JON^ 
te Synopsis,” but far more copious and dif- 
fusive, and intended to serve as a general 
introduction to the sciences, or, which is the 
same thing, to the mathematical and philo- 
sophical works of Newton. A work of this 
kind was a desideratum in literature, and it 
required a geometician of the first class to 
sustain the weight of so important an un- 
dertaking; for which, as D’Alembert justly 
observes, “ the combined force of the 
greatest mathematicians would not have 
been more than sufficient.” 
Mr. Jones was fully aware of the arduous 
nature of such a task ; but the importunity 
of his numerous acquaintance, and particu- 
larly of his friend Lord Macclesfield, in- 
duced him to commence, and to persist till 
he had completed, his design, the result of 
all his knowledge and experience, and what 
he had reason to hope would prove a last- 
ing. monument of his talents and industry. 
Scarcely had he sent the first sheet to the 
press, when his illness, which proved fatal, 
obliged him to stop the impression; but 
before his death he entrusted his MS. fairly 
transcribed, to the care of Lord Maccles- 
field, who promised to publish it, as well 
for the honour of the author as the benefit 
of his family. The Earl survived his friend 
many years ; but the MS. was forgotten or 
neglected, and after Lord Macclesfield’s 
death was not to be found. Whether it was 
accidentally destroyed, or whether, as has 
been suggested, it was lent to some geome- 
trician, who basely concealed it, or possibly 
burnt the original, to prevent the advan- 
tages which he derived from it from detec- 
tion, cannot now be ascertained. Such is 
the relation given in the “ Anecdotes of 
Bowyer,” on which Lord Teignmouth re- 
marks, that their is no evidence in the me- 
moranda left by Sir William Jones to con- 
firm or disprove these assertions. Mr. 
Jonhs is said to have possessed the best ma- 
thematical library in England, containing 
almost every book of that kind which was 
to be met with. By a bequest in his will, 
it became the property of Lord Maccles- 
field, and forms at present a distinguished 
part of the Macclesfield collection at Sher- 
borne Castle, in Oxfordshire. He had also 
collected a great quantity of MS. papers 
and letters of former mathematicians, which 
have often proved useful to the writers of 
their lives, &e. After his death these were 
dispersed, and fell into the hands of different 
persons, and, among others, into those of 
Mr. Robertson, librarian and clerk to the 
Royal Society, from whose executors Dr. 
JOU 
Hutton purchased a considerable number of 
them. 
JONK, or Jonque, in naval affairs, is a 
kind of small ship, very common in the 
East Indies : these vessels are about the 
bigness of our fly-boats, and differ in the 
form of their building, according to the 
different methods of naval architecture-used 
by the nations to which they belong. Their 
sails are frequently made of mats, and 
their anchors are made of wood. 
JOURNAL, a day-book-, register, or ac- 
count of what passes daily. 
Journal, or Day-book, among mer- 
chants, is that wherein the transactions 
recorded in the waste-book are prepared to 
be carried to the ledger, by having their 
proper debtors and creditors ascertained and 
pointed out. For a more distinct account 
of which see Book-keeping. 
Journal, at sea, is a register, kept by 
the pilot and others, wherein notice is 
taken of every thing that happens to the 
ship from day to day, with regard to the 
winds, the rhumbs, the rake, soundings, &c. 
and in order to enable him to adjust tli£ 
reckoning, and determine the place where 
the ship is. 
In sea journals, the day, or twenty -four 
hours, terminate at noon, because the errors 
of the dead reckoning are at that period 
generally corrected by a solar observation. 
The first twelve hours, from noon to mid- 
night, are marked with P. M. signifying 
after mid-day ; and the second twelve hours 
from mid-bight to noon, are marked with 
A. M. signifying after midnight ; so that 
the ship account is twelve hours earlier than 
the shore account of time. There are vari- 
ous ways of keeping journals, according to 
the different notions of mariners concern- 
ing the articles that are to be entered. 
Some keep such a kind of journal as is only 
an abstract of each day’s transactions, spe- 
cifying the weather, what ships or lands 
were seen, accidents on board, the latitude, 
longitude, the meridional distance, course, 
and run. These particulars are to, be 
drawn from the ship’s log-book, or from 
that kept by the pilot himself. Others 
keep only one account, including the log- 
book, and all the work of each day, with 
the deductions drawn from it. Notwith- 
standing the form of keeping journals is 
very different in merchant ships, yet one 
method appears to be invariably pursued 
in the navy, which, however, admits of 
much improvement, for no form can be 
properly called perfect that leaves as great 
