Chapter IV: Part 4

About the same time, young Mr. Rittenhouse erected on the side of a public road, and on his father’s land in the township of Norriton, a small but commodious work-shop; and, after having made many implements of the trade with his own hands, to supply the deficiency of many such as were wanting in his purchased stock, he set out in good earnest as a clock and mathematical instrument maker.

From the age of eighteen or nineteen to twenty-five, Mr. Rittenhouse applied himself unremittingly, both to his trade and his studies. Employed throughout the day in his attention to the former, he devoted much of his nights to the latter. Indeed he deprived himself of the necessary hours of rest; for it was his almost invariable practice to sit up, at his books, until midnight, sometimes much later.

It was in this interval and by these means, that our young philosopher impaired his constitution, and contracted a pain in his breast; or rather, as he himself described that malady to the writer, “a constant heat in the pit of the stomach, affecting a space not exceeding the size of half a guinea, attended at times with much pain;” a sensation from which he was never exempt, during the remainder of his life. About this time, he retired from all business, and passed several weeks at the Yellow Springs, distant but a few miles from his place of residence. He there bathed and drank the waters; and from the use of this chalybeate, he appeared to have derived some benefit to his general health, though it afforded little alleviation of the pain in his breast.

A due regard to the sacredness of historic truth demands, that some circumstances which occurred while Mr. Rittenhouse was yet a youth, and _one_ which it is believed had a very considerable influence on his subsequent pursuits and reputation, should now be made known. Because the writer of these memoirs conceives he ought not to be restrained, by motives which would appear to him to arise from a mistaken delicacy, from introducing into his work such notices of his own father, long since deceased, as do justice to his memory; while they also serve to elucidate the biographical history of Mr. Rittenhouse.

In the year 1751, when David Rittenhouse was about nineteen years of age, THOMAS BARTON, who was two years elder than David, opened a school in the neighbourhood of Mr. Matthias Rittenhouse. It was while Mr. Barton continued in that place, supposed to have been about a year and a half, that he became acquainted with the Rittenhouse Family; an acquaintance which soon ripened into a warm friendship for young Mr. Rittenhouse, and a more tender attachment to his sister, Esther.

Two years afterwards (in 1753), the personal attractions and fine understanding of the sister rendered her the wife of Mr. Barton; who, for some time before, had officiated as one of the tutors in the then recently-established Academy, afterwards College, of Philadelphia; now the University of Pennsylvania. In this station, he continued until the autumn of 1754; when he embarked for England, for the purpose of receiving episcopal ordination in the church, and returned to Pennsylvania in the early part of the following year.

The very intimate connexion thus formed between Mr. Barton and a sister of Mr. Rittenhouse (who was two years elder than this brother), strengthened the bands of friendship which had so early united these young men: a friendship affectionate and sincere, and one which never ceased until Mr. Barton’s death, nearly thirty years afterwards; notwithstanding some difference of political opinions had arisen between these brothers-in-law, in the latter part of that period, in consequence of the declaration of the American independence.

Mr. Barton was a native of Ireland, descended from an English family; of which, either two or three brothers settled in that kingdom, during the disastrous times in the interregnum of Charles I. Having obtained very considerable grants of land in Ireland, this family possessed ample estates in their then adopted country. Hence, flattering prospects of an establishment there, in respect to fortune, were held out to their descendants. Through one of those untoward circumstances, however, by means of which the most unexpected revolutions in the affairs of families and individuals have been sometimes produced, the expectations of an independent patrimony which our Mr. Barton’s father had entertained, were speedily dissipated. Nevertheless, this gentleman, who was the eldest son of his family, was instructed in the rudiments of a classical education in the vicinity of his family residence in the county of Monaghan, under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Folds, a respectable English clergyman; and at a suitable age, he was sent to the university of Dublin, where he finished his academical education. Entirely destitute of fortune, but possessing a strong intellect, stored with useful and ornamental learning as well as an ardent and enterprizing spirit, this young adventurer arrived in Philadelphia soon after he had completed his scholastic studies.

The writer’s principal design, in presenting to the public view these slight sketches of the early history of the late Rev. Mr. Barton, shall be now explained.

When Mr. Rittenhouse’s father established his residence at Norriton, and during the minority of the son, there were no schools in the vicinity at which any thing more was taught, than reading and writing in the English language and the simplest rules of arithmetic. Young Mr. Rittenhouse’s school-education, in his early youth, was therefore necessarily bounded by these scanty limits of accessible instruction: He was, in truth, _taught_ nothing beyond these very circumscribed bounds of literary knowledge, prior to the nineteenth year of his age; though it is certain, that some years before that period of his life, he began to be known—at least in his own neighbourhood—as a mathematician and astronomer, in consequence of his cultivation of the transcendent genius with which heaven had endued him.

Under such circumstances as these, the familiar intercourse between David Rittenhouse and his young friend Barton, which commenced when the age of the former did not exceed nineteen years, could not fail to prove highly advantageous to the mental improvement of both. The one possessed a sublime native genius; which, however, was yet but very imperfectly cultivated, for want of the indispensable means of extending the bounds of natural knowledge: the other had enjoyed the use of those means, in an eminent degree, and thus justly acquired the reputation of a man of learning. A reciprocation of these different advantages, as may be well supposed, greatly promoted the intellectual improvement of both.

It will be readily conceived, that Mr. Barton’s knowledge of books must have rendered even his conversation instructive to Mr. Rittenhouse, at so early a period of his life. But the former so greatly admired the natural powers of his young friend’s mind, that he took a delight in obtaining for him access to such philosophical works, and other useful books, as he was then enabled to procure for his use; besides directing, as far as he was capable, the course of his studies.

