THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 537 



Pepys, no doubt, while the king teased and jeered at Sir 

 William Petty, was indignantly recalling the society's many fine 

 experiments with colors, fire, loadstones, microscopes, the air- 

 pump, thermometer, liquors, musical sounds, vibrations of the 

 air, blood injected into a dog to prove Harvey's theory of circu- 

 lation, and "one that did turn a piece of roasted mutton into 

 pure blood, which was very rare " ; and another, when the blood 

 of a sheep was transfused into a man. 



He would have liked to remind his Majesty of the plans for 

 planting the royal forests with oaks and other trees; abating 

 London smoke, and making artificial fuel, which had emanated 

 from the society ; of how they had promoted new physiological, 

 surgical, medical, botanical, chemical, physical, astronomical, 

 agricultural, horticultural, and sanitary methods and discover- 

 ies ; patronized art. literature, architecture, and mechanical in- 

 ventions, and were doing all in their power to tc disperse," as 

 Macaulay said of them, " the phantoms which had haunted the 

 world for ages, and destroy the belief in witchcraft, astrology, 

 and alchemy." 



Yet, alas ! Charles might have retorted that many of their 

 leaders were either seeking the philosopher's stone and the elixir 

 of life, endeavoring to fly in the air, to collect the feathers of the 

 wing of a phoenix, or catch " the disjointed syllables of an old 

 doting astrologer." The contents of their museums were often 

 no more valuable than the toys in the baby-house, and amusing 

 rather than useful or really curious. Yet with these playthings 

 they expected to work wonders in science. 



The distinguished Sir Samuel Morland, who was reputed to 

 have invented the steam-engine, the speaking-trumpet, drum cap- 

 stans for weighing heavy anchors, arithmetical wheels, quench- 

 fires, a new kind of harp, valuable bridges, a machine for throw- 

 ing water to a great height, and other useful things, prided 

 himself on his coach, which contained a kitchen with a fireplace, 

 pots, frying-pans, and a machine for roasting meat by clock- 

 work. 



Evelyn visited Sir Samuel when the inventor was very old 

 and blind, and was shown his " invention of writing, which was 

 very ingenious ; also his wooden Kalender, which instructed him 

 all by feeling, and other pretty and useful inventions of mills, 

 pumps, etc. He has newly buried 200 worth of music-books 

 six feet under ground, being, as he said, love-songs, and vanity. 

 He plays himself psalms and religious hymns on the theorbo." 

 Sir Samuel believed in spells and witchcraft, and hesitated to 

 prosecute a lawsuit because he was firmly convinced that the 

 defendant had used, or was capable of using, charms to gain 

 the victory over him. One of the fantastic wonders of the 



