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Miscellaneous works and correspondence [ed. by S.P. Rigaud. With] Suppl
Miscellaneous works and correspondence Suppl - ed. by S.P. Rigaud. With Author:James Bradley Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ACCOUNT HARRIOT'S ASTRONOMICAL PAPERS. A.T the death of the celebrated Thomas Harriot in 1621, his manuscripts became the property of Henry, earl of Northu... more »mberland, in whom he had found a most munificent patron during the latter part of his life. The male line of the ancient Percies ended with the earFs grandson Joceline, from whose daughter the earls of Egremont are descended. By this means most of the manuscripts passed into their possession a. The value and curiosity of these papers were known, and Count de Bruhl pointed b them out particularly, in 1784, to the notice of the Baron de Zach, who immediately called public attention to the subjectc, and formed a plan for collecting and printing a new edition of Harriot's works. In the astronomical ephemeris of the Royal Academy of Berlin for 1788d, he inserted a general account of the papers, dwelling more particularly on the astronomical observations which they contained. This, having been translated, was separately printed for circulation in England, and a copy has been subjoined to these remarks e. I shall have such constant occasion to consider the several parts of it, that it seemed endless to note them: when any expression therefore of the Baron's is quoted, without a distinct reference, it may be generally understood to be taken from this document. It seems to have been drawn up while he was yet uncertain of finding any one 11 In the Savilian Library there is a copy of Lord chancellor Clarendon in lfit2 had " some the Artis Analyticae Praxis, which once be- " considerable papers of Mr. Harriot," which longed to Sir Charles Cavendish, of whose con- are said to contain, among other things, " conversation with Roberval, Wallis (Opera, vol. " siderable observations on the weather." II. p. 204) tells the remarkable anecd...« less