After Mr. Barton’s removal to Philadelphia and while he resided in that city, his means of furnishing his friend with books, suitable for his instruction, were greatly enlarged; an advantage of which he most assiduously availed himself: and it is supposed to have been about this time, that a small circulating library was established in Norriton, at the instance of Mr. Barton, zealously seconded by the co-operation and influence of Mr. Rittenhouse.

Finally, when Mr. Barton returned from England, in the year 1755—at which time Mr. Rittenhouse was yet but twenty-three years of age, he brought with him a valuable addition to his friend’s little library; consisting, in part, of books which he himself had commissioned Mr. Barton to purchase for him.[74]

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Footnote 74:

The zeal and attention with which our young philosopher pursued his
early studies, and such mechanical objects as are more intimately
connected with those branches of natural philosophy to which he was
most devoted, will appear from the following extract of a letter,
addressed by him to Mr. Barton, on the 20th of September, 1756, being
then little more than twenty-four years of age; viz. “I have not
health for a soldier,” (the country was then engaged in war,) “and as
I have no expectation of serving my country in that way, I am spending
my time in the old trifling manner, and am so taken with optics, that
I do not know whether, if the enemy should invade this part of the
country, as Archimedes was slain while making geometrical figures on
the sand, so I should die making a telescope.”

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No doubt can be entertained, that Mr. Rittenhouse derived the great and extraordinary faculties of his mind from nature; and it is equally evident, that for some years after he arrived to manhood, he possessed very slender means of improving his natural talents: Nay further, it is well known to those who were long personally acquainted with him, that after his removal to Philadelphia, when he was eight-and-thirty years of age, a period of life at which the place of his residence, and the condition of his pecuniary affairs, united in placing within his reach much that is dear to science,—even then, his long continued professional employment and the various public stations he filled, in addition to frequent ill health, deprived him of a large share of those advantages. The vast stock of knowledge which, under such untoward circumstances, he actually acquired, is therefore an additional proof of his native strength of intellect.

But, wonderful as a kind of intuitive knowledge he possessed really was, his mental powers would probably have remained hidden from the world, they would have been very imperfectly cultivated, at best, had not an incident apparently trivial, and which occurred when our Astronomer was a young boy, furnished what was, in all probability, the very first incitement to an active employment of his philosophical as well as mechanical genius.

Mr. Rittenhouse’s mother having been already noticed somewhat particularly, the reason for this being done shall be here stated: it is connected with the incident just now referred to. This valuable woman had two brothers, David and Lewis Williams (or William), both of whom died in their minority. David, the elder of these, pursued the trade of a carpenter, or joiner. Though, like his nephew and namesake, he was almost wholly an uneducated youth, he also, like him, early discovered an unusual genius and strength of mind. After the death of this young man, on opening a chest containing the implements of his trade which was deposited at Mr. M. Rittenhouse’s, (in whose family it is presumed he dwelt,) a few elementary books, treating of arithmetic and geometry, were found in it: With these, there were also various calculations and other papers, in manuscript; all, the productions of David Williams himself, and such as indicated not only an uncommon genius, but an active spirit of philosophical research. To this humble yet valuable coffer of his deceased uncle, Mr. Rittenhouse had free access, while yet a very young boy. He often spoke of this acquisition as a treasure; inasmuch as the instruments of his uncle’s calling afforded him some means of exercising the bent of his genius towards mechanism, while the books and manuscripts early led his mind to those congenial pursuits in mathematical and astronomical science, which Were ever after the favourite objects of his studies.[75]

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Footnote 75:

It is observable, that, in like manner, an accidental circumstance
seems to have given the first impulse to the philosophical researches
of that eminent mathematician, Colin Maclaurin, the friend and
disciple of Newton. His biographer, Mr. Murdoch, relates, that “his
genius for mathematical learning discovered itself so early as at
twelve years of age; when, having accidentally met with a copy of
Euclid in a friend’s chamber, in a few days he became master of the
first six books, without any assistance: and thence, following his
natural bent, made such a surprising progress, that very soon after we
find him engaged in the most curious and difficult problems.”

It is not ascertained at what age Rittenhouse obtained access to his
uncle Williams’s little collection of books and papers; though it was,
probably, before his twelfth year. But it is to be observed, that at
the early age of twelve, Maclaurin had been a year at the University
of Glasgow, where he was placed under the care of one of the most
eminent and learned professors of the age; while Rittenhouse, for some
years after that period of life, had his time occupied in agricultural
pursuits, and was almost entirely uneducated.

One particular in which similar merit attaches itself to these two
distinguished philosophers, is, that all their more serious studies
were directed towards objects of general utility.

Having introduced the name of Maclaurin more than once into these
Memoirs, the author of them cannot refrain from presenting to his
readers the following epitaph upon that great mathematician. It is
attributed to the late Dr. Johnson: the delicacy and chasteness of the
sentiment, as well as the classical purity of the language, certainly
render it a specimen of this species of composition worthy of the pen
of that justly-admired writer.—

H. L. P. E.
Non ut nomine paterno consulat;
Nam tali auxilio nil eget;
Sed, ut in hoc infelici campo,
Ubi luctus regnant et pavor,
Mortalibus prorsus non absit solatium:
Hujus enim scripta evolve,
Mentemque tantarum rerum capacem,
Corpori caduco superstitem crede.

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The writer of the _Adversaria_, in a respectable periodical
publication,[75a] observes, that “it would not be easy to do justice
to this elegant and nervous sentence, in English.” But, as he has
given a very good prose translation of it into our language, the
subjoined versification of this was attempted by a young lady, at the
request of the writer of these memoirs:—

Not to perpetuate his father’s praise,
For no such aid his lofty fame requir’d,
Did filial piety the marble raise;
But other thoughts the friendly deed inspir’d.

Here, in this tearful vale, where sorrow dwells
And trembling mortals own the reign of fear,
At his command, the sculptur’d tablet tells,
Where hope exists, to dry the wand’rer’s tear.

