from the doctor's pipe. On one occasion he had his fortune told so accurately that, sceptic as he always was, he was amazed. Again, on returning from a visit to the Pyramids, his Arab guides extorted a large sum of money from him, much to his discomfort and indignation, while at another time an honest Greek preserved him from a worse fate from the hands of some Turkish officials. A few incidents are recorded, but the bulk of his book is devoted to descriptions of things he sees or criticisms of the people of the countries he visits. He gives at length, in Latin and English, "a problem concerning the rainbow," a description of the manufacture of thermometers, and the method of producing certain drugs, as well as his views as to the origin of vast oyster beds remote from the sea. 4 He occasionally tried rash experiments, such as penetrating into the Grotto del Cane,5 near Naples, and trying to convert a Jewish Rabbi by arguments. 3 In his preface he sets forth the advantages to be derived from travelling, and remarks: "Such as would improve themselves in the Study of Nature, and gain Experience, must imitate those Rivulets, which, from small Fountains, by uniting their Forces with such auxiliary Streams as occur in their Journey, become great Rivers, and at length terminate in a vast and boundless Ocean. To deal plainly, I take travelling to conduce much more towards what we call good Education, than all the other Helps we could possibly find at Home." He advises Englishmen to go abroad to enlarge their experiences, but does not appear to entertain a high opinion of his fellow-countrymen and contemporaries. "By being remov'd from the Company of their Relations and intimate Friends, they may depose their home-bred, churlish Temper, and acquire a better Behaviour to perfect their Conversation. 'Tis pity that they [good manners] are no more carefully insinuated into the Practice of our Youth, the English Genius being naturally as tractable, and as capable of arriving to the highest Perfection in the most difficult Enterprises, as that of any other Nation. 'Tis a Shame to see so many of our Gentry so very defective in this point, who, sway'd by their own natural Inclinations, are prone to embark themselves in vitious Employ6 Choice Remarks, &c., p. 289. 7 Ibid. p. 256. 8 Ibid. p. 310-311. 9 Ibid. p. 301. 1 Ibid. p. 45. • Ibid. p. 26. 3 Ibid. p. 94. He notes: "That prepared Capers are the Buds or unripe Blossoms of the Plant, pickled as we do Broombuds in England." I can learn nothing about "pickled broombuds." Were they used medicinally, or were they used like caper sauce?-F. B. T. 4 Ibid. p. 103. 5 Ibid. p. 222. • Ibid. p. 253. ments. They spend their Lives in Intemperance, sacrifice their Estates to their brutish Debauches, and propagate little to their unfortunate Off-Spring but the sad Result of their Epicurism. This is, in a great measure, occasion'd by want of Education, which might tame their exorbitant Passions, regulate their Will, and qualify them for honourable Stations, in which they might promote the Publick, as well as their own private Interest." After describing what he has seen in France, he devotes a chapter to "The Present State of France; the Temper, Manners, and Customs of the People, &c." His visit was made during the reign of Louis XIV. He writes: "The Government is, at present, wholly arbitrary and unlimited, for sic volo, sic jubeo is the usual reasoning of the State, and all Procedures of the Civil Magistrate presuppose an ultima ratio Regum. Cardinal Richelieu and Mazarin laid the Foundation of this absolute Soveraignty, which they saw could not be attain'd to but by impoverishing the People, and therefore left such Methods behind them as have, in process of time, produced such extraordinary effects, that Liberty, Property, and such like Topicks of Mutiny and Rebellion, so zealously asserted heretofore in France are quite laid aside and forgotten. They found this Course ablsolutely necessary; for the French being naturally hot, unstable and ambitious, on every light occasion were apt to find fault with the Government, and shew their distaste by very frequent Revolts. What suited not with their Humour pass'd for Oppression, and suffic'd to hurry the giddy Multitude into rash and extravagant Enterprizes, by reason whereof the publick Tranquility was very often disturb'd, and the Course of all Affairs turn'd topsy-turvy. But the Scene being now chang'd, the People seem well enough satisfy'd, at