406 CORRESPONDENCE OE BAY. 



Supplement, and for all your present literary communi- 

 cations, but, alas ! I am in too miserable a condition to 

 take notice of them all, and therefore here I must rest, 



Sir, 

 Yours to serve you, 



John Ray. 



Black Notley, Dec. 11, 1702. 



Mr. Ray to Dr. Hans Sloane. 



Black Notley, Dec. 16, 1702. 



Sir, — About the beginning of this session of parlia- 

 ment, I received a very com'teous and obliging letter 

 from my Lord Bishop of London, wherein, among other 

 things, he desired me to send one of my friends to treat 

 with him about the design of procuring figures for my 

 History of Plants. Whereupon I vncote to Dr. Sherard, 

 to desire him to attend upon his lordship for that pur- 

 pose ; but he, being one of the commissioners for sick 

 and wounded soldiers, was sent to Portsmouth, where he 

 still resides, so that he could not fulfil my request ; yet 

 I cannot excuse him for deferring thus long to give me 

 notice thereof, the business requii'ing haste, and my lord 

 advising that what is done would best be done while the 

 town was full of nobihty and gentry sitting the parHa- 

 ment. 



Now, sir, understanding that you are acquainted with 

 the bishop, I must beg the favour of you to attend his 

 lordship, and to do that which I requested of Dr. Sherard, 

 that is, to give him your opinion whether the thing be 

 feasible, and what difficulties are likely to occur in it, and 

 what is the best method to proceed in. I conceive the 

 great difficulties will be in procuring gravers, and super- 

 visors to make choice of the best patterns of plants that 

 are ah'eady published, and get such delineated as they 