For, read his works, O man! and then believe,
The mind that grasp’d at systems so sublime,
Beyond the mortal part must ever live,
And bloom, in sacred heav’n’s ethereal clime.

Footnote 75a:

The Port-Folio.

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It being thus apparent, that not only Mr. Rittenhouse’s mother but her brother David Williams were persons of uncommon intellectual powers, the writer thinks it fairly presumable, that our Astronomer inherited his genius from his mother’s family.[76] His surviving brother has decidedly expressed this opinion: in a letter on the subject of the deceased, addressed to the writer of these memoirs soon after Dr. Rittenhouse’s death, he says—“I am convinced his genius was more derived from his mother, than from his father.”

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Footnote 76:

In order to gratify the curiosity, if not to remove the doubts, of
such persons as are not disposed to believe in the reality of any
thing like an hereditary power, bias, or propensity of the mind, the
following memorable instances are selected from many others which
might be adduced; to shew that mental faculties, as well as corporeal
qualities and even mental and bodily diseases, are sometimes inherited
by children from their parents: perhaps cases of this kind exist more
frequently than is either observed or imagined.

Mr. James Gregory, the inventor of the reflecting telescope in common
use, called the Gregorian, was one of the most distinguished
mathematicians of the seventeenth century. This eminent man, who was
born at Aberdeen in Scotland in the year 1638, was a son of the Rev.
Mr. John Gregory, minister of Drumoak in the same county: his mother
was, moreover, a daughter of Mr. David Anderson, of Finzaugh, a
gentleman who possessed a singular turn for mathematical pursuits.

Mr. David Gregory, a nephew of the foregoing, was some time Savilian
professor of astronomy at Oxford. This _Subtilissimi Ingenii
Mathematicus_, as he is styled by his successor Dr. Smith, was born at
Aberdeen, in the year 1661. Of the four sons of this celebrated
mathematician,—

David, a mathematician, was regius professor of modern history, at
Oxford;

James was professor of mathematics, at Edinburgh; and

Charles was also professor of mathematics, at St. Andrew’s.

Besides these men of genius in the same family, was the late Dr. John
Gregory, professor of medicine in the University of Edinburgh; who had
previously held the philosophical chair in the University of St.
Andrews, from which he delivered lectures on the mathematics,
experimental philosophy, and moral philosophy. This gentleman was
grandson of the inventor of the Gregorian telescope, son of Dr. James
Gregory, professor of medicine at Aberdeen, and father of another
James, successor of Dr. Cullen, in the medical chair at Edinburgh.

A mathematical genius was hereditary in the family of the Andersons;
and, from them, it seems to have been transmitted to their descendants
of the name of Gregory. Alexander Anderson, cousin-german of David
abovementioned, was professor of mathematics at Paris, in the
beginning of the eighteenth century; and published there in 1712,
_Supplementum Apollonii redivivi_, &c. The mother of the James
Gregory, first named, inherited the genius of her family; and
observing in her son, while yet a child, a strong propensity to
mathematics, she herself instructed him in the elements of that
science.

Margaret, the mother of the late Dr. Thomas Reid, professor of moral
philosophy in the University of Glasgow, was a daughter of David
Gregory, Esq. of Kinnardie in Banffshire, elder brother of the James
Gregory first mentioned. It is remarked by a celebrated writer, that
“the hereditary worth and genius which have so long distinguished, and
which still distinguish, the descendants of this memorable family, are
well known to all who have turned their attention to Scottish
biography: but it is not known so generally, that in the female line,
the same characteristical endowments have been conspicuous in various
instances; and that to the other monuments which illustrate the race
of the Gregories, is to be added the philosophy of Reid.”—(See Dugald
Stewart’s _Account of the Life and Writings of Dr. Reid_.)

The great mathematical genius of the celebrated astronomer, John
Dominick Cassini, descended to his great-grandson. John-James, the son
of John-Dominick, who inherited the genius of his father, succeeded
him as professor of astronomy in the Royal Observatory at Paris, a
place which the father had filled more than forty years: John-James’s
son, Cæsar-Francis Cassini de Thury, (who died in the year 1784, at
the age of seventy years,) was an eminent astronomer: and his son, the
Count John-Dominick de Thury, was also a distinguished astronomer.

The eldest of these Cassini’s was a native of Italy, and born in 1625.
He died in the seventy-seventh year of his age; and in the year 1695,
a medal was struck to honour his memory, by order of the king of
France.

These instances of genius in three families, afford striking examples
of its being sometimes hereditary. It is further observable, that, in
the case of the great professor Simson, his mathematical endowments
were said to be derived from his mother’s family; as Mr. Rittenhouse’s
were likewise supposed to have been from that of his mother.

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A casualty that occurred in the year 1756, appeared to have been very near depriving the world of the talents, services, and example of our Philosopher, at a very early period of those pursuits in which he was afterwards so eagerly engaged. This circumstance is thus narrated by himself, in a letter dated the 26th of July, in that year, and addressed to the Rev. Mr. Barton, at his then residence in Redding township, York county.[77]

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Footnote 77:

Mr. Barton resided on a farm, near what are called the Sulphur Springs
(now comprehended within the limits of the new county of Adams,) from
some time in the year 1755, until the spring of 1759; during which
period he officiated as a missionary from “the society,” established
in England, “for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts,” for
the counties of York and Cumberland. While he resided in that then
remote settlement of Pennsylvania, he was greatly instrumental, both
by his precept and example, in stimulating the people to avenge the
numerous barbarities perpetrated on the inhabitants and their property
in that frontier, by their French and Indian enemies. In the
expedition against Fort Du Quesne (now Pittsburg,) undertaken in the
year 1758, under the orders of brigadier-general Forbes, he served as
a chaplain to the forces then employed, by virtue of a commission from
governor Denny: and in that campaign he became personally acquainted
not only with the commander in chief, but, among others, with colonel
(afterwards general) Washington; colonel (afterwards general) Mercer;
colonel Byrd of Virginia; colonel Dagworthy; colonel James Burd of
Pennsylvania; all provincial officers of great merit; besides colonel
(afterwards general) Bouquet, sir John St. Clair, sir Peter Hacket,
major Stewart, and other gentlemen of worth and distinction, who held
commands in the British regiments engaged in that service. With most
of these very respectable military characters Mr. Barton occasionally
corresponded, afterward; and his services, during a residence of
between three and four years in that part of Pennsylvania, were
honourably acknowledged, as well in England as among his
fellow-citizens, in various instances.

