MS Book of the dean of Christ Church (MacGregor, ed.) 174 Christophorus Wren Eques &c.a Sir Christopher Wren.

Selections from his diary

10 On Monday I went againe to the Scholes to heare the severall faculties, & in the Afternoone tarried out the whole Act in St. Maries. The long speeches of the Proctors: The V: Chancelors, the severall Professars, Creation of Doctors, by the Cap, ring, Kisse &c: those Ceremonies not as yet wholy abolish'd, but retaining the antient Ceremonies & Institution: Dr. Kendals (now Inceptor amongst others) performing his Act incomparably well, concluded it with an excellent Oration, abating his Presbyterian animositie, which he with-held not even against that Learned & pious divine Dr. Hammond: The Act was closd, with the Spech of the V: Chancellor. There being but 4 In Theologie, 3 in Medicine, which was thought a considerable matter, the times consider'd: I din'd at on[e] Monsieur Fiats, a student at Excester Coll: & supped at a magnificent Entertainement in Waddum Hall, invited by my excellent & deare Friend Dr. Wilkins, then Warden [now Bishop of Chester]: on the Eleventh was the Latine Sermon which I could not be at, invited, being taken-up at All-Soules, where we had Music, voices & Theorbes perform’d by some ingenious Scholars, where after dinner I visited that miracle of a Youth, Mr. Christopher Wren, nephew to Bishop of Elie: then Mr. Barlow [since Bishop of Lincoln] Bibliothe[c]arius of the Bodlean Library, my most learned friend, who shewd me, together with my Wife, The rarities of that famous place, Manuscrip[t]s, Medails & other Curiosities. Amongst the MSS an old English Bible[*]It was a manuscript copy of Wycliffe's translation: 'And thei wenten doun bothe into the watir, Filip and the gelding, and Filip baptiside hym': Acts viii. 38. For the possible manuscripts see Wycliffite Versions of the Holy Bible. Ed. Josiah Forshall and Sir Frederic Madden. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1850, vol. 1, pp. xlvi-xlvii. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 106, n. 5). wherein the Eunuch mention'd to be baptizd by Philip, is cald the Gelding, & Philip & the Gelding went down into the Water &c, also the Original Acta of the Council of Basil, 900 years since, with the Bulla or leaden Affix, which has a silken Chord, passing thro every parchment: likewise a MS: of Ven: Beades[*]Possibly Bede's Commentary on the Proverbs (MS. Bodl. 819), a ninth-century manuscript given to the library in 1602: Macray, pp. 27-8. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 1). of 800 years antiquity: together with the old Ritual secundum Usum Sarum,[*]The Catalogus impressorum librorum, 1674, gives three copies: fol., Paris, 1555; 4to, Rouen, 1621 (error for 1521); and a third without place or date. For the bibliography of the work see Missale ad usum ... ecclesicae Sarum, ed. F. H. Dickinson, 1883, introd. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 2). exceeding voluminous: Then amongst the nicer curiosities: The Proverbial Solaman written in French, by a Lady every Chapter of a severall Character, or hand, the most exquisitely imaginable[*]The manuscript is in French; it was written by Esther Inglis (Langlois), 1571-1624, wife of Bartholomew Kello. It is dated 1599 and was given to the library in 1620: Macray, p. 62. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 3): An Hieroglypical Table, or Carta folded up like a Map, I suppose it painted on Asses hide, extreamely rare[*]Said by Macray to be Mexican; perhaps Arch. Bodl. A. 75: Macray, pp. 109, 466. