190 GILBERT WHITE OF SELBORNE 1788 



before it made its appearance in the world; I wrote to 

 your brother about it: he was very careful and kind, and 

 I wrote to my own brother to call on him and pay for 

 it, which he has promised me to do. And now as to 

 what I think of it; you have known long, as I have read 

 all the natural observations before, and given them such 

 commendations as I could give ; which wanted such weight 

 as a thorough knowledge in that branch would have given, 

 and which the book deserves. As to the Antiquities, you 

 have given to them such a grace in your manner of treating 

 the subject, as would give a pleasure and a hunger of 

 reading to a man not an antiquarian. Your book was men- 

 tioned with respect by our Chapter (a full one), and the 

 volume ordered to be bought for the library. The Prints 

 do not satisfy me, nor do they do justice to your beautiful 

 scenery. 



I do not know whether you will resent any fault being 

 found with the care of the printing; I have hardly ever 

 seen a book so well attended to, and so happily finished off. 



An account which followed in this letter of the 

 pairing of certain jackdaws which frequented the 

 Deanery roof, opposite to the prebendary's study 

 window, may be pronounced, in this case, a very 

 strong, as well as very early, instance of that in- 

 struction in the observation of Nature, which the 

 book in question was to exercise in the future. 



