3$ 8 Major-General Roy’s Account of the 
thorough knowledge of the country, 1 have not failed to ob- 
ferve, at leaf! in a general way, fuch fituations as feemed to 
be the bell: adapted for the meafurement of the bafes that 
would be neceflary for the forraation of the great triangles, 
and connecting the different feriefes of them together. 
The peace of 1783 being concluded, and official bufinefs 
having detained me in or near town during the whole of that 
fu miner, I embraced the opportunity, for my own private 
amufement, to meafure a bale of 77 44.3 feet, acrofs the fields 
between the Jews-Harp, near Marybone, and Black-Lane, 
near Paticras ; as a foundation for a feries of triangles, carried 
on at the fame time, for determining the relative fituations of 
the mofi remarkable fteeples, and other places, in and about 
the Capital, with regard to each other, and the Royal Obfer- 
vatory at Greenwich. The principal objett I had here in view 
(befides that it might poffibly ferve as a hint to the public, for 
the revival of the now almoR forgotten fcheme of 1763) 
was, to facilitate the comparifon of the obfervations, made by 
the lovers of aftronomy, within the limits of the projected 
furvey; namely, Richmond and Harrow, on the weft; and 
Shooter’s-Hill and Wanfted, ontheeaft: and thinking, that a 
Paper, containing the refult of thefe trigonometrical operations, 
might not prove unacceptable to the Royal Society, I was en- 
gaged in making the computations for that purpofe, when, 
very unexpededly, I found, that an operation of the fame 
nature, but much more important in its objed, was really in 
agitation. This I law would fuperfede, at leaf! for the prefent, 
my own private obfervations, and perhaps render them wholly 
ufelefs, unlefs it were as a matter of mere curiofity hereafter, 
to fee how far fuch as depended on a ffiort bafe, and a fmall 
inflrument (a quadrant of a foot radius) would agree with 
1 thofe 
