Chapter VII: Appendix: A

[TWO LETTERS FROM DOCTOR CHRISTOPHER MERRETT TO SIR THOMAS BROWNE, MS. SLOANE 1830, FOL. 1 TO 3. THEY ARE BOUND UP IN INVERSE ORDER OF DATE.]

[Reply to No. 2 in the above Series.]

[_Fol. 3._] WORTHY SR,--y^{rs} of y^e 14^{th} instant I recaeved as full off learning in discovering so many very great curiosities as kindness in communicating them to mee & promising y^r farther assistance. ffor which I shall always proclame by my tongue as well as by my pen, my due resentment & thanks.

The 2 funguses [guses _crossed out and_ i _inserted_] y^w sent y^e figures off [_see Note 106_] are y^e finest & rarest as to their figure I have ever seen or read of, & soe is y^r fibula marina, far surpassing one I reacived from Cornwall much of y^e same bigness, neither of which I find anywhere mentioned. The urtica marina minor Jonst. & physalus I never met with, nor have bin informed off y^e canis charcharius alius Jonst. Many of y^e Lupus piscis I have seen, & have bin informed by y^e Kings fish monger they are taken on our coast, but was not satisfyed for some reasons off his relation soe as to enter it into my pinax, though tis said to bee peculiar to y^e river Albis [= Elbe] yet I thought they might come sometimes thence to y^r coasts. Trutta marina I haue and y^e loligo, sepia, & polypus y^e 3 sorts off y^e molles have bin found on our western coasts which shall bee exactly distinguished--As for y^e Salmons taken a bove London towards Richmond & nearer, & y^t in great quantity some years they have all off them their lower jaw as y^w observ, [_see Note 92_] & our fishermen [men _crossed out_] say they usually wear off some part off it on y^e banks or els y^e lower would grow into y^e upper & soe starve them as they have sometimes seen--y^w ask whether I haue y^e mullus ruber asper, or y^e piscis Octangularis Wormii. or y^e sea worm longer than y^e earth worms, or y^e garrulus Argentor. or y^e duck cal'd a May chit or y^e Dor hawke. The 4 first I haue noe account off y^e 2 later I know not especially by those names, wee have noe hawk by y^t name [_see Note 42_] y^r account of succinum as all y^e rest will bee registered. As for y^e Aquila Gesneri I never saw nor heard off any such in y^e Collidge for [_fol. 3 verso_] this 25 years last past. Sr y^w are pleased to say y^w shall write more if y^w know how not to bee surpurfluous--certainly what y^w have hitherto done hath bin all curiosities, & I doubt not but y^w have many more by you--I can direct y^w noe further than y^r own reason dictates to y^w. Besides those mentioned in y^e pinax I have 100 to add, & cannot give y^w a particular off them--whatever y^w write is either confirmative or additional. I doe entreat this favour off y^w to inform mee fuller off those unknown things mentioned herein, & to add y^e name page &c of y^e Author if mentioned by any or else to give them such a latin name for them as y^w have done by y^e fungi which may bee descriptive & differencing off them. Sr I hope y^e publigs [_sic_] interest & y^r own good genius will plead y^r pardon desired by

y^r humble servant

CHR. MERRETT.

_London Aug. 29. 68._

[Reply to No. 8 of the above Series.]

[_Fol. 1._] WORTHY SR,--my due thanks premised I at present acquaint y^w y^t y^w have very well named y^e Rutilus & expressed fully y^e cours to bee taken in y^e imposition of names viz y^e most obvious & most peculiar difference to y^e ey or any other sens. I am farther to say y^t y^e icon of y^e weazeling came not to my hands, pray bee pleas'd to look amongst y^r papers perhaps it might bee laid by through some accident or other [I have _added above_] y^e figures of y^r anas macrolophos, & of y^e mergi cristati [_see Note 124_] & of y^e pristis y^t which came from Cornwall was of y^e gladius, y^e name of sword fish being applied to both of them by our nation. It seemeth by y^w y^t y^e Norwich aspredo is not y^e Ceruna fluviatilis contrary to what Camden affirms, for y^e rutilus mentioned in mine to y^w differs toto coelo from y^e ceruna--The difference of y^e Elks bill by y^w signified is remarkable to distinguish it from others of its own kind. [_See_ p. 83 _supra_.] The crackling teal seems [clearly _crossed out_] to bee y^e same which Dr Charleton[130] mentions in his Onomasticon under y^e name of y^e cracker,& showing him y^r description hee acknowledged to bee y^e same, y^e clangula I know noe more of than reading hath informed mee, a willock I have seen brought from Greenland where they are said exceedingly to abound, but never y^t [thought?] either of them was found in England, & having [not _added above_] taken sufficient notice of it y^e later, crave y^r description off both.

[130] In Charleton's "Onomasticon," at p. 99, the Cracker is called by him, _Anas caudacuta_, and is said to be the "Gaddel" of the London dealers in fowl. [_See Note 125._]

And now Sr since my last only 2 things remarkable haue come to my knowledge. The one was a cake off black amber 1/6 off an inch thick & neer a palm each way. Mr. Boyle brought it to y^e R. society to whom it was sent from y^e Sussex shore, hee had only tryed it to its electricity & found it answer his expectation, farther tryals will be made of it. The second is a small plant found on oyster shells which when fresh did perfectly represent y^e flowers off Hyacinthus botryoides, [_see Note 91_] but y^t was somewhat longer & not so much sweld out towards its pedunculus, some of them are here inclosed. Tis doubtless a sort off vesicaria, though much different from what y^w sent mee. Most off them are now shrunk & y^e sides constituting y^e cavity come together & appear only a transparent husk. One thing more I had to add (but scarcely dare speak it out) y^t is if it would please [you _added above_] to let it bee done without y^r charge & 2ly if it might be done without y^r trouble, then I would beg off y^w to set some a work to procure mee some of those rare animals &c y^w have mentioned in your seueral Letters. My intention therein is double: first to take their descriptions & furnish our colledge with them as curiosities, all being lost by y^e fire this is onely wished but must not bee proposed without y^e former limitation by y^r too much allready obliged friend & servant

_8th May '69._

CHR. MERRETT.

I met this week with some persons off quality high Germans who lately saw y^r son & record all good things off him.

ffor Dr Browne off Norwich.

[The reply to this letter is No. IX of the above Series.]