Sir Robert Moray to John Evelyn. MY VERY WORTHY FRIEND, Yester, 14th June, 1668. By what telescope you read me at this distance, I do not know; but by your letter of the 13th December, I learnt that you are acquainted with my most illegible parts. I should hardly have suspected it. It seems you conclude me to be a greater master in another sort of philosophy than in that which is the business of the Royal Society; for if you were not confident I can govern the whole brood of my passions, as well, at least, as Banks did his horse, you would not have adventured to stir up so many of the fiercest of them at once. This I incline the rather to believe because I know you value my friendship and would not bend to a flame that might blow it up. Therefore, instead of flying over, like lightning, upon the wanton and tempting language by which you assault my humility and sobriety, my ingenuity and my unconcernedness, exciting me to pride, vanity, ambition, and affectation, I do but smile upon the liberty of your pen, and commend the pretty texture of your ingenious words, and only construct the design of all to be to express quaintly your kindness in desiring I may be where you are. And my return to that is, that were I at my own disposal, I could be as willing as you would have me to confine myself to that little world that goes under the name of Sayes Court, and choose, not covet, the most courted glories of our terrestrial planet, nay, nor envy those that inhabit the noble one that illuminates the rest, if any such people there be and, then, if the two luminaries that keep up a perpetual spring in that rich place did but shine perpetually on such an obscure guest, what sublunary things would be wanting to complete the happiness of, my very much honoured friend, : Your faithful humble servant, John Evelyn to the Rev. Joseph Glanvil.' Sayes-Court, 24th June, 1668. SIR, I received so welcome, and so obliging a token from you by the hands of Mr. Oldenburgh, that after all I can say in this letter in acknowledgment of that particular favour, I must continue to subscribe myself your debtor. For what have you seen in any of my productions, which should make you augur so favourably of that trifle of mine, upon so trite and humble a subject? or mention me amongst the heroes whom you so meritoriously celebrate! I cannot find anything to support it, but your most obliging nature, of which the comely and philosophic frame is abundantly conspicuous, by this worthy vindication both of yourself and all useful learning against the science (falsely so called) of your snarling adversary. I do not conceive why the Royal Society should any more concern themselves for the empty and malicious cavils of these deiators, after what you have said; but let the moon-dogs bark on, till their throats are dry: the Society every day emerges, and her good genius will raise up one or other to judge and defend her; whilst there is nothing which does more confirm me in the nobleness of the design, than this spirit of contradiction which the devil (who hates all discoveries of those false and prestigious ways that have hitherto obtained) does incite to stir up men against it. But, sir, you have discoursed this so fully in this excellent piece of yours, that I have no more to add, but the suffrage and subscription of, Sir, Yours, &c. 1 Mr. Glanvil, a Devonshire Clergyman, was a fellow of the Royal Society, one of the King's Chaplains in Ordinary, and a writer of some repute in his day. Evelyn writes upon this letter-" He sent me his book entitled, Plus Ultra; or the Progress and advancement of Knowledge, since the days of Aristotle,' octavo, London, 1668. J. E.”—An account of the book may be seen in the Philosophical Transactions, No. 36. Henry Stubbe, an inveterate enemy of the Royal Society, which he attacked in various pamphlets, now happily forgotten. Among them was an Answer to Glanvil, entitled, "The Plus Ultra reduced to a Non Plus; or a Specimen of some Animadversions upon the Plus Ultra of Mr. Joseph Glanvil." Q, 1670. John Evelyn to the Earl of Sandwich. Mr LORD, Sayes Court, 21st August, 1668. I am plainly astonished at your bounty to me, and I am in pain for words to express the sense I have of this great obligation.' And as I have been exceedingly affected with the descriptions, so have I been greatly instructed in the other particulars your Lordship mentions, and especially rejoice that your Excellency has taken care to have the draughts of the places, fountains, and engines for the irrigation and refreshing their plantations, which may be of singular use to us in England. And I question not but your Excellency brings with you a collection of seeds; such especially as we may not have commonly in our country. By your Lordship's description, the Encina should be the Ilex major aculeata, a sucker whereof yet remains in his Majesty's Privy-Gardens at Whitehall, next the door that is opposite to the Tenniscourt. I mention it the rather, because it certainly might be propagated with us to good purpose; for the father of this small tree I remember of a goodly stature, so as it yearly