F&ANCIS WILLUGHBY. 117 
every kind, both birds, beasts, fishes, and insects, 
digested into a method of his own contriving 
yet that, “ but few of their discriptions and his- 
tories, so full and perfect as he intended them, and 
which he was so sensible of, that when I asked him 
upon his death-bed whether it was his pleasure 
they should be published, he answered that he 
did not desire it, nor thought them so consider- 
able as to deserve it, or somewhat to that 
purpose.” Nor is Mr Ray at all sparing in 
stating the reasons which induced him to resolve 
upon the publication of Mr Willughby’s writings 
on natural history, “ he not contradicting," and 
“ first to take in hand the ornithology.” He 
also incidentally calls Mr Willughby “ the author 
of this design and undertaking .” The same fact 
is recognized even in Mr Ray’s epitaph on Mr 
Willughby. Dropping the plural style in which 
Mr Ray delights in most of his works to write, 
in reference to the assistance he obtained from 
his friends, he says, “ But because Mr Wil- 
lughby (though sparing neither pains nor cost) 
could not procure, and consequently did not 
describe all sorts of birds, to jjerfect the work, 
I have added the descriptions- and histories of 
those that are wanting and then having men- 
tioned the names of the several authors, out of 
which these were taken, he adds, “ disposing each 
kind, as near as I could, in its proper place.” He 
also speaks of the additions he made throughout 
the whole book, “ as being so many that it would 
be tedious to enumerate them.” 
