Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 3.djvu/272

300 tor to his royal highness the late duke of Cumberland, and was well known to be possessed of all the good qualities that can adorn a human mind. To me, his goodness was really beyond my power of expression; and I had not been a month in London till he informed me, that he had written to an eminent professor of mathematics to take me into his house, and give me board and lodging, will) all proper instructions to qualify me for teaching a mathematical school he (Mr Poyntz) had in view for me, and would get me settled in it This I should have liked very well, especially as I began to be tired of drawing pictures; in which, I confess, I never strove to excel, because my mind was still pursuing things more agreeable. He soon after told me, he had just received an answer from the mathematical master, desiring I might be sent immediately to him. On hearing this, I told Mr Poyntz that I did not know how to maintain my wife during the time I must be under the master's tuition. What, says he, are you a married man? 1 told him I had been so ever since May, in the year 1739. He said he was sorry for it, because it quite defeated his scheme, as the master of the school he had in view for me must be a bachelor.

He then asked me what business I intended to follow? I answered, that I knew of none besides that of drawing pictures. On this he desired me to draw the pictures of his lady and children, that he might show them, in order to recommend me to others ; and told me, that when I was out of business I should come to him, and he would find me as much as he could; and I soon found as much as I could execute, but he died in a few years after, to my inexpressible grief.

Soon afterward, it appeared to me, that although the moon goes round the earth, and that the sun is far on the outside of the moon's orbit, yet the moon's motion must be in a line, that is, always concave toward the sun; and upon making a delineation representing her absolute path in the heavens, I found it to be really so. I then made a simple machine for delineating both her path and the earth's on a long paper laid on the floor. I carried the machine and delineation to the late Martin Folkes, Esq. president of the royal society, on a Thursday afternoon. He expressed great satisfaction at seeing it, as it was a new discovery; and took me that evening with him to the royal society, where I showed the delineation, and the method of doing it.

When the business of the society was over, one of the members desired me to dine with him next Saturday at Hackney, telling me that his name was Ellicott, and that he was a watchmaker.

I accordingly went to Hackney, and was kindly received by Mr John Ellicott, who then showed me the very same kind of delineation, and part of the machine by which he had done it; telling me that he had thought of it twenty years before. I could easily see by the colour of the paper, and of the ink lines upon it, that it must have been done many years before I saw it. He then told me what was very certain, that he had neither stolen the thought from me, nor had I from him. And from that time till his death, Mr Ellicott was one of my best friends. The figure of this machine and delineation is in the 7th plate of my book of Astronomy.

Soon after the style was changed, I had my rotula new engraved; but have neglected it too much, by not fitting it up and advertising it After this, I drew out a scheme, and had it engraved, for showing all the problems of the rotula except the eclipses; and in place of that, it shows the times of rising and setting of the sun, moon, and stars ; and the positions of the stars for any time of the night.

In the year 1747, I published a dissertation on the phenomena of the Harvest Moon, with the description of a new orrery, in which there are only four