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 4).: but what is most illustrious, were the no lesse than 1000 MSS: in 19 Languages, espe[c]ialy Oriental, furnishing that new part of the Library, built by A: Bishop Lawd[*]The western wing (Selden end) of the library was built in 1634-40 during Laud's chancellorship of the university and was at first called 'Laud's library'; he does not appear to have contributed towards its cost, but the collection of manuscripts given by him to the library in 1635-40 (1,299 manuscripts in eighteen languages) was originally kept here with the Digby and Pembroke MSS.: Macray, pp. 81, 83-8; A. Wood, History ... of the University of Oxford, ed. Gutch, 1792-6, ii. 939-42. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 5): some of Sir Kenhelme Digby,[*]Digby gave 238 manuscripts to the library in 1634: Macray, pp. 78-81. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 6) & the Earle of Pembroch[*]William Herbert, third earl of Pembroke, 1580-1630,gave 242 Greek manuscripts (the Barocci Collection) to the library in 1629: Macray, pp. 68-72. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 7): In the Closset of the Tower,[*]Perhaps the 'Archive of the School Tower': J. Pointer, Oxoniensis Academia, 1749, p. 143; cf. p. 141; and 'the closett' in Wood, Life and Times, iv. 57; see also R. W. T. Gunther, Early science in Oxford, 1923, sqq., iii. 252-3. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 8) they shew,Josephs parti colourd Coate[*]This object is mentioned under this name by a traveller in 1638, in the library accounts for 1662, and by Monconys in 1663: Gunther, iii. 253; Macray, pp. 129, 131 (quoting Monconys, ii. 52-3). Macray identifies it as a coat of 'Tartar lamb' brought from Russia and given to the library in 1615: Macray, pp. 51, 413-4 (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 9). A Muscovian Ladys Whip,[*]Cf. 'Russia Whips' in the 'Musaeum': Pointer, p. 159 (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 107, n. 10) some Indian Weapons, Urnes, Lamps: &c: but the rarest, is the Whole Alcoran written in one large sheete of Calico, which is made up in a Priests Vesture or Cape after the Turkish, & the Arabic Character so exquisitely written, as no printed letter comes neere it[*]A Turkish vestment of linen given by Richard Davydge in 1653 (MS. Bodl. Or. 162): Macray, p. 108. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 108, n. 1): Also a rolle of Magical Charmes or Periapta,[*] For periapta see above, ii. 236. This roll is not traceable (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 108, n. 2) divers Talismans, some Medails: Then I led my Wife into the Convocation house finely Wainscoted; The Divinity Schole & gothic Carv’d roofe; the Physick Or Anatomie Schole,[*]This occupied the western half of the first floor of the south side of the School's quadrangle; since 1789 it has formed part of the Bodleian: Gunther, iii. 252; Macray, p. 272; for its contents c. 1680 see Gunther iii 260-3. The order of Evelyn's visits to the various parts of the School's building probably differed from that of his notices. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 108, n. 4) adorn’d with some rarities of natural things; but nothing extraordinary, save the Skin of a Jaccal, a rarely Colour’d Jacatroo, or prodigious large Parot,[*]In former editions of the diary this word was printed 'jacatoo'. This was its only recorded ocurrence and the OED recorded suggests an error for cacatoo, cockatoo. The word as now printed is not recorded elsewhere; the resemblance to the place-name Jacatra (in Java) is perhaps worth noting. Gunther suggests macaw: iii. 261 (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 108, n. 5) two humming birds, not much bigger than our humble bee: which indeede I had not seene before that I remember. &c.

