Note 178 — MEMOIRS OF EMINENT LINGUISTS. (continued 2)

Wilkins was an eminent mathematician, and one of the first members of the Royal Society. But his reputation as a humourist was his chief recommendation to Buckingham. His character in many respects resembled that of Swift. One of his witticisms is worth recording. After the first appearance of his well-known Voyage to the Moon [“Discovery of a New World, with a Discourse concerning the Possibility of a Voyage thither”], the eccentric Duchess of Newcastle jestingly remarked to him that the only defect in his account was that it omitted to tell where the voyagers would find lodging and accommodation by the way. “That need present no difficulty to your Grace,” said Wilkins; “you have built so many castles in the air that you cannot be at any loss for accommodation on the journey.”