With my watch in my hand, and my eye to the eye-piece, I waited for the orb.

When his glorious face appeared, almost in a direct line for the centre of the field, I could not contain my joy, but shouted out as loudly as I could,--greatly to the astonishment of old George Johnson, the miller, who happened to be in the field where I had planted my stand! "Now, though I had obtained what I wanted--a fairly good instrument,--still I was not quite satisfied; as I had produced it by a fortunate chance, and not by skill alone.

I therefore set to work again on the other disc of glass, to try if I could finish it in such a way as to excel the first one.

After nearly a year's work I found that I could only succeed in equalling it.

But then, during this time, I had removed the working of mirrors from mere chance to a fair amount of certainty.