M&D Deep Duck: Section 4 summary

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Here's a perpetual calendar that shows that the 9th of January that year was a Friday:

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?year=1761&country=9

" ...and here I begin my reckining."

Old English (ge)recenian 'recount, relate'; related to Dutch rekenen and German rechnen 'to count (up).' Early senses included 'give an account of items received' and 'mention things in order,' which gave rise to the notion of 'calculation' and hence of 'coming to a conclusion.'

My sense is that he's talking about calculating - Transit of Venus related? Expenses? His description of the attack is very matter-of-fact, isn't it? Dammit, Jim, he's a scientist, not a diarist.

Laura


-----Original Message-----
>From: David Ewers <dsewers at comcast.net>

>
>That is a strange thing, ending a chapter with very specific but incorrect information.  Your explanation sounds good; I can't think of a better one.
> 
>What do you make of Mason's words, on the 9th, just before sighting the Le Grand: "and here I begin my reckoning." ?
>
>On Jan 20, 2015, at 4:16 PM, <kelber at mindspring.com> <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
>
>> Some cool stuff, Becky (though I thought I'd posted that first link).
>> 
>> The description (and picture!) of Mason's logbook says that the Seahorse left port on January 8, and encountered the l'Grand on the 9th. Did Pynchon change the departure date because he wanted it to fall on a fateful Friday, (assuming he looked it up in a perpetual calendar)? 
>> 
>> "the Astronomer's Symbol for Friday is also that of the planet Venus herself" [p. 27]
>> 
>> http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/medren/detail.html?id=MEDREN_2486434
>> 
>> Laura
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Becky Lindroos <bekker2 at icloud.com>
>>> Sent: Jan 20, 2015 6:58 PM
>>> To: alice malice <alicewmalice at gmail.com>
>>> Cc: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>>> Subject: Re: M&D Deep Duck: Section 4 summary
>>> 
>>> This is a  long article in “The Mason & Dixon Line Preservation Partnership,”  a project of inventorying the stone markers set by the surveyors.  
>>> 
>>> This article is the second in a series of articles about the early documenting of the Transit of Venus in 1761 and 1768.  Only the first article is to really our purpose - published in 9/10 1997 (the same year as M&D).  It has dates of departure and other info - like the French competitors and the reasons for doing the observations and documentations from far flung places:  
>>> 
>>> http://www.mdlpp.org/pdf/library/SeahorseMdTransitofVenus.pdf
>>> The bibliography is pathetic - only the author’s prior article and one other.  Oh well …  
>>> 
>>> And Mason’s grave got a memorial stone in 2013: 
>>> http://www.pobonline.com/articles/97045-charles-mason-receives-memorial-stone-at-burial-site
>>> 
>>> Mason’s logbook: 
>>> http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/medren/detail.html?id=MEDREN_2486434
>>> 
>>> Lotsa links about the historical M&D: 
>>> http://www.mdlpp.org/?page=links
>>> 
>>> Bekah
-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l