[ ] 
having thought my poor, but zealous endeavours in Natu- 
ral History, entitled to your Royal commendation and 
munificence. 
Whatever splendour may surround the name of a 
Conqueror, Posterity has ever more fondly cherished the 
memory of those Princes who have used their pre-eminence 
of power and riches only as a more efficacious instrument 
to promote the advancement of the Sciences, the study of 
* \ 
the polite Arts, and the illustration of the History and 
Philosophy of Nature. 
Under Your Majesty’s direction, Spain has the glory 
of having formed a Museum worthy of its Monarch! 
where the eye, and the mind, are alike delighted and in- 
structed, by the most rare and beautiful productions of the 
several kingdoms of nature, collected fro?n every quarter 
of the Globe, and arranged with scientific judgment, and 
refined taste. 1 o this peaceful monument of your Reign, 
may Your Majesty now add the Trophies of War, in 
the common cause of Spain, and Great Britain; of Eu- 
rope, and Mankind: the cause of Religion, and Virtue ; 
