14 
NATURE NOTES. 
MORE ABOUT WILD NATURE.* 
HE many readers of Wild Natuve won by Kindness will hail 
with delight this second volume prepared for them by 
Mrs. Brightwen. When we say that it is a worth}^ 
companion of its predecessor, we have given it very 
high praise. We cannot have too many books of this kind — 
records of observations of living creatures, told in a simple, 
unaffected, straightforward way which charms us b}’ the very 
absence of any effort to do so. 
To the many delightful personalities of the former book (of 
which, we are glad to learn, a German translation with specially 
prepared illustrations is in preparation), we must now add 
“ Katie, the Shrew,” “ Inipey, the Bat,” “ Ivey, the Kestrel,” 
Sylvia, the Woodmouse,” and many more, among them a Mon- 
goose, “ IMungo,” who must have severely tried the patience of 
his mistress and of every one else with whom he came in con- 
tact. A pet who can slip his collar at any moment, who 
makes equal havoc in a drawing-room or in a flowerbed, who 
gnaws his way out of his cage, and intimidates the poultry yard, 
needs a considerable number of compensating qualities ; and 
these Mrs. Brightwen managed to discover. “ Such an abso- 
lutely good-tempered little animal I never met with before,” she 
says ; and we can well imagine that IMungo must often have 
attributed the same amiable qualit}’ to his indulgent mistress. 
We should like to e.xtract some passages from the delightful 
account of “ Ivey, the Kestrel,” but to do so would be to spoil a 
charming narrative. IMoreover, Selbornians will for the most 
part obtain the volume for themselves, or for the school or free 
library in their neighbourhood. We do not doubt that many 
a Christmas has been made happier by the presence of IMrs. 
Brightwen’s delightful reminiscences. 
Besides these biographical sketches, the volume contains 
•other papers — one on “ Footprints in the Snow,” with man}' 
illustrations, is especially suggestive and interesting. “Why 
simple things give pleasure,” a tiny essay of barely five pages, 
is an excellent example of ^Irs. Brightwen’s style. The subject 
matter is simple enough, and in many hands its treatment would 
be didactic and commonplace ; but the author invests the most 
ordinary material in a charm which is all her own. 
The papers on “ Home Museums,” and “ Books of Feathers,” 
will be familiar to the readers of these pages, and we are a little 
disappointed that i\Irs. Brightwen has not mentioned that they 
originally appeared therein, mainly because we are sure that 
anv reference to Nature Notes in a book of this kind must 
tend to the benefit of the Selborne Society and its l^Iagazine. 
A word must be said in praise of the illustrations, reproduced 
*Move about jy/M N'ature. l>y Mrs. Brightwen. London : T. Fisher Unwin, 
Svo, pp. xvi.,.261. Price 3s. 6d. 
