" LIFE OF WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY." 175 



we to say that it is done successfully. The writing appears 

 to us an affected attempt to imitate the styles of Isaac Walton 

 and of Audubon, which being extremely peculiar, can only 

 be relished in the originals — and here, as in the case of similar 

 imitations, we desiderate their freshness, and dislike the mis- 

 placed quaintness of expression. , . . The incidental remarks 

 and digressions liberally dispersed through the volume (often 

 totally irrelevant to the subject, see p. 125) are sometimes 

 expressed scarcely with a kindly feeling " 



MacGillivray's "great work," however, has long outlived such 

 adverse criticisms, and now holds the high place it deserves 

 as a leading authority on British birds, but before leaving 

 this subject we must express the wish that the authors of 

 the " Life " had given us some slight information concerning 

 those who by tlieir valuable observations assisted MacGillivray 

 in his great ornithological work, foremost amongst whom 

 seems to have been T. D. Weir, of Boghead, Linlithgowsliire, 

 whose descriptions, e.g., " Missel Thrush feeding young," Vol. 

 II., p. 123, are amongst the most brilliant in the " History." 



The fifth period contains some pleasing appreciations of 

 MacGillivray's character and his success as a teacher during 

 his professorshii? at Aberdeen, contributed by his jDupils and 

 others who knew him, and also deals with his excursion in 

 the autumn of 1850, which he undertook in connection with 

 his last written work, The Natural History of Deeside and 

 Braemar. The fatigues of this expedition no doubt hastened 

 his end, and after a visit to Torquay, during which the fourtli 

 volume of the History of British Birds was published, he 

 returned to Aberdeen, lived to see the fifth and final volume 

 of the " great work " issued in July, and died there on 

 September 8th following, 1852. 



It only remains to add that the " Life " is illustrated with 

 twelve plates (two of which we are kindly permitted to re- 

 produce), including eight reproductions of drawings of birds 

 by MacGillivray, the originals of which are in the British 

 Museum, and a reduced facsimile of one of his letters to 

 Audubon. These drawings show MacGillivray to have been 

 an accomplislied artist, though how accomplished only those 

 who have had the privilege of inspectmg the originals of his 

 anatomical plates can determine. The " Life," in spite of 

 its shortcomings, is likely to remain our standard authority 

 on William MacGillivray, and if its belated publication should 

 be tlie means of directing fresh attention to the writings of 

 our greatest ornithologist, its authors will not have performed 

 their task in vain. W. H. Mullens. 