least dare not for their lives murmur; for he that has taught them to obey, has the whole power in his own hands, to keep them within the Bounds prescribed. I must confess I found no Richelieu or Mazarin at the Helm of State, nor indeed does there need such extraordinary Capacities at present, since the King himself is the main, if not sole, Politician that acts, and leaves no more to his Ministers than the bare Execution of his Orders. . . . The rigorous Discipline, as well in Civil as Military Affairs, is the only cause of the strange Success that has of late Years constantly attended this nation."8 His opinion of Frenchmen is not of the highest, but it is the same as that held by many Englishmen to this day. "The French are generally Speaking very Curious, Confident, Inquisitive, Credulous, Facetious, rather Witty than Wise, eternal Babblers; and, in a word, they are at all times what an Euglish-man is when he's half Drunk. They are likewise Ceremonious and full 8 Ibid. p. 104. 7 Choice Remarks, &c., pp. 2, 3. of their Complements, especially when 'tis for their Interest; but take heed they cost you not too dear." He adds, however, "No People have a better Opinion of their King than the French, which is owing in a great measure to the Clergy; for his Reputation is blazon'd in every Pulpit, and his great Actions are a principal part of their Sermons. . . . I was once in company with a Priest at Paris, who hearing his King's Conduct blam'd, left the Room, passionately uttering the words of the Roman Orator, Sit sacrilegus, sit fur, sit flagitiorum omnium princeps; at est bonus imperator: Let him be Sacrilegious, a Thief, and Ringleader of all Vice, he's nevertheless a good Prince."9 Of the language he writes: "The French Tongue is a Corruption of the Latin, soft, effeminate, and better becoming a Woman than a Man; however it has its Elegancies withal, and is grac'd with very sweet, quaint, and significant expressions." ניי He compares the different nations with the French in these words: "France being a populous country, and the people kept low and poor, multitudes of them seek their Fortunes abroad; and, indeed, Italy, Spain, Germany, England, and Holland, are full of them, where they follow their Trades and Callings, and thro' their thrifty sparing way of Living soon get Estates. The Italians are a vain-glorious haughty sort of People, and such amongst them as can pretend no higher, esteem it more honourable to wear a Prince or Cardinal's Livery, than to follow Handicraft-trades; but the French are glad to play the Mechanicks in Italy, 'till such time as they have fill'd their Pockets, and then return to set up for Gentlemen in their own Country. The Spaniards are superstitiously Vain, thinking it derogatory to their fancied Quality to exercise mercenary occupations; and the French are content to do them that piece of Service for their own Interest, but are forc'd to pass for Burgundians and Flemings, by reason of the natural Antipathy the Spaniards have against this Nation. Our English likewise seem of late to be strangely infatuated with, and fond of whatever bears the name of French; My Lord's Perruque sits not well 'till Monsieur has a Hand in 't; and my Lady relishes not her Victuals unless they 're served with a French Sauce. The Exchange Women would have a poor Trade, had they not the knack of Frenchifying their Wares; and a Courtier could hardly pretend to the Quality of Huff and Beau, unless he'd spent some time at a French Academy, and entertain'd Masters of Sciences of that Nation. But, on the contrary, in France they employ none willingly but their own People."2 It is interesting to read his description of the Cedars of Lebanon as they were when he saw them in the year 1687. • Choice Remarks, &c., p. 107. 1 Ibid. p. 109. 2 Ibid. pp. 107, 108. "We proceeded till we came to the place where the Cedars grow, in a little bottom or Valley on the side of the Mountain whence Solomon took the Cedars that were employed in building the Temple of Jerusalem, as we find in Holy Scripture. There still remain twenty-two great Trees, and no more; tho' I am not ignorant that divers affirm that they cannot be reduc'd to a just Number, but that, count them as often as you will, you shall always find a different Number. I told them over thrice, and still found twenty-two, which makes me the more positive in my Assertion. The Natives are of Opinion that these very Cedars were standing in Solomon's days, and