Selections from his diary

13 We all din’d, at that most obliging & universaly Curious Dr. Wilkins's, at Waddum, who was the first who shew'd me the Transparant Apiaries,[*]One type is described by Wren in a letter dated 26 Feb. 1654/5 to Samuel Hartlib (below, p. 162), printed in The reformed commonwealth of bees. Presented in severall letters ... to Sammuel Hartlib Esq., 1655 ' pp. 50-1; diagram p. 52; another type described (by Hartlib?), p. 56. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 110, n. 1) which he had built like Castles & Palaces & so ordered them one upon another, as to take the Hony without destroying the Bees; These were adorn'd with variety of Dials, little Statues, Vanes &c: very ornamental, & he was so aboundantly civill, as finding me pleasd with them, to present me one of these Hives, which he had empty, & which I afterwards had in my Garden at Says-Court, many Yeares after; & which his Majestie came on purpose to see & contemplate with much satisfaction[*]Charles II visited Sayes Court on 30 April 1663: notice below. Pepys saw this hive on 5 May 1665 (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 110, n. 2): He had also contrivd an hollow Statue which gave a Voice, & utterd words, by a long & conceald pipe which went to its mouth, whilst one spake thro it, at a good distance, & which at first was very Surprizing: He had above in his Gallery & Lodgings variety of Shadows, Dyals, Perspe[c]tives, places to introduce the Species,[*]This refers to Wilkins's preparatory work for his Essay towards a real character, and a philosophical language, 1668. The language was to be composed not of words but of notions; for its creation it was necessary to find out 'all the sorts of simple notions'; a 'species' similar to those used in algebra to denote quantities could then be used to designate each notion. Wilkins was at this time working under the influence of Seth Ward: [Seth Ward], Vindicicae academiarum, 1654, pp. 19-22; epistle to the reader, prefixed to Wilkins's Essay; Plot, Oxfordishire, pp. 282-5; OED., s.v. Species 8b. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 110, n. 3) & many other artif[i]cial, mathematical, Magical curiosities: A Way-Wiser,[*]An instrument for measuring and indicating a distance travelled by road; it is one of the '20 Ingenuities' recently discovered mentioned in Samuel Hartlib, His Legacie (see above, pp. 85-6 n.); see also 0ED. A way-wiser given by Wilkins to the Royal Society is described by N. Grew, Musaeum Regalis Societatis (below, 2 April 1666, n.), pp. 360-1. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 110, n. 4) a Thermometer; a monstrous Magnes, Conic & other Sections, a Balance on a demie Circle, most of them of his owne & that prodigious young Scholar, Mr. Chr: Wren, who presented me with a piece of White marble he had stained with a lively red very deepe, as beautifull as if it had ben natural.[*]Wood claims the discovery of 'the paynting or stayning of marble' for an Oxford stone-cutter named William Bird (Byrd), c. 1658: Life and Times, i. 241; see also Philosophical transactions, i (1665), 125-7; and Plot, Oxford-shire, p. 277. ( Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 111, n. 1) Thus satisfied with the Civilities of Oxford …

Selections from his diary

Grew, Musaeum Regalis (1685)

A Massy Piece of CRYSTAL. Not pointed, nor angular; but of a roundish figure; much bigger than any mans head. One way, near a yard in compass; the other, above three quarters. In weight, thirty nine pounds and a ¼ Haverdupoise. Yet is it very clear, beyond the clearest Ice of the same thickness. The biggest piece of Crystal I find mention'd else-where, is a Ball of six and thirty ounces in Septalius's Musæum.

Crystal, at least some sorts of it, is the softest, saith Boetius, (d) (d) Lib. 2. c. 73. l. 1. of all Gems. He should have said, of all perspicuous Gems: for the Turcois is much softer. The most usual Figure of Crystal, is Sexangular: yet Terzagi (e) (e) Mus. Septal. c. 9. n. 54. mentions a Rock of square pointed ones. But it is observable, That he saith the Bed on which they grew, seem'd to be Gold-Ore. If so, it might proceed from some governing principle in the Ore. For I have heard it noted, as I reremember remember, by Sir Christopher Wren, That Grain-Gold is often found naturally figur'd into Cubes. Crystal grows in most Countries, both cold and hot: the Globous, especially in Bohemia and Silecia.

A Drachm (f) (f) Bœt. de Gem. & L. Lib. 2. c. 74. of the Powder of Crystal, with Oil of sweet Almonds, a present Remedy for those that have taken sublimate. As also for bilious and chylous Diarrhæas. (g) (g) Ib. When Calcin'd, by some called Pulvis Cæsaris, of excellent use against the Epilepsie. (h)(h) Terzagi in Mus. Sept.

