Page:The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius (1896).pdf/75

 Cromwell had awarded him a pension of £100 yearly, it is doubtful if he received it regularly. Certain it is that, after the Restoration, he was in great distress. He was now busily engaged with the project of a “Correspondence Agency,” which he wished to see established in London. This was to be a kind of Information Office, where any one might seek advice (gratis, if he were poor) on any subject. In addition, it was to further correspondence and learned intercourse between men of talent within and without England, and by this means the realisation of Bacon’s scientific and of Comenius’ pedagogic schemes was to be rendered easier. The scheme, however, a somewhat visionary one, was not carried out, and remained one of the blind alleys into which so many enthusiasts in England were led before their efforts culminated in the actual formation of the Royal Society in 1660.

A considerable portion of the school-books was now actually ready, and was despatched to Sweden at the beginning of 1647. This included the Methodus Linguarum Novissima, with its index and dedication, and part of the Janua. More Comenius refused to send until definite arrangements for publication had been made. The Janua was to be illustrated, and this caused additional delay. Considering that Comenius was now engaged on his treatise, Independentia confusionum origo, a work directly aimed against the sectarian tendency of religious bodies in England, it is difficult to imagine how he found time to busy himself with business arrangements at all.

A fresh page in his life was now to be turned, and, had the bulk of de Geer’s books not been completed, the chances are that they would have remained unfinished. The aged Bishop of the Unity, L. Justinius, had died at Ostrorog, and Comenius was elected to fill his place. His acquiescence in this choice meant that the connection with de Geer must to a large extent be broken, as pastoral duties would now take up much of his time. In spite, therefore, of his expectations from Sweden, he at length made up his mind to turn his back upon that country, and, leaving his