254 MOUNT 



written in the margins of the illustrations, appear to have been 

 added by him within a few months of his acquiring the volume. 

 In this, the earlier of the two volumes, there are no notes by 

 Goodyer ; but in the later edition of 159 1, containing no notes in 

 Mount's hand, there are numerous notes by Goodyer, including 

 copies by him of all Mount's notes on plants growing in Kent, 

 taken from the copy of 1581. 



It seems likely that Goodyer having first acquired the later 

 edition, copied Mount's notes into it. perhaps borrowing them for 

 the purpose. He subsequently obtained possession of the earlier 

 copy and owned both volumes before 1633. 



It has been ascertained^ that Mount was born at Mortlake in 

 1545, was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, of 

 which he was admitted scholar in 1563 and fellow in 1566. He 

 resigned his fellowship before Lady Day 1570. It appears that 

 he owed much to the patronage of Secretary Sir Thomas Smith 

 and Lord Burghley.^ In a letter addressed to Sir William Cecil on 

 20 Oct. 1567, he professes his great satisfaction in being placed 

 at the University under the patronage of the former, his 'most 

 honoured Mecaenas '. Medicine was the first object of his studies: 

 later he took orders and was appointed Master of the Savoy in 

 January 1593-4, and died in December 1602. 



It was known that Mount had taken considerable interest in the 

 making of distilled waters, an art which he probably learnt as part 

 of his medical studies, and that he had written some Latin verses 

 prefixed to Lobel's Balsami, Opobalsami, Carpobalsanii et Xylo- 

 balsami explanatio in 159H, but he has not as yet received from 

 botanists the credit which he deserves of having been the first to 

 record the provenance of several plants in tlie county of Kent, nor 

 for his knowledge of the construction of perpetual calendars. 



In the collection of medical books which my friend the late 

 Sir William Osier bequeathed to M°Gill University, there is a 

 manuscript to which Mr. Craster has recently drawn my attention ; 

 it throws a new light on the knowledge of the Kentish botanist. 

 It is ' A shorte declaration of the meaning and use of a perpetuall 

 calendare or almanack ' by W[illiam] M[ount]. in eleven chapters, 

 with dedicatory preface to Sir Thomas Bromley, Lord Chancellor 

 of England, whose chaplain the writer was, and whose arms are 

 blazoned in colour on p. vi. The work, which is the author's 

 holograph, is illustrated by coloured tables and diagrams. Three 



* Cooper, Athetuic Cantab, ii, p. 271. 



^ Ciilendiir State Papers Domestic^ '547 So, pp. 294, 301. 