Grew, Musaeum Regalis (1685)

A WEATHER CLOCK. Begun by Sir Chr. Wren, (c)(c) See Hist. of the Royal Society, p. 312: now President of the Royal Society. To which other Motions have since been added, by Mr. Robert Hook Professor of Geometry in Gresham-Colledge. Who purposes to publish a Description hereof. I shall therefore only take notice, That it hath six or seven Motions; which he supposeth to be here advantagiously made altogether. First a Pendulum Clock, which goes with ¼ of a 100 lib. weight, and moves the greatest part of the work. With this, a Barometre, a Thermometre; a Rain-Measure, such an one as is next describ'd; a Weather-Cock, to which subserves a piece of Wheel-Work analogous to a way Wiser; and a Hygroscope. Each of which have their Regester, and the Weather-Cock hath Two; one for the Points, the other for the Strength of the Wind. All working upon a Paper falling off of a Rowler which the Clock also turns.

Grew, Musaeum Regalis (1685)

An Instrument for MEASURING the quantity of RAINS that fall in any space of time, on any piece of Ground, as suppose upon one Acre in one year. Contrived by Sir Christopher Wren. In order to the Theory of Vapours, Rivers, Seas, &c. A triangular Tin-Vessel hanging in a Frame, as a Bell, with one Angle lowermost. From whence one side rises up perpendicular, the other sloaped; whereby the water, as it fills, spreads only on one side from the centre, till at length it fills and empties it self. Which being done, a leaden poise, on the other side, immediately pulls it back to fill again.

Grew, Musaeum Regalis (1685)

An INSTRUMENT, contrived by Sir Christopher Wren, to demonstrate, How far against the Wind a Ship may Sail. Shewing, that the Mechanical Power, to which Sailing (especially against the Wind) is reducible, is a Wedge: And that a Transient Force upon an Oblique Plane will cause the motion of the Plane, against the first Mover.

Grew, Musaeum Regalis (1685)

A TERELLA, or an Orbicular Loadstone, about four inches and ½ in Diametre, with the one half immersed in the Centre of a Plane and Horizontal Table; so as to be like a Globe with the Poles in the Horizon. Together with 32 Needles upon the Margin of the Table. By which the different respect of the Needle to the several Points of the Loadstone; the reduction of the Filings of Steel to Helical Lines, or near them, by the Magnetick Effluvia; and other particulars may be observ'd. Contriv'd by the same Person.

Grew, Musaeum Regalis (1685)

A BOX-HIVE. Given by Sir Rob. Moray. But contrived by Sir Christopher Wren: And the Description hereof first published (d) (d) By Mr. Hartlib. in the Year, 1652. Since then by Mr. Moses Rusden. Design'd to keep them warmer, and more safe; but especially, to prevent their Swarming, and the better to propagate them into Colonies.

Grew, Musaeum Regalis (1685)

An Instrument to draw PERSPECTIVE with. Contriv'd by Sir Christopher Wren.

Grew, Musaeum Regalis (1685)

A ROMAN URNE, of Glass, with a Handle. Given by Sir Christopher Wren. Above fifteen Hundred years old. Almost like a Bottle containing a Gallon and ½; but with a very short Neck, and wide Mouth, and of whiter metal. Encompassed girth-wise, with five parallel Circles. Found in Spital-Fields.