After Mr. Barton left the county of York, he became established in
Lancaster, where he officiated as rector of St. James’s church in
that borough, and missionary to the large and respectable
country-congregations of Caernarvon and Pequea, nearly twenty years.

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“I was,” said our young philosopher, “obliged to ride hard to reach Lancaster, the evening after I left you; and being somewhat tired myself, as well as my horse, I determined to go to the Dunker’s-Town,[78] where I staid the remainder of that day and the night following. I was there entertained with an epitome of all the whimsies mankind are capable of conceiving. Yet it seemed to me the most melancholy place in the world, and I believe would soon kill me were I to continue there; though the people were exceedingly civil and kind, and the situation of the place is pleasant enough.[79] From thence I went homewards, through Reading;[80] where I was agreeably surprised, the number and goodness of the buildings far exceeding my expectations.

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Footnote 78:

Although commonly called Dunker’s-Town, the proper name of this once
noted village is Ephrata. The little community which formerly resided
there, usually styled Dunkers, date the origin of their sect about the
year 1705. The original members of this religious society, in Germany,
Switzerland, and some other parts of Europe, having been persecuted
and banished from their homes, assembled themselves in the duchy of
Cleves, under the protection of the king of Prussia: and from thence
they migrated to Pennsylvania, mostly between the years 1718 and 1734,
a few of them only remaining behind. See also the next note.

Footnote 79:

The proper name of this place is Ephrata; and the very singular
religious society to whom it belongs, are denominated Seventh-Day
Baptists.

The society is said to have originally consisted of about twenty
families who migrated from Germany to Pennsylvania, about the year
1718 or 1719; part of whom settled at this place, and founded the
village of Ephrata (the head-quarters of the sect,) which is situated
about thirteen miles, north-eastward, from Lancaster, on a little
stream called the Cocolico-creek. These people hold the doctrine of an
universal redemption, ultimately, denying the eternity of future
punishment; that war and judicial oaths are unchristian; and that it
is not justifiable to take interest, for money lent. They keep the
seventh day of the week as their sabbath, and baptize by submersion;
whence they derive their name: they also inculcate the propriety of
celibacy, and of maintaining a community of goods; but when any of
them marry, and acquire property independent of the society in
Ephrata, they are obliged to retire from thence and reside elsewhere.
The men generally wear their beards, and clothe themselves in a habit
not unlike that of the Carmelites or White Friars: the women dress
like nuns. Both men and women observe great abstemiousness in their
diet, living chiefly on vegetables, and submit to some privations and
corporal severities, besides, in their religious discipline; they lie
upon benches, with a wooden block instead of a pillow: but though
meek, humble, and even timid, in their deportment, they are very civil
to strangers who visit them.

The society of Ephrata is supported by cultivating their lands,
conducting a printing-press, a grist-mill, a paper-mill, a saw-mill, a
tan-yard, &c. and the women are employed in spinning, knitting,
sewing, making paper-lanterns and other toys, &c.

The village consists of about ten or a dozen buildings; and is mostly
composed of the cloisters and convent, two churches, and the mills.
One of their places of worship adjoins the sisters’ apartments, as a
chapel; another belongs to the brothers’ apartments: and to these
churches, the brethren and the sisterhood respectively resort, every
morning and evening, sometimes, too, in the night, for the purpose of
worshipping; much of which is made up of soft and melodious chanting,
by the females. There is said to be one other place of worship,
wherein all the members of the society, within the bounds of the
settlement, meet once a week to celebrate worship publicly.

Such, indeed, _was_ the pleasant, sequestered little village of
Ephrata, at the time our then very young philosopher visited it; and
such was the condition of that little-known sect of Christians, while
the society continued under the direction of their second and last
president, the late Mr. Peter Miller. This venerable old German, who
had been bred to the priesthood in some one of the Protestant churches
of his native country, became a convert to the principles of this
obscure ascetic sect, over which he long presided with much
reputation, after the death of its reputed founder, CONRAD BEIXLER,
his patriarchal predecessor. But, though possessing a good share of
the old scholastic learning, with a large portion of piety, the mind
of Mr. Miller was strongly tinctured with many mystical notions in
divinity; such as well comported with the “whimsies” of the religious
society he governed.

Since the death of this good man, the ancient discipline of the
religious community at Ephrata, which had become greatly relaxed
during the revolutionary war, has almost wholly disappeared. The chief
seat of the Seventh-Day Baptists is no longer what it was: for, in
lieu of the solemn devotional stillness of the secluded cloysters and
cells of its once monastic inhabitants, and which, at this time, are
nearly deserted, are now substituted various occupations of industry,
amidst “the busy haunts of men.”

A letter from lady Juliana Penn to the second and last worthy
president of this little religious society, has a place in the
Appendix. It is indicative of the goodness of her ladyship’s heart.

Footnote 80:

The county-town of Berks, in Pennsylvania, pleasantly situated on the
Schuylkill, about fifty-six miles, north-westward, from Philadelphia.

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“You have perhaps seen, in one of the last papers, an account of the prodigiously large hail-stones which fell in Plymouth.[81] The lightning struck a tall green poplar standing in our meadow, just before the door, and levelled it with the earth. I was standing between the tree and house; and, at the same instant that I saw the flash of lightning, felt a most violent shock through my whole body,—and was stunned with such a horrible noise, that it is impossible for imagination to represent any thing like it.”

