[1210]From Dr. John Pell:—Mr Walter Warner:—his youngest brother was High Sheriff of Leicestershire, about 1642. He and his brother dyed both batchelors. Dr. Pell haz seen him that was sheriff; but was well acquainted with Walter. The estate came to a middle brother, a lame man.
Walter had but one hand (borne so), he thinks a right hand; his mother was frighted, which caused this deformity, so that instead of a left hand, he had only a stump with five warts upon it, instead of a hand and fingers. He wore a cuffe on it like a pockett. The Doctor never sawe his stump, but Mr. Warner's man[1211] has told him so.
This Walter Warner was both mathematician and philosopher, and 'twas he that putt-out Thomas Hariot's Algebra, though he mentions it not.
Mr. Warner did tell Dr. Pell, that when Dr. Harvey came out with his Circulation of the Blood, he did wonder whence Dr. Harvey had it: but comeing one day to the earle of Leicester, he found Dr. Harvey in the hall, talking very familiarly with Mr. Prothero (Wallicè ap Roderic), to whom Mr. Warner had discoursed concerning this exercitation of his De Circulatione Sanguinis, and made no question but Dr. Harvey had his hint from Prothero. Memorandum:—Dr. Pell sayes that Mr. Warner rationated demonstratively by beates of the pulses that there must be a circulation of the blood.
When Mr. Hariot dyed, he made Sir Thomas Alesbury and Mr. Prothero his executors, by which meanes his papers came to be divided into two hands. Those which fell to Sir Thomas Alesbury, fell, after his death, to his sonne-in-lawe, Edward, earle of Clarendon, Lord Chancellor, and in his sonne's hands (this present, 1680, earle of Clarendon) 'tis beleeved are those that are yet left; none of them were printed, save that Artis Analyticae Praxis, which was printed by Mr. Warner upon this occasion, viz. Sir Thomas Alesbury obtained of Algernon, earle of Northumberland (son to that earle, prisoner in the Tower), a continuation of the annuity, dureing Warner's life, upon condition that he should, out of Mr. Hariot's papers, drawe out some piece fitt to be published[1212], which he did, under the title aforesayd, in folio, 1631, London: but did not sett his name to it, and accordingly Warner had his money as long as he lived. The other part of Mr. Hariot's papers, which were in Mr. Prothero's keeping, came to the hands of the lord John Vaughan, eldest son to the earle of Carbery, lately governor of Jamaica, which vide.
Mr. Warner's youngest brother was a good husband and an industrious man, and would say that had he so much money, he could improve it to very great advantage; wherupon his eldest brother (Walter) did lett him sell his land, by which meanes he did so improve his estate by graseing, etc. that he became High Sheriff as aforesaid (quaere of the attorneys when). Dr. Pell has seen him, and spake with him.
Mr. Walter Warner made an Inverted Logarithmicall Table, i.e. whereas Briggs's table fills his margin with numbers encreasing by unites, and over-against them setts their logarithms, which because of incommensurability must needs <be> either abundant or deficient; Mr. Warner (like a dictionary of the Latine before the English) fills the margin with logarithmes encreasing by unites, and[1213] setts[C.] to every one of them so many continuall meane proportionalls between 1 and 10[1214], and they for the same reason must also have the last figure incompleat. These, after the death of Mr. Warner, came to the hands of Mr. Herbert Thorndyke, prebendary of Westminster, and by him left in the hands of Dr. Richard Busby, schoolmaster and prebendary of Westminster, which, before Mr. John Pell grew acquainted with Mr. Warner, were ten thousand, and at Mr. Warner's request were by Mr. Pell's hands, or direction, made a hundred thousand. The difference of the hands will shew the workman's in the originalls, which Dr. Busby haz.
[C.] Vide my letter with Mr. Hooke's response, 1690.
Memorandum:—he wrote a Treatise of Coynes in relation to mint affaires, of which Mr. John Collins haz a copie:—from Mr. Herbert Thorndyke.
The sixth booke of Optiques in Merçennus is expressly his; the 7th is Mr. Thomas Hobbs's.