Chapter 43: 436-439
Contents
Page 436
Mr. Chew
One of the Commissioners appointed by Lord Baltimore to settle the boundary dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Also appears on page 327.
Note the varied meanings of "chew": taffy, chaw (tobacco), masticate ("crushing"), ponder (chew over).
John Bird
The creater of many astronomical instruments at Greenwich and a member of the Royal Society. He recommended Dixon for the surveying of the Pennsylvania/Maryland line, built the sector used by M&D, and made Darkening Nozzles for M&D's telescope.
Maskelyne
English astronomer who was appointed Astronomer Royal in 1765; he was also an ordained minister; his sister Margaret married Baron Robert Clive of Plassey (aka "Clive of India") in 1753. Biography of Maskelyne; History of Mathematicians
Maskelyne and Mason, as you recall, were on St. Helena together (see Chapter 13: 125-145).
H.M. Astronomer
H.M. -- His (or Her, though in this case, His) Majesty's
At the very moment he was elevated, I lay flat upon a Back that for all I knew was broken, in a desert place in New Jersey
"i.e. after his fall from his horse at 408.18." -- Pynchon-L: Dinn's Notes
Bliss
"The Reverend Nathaniel Bliss (28 November 1700 – 2 September 1764) was a noted English astronomer of the 18th century, serving as Astronomer Royal between 1762 and 1764. Bliss was born in the Cotswolds village of Bisley in Gloucestershire and studied at Pembroke College, Oxford. He graduated B.A. in 1720 and M.A. in 1723.Rector of St Ebb's church in Oxford, he succeeded Edmond Halley as professor of geometry at Oxford University in 1742 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society the same year. He succeeded James Bradley to become the fourth Astronomer Royal in 1762." -- Wikipedia
Page 437
slither'd
On page 135, Maskelyne, speaking to Mason on St. Helena: "Serpent, Worm, or Dragon, 'tis all the same to It, for It speaketh no tongue but it own. It Rules this Island, whose ancient Curse and secret Name, is Disobedience."
Note that Mason also calls Maskelyne "windy" on p. 437 -- again, a reference to St. Helena?
this seventh Wrangler
At Cambridge University, a wrangler is a student who placed in the first class of the mathematical tripos (18th c.). So, Maskelyne only obtained the 7th highest marks in his year. A senior wrangler is one who attains the highest marks in his year.
Mr. Harrison, and his Chronometer
English horologist who invented a timekeeper (chronometer) capable of compensating for errors due to variations of climate, thus solving the problem of determining longitude at sea and finally claiming the huge prize offered by the government.
the order of Aberration, nor Nutation
Aberration:
- "The first successful parallax measurements of a star other than our sun were made in the early 19th century. The effort to do so had been going on since at least Galileo's day. Bradley was using a zenith sector back in 1729 to measure parallax. He at first thought he had succeeded, but when he noticed that all the stars he checked had the identical parallax, he was suspicious, and concluded that it was something else, to wit, aberration." -- Pynchon-L: Dinn's Notes
- "3. (astronomy) A small periodical change of position in the stars and other heavenly bodies, due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer; called annual aberration, when the observer's motion is that of the earth in its orbit, and daily or diurnal aberration, when of the earth on its axis; amounting when greatest, in the former case, to 20.4"", and in the latter, to 0.3"". Planetary aberration is that due to the motion of light and the motion of the planet relative to the earth." -- Wiktionary
Nutation: "an oscillation of the axis of a spinning body. Now usu spec a variation in the inclination of an axis from the vertical,esp that which makes the precession of the Earth's poles follow a wavy rather than a circular path." Pynchon-L: Dinn's Notes
Octagon Room
Christopher Wren was, of course, an interesting fellow: "Sir Christopher Wren, (20 October 1632 – 25 February 1723) was a 17th century English designer, astronomer, geometer, and the greatest English architect of his time. Wren designed 53 London churches, including St Paul's Cathedral, as well as many secular buildings of note. He was a founder of the Royal Society (president 1680–82), and his scientific work was highly regarded by Sir Isaac Newton and Blaise Pascal." -- Wikipedia
Note that a couple of deadly devices are described in similar ("Octagon") terms: the Octuple Gloucester (big cheese on page 137) and "The octagonal Barrel" of the rifle that M&D consider swapping for a Tub on p. 428.
