182 
LETTERS FROM THE REV. WM DERHAM D.D. 
at the date the Doctor wrote this letter ; however, towards the 
end of that year they purchased for their meetings a house 
in Crane Court, and so moved again. Later on the Society moved 
once more to apartments in Somerset House, but since 1857 
they have been located at Burlington House. 
S r 
I would have sent you all or some of your Books before now, 
but I have not been able to dispatch with them what I take notice 
of relating to vegetables, having other Books to compare with them 
at y e same time : & I have been so extreamly ill la,st week, y 1 I 
could scarce look into a Book. I thank God I am well enough 
(tho’ weak still) to venture to London to morrow to get S r Hen : 
Ashurst’s hand to my Diploma for Mr. Boyles Lect-, he being 
lately come thither for 3 or 4 days only ; & I imagine it may be 
necessary to shew him w T hat I have done, therefore beg the favour 
of you to send me those volumes of my Sermons you have. What 
you have not read you shall have again & I will intreat the favour 
of you to run them all over, & to censure, correct, & improve them 
with all impartiality ; w ch will be a great act of friendship & favour 
to 
Your much obliged humble Serv* 
W. Derham. 
Upm r . 0 Aug 6. 1710. 
The Doctor here alludes to his being selected to deliver the 
Boyle lectures. These lectures were instituted by the Hon. 
Robt. Boyle, who by his will, dated 1691, left a sum of £50 a 
year in order to provide that “ some learned divine ” should 
preach eight sermons in London every year upholding the 
truth of the Christian religion against notorious infidels, viz. : 
Atheists, Theists, Pagans, Jews, and Mohometans.” In the 
first instance he charged his house in the City of London with 
payment of this sum, but it was not an adequate security for 
the punctual payment of the annuity, as it was found that some¬ 
times the house stood empty ; and sometimes the tenant was 
unable to pay the annuity. By the efforts of Archbiship Tenison, 
this charge of £50 was in some way ultimately transferred to 
other property at Brill in Bucks, which had belonged to Mr. 
Boyle and which from its then greater annual value provided a 
much better security than the house in the City did. 
The first trustees for the lectures were Dr. Tenison, Sir 
Henry Ashurst, Sir John Rotheram and the celebrated John 
Evelyn. 
Judging from this letter, at the time the Doctor wrote, Sir 