that there have none sprung up since; which how true it may be I shall not determine; I can only say that they seem very ancient, and are of a prodigious size; for one of them was as much as seven of us could clip. The Solidity and Compactness of the Wood defend it from Putrifaction, and as it's slow in growing, so it's very long-liv'd. The Trees spread exceedingly, with Branches not unlike to those of the Cypress-tree. The wood has a fragrant Smell, and is so hard that one can hardly cut it with a Knife."3 These quotations give but a faint idea of the contents of the book, which I commend to the attention of those interested in such subjects. It is singular that this volume is not mentioned in Mr. James Davidson's Bibliotheca Devoniensis. (1852.) As a worthy son of Devonshire, Dr. Ellis Veryard deserves notice, and I think it will be admitted that he was a credit even to the county that produced travellers of greater fame, such as Raleigh, Gilbert, and Drake. 3 Choice Remarks, &c., 324. Mr. Winslow Jones most kindly placed in my hands all the information he had collected about Dr. Veryard and his pedigree. With the exception of the facts gleaned from the parish registers and documents of Plymtree, which the late Rev. Arthur Mozley allowed me to examine, I am indebted to Mr. Jones for the material of the foregoing paper. I trust I may be pardoned for endeavouring to present the dry facts in a manner likely to interest the general public, when it is stated that in no instance have I described imaginary scenes which had not some substantial foundation in facts. After this paper was read Mr. Winslow Jones said that when he visited the grove of cedars at Lebanon in 1879 only twelve of the twenty-two trees mentioned by Dr. Veryard remained. Therefore the rest of the 450 trees which constituted the grove according to Sir J. D. Hooker's computation are all of a date subsequent to Dr. Veryard's visit. At the same time Mr. Jones called attention to the fact that Dr. Veryard, when describing the Island of Kephalonia, omitted to mention a curious mill at Argostoli. Mr. Jones said:"The harbour there is landlocked and tideless; but about a gunshot from the shore is a fissure going down perpendicularly into the earth, the mouth of which is on a level with the sea. Here the islanders have placed a mill, and brought the sea-water to it by a leat, about six feet wide and a foot deep. This mill grinds their corn, while the water, which is always flowing, never fills the fissure." If the mill had been in existence when Dr. Veryard visited Argostoli he would scarcely have failed to notice it, and consequently it is probable that it did not then exist. APPENDIX I. PEDIGREE OF VERYARD OF PLYMTREE. ELLIS VERYARD, of Plymtree, bur. 22nd January, 1640-1. His wife, WILMOTE VERYARD, bur. 31st August, 1621. CHILDREN OF ELLIS AND WILMOTE VERYARD. ?MARY, bur. 26th November, 1632. ? WILLIMOT, bur. 21st July, 1677. Adm. granted 1676-7. (Prin. Reg. Bp. Exon.) ROBERT, mar. Susanna who was bur. 9th August, 1657. He was bur. 16th June, 1671. Noncupative will, undated, proved 26th September, 1671. (Archdeaconry Court, Exon.) Had issue: Robert, bp. 5th November, 1648, buried 16th February, 1692-3. Adm. granted June, 1693. (Archdeaconry Court, Exon.) Married Alice who was buried 20th March, 1686-7. They had : Robert, bp. 13th July, 1676, bur. 12th September, 1680; Elias, bp. 31st December, 1678; Robert, bp. 16th June, 1681, bur. 15th July, 1741 (leaving issue); John, bp. 2nd June, 1684, bur. 9th December, 1742; Andrew, bp. 10th March, 1686-7, bur. 25th March, 1687 (3). Ellis, sergemaker, bp. 22nd February, 1650-1, bur. 9th June, 1682. Will, dated 22nd December, 1681, proved 16th June, 1682 (Archdeaconry Court, Exon.), by his widow Hester, who was bur. 7th July, 1685. Her will proved October, 1685. (Archdeaconry Court, Exon.) She is therein styled "of Ottery St. Mary." Mary, bp. 3rd March, 1652-3, bur. 26th July, 1683. Nathaniel, bp. 22nd March, 1654-5, bur. 7th December, 1701. Married Elinor who was bur. 7th August, 1701. They had Mary, bp. 5th November, 1677, bur. 1st May, 1743; Anne, bp. 20th December, 1682; Robert, bp. 10th September, 1685, bur. 17th September, 1685; Richard, bp. 29th December, 1686; Richard, bp. 6th January, 1689-90; Ellinor, bp. 1st April, 1694-5, bur. 13th July, 1721; Elizabeth, bp. 21st June, 1699. Christian, bp. 27th March, 1657. Married will of her brother Ellis.) Thomasine, mentioned in her father's will. Venner. (See |