Let him fear to stay up for stars that culminate too late
culminate: "The attainment of the highest point of altitude reached by a heavenly body; passage across the meridian; transit." -- Wiktionary
Note that there are three astronomical terms used on this page; consider, with a grain of salt, these possible double entendres, all reflecting Mason's thoughts regarding Maskelyne's appointment:
- Aberration -- Mason considers Maskelyne's appointment an aberration?
- Nutation -- "The action of nodding the head, esp. as a sign of drowsiness" (OED); Maskelyne is a drowsy (slow-witted) nut?
- "culminate too late" -- Does Mason consider himself a star who will eventually culminate via an appointment to H.M. Astronomer; hence, Masekelyn will fear "staying up too late" upon his post since Mason is clearly the man for the job?
Morton
Secretary of the Royal Society at time of M-D Line.
The last three A.R.'s were all Oxford men
List of Astronomer Royals (A.R.s) (per Wikipedia):
- 1675 – 1719: Rev'd John Flamsteed [1st A.R., educated at Cambridge]
- 1720 – 1742: Professor Edmond Halley [an Oxford man]
- 1742 – 1762: Dr James Bradley [an Oxford man]
- 1762 – 1764: Nathaniel Bliss [an Oxford man]
- 1765 – 1811: Rev'd Nevil Maskelyne [Cambridge]
Sizar
"A sizar was one of a body of students in the universities of Cambridge and Dublin, who, having passed a certain examination, were exempted from paying college fees and charges. A sizar corresponded to a servitor at Oxford. The sizar paid nothing for food and tuition, and very little for lodging. They were probably so called from being thus employed in distributing the size, or provisions." -- Wikipedia
Page 438
another bonny mess
Reference to Laurel and Hardy ("That's another fine mess you've gotten us into!")?
a Page, enclos'd with the letter, clipp'd from the Gentlemen's Magazine of the December previous
Is this supposed to the Gentleman's Magazine (i.e., "man" not "men"), "the first general-interest magazine, and the most influential periodical of its time" (Wikipedia)?
If this scene occurs in late February, 1765, "December previous" is December 1965. I have not been able to locate the 1764 volume of Gentleman's Magazine, but here are some near misses:
- The 1765 volume of Gentleman's Magazine
- "A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine" (1811), which contains a letter by Dr. Bevis (!) from the 1764 volume (!!). This collection also contains such wonderfully entitled articles as: "An Hour-glass found in a Coffin"; "On the Custom of Swearing in Discourse"'; and "A Saint whose Emblems are naked Boys in a Tub."
- Volumes 1731-1750 on the well-organized Internet Library of Early Journals
- Other volumes on the less-well organized Google Books.
there were, it seems, ten, competing for the job,- Betts, Bevis, Short...so on
Note the alphabetical listing.
- Betts???
- Bevis, John (1695-1771)--This physician and amateur astronomer was the discoverer of the "Crab Nebula" in Taurus, M1 (1731). In 1769 he observed the Transit of Venus from just along the road from King George at Richmond, and published his observations in Philosophical Transactions. He described the initial turbulence to Venus as "a black wafer on the surface of a drum." Bevis was also a Commissioner of Longitude under which the Nautical Almanac was produced and which included Maskelyne's instructions for observing the Transit.
- Short, Mr--of the Royal Society; made Gregorian reflector for M&D's telescope; 270; in the running for Astronomer Royal (see, also, p. 98).
- seven others???
Flamsteed was a Maltster's Son
maltster -- "A person whose occupation is making malt" -- the OED online
Surely, with angst, maltster is one of few words in the English language with four back-to-back consonants?* Borsch ties, but it's Russian, technically? See, also, Quadriliteral in Wikipedia and A Collection of Word Oddities and Trivia.
(*Especially if you conveniently ignore compound nouns (i.e., watchstrap), pluralized words, proper-nouns, and digraphic words (i.e., diphthong, length and twelfth).)
Halley was a Soap-boiler's Son
Halley, Dr. Edmund (1656-1742) -- English astronomer & mathematician; in 1676 he went to St. Helena to make the first catalogue of the stars in the southern hemisphere; he was the first to recommend observing the Transit of Venus to determine the sun's parallax; he predicted the return of the comet that was thereafter named for him (see, also, page 131).
