BOOK ON BRITISH BIRDS 139 



remembered by the landlord who was debarred 

 from personal visits. 



One indoor recreation my brother had, his 

 interest in which never flagged or abated. This 

 was the game of whist, and as the result of con- 

 stant practice and close attention, his memory 

 for the fall of the cards became absolutely un- 

 erring. Often in the morning, when the rubber of 

 the night before and all its incidents had departed 

 from the recollection of partner and adversary, 

 leaving not a wrack behind, he would comment 

 upon the defunct game and its missed or 

 improved opportunities. 



In 1885 he had begun what he frequently 

 and playfully alludes to in his diaries as his 

 ' great work ' — the ' Coloured Figures of the Birds 

 of the British Islands.' A great work it is, if one 

 takes into account the interesting letterpress, and 

 the beauty of the original illustrations, very well 

 reproduced, on the whole, by the lithographer's 

 art. Yet inevitably these lose something of 

 the charm and artistic grace that distinguish, 

 in particular, Mr. Archibald Thorburn's work, 

 since no process has yet been invented which shall 

 convey the subtle touches due to the painter's 



