RAY. 143 



ledge of natural history, to which he had long been 

 devoted. Accordingly, in the spring of 1663, ac- 

 companied by Mr Willughby, Mr Skippon, and 

 31r Bacon, his pupils, he crossed to Calais, and tra- 

 versing the Low Countries, visited Germany, Italy, 

 and several islands in the Mediterranean. In re- 

 turning homewards he directed his way through 

 Switzerland and France, and arrived in his own 

 country in the spring of 1666, with a rich store of 

 materials for the cultivation of his favourite science. 

 He now occupied himself in reading the works that 

 had been published during his absence ; in review- 

 ing and arranging Mr Willughby's collections ; and 

 in making a catalogue of such plants as were natives 

 of the English soil. He was also employed during 

 the winter in forming a table of plants and quadru- 

 peds to illustrate the famous work of Dr Wilkins 

 on a '' Real or Universal Character." In the sum- 

 mer of 1667j, he made a journey into the west, 

 accompanied by his favourite pupil. While on this 

 excursion the two friends described many natural ob- 

 jects, and in particular examined the Cornish mines, 

 and the methods employed for smelting ores. 



His fame as a naturalist being now fully esta« 

 blished, he was solicited to become a member of 

 the Royal Society, which he accordingly entered in 

 1667- The remainder of this year he spent with 

 his friends in Sussex and Warwickshire. In 1668, 

 he made a journey into Yorkshire and Westmoreland, 

 where he assiduously exerted himself in collecting 

 plants and animals. The greater part of the winter 

 was passed in Warwickshire, with Mr Willughby, 

 who in the following spring engaged with him in a 

 series of experiments on the ascent and descent of 



