2 IO Cummings, A biographical sketch of Col. George Montagu. 



to mention only two. And the grammar is excusable when one 

 remembers that Montagu was only i6 years old when he joined 

 the army. He was married by the time he was i8, fighting in 

 America when he was ig and at the age of 20 he was already a 

 father, so that in early youth, — when all things are possible, 

 — Montagu was far too much occupied with the more pressing 

 duties of life to be in a position to acquire a pure English 

 style, the development of which means a very different 

 psychological climate from love, marriage and war at the age 

 of ig. 



Here are some examples of his style: — 



"In the month of December, 1805, a small flock of these 

 birds were observed busy in extracting the seeds from the 

 Alder trees, in the South of Devon, several of which were 

 shot." 



"With all these reflections formed on the known laws of 

 nature, evinced by daily experience, we can have no more doubt 

 of the identity of these two shrikes as distinct species than we 

 have that they are different from the cinereous shrike " 



However, no critical strictures ever brought Montagu to his 

 knees. He never knows when he is beaten. He gaily begins 

 his introduction to the Supplement with the following remarks 

 illustrating the admirable pride he took in his own work: "Since 

 the publication of the Ornithological Dictionary we have con- 

 tinued our observations upon the characters and habits of 

 British birds with the usual ardour and indefatigable research. 

 It might appear arrogant in us to enlarge upon the advantages 

 science may have derived from discoveries we have made but we 

 venture to say that a considerable portion of new and interesting 

 matter will be found concerning the economy, habits, changes 

 and variations of species not published before." A few common- 

 place remarks follow about our common aptness to err and then, 

 jejunely, "Truth is the goal at which we aim. It is the essence 

 of all human knowledge," which unfortunately is scarcely true. 



His authoritative biographer, Cunnington, gives us a few 

 details about his personality and habits. We read that although 

 he was of ancient and honourable descent he founded. his claims 

 for respect upon individual merit rather than upon his noble 

 ancestry. He disliked pomp and ceremony of any kind and pre- 

 ferred to live a quiet secluded life spending his days beating 



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