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Neglected Biography, by Dr. Watkins. [Aug, 1 , 



Therfilesia Horoer, (^o|o- e))v «£if oXw,) but 

 the cone flood in a diticieiit polUioii, tlie 

 picked part being, before. 



Wood feenis to have drawn his cha- 

 racter with much accuracy. " lie was 

 (fi.ys he,) a man of a very covetinj^ eye, 

 that could never be fatislied with feeing, 

 though he had leen very mucli ; and yet 

 he took as much comfort in feeinjr, as 

 many others in tiie enjoying, of great 

 and rare things. He hud aot (befidestiie 

 Latin and Greek,) the maltcry of many 

 hard huiguay,es, in wliicli, if he had ob- 

 tained vrif'Jom to hulband and mana,i;e 

 them, as he liad fkill to fpeak them, he 

 had dcicrvcd more fame m his genera- 

 tion. But his knowledge and higii at- 

 tainments of feveral languages made him 

 not a httie ignorant of hind'clf, he being 

 fo covetous and ambitious of praife, that 

 bo would hear and endure more of it 

 than he could jn any nieafurc defervc, 

 being like a fhip that has too much fail 

 and too little ballad. However, luid lie 

 not fallen into the fmart bands of the 

 wits of thofe times wherein he lived, ho 

 might have parted better. That itch of 

 fame which engaged this man to the un- 

 dertaking of thofe very hard, long, and 

 dangerous travels, bath put thoufands 

 more (and iherefore he was not alone in 

 this,) into luange attempts only to be 

 talked of. 'Twas fame, wilb.out doubt, 

 that liirred up this man unto thefc volun- 

 tary, but hard undertakings, and the hope 

 of that glory v\liij(.'h he Ihould reap after 

 he had finillicd his long travel^, made him 

 notatall to take notice of the liardnii|)hc 

 found in them. That hope of name and 

 repute for the time to come did even 

 feed and feall him for the time jirefent. 

 And therefore any thing thai did in any 

 mcafuro eclipfe him in thole hif:h con- 

 ceivings of his own worth, did too much 

 trouble him ; which you may cohect from 

 thefc follovving intlances. Upon a time 

 one ]\|r. llichard Steel, a merchant, and 

 fcrvant to the Eait-India Company, came 

 to Sir Thomas Roe, the ambalVador at 

 Mandoa, the place then of the Mogul's 

 refidcnce,al which time our author Tho- 

 mas Coryat was there. This merchant 

 bad not long before travelled over-land 

 from Eatl India, through .'cilia, and fo 

 for Contiantinople, and fo for England, 

 who in his travels homeward liad met 

 with Coryat as he was jounicying towards 

 Ealt India, Mr. Steel then lold him, 

 that when he was in England King Jimies 

 inquired after him ; and when he had 

 certified the King of Jiis meeting him on 

 tho way, the King replied, " Is that fool 



yet living ?" which when our pilgrim Co- 

 ryat iiearJ, it fcenied to trouble him Vejj 

 much, bfcaui'c the King fpake no moie 

 nor no lierter of him, faying, that Kings 

 would fpcak of poor men what they pleat- 

 ed. At another time, wheji he was ready 

 to depart from Mandoa, Sir Thomas Koe 

 the ambalVador gave him a letter, and in 

 that a bill to receive ten pounds at Alep- 

 po, wlien he (liould return 'hither. The 

 letter was dirtrlled to i\lr. LibbeusChaj)- 

 man, there conful at tliat time, in which 

 that which concerned our traveller w<i3 

 thus : — ' Mr. Ciiapman, when you fiialt 

 hand thefc letters, Idehre you to receive 

 the bearer of them, Mr. Thomas Coryat^ 

 with courtefy, for you /hall find hira a 

 very honert poor wretch; and further, I 

 mull intreat you to fmiiilh him with ton 

 pounds, which (hall lie repayed,' tkc. 



" Our pilgrim liked the gift well ; but 

 the language by which he was to receive 

 it did not fo well pleafe him, as he told a 

 friend that ' IWy Lord Anib;iflador hiKj 

 even fpoiled his courtety in the carriage 

 thereof; fn that ifhehad beena ve.y fool 

 indeed he could have faid very little lefs 

 of hivn than he did, " Honeft poor wretch \'' 

 and to fay no more of him \> as to fay as 

 much as nothing.' Turthermore alfo he 

 fold him, that when he was formerly un- 

 dertaking his journey to X'enice, a perfon 

 of honour wrote thus in his behalf to Sir 

 Henry Wotton, then and there ambafla- 

 dor : — ' My Lord, good wine needs no 

 bufli, neither a worthy man letters com- 

 mendatory, becaufc whitherfoever he 

 comes he is his own eiiiftle,' t\:c. This 

 did fo much pleafe the pilgrim, that 

 'there (faid he,) was fome htnguagc in 

 my behalf; but now for my Lord to write 

 nothing of me by way of commendation 

 but " honrll poor wretch," is rather to 

 trouble me, than to pleafe me with liis 

 tiivour.' And therefore afterwards hi* 

 letter was phrafed to his mind, but 

 lie never lived to receive tJie money. By 

 which his old ac(|uaintancc. might fee 

 how tender the poor mau was to be 

 touched in any thing that might in the 

 leafl; nieafurc difparage him." 



His " Crudities" having become very 

 fcarcc, were handfomely reprinted by 

 the late Thomas Da\is, the bookfeller,jn 

 three volumes oftavo ; but even this edi- 

 tion is not now very commonly to be 

 met with. He hath betidt-s in print, 

 ■" Letters from Afmere, the Coiut of the 

 Great Mogul, to feveral Perfons of qua- 

 lity in England, concerning the Empc- 

 reur anil his Country of Eaft India," 

 London, ICIG, 4to, "A Letter to his 

 Mother 



