button to main menu  Gents Mag 1748 p.205

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Gentleman's Magazine 1748 p.205

  meridian
  county maps

Meridian

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Extract of a JOURNEY to EDINBURGH, &c. to survey those parts, and settle a Meridian, undertaken Oct. 1746 at our expence, for the avoiding of old errors, and proceeding on true principles in our County Maps. (See p.3, 4, 5.)
AS it was necessary to have the meridian of Edinburgh castle trac'd out before the winter was too far advanced, I lost no time, but having provided materials, I set out for that city, hoping to get it carry'd forward on one line before the snow fell; but to my great surprize found the middle ridge of mountains in Tweedale for several miles bury'd in a monstrous depth of it, and still falling in great quantities all day long over the lowest part of that ridge, which is the high way leading to Edinburgh; but as I was set out, I determined to proceed some way or other to settle the question. When I came near Edinburgh, the climate sem'd to be altered, at least 10 degrees, in respect of the mountains which we had left. I got to that city in the forenoon, but was obliged to stay till next day before I could take the sun's meridian; but then happily accomplished it at the castle, and without loss of time proceeded for the top of Braid Craigs, over which my line directed me to a remarkable eminence in them. From these rocks I could carry it not above a mile, being cut short by the advanced skirt of the eastermost height of Pentland, and a very hazy horizon. Kinghorn on the Fife coast, and the eastern declivity of the eastermost Lomund, two very high mountains on the east of Fife, are on the meridian northward; this and the castle kept me firm to my line, but I soon lost them, and found that I should be carry'd thro' impervious mosses and mountains; I therefore continued to west, carefull noting the quantity of my deviating angles, from mountain to mountain, till I gained the summit of Erric stone brae, from whose top I could see Burnswark, in the plains of Annandale; on the next morning having by favour of the moon rid four hours before day-break, to reach Burnswark by the
sun's
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