Grew, Musaeum Regalis (1685) A List of those who have Contributed to this Musæum: excepting some Names which are lost. His Highness Prince RUPERT, Count Palatine of the Rhine. THomasThomas Allen M. D. John Aubrey Esq. WILLIAM L. Visc. BROUNCKER. Hon. ROBERT BOYLE, Esq. Dr. Erasmus Bartholine. John Bembde Esq. Sign. Paul Boccone. Mons. Olaus Borrichius. Joseph Bowles Merch. Sir Thomas Brown Edward Brown. M. D. JONH JOHN late Lord B. of CHESTER. EAST-INDIA COMPANY. ROYAL AFRICAN COMPANY. Walter Charleton M. D. Walter Chetwynd Esq. Andrew Clench M. D. Samuel Colepress, Esq. Thomas Cox, Esq. Edward Cotton M. D. Thomas Crispe Esq. Ellis Crispe, Esq. William Crone M. D. John Evelyn Esq. George Ent Esq. Captain Thomas Fissenden. Nehemjah Grew M. D. Hon. CHARLES HOWARD of N. Esq. Theodore Haac Esq. Thomas Henshaw Esq. Abraham Hill Esq. Mr. Hocknel. Luke Hodgson M. D. Robert Hook Geom. Pr. Anthony Horneck B. D. Sir John Hoskins. John Houghton Pharm. L. Edmund King M. D. Mons. Lannoy. Mr. Langerman Mr. Linger. Fath. Hieronim. Lobus. Richard Lower M. D. Martyn Lyster Esq. Mr. John Malling. Sign. Malpighi. Christopher Merret M. D. Sir Thomas Millington. Sir Jonas Moore. Sir Robert Moray. Mr. S. Morgan. HENRY Duke of NORFOLK. Walter Needham M. D. Isaac Newton Math. Prof. Henry Oldenburge Esq. Philip Packer Esq. Dudley Palmer Esq. Sir William Petty. Robert Plot L L. D. Walter Pope M. D. Thomas Povey Esq. SETH Lord B. of SALISBURY. Mr. Scotto Merch. Mr. John Short. Sir Philip Skippon. Francis Slare M. D. George Smith M. D. Mr. John Somner. Sir Robert Southwell. Dr. Swammerdam. Captain Tayler. George Trumbal T. D. Edward Tyson M. D. WILLIAM late L. WILLOUGHBY of Parham. Sir Christopher Wren P. R. S. George Wheeler Esq. Daniel Whistler, M. D. Henry Whistler Esq. Sir Joseph Williamson. Francis Willughby Esq. John Winthrop Esq. Robert Witty M. D.

Thoresby, Musaeum Thoresbyanum (1713)

That great Naturalist Dr. Lister distinguisheth the Roman Urns (Phil. Col. N° 4.) into three different Sorts, viz. 1. Such as are of a blewish Clay Colour, having a great Quantity of coarse Sand wrought in with the Clay: 2. Others of the same Colour, having either a very fine Sand mix'd with it, full of Mica, or Cat-Silver, or else made of a Clay naturally sandy: 3. Red Urns of fine Clay, with little or no Sand. These, as another celebrated Author rightly observes, are all of a very handsome Make and Contrivance, and are one of the many Instances that are at this Day extant of the Art of that People, of the great Exactness of their Genius, and Happiness of their Fancy. (Dr. Woodward's Letter to Sir Chr. Wren annexed to the 8th Vol. Of Leland's Itinerary, pag. 13.) Of the first Sort, here are Fragments of the Theca Nummaria, found full of Coins near Fleet in Lincolnshire, An. 1701, of which see Phil. Trans. N° 279. Of the second are those of an Urn found at Yorke in Mr. Gyles's Garden in Micklegate (not Midselgate, as misprinted in the said Phil. Col.) Of the third Sort (viz. the Red) there seem to be two Degrees, if not distinct Sorts, a coarser, which yet are red quite through, and the finer sort, which are wash'd over with a Kind of Varnish of a bright Coral Colour, and for Distinction are called the Coralline Urns. To these mentioned by the Learned Doctor, may be added some that are clear white, of which I have Part of the Rim of a very large Vessel that I brought from Ribchester Com. Lane. 1702. A Piece of a Vessel containing three or four Gallons, found at Aldbrough 1707; and others of different Forms that I gathered at Burgdunum in this Neighbourhood, which seem to be made of that Sort of white Clay, since made Use of for Tobacco-pipes, of which we have some at Wortley in this Parish, of which see, pag. 196. Some of these of the white Clay are wash'd over with the blew Colour, as appears when they are broken, and some with a dark Colour; as are also some of the coarser Blew, with Red.