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Footnote 81:

A neighbouring township to Norriton, the place of Mr. Rittenhouse’s
country residence.

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The advantages and the disadvantages, which Mr. Rittenhouse respectively enjoyed and encountered, until after he had attained to the period of manhood, have been mentioned; and it will be readily perceived, that the latter greatly outweighed the former, in every other particular than that of his native genius, which alone was sufficient to preponderate against innumerable difficulties.

The great deficiencies in his education, as well as their causes, having been misconceived and incorrectly represented in some publications, a due regard to truth demands a correction of such mistaken opinions. Soon after his death, there appeared in the Maryland Journal, “_Anecdotical Notices of Mr. David Rittenhouse_;” which, although written with some ingenuity and knowledge of the subject, contained several errors. It is therein asserted, among other things, that “his parents, _incapable_ of giving him any other education than common reading and writing, intended to have brought him up to country-business; but, being blessed by nature with a mechanical turn of mind, he soon gave specimens of his ingenuity in making wooden clocks: This so recommended him to notice, as to give him an opportunity of learning the clock-making business.”—It has been already shewn, that Mr. Rittenhouse never received the least instruction in any mechanic art; and it is not ascertained that he ever made more than one wooden clock. It is also notoriously an error, that his parents were “incapable” of giving him any other education, than the common schooling he received: they were by no means poor, though not wealthy. His father inherited some patrimony; and he had, besides, been about nine years concerned in conducting the paper-manufactory near Germantown, after his one-and-twentieth year, before he purchased the Norriton farm.[82] This part of his estate he was enabled to give to his eldest son, David, about the year 1764; prior to which time the old gentleman removed to a farm he had purchased, nearly adjoining it in Worcester township, and on which he had erected a good two-story stone dwelling-house with suitable out-houses. There Mr. David Rittenhouse’s father and mother afterwards resided, together with their other son, Benjamin, (the house being so constructed as, conveniently, to accommodate two small families,) until the death of old Mrs. Rittenhouse in the autumn of 1777, at the age of seventy-three years, and of her husband in the autumn of 1780, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. The Worcester farm was left to the younger son: and, in addition to these not inconsiderable establishments for his sons, the old gentleman had given small portions to each of his five daughters, when they severally married. The remains of this worthy and upright man, for he truly merited that character, were interred in the cemetery belonging to a Baptist congregation, in the neighbourhood, in which both he and his wife had long attended divine worship. But, some years before his death, the old gentleman disposed of a lot of ground very near to his own house,—and _gratuitously_, if the writer’s information be correct,—to a Presbyterian congregation, for a burial place, and site for a church they were then about to erect. If this little piece of land was a _donation_ to the religious society to whom it belongs, the grant of it, though not of great value, furnishes an instance of that liberality of sentiment and goodness of heart which characterized our Astronomer’s father, and to which some allusion is before made.

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Footnote 82:

This farm contained about one hundred and fifty acres. It was lately
sold by the heirs of Dr. Rittenhouse.

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When, therefore, all the circumstances here mentioned, respecting Matthias Rittenhouse’s property and condition of life, shall be taken into view, it will be evident that he possessed a decent competency; with an estate quite independent, though not large: for he never enjoyed what is now termed affluence.

Concerning our Astronomer’s early life and condition, even his eloquent eulogist, Dr. Rush, was mistaken in some particulars. His assertion, that Mr. Rittenhouse was descended from parents “distinguished for probity, industry, and simple manners,” is perfectly correct. But, although he was comparatively “humble” in his “origin,” his father held the highly respectable station of an intelligent, independent farmer;[83] and it has been also seen, that his paternal ancestors, for some generations in succession, were proprietors of considerable manufactories of an article important in commerce and the arts, and eminently useful in literature and science as well as in the common affairs of life.

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Footnote 83:

“Omnium autem rerum, ex quibus aliquid acquiritur, nihil est
agriculturâ melius, nihil uberius, nihil dulcius, nihil homine, nihil
libero dignius,” Cic. _De Offic._ ii. 42.

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Dr. Rush has remarked, in regard to Mr. Rittenhouse’s talents first becoming generally known, that “the discovery of his uncommon merit belonged chiefly to his brother-in-law, the Rev. Mr. Barton, Dr. Smith, and the late Mr. John Lukens.” Perhaps it might be said, with greater strictness, that the “discovery” here spoken of, belonged solely to Mr. Barton; by whom it was communicated, very early, to his learned and reverend friend, Dr. Smith,—and through him, to the ingenious astronomical observer, Mr. Lukens, (afterwards surveyer-general,) as well as some other distinguished characters of that time. The writer in the Maryland paper before referred to, after having noticed the prevailing opinion that Mr. Rittenhouse was _self-taught_, had corrected the full extent of that misconception, in these words: “This is not strictly true; for, while engaged in these acquirements,” (astronomy, &c.) “the Rev. Mr. Barton, a learned episcopal clergyman of Lancaster, married his sister.”——“Mr. Barton, admiring the simplicity of manners and natural genius of his brother-in-law, afforded him every assistance in his power,—not only in mathematics, but in several other branches of literature: Mr. Rittenhouse was worthy of his notice; for he lost no time, and spared no pains, to improve himself in knowledge, as far as his limited education would permit.”

