ly faith," that of the
new philosophy was desirable both for the king and the
nation; "for," he adds, "it will survive the triumphs of
the proudest conquerors; since, when all their pomp and
noise is ended, they are those _little things in black_, whom
now in scorn they term philosophers and fops, to whom they
must be obliged for making their names outlast the pyramids,
whose founders are as unknown as the heads of the Nile." Why
Evelyn designates the philosophers as _little things in
black_, requires explanation. Did they affect a dress of
this colour in the reign of Charles II., or does he allude
to the dingy appearance of the chemists?

[257] It is not easy to credit the simplicity of these early
inquirers. In a Memorial in Sprat's History, entitled,
"Answers returned by Sir Philliberto Vernatti to certain
Inquiries sent by order of the Royal Society;" among some of
the most extraordinary questions and descriptions of
nonentities, which must have fatigued Sir Philliberto, who
then resided in Batavia, I find the present:--"Qy. 8. What
ground there may be for that relation concerning _horns
taking root, and growing about Goa_?" It seems the question
might as well have been asked at London, and answered by
some of the members themselves; for Sir Philliberto
gravely replied--"Inquiring about this, a friend laughed,
and told me it was a jeer put upon the Portuguese, because
the women of Goa are counted none of the chastest." Inquiries
of this nature, and often the most trivial objects set off
with a singular minuteness of description, tempted the laugh
of the scoffers. Their great adversary, Stubbe, ridiculing
their mode of giving instructions for inquiries, regrets
that the paper he received from them had been lost, otherwise
he would have published it. "The great Mr. Boyle, when he
brought it, tendered it with blushing and disorder," at the
simplicity of the Royal Society! And indeed the royal founder
himself, who, if he was something of a philosopher, was much
more of a wit, set the example. The Royal Society, on the day
of its creation, was the whetstone of the wit of their
patron. When Charles II. dined with the members on the