LEEUWENHOEK’S MICROSCOPES 325 
To train young people to grind lenses, and to found a 
sort of school for this purpose, I can’t see there’d be much 
use: because many students at Leyden have already 
been fired by my discoveries and my lens-grinding, and 
three lens-grinders have gone there in consequence; to 
whom the students have repaired, to learn how to grind 
lenses. But what’s come of it? Nothing, as far as I 
know: because most students go there to make money 
out of science, or to get a reputation in the learned world. 
But in lens-grinding, and discovering things hidden from 
our sight, these count for nought. And I’m satisfied too 
that not one man in a thousand is capable of such study, 
because it needs much time, and spending much money ; 
and you must always keep on thinking about these things, 
if you are to get any results. And over and above all, 
most men are not curious to know: nay, some even make 
no bones about saying, What does it matter whether we 
know this or not ? 
In addition to Folkes’s and Baker’s and Harting’s des- 
criptions there are many other brief accounts and figures 
of Leeuwenhoek’s instruments. The first picture of his 
“microscope” is that introduced into Verkolje’s mezzotint 
(1686), in which Leeuwenhoek is depicted holding one in 
his own hand (see Frontispiece). A similar piece of apparatus 
is probably meant to be shown in the hands of the allegorical 
personages represented in two of the engraved titles to his 
works.' Baker (1753) gave, with his description, a couple of 
poor diagrams which have been copied over and over again— 
by Hoole (1807) and many others down to Disney (1928) and 
Bulloch (1930) at the present day. Uffenbach (1754) also 
pretended to portray ‘“‘ Leeuwenhoek’s microscope”; while a 
small but excellent figure (from an unknown example) was 
engraved on the title-page of the booklet by van Haastert 
(1823). Other pictures—sometimes accompanied by descrip- 
tions—are to be found in the works of Harting (1850), 
1 See Ontled. & Ontdekk. (1686) = Anat. s. Int. Rer. (1687): Vizfde 
Vervolg d. Brieven (1696) = Arc. Nat. Det. (1695). These engravings should 
also be found (somewhere or other) bound up in all the Dutch and Latin 
collective editions of L.’s letters. 
