1 88 JOHN EVELYN 



Majesty Cha. the 2d. was sometimes graciously pleas'd 

 to take notice of it to me, & that I had by that booke 

 alone incited a world of planters to repaire their broken 

 estates and woodes, which the greedy Rebells had 

 wasted & made such havock of. Upon this encourage- 

 ment I was once speaking to a mighty man, then in 

 despotic power, to mention the greate inclination I had 

 to serve his Majesty in a little office then newly vacant 

 (the salary I think hardly ^300) whose province was 

 to inspect the Timber-trees in his Majesties Forests, 

 &c. and take care of their culture and improvement ; 

 but this was conferr'd upon another, who, I believe 

 had seldom ben out of the smoke of London, where 

 tho' there was a greate deale of timber, there were not 

 many trees. I confesse I had an inclination to the 

 imployment upon a publique account as well as its being 

 suitable to my rural genius, borne as I was at Wotton y 

 among the Woods. 



Soon after this, happen'd the direfull Conflagration 

 of this Citty, when taking notice of our want of Bookes 

 of Architecture in the English tongue, I published 

 those most usefull directions of Ten of the best Authors 

 on that subject, whose works were very rarely to be 

 had, all of them written in French, Latine, or Italian, 

 & so not intelligible to our mechanics. What the 



