BUXTON. 
560 
his father, William Buxton, was fchoolmafter in the fame 
parifh. Notwithftanding the profelTion of his father, Je- 
dediah’s education feems to have been totally negleCted, 
for he was never taught either to read or write. How he 
came firft to know the relative proportions of numbers, 
their denominations and powers, he never could remem¬ 
ber; but upon thefe his attention was conftantly riveted, 
and he fcarcely took any notice of external objects, ex¬ 
cept with refpeft to their numbers. It any fpace ef time 
was mentioned before him, he would toon after fay that it 
contained fo many minutes ; and, if any didance, he would 
affign the number of hair-breadths in it, even when no 
queftion was alked him by the company. His power of 
abftradtion was fo great, that no noife wdiatever could dif- 
turb him ; and, when afked any queftion, he would imme¬ 
diately reply, and return to his calculation without any 
confufion, cr the lofs of more time than the anfwer requi¬ 
red. A perfon, who had heard of his aftonifhing per¬ 
formances, meeting with him accidentally, in order to try 
his calculating powers, propofed to him the following 
queftion : In a body whole three Tides are 23,145,789 yards, 
5,642,732 yards, and 54,965 yards, how many cubical 
eighths of an inch ? After once naming the feveral figures 
diftinttly, one after the other, in order to afture himfelf of 
the feveral dimenfions, this felf-taught calculator fell to 
work amidft more than a hundred of his fellow-labourers; 
and the propofer of the queftion, leaving him for about 
five hours, returned and found Jedediah ready with his 
anfwer, which was exactly right’. A variety of qtieftions, 
too numerous to be here infcrted, he would folve in very 
Jittle time, by the mere force of memory. He would mul¬ 
tiply any number of figures, either by the whole or any 
part ot them, and at different times, and (tore up the va¬ 
rious products in his memory, fo as to give the anfwers 
ievcral months after. He would work at feveral quef- 
tions; firft begin one, and work it half through; then ano¬ 
ther, and (o on, working in this manner fix or eight quef- 
tions, and would either, as foon as finiflicd, or feveral 
-months after, tell tlie refult. This extraordinary man 
would ftride over a piece of land, and tell the content of 
it with as much exattnefs as if he had meafured it by the 
chain. His perpetual application to figures prevented him 
from making tlie (’mailed acquifition in any other branch 
• of knowledge ; for, beyond mere calculation, his ideas 
were as confined perhaps as thofe of a boy at ten years of 
age in the fame clafs of life. The only objects of Jede- 
diah’s curiofity, next to figures, were the king and royal 
family ; and his define to fee them was fo ftrong, that in 
the fpring of 1754, he walked up to London for that pur- 
pofe, but was obliged to return difappoirited, as his ma- 
jefty had removed to Kenfington. He was however intro¬ 
duced to the Royal Society, whom he called the volk of 
the fty court. He was likewife taken to fee the tragedy 
of Richard III. at Drury-lane; and it was expected that 
the novelty of every thing in this place, together with the 
fplendour of the furrounding objects, would have fixed 
him in aftoniftnnent, or that his paflions would in fome 
degree have been roufied by the aCtion of the performers, 
even if lie did not fully comprehend the dialogue. In- 
ftead of this, during the dances his attention was engaged 
in reckoning the number of Heps. After a fine piece of 
mufiiG, he declared that the innumerable founds produced 
by the inftruments perplexed him beyond meafure ; but 
he counted the words tittered by Mr. Garrick in the whole 
conrfe of the entertainment, and affirmed that in this he 
had perfedtly fucceeded. He lived to about feventy years 
of age, but the exaCt time of his death we cannot learn. 
He was married, and had feveral children. 
