While at Canea I wrote by way of France, and again while at Rhodes
by way of Smyrna, to particular friends both in London and France,
informing them of my disastrous situation, and desiring them to send me
a moveable quadrant or sextant, as near as possible to two feet radius,
more or less, a time-keeper, stop-watch, a reflecting telescope, and
one of Dolland’s achromatic ones, as near as possible to three-feet
reflectors, with several other articles which I then wanted.
I received from Paris and London much about the same time, and as
if it had been dictated by the same person, nearly the same answer,
which was this, That everybody was employed in making instruments for
Danish, Swedish, and other foreign astronomers; that all those which
were completed had been bought up, and without waiting a considerable,
indefinite time, nothing could be had that could be depended upon. At
the same time I was told, to my great mortification, that no accounts
of me had arrived from Africa, unless from several idle letters, which
had been industriously wrote by a gentleman whole name I abstain from
mentioning, first, because he is dead, and next, out of respect to his
truly great and worthy relations.
by way of Smyrna, to particular friends both in London and France,
informing them of my disastrous situation, and desiring them to send me
a moveable quadrant or sextant, as near as possible to two feet radius,
more or less, a time-keeper, stop-watch, a reflecting telescope, and
one of Dolland’s achromatic ones, as near as possible to three-feet
reflectors, with several other articles which I then wanted.
I received from Paris and London much about the same time, and as
if it had been dictated by the same person, nearly the same answer,
which was this, That everybody was employed in making instruments for
Danish, Swedish, and other foreign astronomers; that all those which
were completed had been bought up, and without waiting a considerable,
indefinite time, nothing could be had that could be depended upon. At
the same time I was told, to my great mortification, that no accounts
of me had arrived from Africa, unless from several idle letters, which
had been industriously wrote by a gentleman whole name I abstain from
mentioning, first, because he is dead, and next, out of respect to his
truly great and worthy relations.
