SIR HANS SLOANE. 
67 
however, he became sensible of a gradual decay, 
and his friend, George Edwards, the naturalist, 
has left us the following interesting but distressing 
narrative of his latter days. “ Sir Hans Sloane 
employed me for a great number of years in 
drawing miniature figures of animals, &c. after 
nature, in w r ater colours, to increase his very 
great collection of fine drawings by other hands ; 
which drawings are now all fixed in the British 
Museum, for the help and information of those in 
future generations, that may be curious or studi- 
ous in natural history. Sir Hans in the decline 
of life left London, and retired to his manor- 
house at Chelsea, where he resided about four- 
teen years before he died. After his retirement 
to Chelsea, he requested it as a favour to him, 
(though I embraced his request as an honour 
done to myself,) that I would visit him every 
week, in order to divert him, for an hour or two, 
with the common news of the town, and with 
any thing particular that should happen amongst 
his acquaintances of the Royal Society, and other 
ingenious gentlemen, many of whom I was weekly 
conversant with ; and I seldom missed drinking 
coffee with him on a Saturday, during the whole 
time of his retirement, at Chelsea. He was so 
infirm, as to be wholly confined to his house, 
except sometimes, though rarely, taking a little 
air in his garden in a wheeled chair ; and this 
