326 LIFE, TIMES, AND SCIENTIFIC LABOURS 



a year, for ten years, from Michaelmas come twelve 

 month, to be allotted towards the building of Paul s, 

 according as his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Can 

 terbury, and the Bishop of London, and now Bishop of 

 Winchester, together with the Dean and Chapter of 

 Paul s shall set forth, and may continue : a memorable 

 gift from the House of Lords. And thus, I humbly 

 conceive, to have offered an acknowledgment of thank 

 fulness both to his Majesty, and to your Lordships, 

 Spiritual and Temporal, and for the Honourable House 

 of Commons, for passing the Act of my Water-com 

 manding Engine ; and to improve this my humble 

 thankfulness, shall be my daily exercise and study, no 

 ways meaning that what here I suffer shall set a period 

 thereunto, so as your Lordships will be pleased to set 

 your helping hands to remove some misconstructions 

 and personal inconveniences, which, if not diverted 

 from my mind, and from a too generally received opi 

 nion, though upon false grounds, and not appearing 

 otherwise than false ; I beseech your Lordships to be so 

 tender of a member of yours, as to contribute to the 

 vindicating of me therein, whereof no ways doubting 

 but that your Lordships will remove such an absolute 

 remora to all my intended services ; and, therefore, I will 

 presume to lay my case openly and cheerfully before you, 

 not doubting but that at your Lordships intercessions, 

 his most gracious Majesty (having given way that I 

 should speak thus before your Lordships) will vouch 

 safe a concurrence, and suffer himself to be disabused, and 

 such false and malicious opinions to be eradicated out of 

 his princely mind, as have been endeavoured, by either 

 envy, malice, or ignorance, to be rooted therein, and so 

 certainly have obstructed the natural influence of grace 

 and favour, which could not otherwise but have been 

 the effects of so great a Sun as shines within a throne of so 



