Letter 1849

[fol. 56] Sr Upminster Jul 7 1712 I would have written sooner to you, but yt I thought to have been in town: but not being well able to do it this week I think it necessary to acquaint you yt I left your survey wth Mr Neville, wth my own ac- count of the Timber wrapt up with it. To fi- nish & render my account intelligible, I desire you to get a little red Ink agst I come to town (wch I intend God willing next 4 Senight) & then I will make all compleat. Another thing necessary to acquaint you & Dr Robinson with (Mr Rays most intimate frienfs) is That Mr Innes [Innys] (at the Princes-Arms) promised me to put Mr Rays Synops method. Av. & Pise. in- to the Press this very week, & I desire you both to see & approve of the Paper & Lr, because when I was in Town he could not shew me the Paper. I recommend the same Lr yt his Synop: Stirp. Brit. is printed in, yt it may make a portable Volume like yt, & I believe it will be absent yt size. When I was last in town I be- stirred my self, & got the MS for him, or else yt work might have lain unpublished, under the same pretence of ye MS being in Mr Petivers hands, which hath been the excuse near this Lr of an year I desire my humble service to Dr Tancred Robinson, & yt you will do me the favr to tell him I would have written to him about these matters, but I know not how to direct a Lr to him. It will be absolutely necessary also yt you should one or both of you review his little Tract de Re- spiratione, wch he Mr Ray intended to have printed with it, & as Mr Dale tells me, was somewhat fond of: But since the later & better dis- coveries, I am almost of opinion yt piece will not much credit our Friend, or improve mankind. As I go along in cor- recting the Press (unless some more able person would do it) I will draw up a compleat Index, wch Mr Ray did not do himself. I think I shewed you the Preface I have written for it, to give some acct of the work, yt reason of this late posthumous Publication of it, &c. If you or Dr Robinson have any farther commands, you can inform the Dr how to direct a Lr to his & Sr Your much obliged humble servant Wm Derham