MD3PAD 157-159

[David Casseres]

Toby, I just want to register my appreciation of these posts.  I
started my second reading of Mason & Dixon several weeks ahead of you
and am reading at about the same rate; we may never synchronize but
it's great to read your synopses and be reminded of what came before
what I am reading -- usually late at night and a trifle Woozy.

On 3/9/06, Toby G Levy <tobylevy at juno.com> wrote:
>         Due to his possible connection with Isaac Le Maire, the leaders
> of Capetown therefore note that Dixon may have "dangerous connections"
> and allow him to roam unrestricted in Capetown.
>
>         Chapter 15 begins on page 158, shifting the focus back to Mason.
> Maskelyne has decided that he and Mason must move to the windy side of
> the island to take measurements in order to determine if the mass of the
> mountains affects the operation of his plumb line which he obsessively
> believes is faulty.
>
>         Mason considered his experience on Capetown to be a "Parable
> about Slavery and Free Will" (why?) but he cannot figure out what this
> experience on St Helena will be about.
>
>         Maskelyne's former assistant, Waddington refused to even set
> foot on the windy side of the island. In the fort the Company maintains
> on the windward side of the island, residents enter suicide banks and
> madness pools so that they may profit from the inevitable craziness
> engendered by living in a constant windstorm.
>
>         Mason doesn't like the idea of staying on the windy side but
> feels obligated to help Maskelyne with his work.
>
> Toby
>