nd dangers, which brought forth
their highest qualities as men. There was, however, some intermixture
of narrowness in the minds of those who sent them forth. For instance,
while Dr. Priestley was at Leeds, he was asked by Sir Joseph Banks to
join Captain Cook's second expedition to the Southern Seas, as an
astronomer. Priestley gave his assent, and made arrangements to set
out. But some weeks later, Banks informed him that his appointment had
been cancelled, as the Board of Longitude objected to his theology.
Priestley's otherwise gentle nature was roused. "What I am, and what
they are, in respect of religion," he wrote to Banks, in December,
1771, "might easily have been known before the thing was proposed to me
at all. Besides, I thought that this had been a business of
philosophy, and not of divinity. If, however, this be the case, I
shall hold the Board of Longitude in extreme contempt."

Captain Cook was appointed to the command of the Resolution, and
Captain Wallis to the command of the Adventure, in November, 1771.
They proceeded to equip the ships; and amongst the other instruments
taken on board Captain Cook's ship, were two timekeepers, one made by
Mr. Larcum Kendal, on Mr. Harrison's principles, and the other by Mr.
John Arnold, on his own. The expedition left Deptford in April, 1772;
and shortly afterwards sailed for the South Seas. "Mr. Kendal's watch"
is the subject of frequent notices in Captain Cook's account. At the
Cape of Good Hope, it is said to have "answered beyond all
expectation." Further south, in the neighbourhood of Cape Circumcision,
he says, "the use of the telescope is found difficult at first, but a
little practice will make it familiar. By the assistance of the watch
we shall be able to discover the greatest error this method of
observing the longitude at sea is liable to." It was found that
Harrison's watch was more correct than Arnold's, and when near Cape
Palliser in New Zealand, Cook says, "this day at noon, when we attended
the winding-up of the watches, the fusee of Mr. Arnold's would not turn
round, so that after several unsuccessful trials we were obliged to let
it go down." From this time, complete reliance was placed upon
Harrison's chronometer. Some time later, Cook says, "I must here take
notice that our longitude can never be erroneous while we have so good
a guide as Mr. Kendal's watch." It may be observed, that at the
beginning of the voyage, observations were