Letter 0620

Charlett tells Sloane that his commission has been executed. The bearer, Mr Dennison, will tell Sloane about it. Dr Vadis had hoped to send Sloane a catalogue of prices, but this has been prevented by his brother’s recent death in Barbados. Charlett heard that Sloane has begun correcting Mr Wanley’s project. An unspecified ‘old Gentleman’ took a coach this morning despite everyone’s wishes. Dr Gregory is now teaching mathematics at the university in the ‘foreign manner’. Charlett was elected Master of University College at Oxford in 1692 and held that post until his death in 1722. Charlett used the mastership to gain influence, especially through persistent letter-writing to numerous correspondents, sharing the latest literary, political, and scholarly gossip (R. H. Darwall-Smith, Charlett, Arthur (16551722), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5158, accessed 18 June 2013]).