BUX'TON, a celebrated town in Derby (hire, and one 
of the wonders of the High Peak, having nine wells that 
rife near the fonree of the river Wye, whofe waters are 
noted by the Romans, and tire mentioned by Lucan. This 
is confirmed by the high road called the Roman Bath-gate, 
and by a wall cemented with red Roman plaifter, clofie by 
St. Anne’s well, where may be feen the ruins of the an¬ 
cient bath, its dimenfions and length. The plaifter is red, 
and hard as brick, a mixture not prepared thefe days. It 
appears as if it was burnt, exaCtiy refembling tile ; but 
Dr. Leigh is of opinion that it was a mixture of lime and 
powdered tiles, cemented with blood and eggs. The 
waters are warm and fuiphureotis, yet not fetid, but pa¬ 
latable, and are eminent for creating an appetite. The 
building for the bath was erected by George earl of 
Shrewlbury. Mary queen of Scots was here for fome 
time. She took her leave of this place with a diftich of 
Julius Caefar, fomewhat altered, which is ftill (hewn, writ¬ 
ten with a diamond on a pane of g.lafs, as the laft claflical 
authority of antiquity: 
Bvxtona, quee calidce eelebrare nomine lymphce, 
Forte riihi pofthac non adeunda , vale. 
Buxton, whofe fame thy baths fliall ever tell, 
Whom I perhaps (ball lee no more, farewell. 
The duke of Devonfhire has ereCted, at an immenfe ex¬ 
pence, for the accommodation of vi(itors, a very beautiful 
edifice, in the form of a crefcent, without any difplay of 
affected ornament. It contains twenty-nine windows in 
length, on a floor, and five at each end ; but the piazzas 
are rather too narrow for much company. The principal 
trade of Buxton is the manufacture of cotton. It Hands 
in an open healthy country, has a variety of fine Views, 
and a beautiful down. The bath-water is exceeding clear, 
of a blood-warm temper, and will admit twenty people at 
a time. The pump was given by Sir Thomas Delves, who 
received a cure here. The Roman road, called Bath¬ 
gate, runs from hence fever, miles towards Burgh. Bux¬ 
ton is diftant from Derby 32 miles, Manchefter 24, Shef¬ 
field 24, Chefterfield 24, Macclesfield io§, and 159 from 
London.—For a defeription of the wonders of the Peak, 
fee thearticle Peak. 
BUX'TON WA'TER, the fecond in degree of heat 
among thofe of this ifle. The water of St. Anne’s well 
contains calcareous earth, foffil alkali, and fea fait ; but 
of thefe the quantity is fo fmall, that when a gallon of 
the water was evaporated, the fediment was only betwixt 
twenty-three and twenty-four grains. This water (Likes 
a light green with the fyrup of violets ; it fuffers no change 
from galls, from fixed vegetable alkalies, or from mineral 
acids ; it becomes milky with the volatile alkali. The 
fpecific gravity of this water is precifely equal to that of 
rain-water, when their temperatures are the fame; but 
when firft taken from the fpring it is four grains in each 
pint lighter. The temperature of the bath is about 82° 
by Fahrenheit’s thermometer; that of St. Anne’s not quite 
fo much. Befides the contents already mentioned, which 
the water of St. Anne’s well poffeifes, it contains a confi- 
derable quantity of mephitic air, in which its ftimuhts and 
indeed its efficacy refide, and which is quickly ditfipated 
by expofure to the atmofpheric air. 
The medical effects of the Buxton waters have been 
acutely inveftigated by Dr. Jofi. Denman, whofe obferva- 
tions refult from forty years practice on the fpot, and were 
publifhed as recent as the year 1 793. From this work the 
following extrails are made : “ In diforders of the ftomach 
and bowels, denoted by indigeftion, acidity, and flatulency, 
the Buxton waters feldom fail to give (peedy and perma¬ 
nent relief. As a tonic, the water is eminently uieful in 
habitual diarrhoeas; as likewife in fome cafes of obftruc- 
tions in the bowels, if not attended with coftivenefis. In 
fpafmodic diforders of the inteftinal canal, the bufinefs of 
difrharge is bed effected by means of injections. Gout is 
the next difoider confidcred ; and very peculiar cautions 
are Laid to be neceffary in the ufe of the water in gouty 
cafes. Where no evident figns of debility exift, drinking 
the water ufually occafions wandering pains and rednefs 
In the limbs, with fome degree of fever. In diforders of 
the ftomach and bowels proceeding from mifplaced or re¬ 
pelled gout, the waters are as beneficial as in other fimilar 
affections of thofe organs. It is therefore in a tonic gout 
alone that Buxton water is ufeful; and in this cafe it will 
generally 
