38 A BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR 



lib's was of the stone), or wliat became of them, I 



cannot tell: though I conjectm*e it was whilst he 



resided at Oxford, after his return from travel, where 

 there was then a famous assemblage of virtuosi : Drs. 

 Bathurst of Trinity, Dickenson of Merton, Wren, now 

 Sir Christopher, Scarburgh, Seth Ward (afterwards 

 Bishop of Sarum), and especially Dr, Wilkins (since 

 Bishop of Chester), the head of Wadham College, 

 where these and other ingenious persons used to meet 

 to promote the study of the new philosophy, which has 

 since obtained/' 



It is rather remarkable that in writing to Dr. Wor- 

 thington on the 14th of February, 1661-2, Hartlib almost 

 prophetically observes ; — " This may be the last of mine 

 for aught I know/' And strangely enough his corres- 

 pondence, long and agreeably maintained, thus abruptly 

 terminated ; no answer appearing to have been sent to 

 the Doctor's later letter to him, nor any mention being 

 made in his diary of any circumstance to account for 

 Hartlib's silence. 



Among the records of the State Paper Office relating 

 to Charles II.'s reign,* we find a MS. under date 

 April 9, 1662, (two months later than the letter to Dr. 

 Worthington), addressed by Samuel Hartlib to Secre- 

 tary Nicholas, stating that Kobert Shaw is to be the 



* Cal. of State Papers, D. Series, 1661.62. Mary A. E. 

 Oreen. 8vo. 1861. 



