1808. | 
Being firmly convinced, that the power 
of gravity does not perceptibly grow lefs, 
though the diftance from the centre of the 
earth fhould be confiderably extended, he 
carried his fpeculations on the fubject to 
the moon, and thence to the primary 
planets; and, by the application of his 
great principle, he concluded, that they 
were all carried round.the fun by the fame 
power. 
Whatever weight we allow to the cir- 
cumftance of the apple, it will be admit- 
ted, that true philofophy is wont to em- 
ploy itfelf in making practical deductions 
from the fimpleft appearances; and that 
the grandeit and molt important dilcove- 
ries have been often founded on the moft 
ordinary occurrences.’ The greateft trea- 
{ures are not collected in thofe places, 
where Nature 
With richeft hands 
Show’rs on her Kings barbaric pearls and 
gold. Milton. 
It has been alfo related of Sir Ifaac 
Newton, that Dr. Stukely, the antiquary, 
once cailed on him about dinner-time. 
Dy. Stukely was fhewn into the dining- 
room, where, under cover on a table was a 
roafted fowl, for Sir Ifaac’s dinner. The 
fervant told his mafter, that Dr. Stukely 
was below. Sir Ifaac, however, was a 
long while before he made his appearance. 
In the mean time, Stukely had the curio- 
firy to peep under the cover, and, as his 
own dinner time wes now approaching, 
his appetite was in perfect good humour 
witlf the fowl, which he haitily devoured, 
leaving the bones under the cover. 
At length, Sir Ifaac made his appear- 
ance, and began to apologize for detain- 
ing Dr. Stukely folong. He, at the fame 
time, exprefled his hope, that the Doctor 
would prolong his vifit, and take the 
wing of a fowl with him. Sir Ifaac now 
proceeded to take off the cover, when, 
on feeing nothing under it but the bones 
of a fowl, he began to apologize again, 
exprefling, at the fame time, his furprize, 
not at the difappearance of the fowl, but 
that be fhould have forgotten, he had 
gjult eaten it for his dinner. 
This ftory has travelled about a long 
time, and, with others of a fimilar nature, 
mutt fhitt for itflf. I do not vouch for 
its authenticity: indeed, the greateft men 
have not been always remarkable for the 
greateft ablence. It muit, at the fame 
Aime, be acknowledged, that Sir Iaac 
Newton wasa privilegzed man. A fafhion- 
able writer, afier rebuking ABSENT peo- 
ple, makes.a remark to this effect i— 
felves in becoming authors, 
Cantabrigiana, 534 
(I quote from memory )——“‘ We tolerate 
abfence in only two clafles of people, ia 
young people far gone in love, and ia 
great mathematicians.” 
LXVIII.—ENGLISH MSS. ia the PUBLIC 
LIBRARY. 
The Englifh MSS. in the Public Library 
are numerous ; con{picuous among which 
for number, and many for worth, are 
Thomas Baker’s, though moft are copies, 
and all copied by himfelf. Thefe we have 
already had occafion flightly to mention. 
Baker left'42 volumes in all: of thefe 
19 were left to the Univerfity: to the 
Earl of Oxford he left 23 volumes, which 
are now made public property, and in the 
Britifh Mufeum. Of thefe MSS. there is 
a catalogue, in the Biographia Britanni- 
ca, under the article Baker. The ac- 
count of the Cambridge-part of them was 
written by the Rev. Mr. Robert Robin- 
fon, of Chefterton, near Cambridge. In 
the Life of Baker, by the Rev. Mr. Matf- 
ters, formerly of Bene’t College, there is 
a more copious and complete catalogue. 
It feemed, fome timé fince, as if the 
Univerfity had intended to have perfeGied 
their number, a gentleman having beenem- 
ployed to copy fome of thefe MSS. in the 
Mufeum, for the Public Library at Cam- 
bridge. Two volumes were tranfcribed, 
and are now in the Public Library. Thefe 
were finiihed about fix yearsago. This bu- 
finefs, however, and we fpeak. it with re- 
gret, feems, at prefent, fu'pended. 
Among the Englifh MSS. in the Publie 
Library, are alfo various Letters written by 
feveral ditinguifhed perfons, fince the Re- 
formation, many of them members of the 
Univerfity ; a few ancient Poems, and many 
Hitlorical papers. ‘They have been libe- 
rally confulted, and almoft all either co- 
pied or printed. Some papers that relate 
to the Univerfity were copicd by Baker. 
A Prayer, and a tranflation of Xeno- 
phon’s Hiero, by Queen Elizabeth, have 
been thought worthy of being preferved 
among the Englifth MSS. I do not know 
that her Majety condefcended to publifh 
them. ‘The dignity of great princes, it 
may be thought, confilts in governing 
their fubjeéts, and that they degrade them- 
James I. 
thought otherwifé. -He compofed a Trea- 
tife, and dedicated it (to whom elfe could 
Solomon dedicate it?) to Jefus Chrift. 
‘Such a lucubration furely could not be un- 
worthy the itate of Majelty ; and to have 
buried fuch a jewel among dirty old MSS., 
though it might have argued fome con- 
cern for the Monarchy would have be- 
trayed 
