FRANCIS WILLUGHBY. 117 



every kind, both birds, beasts, fishes, and insects, 

 digested into a method of his own contriving ; v " 

 yet that, " but few of their discriptions and his- 

 tories, so full and perfect as he intended them, and 

 which he was so sensible of, that when I asked him 

 upon his death-bed whether it was his pleasure 

 they should be published, he answered that he 

 did not desire it, nor thought them so consider- 

 able as to deserve it, or somewhat to that 

 purpose." Nor is Mr Ray at all sparing in 

 stating the reasons which induced him to resolve 

 upon the publication of Mr Willughby's writings 

 on natural history, " he not contradicting," and 

 " first to take in hand the ornithology." He 

 also incidentally calls Mr Will ugh by " the author 

 of this design and undertaking." The sarnp fact 

 is recognized even in Mr Ray's epitaph on Mr 

 Willughby. Dropping the plural style in which 

 Mr Ray delights in most of his works to write, 

 in reference to the assistance he obtained from 

 his friends, he says, " But because Mr Wil- 

 lughby (though sparing neither pains nor cost) 

 could not procure, and consequently did not 

 describe all sorts of birds, to perfect the work, 

 I have added the descriptions and histories of 

 those that are wanting ;" and then having men- 

 tioned the names of the several authors, out of 

 which these were taken, he adds, " disposing each 

 kind, as near as I could, in its proper place." He 

 also speaks of the additions he made throughout 

 the whole book, " as being so many that it would 

 be tedious to enumerate them." 



