print his labour would come to . . . . . lib. He was very short-sighted, and did worke so curiously that the curiosity of his worke is not to be judged without a magnifying-glasse. When he tooke his landscapes, he then had a glasse to helpe his sight. At Arundel-house he maried with my ladie's wayting woman, Mrs. . . . . Tracy, by whom he had a daughter, that was one of the greatest beauties I have seen; his son by her dyed in the plague, an ingeniose youth; drew delicately. When the civill warres broke out, ye La Marshall had leave to goe beyond sea.* Mr. Hollar went into ye Lowe Countries, where he stayed till about 1649. I remember he told me, yt when he first came into England, (wch was a serene time of peace) that the people, both poore and rich, did looke cheerfully, but at his returne, he found the countenances of the people all changed, melancholy, spightfull as if bewitched. I have sayd before that his father was ruined upon the account of y Protestant Religion. Winceslaus dyed a Catholique, of wh religion, I suppose, he might be ever since he came to Arundelhouse. He was a very friendly good-natured man as could be, but shiftlesse as to the world, and dyed not rich. He maried a second wife 1665, by whom he has severall children. dyed on our Ladie-day (25 Martij), 1677, and

He

* Italie.

is buried in St. Margaret's church-yard at Westminster, neer the North West corner of the Tower. Had he lived till the 13th of July following, he had been just 70 yeares old.

MR. ROBERT HOOKE, M.A.

His father, Mr. John Hooke, was Minister of Freshwater, in the Isle of Wight: he maried by whom he had two sonnes, viz. . . . . . of Newport, grocer, and Robert, who was borne at Freshwater aforesayd, the nineteenth day of July, A: Di 1635. At...

yeares old, J. Hoskyns, the painter, being at Freshwater, to drawe pictures for Esq. Mr. Hooke observed what he did, and, thought he, why cannot I doe so too? So he getts him chalke, and ruddle, and coale, and grinds them, and putts them on a trencher, gott a pencill, and to worke he went, and made a picture: then he copied (as they hung up in the parlour) the pictures there, which he made like. Also, being a boy there, at ... diall on a round any instruction.

His

Freshwater, he made an...'. trencher; never having had father was not mathematicall at all. When his father dyed, his son Robert was but . . . . old, to whom he left one hundred pounds, wch was sent up to London with him, with an intention

to have bound him apprentice to Mr. Lilly, the paynter, with whom he was a little while upon tryall; who liked him very well, but Mr. Hooke quickly perceived what was to be donne, so, thought he, why cannot I doe this by myselfe and keepe my hundred pounds? He also had some instruction in drawing from Mr. Samuel Cowper (prince of limners of this age); but whether from him before or after Mr. Lilly, Qu.?

Qu. when he went to Mr. Busby's, the schoolemaster of Westminster, at whose house he was ; and he made very much of him. With him he lodged his hundred pounds. There he learn'd to play 20 lessons on the organ. He there in one weeke's time made himselfe master of the first VI bookes of Euclid, to the admiration of Mr. Busby, (now S. T. D.) who introduced him. At schoole here he was very mechanicall, and (amongst other things) he invented thirty severall wayes of flying, wch I have not only heard him say, but Dr. Wilkins, at Wadham coll. at that time, who gave him his Mathematicall Magique, which did him a great kindness. He was never a king's scholar, and I have heard S Rich. Knight (who was his schoolfellowe) say, that he seldome sawe him in the schoole.

A: D.... he was sent to Christ Church, in Oxford, where he had a chorister's place, (in those dayes, when the church musique was putt downe), which was a pretty good maintenance.

He was there assistant to D: Thomas Willis in his Chymistry; who afterwards recommended him to the Honble Robert Boyle, Esq. to be usefull to him, in his Chymicall operations. Mr. Hooke then read to him (R. B. Esq.) Euclid's Elements, and taught him Des Cartes' Philosophy. He was Master of Arts A: Di

A: Di 166.. Mr. Rob. Boyle recommended Mr. Hooke to be Curator of the Experiments of the Royall Society, wherein he did an admirable good worke to ye Comon-wealth of Learning, in recommending the fittest person in the world to them. A... he was chosen Geometry Professour at Gresham College. A? D 166. S: John Cutler, K: gave a Mechanicall lecture, pounds per

ann. which he read. A D 166. the great conflagration of London happened, and then he was chosen one of the two surveyors* of the citie; by wch he hath gott a great estate. He built Bedlam, Montague-house, the Physitians' College, and Theatre there, and he is much made use of in designing buildings. He is but of midling stature, something crooked, pale faced, and his face but little belowe, but his head is lardge; his eie full and popping, and not quick; a grey eie. He has a delicate head of haire, browne, and of an excellent moist curle. He is and ever was very temperate, and moderate in dyet, &c. As he is

* Oliver, the glasse-painter, was the other.

of prodigious inventive head; so he is a person of great vertue and goodness. Now when I have sayd his inventive faculty is so great, you cannot imagine his memory to be excellent, for they are like two bucketts, as one goes up, the other goes downe. He is certainly the greatest mechanick this day in the world. His head lies much more to Geometry then to Arithmetique. He is (1680) a batchelour, and, I believe, will never marie. His elder brother left one faire da. wch is his heire. In fine (wch crowns all) he is a person of great suavity and goodnesse.

'Twas Mr. Rob. Hooke that invented the Pendulum-Watches, so much more useful than the other watches.

He hath invented an engine for the speedie working of division, or for the speedie and immediate finding out the divisor. An instrument for y Emperor of Germany, 1692-3.*

* [The following letter to Mr. Anthony à Wood, is preserved in this part of the volume. EDIT.]

Mr. Wood!

Sep. 15, 1689.

Mr. Rob. Hooke, R. S. S. did in A: 1670, write a Discourse, called, "An Attempt to prove the Motion of the Earth," which he then read to the Royal Society; but printed it in the beginning of the yeare 1674, wherein he hath delivered the theorie of explaining the coelestial motions mechanically, his words are these, pag. 27, 28. viz.t

+ [All this portion between inverted commas is in the handwriting of Mr. Hooke. Err.]