136 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



your monk that was the inventor of ordnance and of gunpowder: the 

 inventor of music: the inventor of letters: the inventor of printing: 

 the inventor of observations of astronomy: the inventor of works in 

 metal: the inventor of glass: the inventor of silk of the worm: the 

 inventor of wine: the inventor of corn and bread: the inventor of 

 sugars: and all these by more certain tradition than you have. Then 

 have we divers inventors of our own, of excellent works; which since 

 you have not seen, it were too long to make descriptions of them; and 

 besides, in the right understanding of those descriptions you might 

 easily err. For upon every invention of value, we erect a statua to 

 the inventor, and give him a liberal and honourable reward. These 

 statua 's are some of brass; some of marble and touch-stone; some of 

 cedar and other special woods gilt and adorned: some of iron; some 

 of silver; some of gold. 



We have certain hymns and services, which we say daily, of laud 

 and thanks to God for his marvellous works: and forms of prayers, 

 imploring his aid and blessing for the illumination of our labours, 

 and the turning of them into good and holy uses. 



Lastly, we have circuits or visits of divers principal cities of the 

 kingdom ; where, as it cometh to pass, we do publish such new profitable 

 inventions as we think good. And we do also declare natural divina- 

 tions of diseases, plagues, swarms of hurtful creatures, scarcity, tem- 

 pests, earthquakes, great inundations, comets, temperature of the year, 

 and divers other things; and we give counsel thereupon what the 

 people shall do for the prevention and remedy of them. 



And when he said this, he stood up; and I, as I had been taught, 

 kneeled down; and he laid his right hand upon my head, and said; 

 "God bless thee, my son, and God bless this relation which I have 

 made. I give thee leave to publish it for the good of other nations; 

 for we here are in God's bosom, a land unknown." And so he left 

 me; having assigned a value of about two thousand ducats, for a 

 bounty to me and my fellows. For they give great largesses where 

 they come upon all occasions. 



