1885-86.] Edinburgh Naturalists' Field Club. 321 



the author says, " I do here most humbly lay this small present at 

 your Majesty's royal feet. And though it comes accompanied with 

 two disadvantages, the meanness of the author and of the subject, 

 yet in both I am encouraged by the greatness of your mercy and 

 your knowledge. By the one I am taught that you can forgive 

 the most presumptuous of offenders, and by the other that you will 

 not esteem the least work of Nature or Art unworthy your obser- 

 vation." Such were the relations between Robert Hooke, F.R.S., 

 and King Charles 11. Looking back 200 years, I think we may 

 now fairly regard Robert Hooke as king and Charles as subject, if 

 the true advancement of our race is considered. 



In treating of his subject, this father of microscopy pi'oceeds in a 

 most methodical way from the known to the unknown. He first de- 

 scribes and figures carefully a needle-point, magnified about thirty 

 times ; and after drawing some sage conclusions, he proceeds to 

 expatiate on " the sharp edge of a razor " — his conclusion about it 

 being, " This edge and piece of a razor, if it had been really sucli 

 as it appeared through the microscope, would scarcely have served 

 to cleave wood, much less to have cut off the hair of beards, unless 

 it were after the manner that Lucian merrily relates Charon to 

 have made use of, when, with a carpenter's axe, he chopped off the 

 beard of a sage philosopher, whose gravity he very cautiously 

 feared would endanger the oversetting of his wherry." He next 

 examined fine lawn, tabby, and watered silks — the last of which, our 

 lady members may be interested to know, struck him as showing 

 " the great ^(naccurateness of artificial works." 



Glass drops, fantastical colours, metalline colours, fungus moulds, 

 moss, seaweed, the stinging - point of a nettle, and many other 

 common and original objects, were reviewed in succession, as lead- 

 ing gradually xip to the most interesting and complex of all — entire 

 animals of minute size, or parts of them. Human hair, scales of 

 sole, sting of bee, peacock's feathers, head of fly, teeth of snail, 

 eggs of silkworm, spiders, &c., succeed each other with a pano- 

 ramic effect, alike of descrijjtion and figure. 



The chapter he devotes to a certain little insect well known to 

 most by repute, if not by experience, as sometimes detracting from 

 man's crown of glory, is so unique that you will pardon my quot- 

 ing at length. The description, I think, is scientifically correct. 

 " This," he says, " is a creature so officious that 'twill be known 

 to every one at one time or other — so busie and so impudent that 

 it will be intruding itself in every one's company, and so proud and 

 aspiring withal that it fears not to trample on the best, and afiects 

 nothing so much as a crown ; feeds and lives very high, and that 

 makes it so saucy as to pull any one by the ears that comes in its 

 way, and will never be quiet till it has drawn blood. It is troubled 

 at nothing so much as at a man that scratches his head, as know- 



