so well begun: and Flamstead entered upon the duties of his appointment
with instruments principally provided _at his own expense_, and that
of a zealous patron of science, James Moore. It should seem that this
species of parsimony is hereditary in the English Government, for, upon
the authority of the _Quarterly Review_, we learn that "within the
wide range of the British Islands _there is only one observatory_
(Greenwich), _and scarcely one supported by the Government_. We say
scarcely one, because we believe that some of the instruments in the
observatory at Greenwich were purchased out of the private funds of the
Royal Society of London."[2]

[1] For this very accurate Description with an Engraving, see
MIRROR, No. 400.

[2] For the remainder of the Extract, &c. see MIRROR, vol. xii.
p. 151. Only a few days since we saw recorded an instance of
enthusiasm in the study of astronomy, which will never be
forgotten. We allude to Mr. South's splendid purchase at Paris;
yet all the aid he received was some trifling remission of duty!

The first stone of this Observatory was laid by Flamstead, on the 10th
of August, 1675. It stands 160 feet above low-water mark, and
principally consists of two separate buildings: the first contains three
rooms on the ground-floor--viz. the transit-room, towards the east, the
quadrant-room, towards the west, and the assistant's sitting and
calculating-room, in the middle; above which is his bed-room, the latter
being furnished with sliding shutters in the roof. In the transit-room
is an eight-feet transit-instrument, with an axis of three feet, resting
on two piers of stone: this was made by Bird, but has been much improved
by Dolland, Troughton, and others. Near it is a curious transit-clock,