OF SAMUEL HARTLIB. 37 



kingdom, concerning all tlie circ urn stances of their 

 marriage/' 



William Wotton, wrote to Evelyn from Milton, on 

 tlie 13tli of August, 1703, making inquiry among other 

 matters for — ^' An account of Mr. Hartlib : what coun- 

 tryman? What his employment? in short, a short 

 eulogy of him, and his writings and designs, with an 

 account of the time of his death.'' 



On the 12th of September, 1703, Evelyn repHed :— 

 ^' Mr. Hartlib was, I think, a Lithuanian, who coming 

 for refuge hither to avoid the persecution in his country, 

 with much industry recommended himself to many 

 charitable persons, and among the rest to Mr. Boyle, 

 by communicating to them many secrets in chemistry, 

 and improvements in agriculture, and other useful novel- 

 ties ; by his general correspondence abroad ; of which 

 he has pubHshed several treatises. Besides this, he was 

 not unlearned; zealous and religious; with so much 

 latitude as easily recommended him to the godly party 

 then governing, among whom (as well as Mr. Boyle 

 and many others, who used to pity and cherish 

 strangers) he found no small subsistence during his 

 exile. I had very many letters from him. Claudius, 

 whom you next inquire after, was his son-in-law, a pro- 

 fessed adeptus, who by the same methodus mendicandij 

 and pretence of extraordinary arcana, insinuated him- 

 self into acquaintance of his father-in-law : but when or 

 where either of them died (though I think poor Hart- 



