SIR HANS SLOANE. 67 



however, he became sensible of a gradual decay, 

 and his friend, George Edwards, the naturalist, 

 has left us the following interesting but distressing 

 narrative of his latter days. " Sir Hans Sloane 

 employed me for a great number of years in 

 drawing miniature figures of animals, &c. after 

 nature, in water colours, to increase his very 

 great collection of fine drawings by other hands ; 

 which drawings are now all fixed in the British 

 Museum, for the help and information of those in 

 future generations, that may be curious or studi- 

 ous in natural history. Sir Hans in the decline 

 of life left London, and retired to his manor- 

 house at Chelsea, where he resided about four- 

 teen years before he died. After his retirement 

 to Chelsea, he requested it as a favour to him, 

 (though I embraced his request as an honour 

 done to myself,) that I would visit him every 

 week, in order to divert him, for an hour or two, 

 with the common news of the town, and with 

 any thing particular that should happen amongst 

 his acquaintances of the Royal Society, and other 

 ingenious gentlemen, many of whom I was weekly 

 conversant with ; and I seldom missed drinking 

 coffee with him on a Saturday, during the whole 

 time of his retirement at Chelsea. He was so 

 infirm, as to be wholly confined to his house, 

 except sometimes, though rarely, taking a little 

 air in his garden in a wheeled chair ; and this 