Hence, as well as from the preceding narrative, it will appear that Dr. Rush was led into a further mistake, respecting Mr. Rittenhouse.—In regard to his exalted genius, the learned professor has amply done justice to his memory. He has, in particular, recorded one extraordinary fact, in proof of his genius, well worthy of notice; and which is therefore related in the Professor’s own words.——“It was during the residence of our ingenious philosopher with his father, in the country, that he made himself master of Sir Isaac Newton’s _Principia_, which he read in the English translation of Mr. Motte. It was here, likewise, he became acquainted with the science of Fluxions; of which sublime invention he believed himself, for a while, to be the author: nor did he know for some years afterwards, that a contest had been carried on between Sir Isaac Newton and Leibnitz, for the honour of that great and useful discovery.” Then exclaims the ingenious eulogist, in terms of well-founded admiration, “What a mind was here!”—But, immediately after, he adds—“_Without literary friends or society, and with but two or three books_, he became, before he had reached his four-and-twentieth year, the rival of two of the greatest mathematicians in Europe!”—The circumstance must, then, have escaped Dr. Rush’s recollection—if indeed he had ever been made acquainted with it,—that five years before Mr. Rittenhouse attained to the age of twenty-four, he found at least one literary friend, in Mr. Barton; whose intimate society he long enjoyed, prior to that period; and that, through his means, he had access to many books.[84]

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Footnote 84:

The opinion, that Mr. Rittenhouse was, in his youth and the first
years of his manhood, “without literary friends or society, and with
but two or three books,” though erroneous in fact, was propagated
pretty early; and that opinion has, since, generally prevailed. About
twenty-two years before his death, a book was published in
Philadelphia, under the title of _Caspipina’s Letters_; of which the
Rev. Mr. Duché, then assistant-minister of Christ-church and St.
Peter’s in that city, was the writer. In that pleasant little work,
its amiable and worthy author (who has been dead many years) has thus
mentioned our philosopher. “After taking a few turns in the garden, we
walked back again to the college, where we had appointed to meet the
modest and ingenious Mr. Rittenhouse, who, _without one single
advantage from a private tutor_, or public education, by the mere
force of genius and industry, may now justly be reckoned the first
astronomer and mathematician in the world.”

Under such circumstances as these, it is by no means a matter of
surprise, that Dr. Rush should have been led into a similar mistake.

It is, nevertheless, truly astonishing to find an American writer (the
late Rev. Mr. Linn,) who, five years after Dr. Rittenhouse’s death,
published in Philadelphia, where both resided, a poem entitled, “The
Powers of Genius;” but, in which the name of RITTENHOUSE is not once
noticed! And yet that gentleman had not omitted to introduce, in one
of his notes, an observation which shews, that an European
philosopher, also of sublime genius, was present to his mind’s
eye!—“From the exhibitions of American talents,” said Mr. Linn, “I
indulge the warmest expectations. I behold, in imagination, the
NEWTONS, the Miltons, and the Robertsons, of this new world; and I
behold the sun of genius” (likewise “in imagination,” it is presumed,)
“pouring on our land his meridian beams.”

The writer of these memoirs believes Dr. Linn to have been a very
worthy, as well as an ingenious man: as such, he regrets his premature
death, and entertains a respect for his memory. But he could not, in
justice to the merit of Dr. Rittenhouse’s character, pass unnoticed so
unaccountable an omission as the one just mentioned, in Dr. Linn’s
Poem.

-----

It is not meant to be insinuated, however, that Mr. Barton ever gave Mr. Rittenhouse any insight into the knowledge of fluxions; or, indeed, much instruction, if any at all, in other of the higher branches of mathematics: because the first named gentleman never did himself pretend to the character of a profound mathematician; and because, likewise, although always esteemed a man of learning, his pursuits in science and literature were chiefly directed to objects of a different nature. That Mr. Rittenhouse derived some instruction and information from his early acquaintance with Mr. Barton, is certain: but, whatever may have been the extent of the literary advantages which the latter was enabled to confer on his young friend and companion, they could not in any degree derogate from the intrinsic excellence and greatness of our Astronomer’s innate genius.

That a mind so formed as that of our young philosopher—situated in life as he was—should have impelled him to assume the business of clock-making, can not be a matter of surprize: this occupation, connected with that of a mathematical instrument maker, is such as may be well supposed to have presented itself to his youthful ingenuity; being in accordance with the philosophical bent of his genius in his early years, while yet untutored in science and unknown to the world.

The great utility of the common clock, in measuring time, is universally known. It possesses numerous and manifest advantages, beyond those of sun-dials, clepsydræ, sand-glasses, and other horological instruments, by reason of its vastly superior accuracy: the sun-dial, indeed, is oftentimes wholly useless in all situations, even in the day-time; and always necessarily so, at night.

But the many improvements which have been made in modern times, in chronometers,—more especially in pendulum-clocks,—have very much advanced a correspondent accuracy in astronomical observations: and these improvements, together with those lately made in telescopes—chiefly by Dr. Herschel, the discoverer of the _Georgium Sidus_[85]—afford good grounds for hoping, that yet farther and more important additions will continue to be made to the recent discoveries in astronomy.

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Footnote 85:

Dr. Herschel, by means of his admirable telescopes, the most powerful
that have ever been constructed, discovered on the 13th of March,
1781, a new planet without the orbit of Saturn, called the _Georgium
Sidus_. The newly discovered star was thus named by Dr. Herschel
himself, in honour of his patron King George III. by whose bounty he
was enabled to construct, and to make incessant and laborious
observations with those wonderful telescopes, by which this astronomer
has extended our knowledge of the planetary and sidereal system, far
beyond its former limits.[85a]

Some astronomers on the continent of Europe, and in America likewise,
have affected to call this new planet _Herschel_; while others have
endeavoured to give it the name of _Uranus_. Would it not be well, in
order to avoid the perplexity and confusion arising from various names
for the same thing, that astronomers of eminence should designate this
planet, in future, by the name which the discoverer—who, it may be
presumed, was best entitled to give it a denomination—chose to apply
to it? It is a strange kind of compliment to Dr. Herschel, if it could
have been intended as a mark of respect to him, to refuse an adoption
of that name which he had assigned to his own discovery; even by
changing it for that of the Doctor himself! He wished this planet, no
doubt, to retain the appellation of _Georgium Sidus_, as a memorial of
his grateful respect for his royal benefactor; and in this object of
his wish he would be disappointed, by changing it for any other.

