MULSO'S LETTERS 197 



In the course of his preparation of the article for 

 the "Dictionary of National Biography" Newton had the 

 opportunity of reading the letters to Gilbert White of 

 John Mulso, who was White's intimate friend and corre- 

 spondent during more than forty years. Unfortunately, 

 Mulso or his descendants had destroyed Gilbert White's 

 letters to him, but his own letters are full of interesting 

 observations and throw much light on the life and 

 character of his friend They are now in the possession 

 of a collateral descendant of Gilbert White, the Earl of 

 Stamford, whose father, the late Earl, lent them to 

 Newton. 



Magdalene College, 



June 13, 1898. 



Dear Lord Stamford, 



... I cannot refrain from expressing to you 

 the extreme gratification that the opportunity of examin- 

 ing these volumes * has given me. Though my hopes 

 had been high, their fulfilment far exceeded any antici- 

 pation, and it is very long since anything so interesting 

 has passed into my hands, while I can but wonder that 

 these papers have remained so long unpublished. I 

 desire to offer you my most sincere thanks for the 

 pleasure I have derived from the reading of these letters, 

 to say nothing of the wonderful light which they reflect 

 upon Gilbert White's life, and their consequent utility 

 to me in the task I have undertaken. Though I cer- 

 tainly had not hitherto neglected any means of inform- 

 ing myself concerning him, I feel that he had been a 

 man comparatively unknown to me. I read through all 

 the letters, some of them several times, and there are 

 many which I should like to read again. I earnestly 

 hope they may be soon printed, and just as they stand, 

 though there are a few coarse passages. One does not 

 leave them with an exalted opinion of the writer, but 

 there is nothing to affect the estimable character of Gilbert 



* " Mulso's Letters." 



