1767 FIKST LETTEE TO PENNANT 153 



mention of me in some late letters to my brother, could 

 have emboldened me to have entered into a correspondence 

 with you : in which though my vanity cannot suggest to me 

 that I shall send you any information worthy your attention, 

 yet the communication of my thoughts to a gentleman so 

 distinguished for these kinds of studies will unavoidably be 

 attended with satisfaction and improvement on my side. 



The letter concludes with a line or two concerning 



tlie Falco which it mentions, and is subscribed — 



" I am, with the greatest regard, 



Your most humble servant, 



Gil. White." 



In his edition of 'The Natural History of Sel- 

 borne"^ Mr. Bell has commented in rather severe 

 terms upon the conduct of Pennant, whom he 

 terms "vain and self-seeking," towards his dis- 

 tinguished correspondent; and he is in error when 

 he states that " there is no acknowledgement of his 

 help, no recognition of his debt," since the "Rev. 

 Mr. White of Selborne, Hants," is mentioned among 

 the " learned and ingenious friends " to whom Pen- 

 nant acknowledges his indebtedness in the Preface 

 to the second (1st 8vo) edition of the ' British 

 Zoology,' published in 1768. 



On the whole, though of course there is no 

 comparison between the information afforded by the 

 original and scholarly Naturalist of Selborne, and 

 that of his industrious, but perhaps a little too 

 complacent correspondent, the relations between the 



* vol. i. p. Ixi. et 



L 