The name _Uranus_ is also objectionable, and on another ground. Uranus
was a fabulous personage. It is pretended, that in the isle called
_Panchay_,[85b] to the east of Africa, is to be seen on a column of
gold, a recital of the principal actions of Uranus, together with
those of Saturn and Jupiter. It is said that the former was the most
ancient king in the world; and that, having been a just and beneficent
man, well versed in the knowledge of the stars, he was the first who
offered sacrifices to the gods of heaven. We are also told, that in
the island just named is a mountain, where Uranus, holding the sceptre
of the world, took great pleasure in contemplating the firmament and
the stars. Among the sons of this monarch, according to the same
fiction, the two most distinguished were Atlas and Saturn, who
partitioned between them their father’s kingdom; and Atlas, who in the
division acquired the sea-coasts, is said to have excelled in
astrology: his reign is placed about sixteen hundred years before the
Christian era, and he is therefore ranked as a co-temporary of Moses.

Such is the fabulous history of Uranus! whose name some Christian
philosophers seem desirous to perpetuate, with honour, by attaching it
to a newly-discovered world! It would be extremely difficult if not
impracticable (and, perhaps, even if practicable, the attempt would
not be advisable at this time of day,) to abolish such of the names of
the heavenly bodies as are derived from the appellations of the false
gods of antiquity. But it appears very questionable, whether it be
consistent with propriety and a due regard to truth, to connect fable,
in any manner, with established and important realities; or whether it
be right to dignify the heathen mythology and the preposterous annals
of fabulous ages, by unnecessarily associating any thing relating to
them, with objects of genuine and useful science.

Baron Bielfeld seems to entertain similar sentiments on this head,
when (treating of the mathematics, in his “Elements of Universal
Erudition,”) he observes, that “the fables of ancient poets concerning
the stars, and,” he adds, “the fancies of some modern Christian
astronomers, who have given them names borrowed from the holy
scriptures, do not deserve the least attention, when we would treat
seriously on this science.” There is much justness in this observation
of the learned and ingenious baron: But if the application of names
derived from sacred writ, to the stars, be censurable; how much to be
condemned among Christians is the practice of giving, even in our day,
and in a science which has philosophical truth for its object, the
names of heathen deities, and fabulous persons of antiquity, to the
celestial bodies! Is it proper, can it, in any way, promote the
interests of true science or the attainment of useful knowledge, thus
to commemorate any of the absurdities of a false and impious
mythology; or any of those traditional personages of the early ages,
whose history, as handed down to us in the reveries of the ancient
poets and other profane writers, are either enveloped in fable or
inexplicable mystery? But to return from this digression:—

Mr. Lalande remarks in his great work on astronomy, which was
published in the year 1792, that Louis XIV. gave to astronomers
unceasing marks of the interest he took in their labours; and that
George III. occupied, with great delight, much of his time in his
Observatory at Richmond, as well as in Herschel’s at Slough. In his
own, in Richmond Gardens, the king of England has noble and beautiful
instruments; among which are a mural arch of 140° and 8 feet radius,
made by Sisson, a sector of 12 feet, a transit telescope of 8 feet,
made by Adams, and a telescope of 10 feet of Herschel. This grand
Observatory was erected in the year 1770, under the direction of Dr.
Bevis: it is 140 feet in front, and consists of two stories.

Such princes, then, as Louis XIV. and George III. deserve to be
honourably mentioned in the records of astronomical science: and it
was meritorious in Dr. Herschel, to dedicate to so munificent a patron
and promoter of astronomy as the latter sovereign, in the way he has
done, his important discovery of a new planet.

It is noticed by the writer of the article “Astronomy,” in Dr.
Brewster’s _New Edinburgh Encyclopædia_, (the first volume of which
has been very lately reprinted in Philadelphia,) that the venerable
Herschel,[85c] at the advanced age of seventy-two years, still
continued to observe the heavens with the most unwearied assiduity:
and that his contemplated “successor,” who, it is presumed, is his
son, “promises to inherit the virtues and the talents of his father.”

Footnote 85a:

Herschel, in calling his newly-discovered planet by the name of his
patron, was not without illustrious precedents for so doing. When
Galileo discovered the four Satellites of Jupiter, in the year 1610,
he named them the _Medicea Sidera_, in honour of the family of Medici,
his patrons. And Cassini, who, in the years 1671, 1672, and 1684,
successively, discovered the fifth, the third, and the first and
second Satellites of Saturn, denominated these stars, _Sidera
Lodoicea_, in honour of Louis XIV. in whose reign, and observatory,
they were first discovered. The fourth Satellite of Saturn (but the
first of them, in the order of time, that was known) had been
previously discovered by Huygens, sixteen years before any one of the
others was known to exist.

Footnote 85b:

So written by Lalande. There is an Asiatic island called _Panay_: it
is one of the Philippines, and lies, as _Panchay_ is said to do, “to
the east of Africa.”

Footnote 85c:

“Herschel, with ample mind and magic glass,
Mid worlds and worlds revolving as they pass,
Pours the full cluster’d radiance from on high,
That fathomless abyss of Deity.”
_Purs. of Lit._ dial. the fourth.

