INTRODUCTION. xvii 



to light so weary on the coast, that many 

 have been taken with dogs, and some 

 knocked down with staves and stones." 

 Further than this, he knew the seasons of 

 their appearing — the Hobby "coming to us in 

 the spring," the Merlin "about autumn." His 

 frequent mention of anatomical peculiarities 

 and of his dissections of many birds and beasts 

 clearly prove his passion for original research, 

 and the frequent records of the contents of the 

 stomachs of the birds which he had the oppor- 

 tunity of examining was a mode of obtaining 

 exact information as to the nature of their 

 food, which I imagine was not common in those 

 days. 



How highly Browne was esteemed by his 

 contemporaries may be judged from the 

 acknowledgments of his assistance by Dugdale, 

 Evelyn (who visited him in Norwich in 

 1 671), and others; and Ray especially mentions 

 his indebtedness to "the deservedly famous 

 Sir Thomas Browne, Professor of Physic in 

 the City of Norwich." His letters to his 

 son, Dr. Edward Browne, are full of instruc- 

 tions as to the course of study he should 

 pursue, and subsequently, when the latter 

 became celebrated and was appointed Physician 

 to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, it was still to 



B 



