of Peireskius, may, with
propriety, be used as descriptive of Mr. Wood's. "As to the
care of his person, cleanliness was his chief object, he
desiring no superfluity or costliness, either in his habit
or food. His house was furnished in the same manner as his
table; and as to the ornament of his private apartment, he
was quite indifferent. Instead of hangings, his chamber was
furnished with the prints of his particular friends, and
other men of note, with vast numbers of commentaries,
transcripts, letters, and papers of various kinds. His bed
was of the most ordinary sort; his table loaded with papers,
schedules, and other things, as was also every chair in the
room. He was a man of strict sobriety, and by no means
delicate in the choice of what he eat. Always restrained by
temperance, he never permitted the sweet allurements of
luxury to overcome his prudence." Such, as is here
represented, was the disposition of Mr. WOOD: of so retired
a nature as seldom to desire or admit a companion at his
walks or meals; so that he is said to have dined alone in
his chamber for thirty years together. Mr. Hearne says that
it was his custom to "go to the booksellers at those hours
when the greater part of the University were at their
dinners," &c. And at five leaves further, in a note, we find
that, "when he was consulting materials for his _Athenae
Oxon._, he would frequently go to the booksellers, and
generally give money to them, purposely to obtain titles of
books from them; and 'twas observed of him that he spared no
charges to make that work as compleat and perfect as
possible." _Hearne's Coll. MSS. in Bodl. Lib._, vol. ix., p.
185. The following letter, describing Wood's last illness,
and the disposition of his literary property, is
sufficiently interesting to be here, in part, laid before
the reader: it was written by Mr. (afterwards Bishop) Tanner
to Dr. Charlett.

"Honoured Master,

Yesterday, at dinner-time, Mr. Wood sent for me; when I
came, I found Mr. Martin and Mr. Bisse of Wadham (college)
with him, who had (with much ado) prevailed upon him to set
about looking over his papers, so to work we went, and
continued tumbling and separating some of his MSS. till it
was dark. We also worked upon him so far as to sign and