trans- 
“ actions is 1-60, 000, 000th of the same.” Here, indeed, he 
prudently avoids giving the measure of the said page ; but I, 
having measured it on the same principles as his third case indi- 
cates, find the limits as being not less than 8’37, nor more than 
8*43 inches, on complete pages of a recent volume. Wherefore 
taking the mean = 8'4 inches, — that will be found, not the 
1-60, 000, 000th even, but the 1-59, 523, 810th part of the same 
axial length. 
