Wrote Letter L-222 of 1692-09-23 to Mary, Queen of Great Britain, the dedication to Derde Vervolg der Brieven

Text of the letter in the original Dutch and in English translation from Alle de Brieven. The Collected Letters at the DBNL - De Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren

Leeuwenhoek wrote this short but flowery letter to Queen Mary. He published it as the dedication to Derde Vervolg der Brieven.

... because Your Majesty, when still in this Country, was pleased to vouchsafe to my insignificant Person to come personally to the City of my residence, in order to behold my discoveries, which were never so highly valued by me that they should be allowed to appear before the Eye of so great a Queen; although Fortune was then so ill-disposed towards me (which will and must be lamented by me all my life) that owing to my absence from the city I was not allowed to enjoy the honour of serving Your Majesty with everything that had been in my power, and revealing them to Your Majesty's most keen-sighted eyes ...