Vol. xxxiii.] 20 



to yr brother Benjamin for sending me yr Selborne so 

 early.' The book was published in quarto: in 1774 he had 

 written to his brother John with reference to the latter's 

 1 Fauna Calpensis ' — f You must publish a quarto work ; 

 every man now publishes in quarto ' (cf. Bell, vol. ii. p. 33). 

 It was bound in boards with a label at the back entitled 

 ' White's Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne.' 

 The price of the volume, which was printed by T. Bensley 

 forB. White and Son, at Horace's Head, Fleet Street, being 

 one guinea. 



The book proved an immediate success and brought 

 White into correspondence with some of the leading scientific 

 men of the day, including George Montagu (1752-1815), 

 the famous ornithologist, who wrote to White, May 21, 

 1789, that he had been c greatly entertained' by the 

 ' Natural History/ and addressed his letter to ' Gilbert 

 W^hite, Esq./ being unaware that his correspondent was in 

 Holy Orders (Bell, vol. ii. p. 236). The next year brought 

 another correspondent, Robert Marsham, F.R.S. (1708- 

 1797), of Stratton-Strawless in Norfolk, with whom lie 

 continued to correspond until the year of his death*, not- 

 withstanding that he had informed Barrington in his last letter 

 to that correspondent that f I shall here take a respectful leave 

 of you and natural history together.' This correspondence 

 has fortunately been preserved (two letters only are missing, 

 both unfortunately by White) and was first published in the 

 ' Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' 

 Society/ 1875-6, vol. ii. pp. 133-195. As Professor 

 Newton writes — ' This correspondence is a fitting sequel to 

 that between himself and Pennant and Barrington. ' O 

 that I had known you forty years ago !' is one of White's 

 exclamations to Marsham, the significance of which may be 

 seen when read in connection with that passage in his 

 earliest letters to Pennant (10th August, 1767) wherein he 

 wrote 'It has been my misfortune never to have had any 

 neighbours whose studies have led them towards the pursuit 

 of Natural knowledge.' 



* The last letter being dated only eleven days before his death. 