Sale Catalogue of Musaeum Thoresbyanum (1764) 80 A Box containing a great Number of Letters by eminent Persons, among which are Locke, Boyle, Prior, Steele, Flamstead, Halley, Woodward, Sir H. Sloane, Sir Christopher Wren, Brown Willis, Warburton, and many others

London in 1710, from the travels of Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach

On 5 July, Saturday morning, we drove to Gresham ColledgeCollege.[*]

Gresham College. This, in 1710, was the former dwelling-house of the founder, Sir Thomas Gresham, in Bishopsgate Street. The work of the college began in 1597. The old house was demolished in 1768. Dr. Robert Hooke, the renowned mathematician, lived thirty-nine years in the old college and died there on 3 March, 1703.

The Royal Society met in the college from 1660 to 1710, in which year the Society removed to 2 Crane Court, Fleet Street, and carried on its affairs there till 1780, the date of the Society's removal to Somerset House.

It is really a Grammar School, named after its founder, Gresham, v. Vieu of London, Vol. II, p. 664 sq. Many excellent persons of good parts have been professors there, and, as is well known, the Royal Society uses it as its headquarters. It is an old building, extensive and irregular; and the inner part, where the Society has its apartments, is still the best. Both in Germany and elsewhere an exalted idea of this Society has been formed, both of it and of the collections they have in their Museum, especially when one looks at the Transactions of this Society and the fine description of the Museum by Grew.[*]

GREW. This was Nehemiah Grew, 1641-1712, the professor of the anatomy of plants. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 30 November, 1671. In 1672 he was appointed Curator to the Society. He had taken his degree as a doctor of medicine at Leyden in 1671.

Thus foreigners have just grounds for amazement when they hear how wretchedly all is now ordered. But it is the sight of the Museum that is most astounding. It consists of what appear to be two long narrow chambers, where lie the finest instruments and other articles (which Grew describes), not only in no sort of order or tidiness but covered with dust, filth and coal-smoke, and many of them broken and utterly ruined. If one inquires after anything, the operator who shows strangers round—v. Vieu of London, Vol. II, p. 687—will usually say: 'A rogue had it stolen away,' or he will show you pieces of it, saying: 'It is corrupted or broken'; and such is the care they take of things! Hardly a thing is to be recognized, so wretched do they all look. But that is the way with all public societies. For a short time they flourish, while the founder and original members are there to set the standard; then come all kinds of setbacks, partly from envy and lack of unanimity and partly because all kinds of people of no account become members; their final state is one of indifference and sloth. This has been the case with this Society too. The first six years of its Transactions are better and contain more than all the rest put together. They can be purchased complete for twelve pounds. Now scarcely anything is done by them. The Society does not meet during the whole of the summer and very little from Michaelmas onwards. The present Secretary, Dr Sloane,[*]

Von Uffenbach refers shortly here to SIR HANS SLOANE, who was Secretary of the Royal Society from 30 November, 1693, till 1712, and to SIR ISAAC NEWTON, 1642-1727, who was President of the Society from 1703 to 1728. He mentions the name of the noted Dr. John Woodward here, and interviews and describes him later.

is certainly an honest fellow of great parts, but he is very much occupied by his own extensive Praxi medica as well as with his own great collection. The President, Newton, is an old man and is prevented both by his office as Director of the Mint and by the management of his own affairs from concerning himself much about the Society. For the rest, if one excepts Dr Woodward[*]

JOHN WOODWARD, 1665-1728, the physician and geologist; F.R.S., 30 November, 1693; F.R.C.P., 22 March, 1703. He died at Gresham College on 25 April, 1728.

