36 HEROES Of SCIENCE. 



botanica l works a ssumed the humble form of 

 alphab etical ca talogues. His and Mr. Willughby's 

 labours in the service of Bishop Wilkins were, 

 indeed, o£a systematical description, and j^cord- 

 ingly the authors themselves were probably more 

 "dissatisfied than any other persons with their 

 performance. They relaxed from these labours in 

 a tour of practical observation through the west 

 of England, as far as the Land's End, in the 

 summer of 1667, and returning by London, Mr. 

 Ray was solicited to become a Fellow of the Royal 

 Society, into which learned body he was admitted 

 November 7th. Being now requested by his friend 

 Wilkins to translate his celebrated work, "An 

 Essay towards a Real Character and a Philo- 

 sophical Language," into Latin, he undertook, 

 and by degrees accomplished, that arduous per- 

 formance. The following summer was agreeably 

 spent in visits to various literary friends, and in a 

 a solitary journey to the north. His former com- 

 panion, Willughby, being just married, stayed at 

 home; but Ray joined him in September, 1668, 

 and remained for most part of the ensuing winter 

 and spring. 



The seclusion and leisure of the country, with 

 the converse and assistance of such a friend, were 

 favourable to the prosecution of a new subject of 

 inquiry, which now strongly attracted the attention 



nf r>i]r ^rp:\\ nfltUra!).'^^ — ^^^ theory..nf vpo-pfation. 



The first step of the two philosophers in this little- 

 explored;£atLia&..m-5xami 



