And make the proper’st observations
For settling of new plantations,
If the Society should incline
T’ attempt so glorious a design.’
With sharp touches indicating the various Members of the Society the satire continues, telling how they see in the moon, through the telescope, marvellous things, and an appearance of an immense elephant; they agree that a record must be made, and during the discussion who is to write it, one of the servants peeping through the telescope discovers that a mouse has got in between the two glasses! It, and a swarm of small flies, are the causes of the mysterious phenomena, the vast beast, the marching and countermarching armies which have been so learnedly explained![93]
The Society does not seem to have paid much attention to the poet, and the experiments went on as usual. A different task was presently offered to Wren by the King. When he married Catharine of Portugal, he received Tangiers, Tripoli, and Bombay as part of her dowry. Tangiers was reckoned as a very important place to the English, whose sailors were still constantly harassed by the Moorish pirates, and the fortifications of the town were a pressing care. King Charles offered, through Matthew Wren, then Lord Clarendon’s secretary, a commission to Christopher Wren, as one of the best geometricians in Europe, to survey and direct the works at the mole, harbour, and fortifications of Tangiers, offering him an ample salary, leave of absence from his Professorship, and a reversionary grant of Sir John Denham’s office. Flattering though the offer was, Christopher declined it on the ground of his health, and begged the King to command his duty in England.
A WARM FRIEND.
He no doubt judged wisely, and the refusal gave no offence at Court. Perhaps the leave of absence might not have been easily obtained, for the following letter from Dr. Sprat shows that Wren was already embarrassed by the difficulty of being in two places at once:—
‘My dear Sir,—I must confess I have some little Peek against you—therefore am not much displeased, that I have this occasion of telling you some ill news. The Vice-Chancellor did yesterday send for me to inquire where the Astronomy Professor was, and the reason of his absence so long after the beginning of the term. I used all the arguments I could for your Defence. I told him that Charles the Second was King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland; and that he was by the late Act of Parliament declared absolute Monarch in these his dominions: and that it was this mighty Prince who had confined you to London. I endeavour’d to persuade him that the drawing of lines in Sir Harry Savill’s school was not altogether of so great a concernment for the benefit of Christendom as the rebuilding of St. Paul’s or the fortifying of Tangier; (for I understood those were the great works in which that extraordinary Genius of yours was judg’d necessary to be employ’d). All this I urged, but after some Discourse, he told me, that he was not now to consider you as Dr. Bayly[94](for so he ow’d you all Kindness) but as Vice Chancellor, and under that Capacity he most terribly told me that he took it very ill you had not all this while given him any Account of what hinder’d you in the Discharge of your Office. This he bid me tell you, and I do it not very unwillingly because I see that our Friendships are so closely ty’d together that the same Thing which was so great a Prejudice to me (my losing your Company all this while here) does also something redound to your Disadvantage. And so, my dear Sir, now my Spite and Spleen is satisfied, I must needs return to my old Temper again, and faithfully assure you that I am with the most violent Zeal and Passion, your most affectionate and devoted Servant,
‘Tho. Sprat.’