Von Uffenbach was greatly edified with Woodward's characteristics and peculiarities.

and one or two other Englishmen as well as the foreign members, there are none but apothecaries and other such people who know scarce a word of Latin. Such members contribute little to the honour and usefulness of the Society. But to return to the subject of the Museum, I will mention one or two of the things that pleased us most, although they have all been described by Grew, and some of them also in Vieu of London, Vol. II, p. 666. The great magnet with thirty-two compasses made by Dr Wren for the purpose of research on variationes and delineationes is one of the most remarkable articles. The magnet itself is round and nearly six inches in diameter and is not mounted. The two poles are marked with a cross. The operator did two charming experiments for us with this magnet. First he took a paper of filings and held the north pole of the magnet over it, so that for the moment the filings piled themselves up on top of each other and stood up on end, being also churned up like water. The other was more notable: having placed the magnet in a hole cut in a board, he strewed this with file-dust; when he struck the lower side of the board in one or two places, all the filings divided themselves into lines, which stretched from each pole round the circumference of the magnet to the middle point of the pole; and in this position they remained, however much and often he might strike the board. It looked exactly like the copper engraving made by the Cartesians to illustrate their hypothesis of the effect of the magnet, for which they have been mocked by Thomasio and others. This is much more clearly shown by Fig. XLII and the following description and elucidation of it: the letter a refers to a great round figure which represents a table with thirty-two small holes in its circumference, c, in which there are placed magnetic needles, these being covered with glasses like other compasses. In the middle a round hole had been cut, and in this was placed a spherically cut loadstone, 6, the two poles of which are marked with a cross, d. After this stone had been set in position with its north pole, all the needles standing round revolved towards e along the lines f and e. The dots round the loadstone represent filings, m, which had been thinly sprinkled about; and these range themselves neatly in accurate semi-circles when one knocks underneath the table, so that they move and raise themselves. Straight lines radiated from either pole; but the nearer it was to the sides, the better was the semi-circle formed—better, indeed, than it is here represented. If one then altered the stone with the poles, setting them for example by the line gh, having been formerly on that from ef, and knocked again on the table, the semicircle and figures made by the filings altered their position and lay in the former order with lines due north and south along the line gh, which was all prodigiously curious. We also noticed the chair made of some special root, which is spoken of in Vieu of London, Vol. II, p. 319p. 685 n.319. There was a label hung on it with these words: 'This Chair given by John Lord Sommers Baron of Evesham President of the Royal Society from Chusan in China, 30 Juny June 1702'. The root looks almost as full of veins as our walnut wood, of which cupboards are made. Moreover it is maintained both in that passage in Vieu of London and by the operator that the chair is not jointed but made from a single block of wood, so it is certainly very curious; but I cannot possibly believe that art did not come to assist, so elegantly is it carved. We saw also the ovula of a female who had died of the dropsy, some of them being as big as a cherry. They were in glasses filled with spirit. There were other things there too, mostly of a common sort; I was delighted at the way in which all these things were fastened to small glass balls and floated in the spirit, so that all may be seen with ease. Even when the spirit is somewhat evaporated, the things sink with the balls and do not hang without moisture and perish, which they do when fastened to the glass or the stopper, as they usually are. We also found notably ana uterus with the bladder and other parts appertaining thereto; all had been excellently preserved, so that all the veins, ligaments, nerves, etc. were clearly to be seen. We also noticed the four black boards, on which all the venae arteriae and nerves of the human body are very well arranged, v. Vieu of London, p. 666, n. 3. But because these boards hang quite unprotected on the wall, they are ruined by dust and smoke, so that they look utterly black and wretched, which is indeed a pity. We also saw an incomparably fine Nautilum petrefactum. But there is no need to mention anything more, for all is described in detail in the works to which I have referred, especially in that of Grew. I only wish that all had been in good condition and that we could have observed it at our leisure.