HISTORY OF BRITISH BIRDS 71 



of the task that had been assigned to him. It was 

 a labour of love, it is true, but he was the last man 

 to sacrifice any call of duty, even the smallest, to a 

 work of this kind. He always had so many irons in 

 the fire that it was surprising how he found time 

 for all. He was a great economiser of time, and 

 being as active in mind as he was in body, he 

 naturally accomplished much. 



From the very outset the work took with the 

 public. On June 12, 1850, less than a fortnight 

 after the publication of Part I., Messrs Groom- 

 bridge wrote to the author and said : " The work 

 is progressing very well ; we have requested Mr. 

 Fawcett to forward us another supply, and hope 

 to get it into a good circulation." As time went 

 on the sale quickly increased, so much so that they 

 were continually reprinting the different numbers 

 at Driffield. The reasons for its success were not 

 far to seek. It was the first work of the kind 

 that had been produced at a price that placed it 

 within the reach of all classes ; the drawings were 

 carefully made, and were coloured by hand ; the 

 letterpress was ample in quantity, and the whole 

 was written in a popular style. Indeed, the great 

 aim of the undertaking was, not to present to the 

 world a highly scientific treatise, but rather to create, 

 if possible, a greater taste and love for the natural 

 history of our British birds. On this point the 

 author always laid great stress ; as he remarked in 

 his introduction to the treatise, his aim was " to sim- 

 plify former descriptions, to adapt them to popular 



