FLAMSTEAD HOUSE. 847 and it is impossible to leave this little room after being so amused, but with the greatest regret, even after taking a second or third view of it. Mrs. Bryan, the author of the Astronomy, had one also, on the top of her house at Blackheath, of singu lar goodness, made by Mr. Huggins, nephew of the present Mr. Dollond, of St. Paul's Churchyard; but the view from that house bears no comparison to that from the Royal Observatory. On the north side of the Observatory are situated two small buildings, covered with hemispherical sliding domes, in each of which is an equatorial sector, made by Sisson, and a clock by Arnold, with a three-barred pendulum, which are seldom used but for observing comets, by taking the difference of right ascension and declination between them and some neighbouring star, whose place is exactly known. These are the principal objects worthy of attention in this venerable building. "We shall just say a few words respecting its former inhabitants; men whose talents, industry, and discoveries have raised the astronomical glory of the English nation far above that of any other in the world. "The Rev. John Flamstead, born the 19th of August, 1646, was the first astronomer royal who took possession of the Observatory in 1676. Most of the instruments which this indefatigable man used were made by himself, and his ingenious assistant, Mr. Abraham Sharp, the principal of which were the great sextant and mural quadrant, which, after his death in 1719, were delivered to 348 FLAMSTEAD HOUSE. his heirs. Engravings, and an account of them and other apparatus, together with a head of the author, may be seen in that great monument of his zeal and industry the Historia Cœlestis. He died the 19th of December, 1719, aged 73, and lies buried in the church-yard of Burstow, near East Grinstead, in Surry, the living of which was presented to him about the year 1684. After After very diligent search and inquiry no remains of any tomb or monument to his memory can be found: nor does any one in the place know in what part of the church-yard he was buried. "At his death, Dr. Halley, born in London, the 8th of November, 1656, obtained this place, and applied himself principally to the moon's motions. In 1722, although then sixty-five years of age, he commenced his Saros, a period of observations to continue for nineteen years, with the transit instrument and the iron mural quadrant, made by Graham: these observations were published down to the year 1738; the remainder are in the Observatory in MS. He died the 14th of January, 1742, Old Stile, in his eighty-sixth year, and was buried in Lee church-yard, about two miles southeast of the Royal Observatory, where his tomb is now in a very decayed state. "Dr. Bradley succeeded Dr. Halley, and rendered a lasting service to the Observatory, by procuring the eight-feet brass mural quadrant, which has been in constant use down to the present time. Astronomers acknowledge with gratitude and pleasure the obligations they owe to this great man for his discoveries. His Majesty, King George the Second, allowed him, in addition to his regular salary, a pension of 250l. per annum, in consideration of his great merit, and it has been continued to his successors. His observations were published by Dr. Hornsby, in 1798, in two volumes folio. Dr. Bradley died the 13th of July, 1762, in his seventieth year, and was buried at Minchinhampton, in Gloucestershire. "At the Death of Dr. Bradley, succeeded his friend Dr. Bliss, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, but he died in 1764, and enjoyed it too short a period to give any remarkable proof of his zeal for the science. "To him succeeded, in 1675, the celebrated Dr. Nevil Maskelyne; and upon his decease, Pond, whose name is well known in the astronomical world." From Greenwich Park we ascended to Blackheath, mentioned in the annals of our history. When foreigners of distinction, even monarchs, visited this island, they were met here by our kings. More particularly Maurice, Emperor of Constantinople, was, in 1411, splendidly received on this plain by Henry IV.; and in 1416, Henry V. met the Emperor Sigismund here, and conducted him with magnificence to London. To the west of Greenwich Park lies the mansion of the celebrated Earl of Chesterfield, whose letters, though they contain several topics of instruction, are injurious to the morals of the rising generation. In the year 1780 was discovered, on the side of the ascent to Blackheath, in the public road, a cavern consisting of many rooms. The sides and roofs are of chalk, the bottom fine dry sand. It is a matter of conjecture, among the curious, to what purposes such a recess could have been appropriated. From the point on Blackheath there is a fine view of the metropolis, with its environs. Round this ridge the nobility and gentry take a morning ride, by which their spirits are exhilarated, and a keener relish is obtained for the amusements of the day. On the north lies WOOLWICH, distinguished for its connections with government. The town is lately much enlarged. The Barracks and Academy in the Warren were removed to the Common, near Shooter's Hill, where buildings are erected in the Gothic style, chosen by the King, for that express purpose, and which make a respectable appearance. The Royal Military Academy is an institution of merit. It is now under the care of eminent masters, Messrs. Hutton and Bonnycastle, together with the Rev. Mr. Lewis Evans, whose eldest son had, for some time (as has already been mentioned), the superintendance, under Dr. Maskelyne, of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Under such tutors we may expect a proportionate degree of improvement. Nor must we forget that at Woolwich the bombs, mortars, &c. are rendered fit for the purposes of destruction. The explosions are felt miles around, and are presages of those tremendous effects that they are intended to produce on the enemy! Here also are THE HULKS, &c. of old ships, thronged with convicts, who are expiating their crimes by a laborious degradation. How far such discipline tends to reformation may bear discussion. In the opinion of some it is a school for vice, and inures the mind to a still greater degree of hardness. It is a pity that some punishment cannot be devised better calculated to effect the amendment of the unhappy criminals. Many of these persons might be reformed, and become valuable members of the community. Not long ago I had an opportunity of conversing with one of them; he was the picture of wretchedness. Alas! he might have held a respectable station in society; but idleness led to vice, and vice terminated in his present misery. He, however, expressed contrition for his offences, and avowed purposes of reformation. The convicts come on shore every day, and are employed in manual labour; they return on board to their meals, and clambering up the side of their vessels, the clanking of their irons resounds from afar, and wounds the ear of sensibility! Chained together, and subjected to the strictest regulations, their situation must be mortifying to their feelings. Vice is, in every stage of its progress, the source of misery. Far better, however, is it thus to try the effects of discipline upon them, than for every little crime to consign them over to the hands of the executioner. Our laws are sanguinary; public executions are perpetually occurring; hence a |