Letter 0369

[fol. 123] Sr Munday last I received your kind Letter attended with a rich Present of sugar to my Wife: They were both very gratefull & acceptable; only the latter was too great & inadequate to any merit of mine to be received without some shame; as well the quality as quantity concurring to tender it valuable. You have so highly pleased & obliged my Wife, that she is much in commendation of your generosity, & returns you her humble service & hearty thanks; wishing that you were heer to partake of some of the effects of your kindnesse. I have been importunate with you to hasten the publication of your Discoveries in ye History of Nature, as well for the Advancement of reall knowledge, & gratification of the Learned & inquisitive, as for your own deserved ho [sic] honour; that some other man might not prevent you, & by some means or other intercept what is yours. I am glad you make such progresse, & cannot but approve your deliberation & circumspection: and agree with you that the clearing up of difficulties, & Reconciling of Authors, & reducing & settling the severall histories & relations of species, will be a thing of eminent use, & of as much advantage to the Reader as pains to the Author. The little plant you sent formerly you now conclude to be the Callitriche Pliny of Columna, & so it may be. I haveing never seen that I find it overseen & omitted by me in my History: I suppose because being seminiferous, I deferred it when I entred the Lentiule; thinking to put it in in [sic] another place; & afterwards forgote it. Those Instances you would have added to my Discourse concerning ye Wisdome of God, I know are so considerable, that I am sorry my Book Wants them, wch might have recommended it to ye Reader. If I had thought you would have been willing to spare time to peruse it, you should have had a sight of the Copy before it had been committed to ye Presse. I am this morning sending away my Discourses concerning the Primitive Chaos & Creation of the World; the General Deluge, & future Conflagration wth additions for a Second Edition. If you please to revise & correct it before it be printed, I will order Mr Smith to deliver the Copy to you for that purpose. Mr Beaumont is a person that hath been very diligent in searching out and collecting, & curious in observing of petrified shels & other bodies, & I suppose well qualified to write concerning them. I heard that he once threatned to write something in contradiction to Mr Burnets Theory of the Earth; wch piece I could wish to see. I am now upon a methodical synopsis of all British Animals excepting Insects: and it will be a general Synops. of Quadrupeds. It will take me up more time to finish then I thought when I first set upon it: indeed so much, as if I had foreseen, I should hardly have been induced to undertake it. But now I must goe on. The Remainder is, great thanks for your extraordinary kindnesse, attested by reall effects; & profession of readiness to shew my self gratefull if any occasion of serving you offers to Sr , Your affectionate friend & servant John Ray Black Notley May 25. 92.