produced ripe acorns; though Clusius, when he was in England, believed it to be barren: and haply, it had borne none in his time. I have sown both the acorns of the tree, and the cork with success, though I have now but few of them remaining, through the negligence of my gardener; for they require care at the first raising, till they are accustomed to the cold, and then no rigour impeaches them. What your Excellency means by the Bama de Joseph, I do not comprehend; but the Planta Alois, which is a monstrous kind of Sedum, will, like it, endure no wet in winter, but will certainly rot if but a drop or two fall on it, whereas in summer you cannot give it drink enough. I perceive their culture of choice and tender plants differs little from ours in England, as it has been published by me in my Calendarium Hortense, which is now the third time reprinting. Stoves absolutely destroy our conservatories; but if they could be lined with cork, I 1 See ante, p. 201. believe it would better secure them from the cold and moisture of the walls, than either mattresses or reeds with which we commonly invest them. I think that I was the first that ever planted Spanish Cardons in our country for any culinary use, as your Excellency has taught the blanching; but I know not whether they serve themselves in Spain with the purple beards of the thistle, when it is in flower, for the curdling of milk, which it performs much better than rennet, and is far sweeter in the dairy than that liquor, which is apt to putrify. Your Excellency has rightly conjectured of the pomegranate; I have always kept it exposed, and the severest of our winters does it no prejudice. They will flower plentifully, but bear no fruit with us, either kept in cases and the repository, or set in the open air; at least very trifling, with the greatest industry of stoves and other artifices. We have asparagus growing wild both in Lincolnshire and in other places; but [as] your Lordship observes, they are small and bitter, and not comparable to the cultivated. The red pepper, I suppose, is what we call guinea-pepper, of which I have raised many plants, whose pods resemble in colour the most oriental and polished coral: a very little will set the throat in such a flame, as has been sometimes deadly, and therefore to be sparingly used in sauces. I hope your Lordship will furnish yourself with melon seeds, because they will last good almost twenty years; and so will all the sorts of garavances, calaburos, and gourds (whatever Herrera affirm), which may be for divers economical uses. The Spanish onion-seed is of all other the most excellent : and yet I am not certain, whether that which we have out of Flanders and St. Omers, be all the Spanish seed which we know of. My Lady Clarendon (when living) was wont to furnish me with seed that produced me prodigious crops. Is it not possible for your Excellency to bring over some of those quince and cherry-trees, which your Lordship so celebrates? I suppose they might be secured in barrels, or packed up, as they transport other rarities from far countries. But, my Lord, I detain your Excellency too long in these repetitions, and forget that I am all this while doing injury to the public, by suspending you a moment from matters of a higher orb, the interest of states and reconciling of kingdoms: and I should think so of another, did I not know withal, how universal your comprehensions are, and how qualified to support it. I remain, my Lord, John Evelyn to Doctor Beale. Yours, &c. 27th August, 1668. SIR, I happened to be with Mr. Oldenburg some time since, almost upon the article of his receiving the notice you sent him of your fortunate and useful invention; and I remember I did first of all incite him, both to insert it into his next transactions, and to provoke your further prosecution of it; which I exceedingly rejoice to find has been so successful, that you give us hopes of your further thoughts upon that, and those other subjects which you mention.' You may haply call to remembrance a passage of the Jesuit Honorati Fabri, who speaking of perspectives, observes, that an object looked on through a small hole appears magnified; from whence he suggests, the casting of two plates neatly perforated, and fitted to look through, preferable to glasses, whose refractions injure the sight. Though I begin to advance in years (being now on the other side of forty), yet the continuance of the perfect use of my senses (for which I bless Almighty God) has rendered me the less solicitous about those artificial aids; which yet I foresee I must shortly apply myself to, and therefore you can receive but slender hints from me which will be worthy your acceptance upon that argument; only, I well remember, that besides Tiberius of old (whom you seem to instance in), Joseph Scaliger affirms the same happened both to his father Julius and himself, in their younger years. 'The paper alluded to is entitled, "An experiment to examine what Figure and Celerity of Motion begetteth or increaseth Light and Flame," and will be found in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. i. p. 226. |