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Further improvements may also be expected to take place, in the construction of watches and other spring-chronometers; so as to render them still more useful for the purposes of navigation, by ascertaining with greater precision the longitude at sea.[86] For this purpose, the finely-improved English time-keepers of Harrison, Mudge, and others, have been found of the greatest utility. Mr. de Zach, (in his Explanation and uses of the Tables of the Motions of the Sun,[87]) after some observations on determining differences of longitude by means of astronomical observation, says,[88]—“De cæteris longitudinem determinandi modis, non est hic disserendi locus;—de uno vero, horologiâ maritimâ seu nauticâ, quidquam adjicere non alienum erit. Triginta jam abhinc annis, ingeniosissimi horologiorum artifices, Harrison, Cummings, Kendal, Arnold, Mudge, apud Anglos,—Le Roy et Berthoud apud Gallos, varia navigantium usui, egregia excogitaverant, et ad magnum perduxerant perfectionis gradum, horologia nautica, (Anglis, Time-keeper.) Cum eorum in longitudinibus itenere maritimo definiendis, usum quisque norit, plura hic dicere abstineo; simile horologium ab ingenioso horolopega Thom. Mudge constructum, in Observatorio Regio Grenovicensi sæpius exploratum, anno 1784, a Clar. D. Campbell, classis navalis præfecto[89] ad Terram Novam (Newfoundland) vectum, et reductum, ab hoc tempore in Observatorio Excellentissimi Comitis de Bruhl, Londini, Doverstreet, assidue observatum est. Hoc ipsum horologium maritimum, anno 1786, in terrestribus, iteneris longitudines determinandi gratia, concreditum mihi fuit, cum â Serenissimo Duce Saxe-Gothanâ, omnium scientiarum bonarumque artium patrono, imprimis astronomiæ, faventissimo, Londino evocatus in Germaniam me conferrem, ubi amplissimæ splendidissimæ Speculæ, Astronomicæ Gothanæ extruendæ cura mihi demandata erat;[90] attuli eodem hoc tempore, ad Serenissimi mandatum, minoris molis horologium, quod in braccis gestari solet (Anglis, Pocket-chronometer,) a Londiniensi artifice, D. Josiah Emery,[91] constructum, quod summâ accuratione et subtilitate elaboratum, nil majoribus cedit horologiis nauticis, ut videre licet ex tribus horum motuum elenchis ab Ilustr. Comite de Bruhl, et â aliorum Dr. Arnold, nuperrime publici juris factis. Sub finem anni 1786 et ad initium 1787, Serenissimum in itenere per Germaniam, Galliam, et Italiam, comitatus sum: hoc itenere quorundam locorum et Specularum astronomicarum longitudines definitæ sunt ex comparatione temporis horologii maritimi (quod ad tempus solare medium Londinense, in Doverstreet incedebat) cum tempore medio loci, quod sextante Hadleianâ per solis altitudines, quas correspondentes dicimus, vel ex comparatione cum illo, quod in Speculis Astronomicis ab ipsis astronomis traditum nobis fuit. Iisdem itaque automatis, cum primum Gotham advenissem, observatorii futuri longitudinem maximâ cum curâ atque diligentiâ definivi, quam paucis post diebus Serenissimus Dux Londinum profectus, chronometro suo secum deportato denuo perbelle comprobaverat.”

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Footnote 86:

Philip III. king of Spain, first offered a reward for the discovery of
the longitude, about two centuries ago; and the States of Holland,
soon after, followed his example. The Regent of France, during the
minority of Louis XV. also promised a great reward to any person who
should discover the longitude at sea.

In the year 1714, the parliament of Great Britain offered a reward for
a like discovery; and if the method, to be proposed, should determine
the longitude to twenty geographical miles, the premium was to be
twenty-thousand pounds sterling. The act of parliament established a
board of Commissioners of the Longitude. Several other acts were
passed, in the reigns of Geo. II. and III. directed to the same
purpose. Finally, in the year 1774, all those acts were repealed, by
one offering separate premiums for finding the longitude; either by
the lunar method, or by a watch keeping true time,—or by any other
method practicable at sea. This act proposes as a reward for a
time-keeper, 5000_l._, if it determine the longitude to one degree or
sixty geographical miles,—7500_l._, if to forty miles,—and 10,000_l._,
if to thirty miles. If the method be by improved Solar and Lunar
Tables, constructed upon Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of gravitation, the
author is to receive 5000_l._; provided such Tables shall show the
distance of the Moon from the Sun and Stars within fifteen seconds of
a degree, answering to about seven minutes of longitude, after making
an allowance of a half a degree for the errors of observation. The
Commissioners have the power of giving smaller rewards, at their
discretion, to persons making any discovery for finding the longitude
at sea, though it may not be within the above limits.

The set of Solar and Lunar Tables which were sent to the Board of
Longitude, about the year 1763, by the widow of the celebrated
astronomer, Tobias Mayer, were honoured with a reward of 3000_l._
sterling, by an act of the British parliament, in consideration of
their great usefulness in finding the longitude at sea.

Footnote 87:

See Mr. de Zach’s great work, entitled, _Tabulæ Motuum Solis novæ et
correctæ_, &c.

Footnote 88:

For the use of such readers as may not be acquainted with the Latin
language, the following translation of the above is given, from the
original of Mr. de Zach.

“Concerning the means of determining the longitude, this is not the
proper place to treat: of one, however, the marine or nautical
time-keeper, it will not be foreign to our purpose to say something.

“It is now about thirty years, since those very ingenious makers of
time-keepers, Harrison, Cummings, Kendal, Arnold, and Mudge, among the
English,—Le Roy, and Berthoud, among the French,—devised various and
excellent ones for the use of navigators, and brought to a great
degree of perfection those marine watches, called by the English,
Time-keepers. As every one knows their use in ascertaining the
longitude, on a _sea-voyage_, I shall not say any thing more of them
here.—A similar time-piece, made by the celebrated watch-maker Mr.
Thomas Mudge, and often referred to in the royal observatory of
Greenwich, was, in 1784, made use of by the Hon. Vice-Admiral (John)
Campbell, commander of the naval squadron[88a] on the Newfoundland
station,—going thither and returning; and from that time was
diligently examined, at the observatory of his Excellency Count Bruhl,
in Dover street London.