Obituary. 
193 
information. A reprint of these reports in book form would 
make a useful work of reference. 
In 1902 be published an interesting volume on Sir Thomas 
Browne's observations on the ‘ Natural History of Norfolk/ 
which he edited from the MS. in the Sloane collection 
in the British Museum and in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 
and elucidated with many critical notes. The difficulty 
of deciphering the MS. may be inferred from an inspection 
of the frontispiece to the volume, which gives a facsimile of 
one of Sir Thos. Browne's letters to Dr. Christopher Merrett, 
author of the * Pinax Rerum Naturalium Britannicarum.' 
It is worth noting that Southwell not only detected errors 
of transcription which he corrected, but was able to supply 
two letters which were needed to make the correspondence 
with Dr. Merrett complete ; these he printed in an 
Appendix. 
Perhaps the most useful piece of work he accomplished, 
and that by which he will be best remembered, was his 
completion in 1890 of Stevenson's ‘ Birds of Norfolk, of 
which he wrote the third and concluding volume from the 
letters and manuscripts of the deceased author, supple- 
mened by original matter of his own. This was very well 
done, and w^as much needed by those who possessed the 
first two volumes and were anxious to see the work com¬ 
pleted on the original plan. Southwell's long personal 
acquaintance with the author and his command of the 
necessary materials, coupled with his own knowledge of the 
subject, enabled him to do complete justice to this difficult 
undertaking. 
Although not a collector in the generally accepted sense 
of the w r ord, Southwell lost no opportunity of securing 
specimens for the Norwich Museum, in which he took great 
interest; and when the collections, which had been com¬ 
menced in 1825, were transferred to the Corporation and 
finally installed in Norwich Castle in 1891, he prepared an 
excellent 4 Official Guide to the Norwich Castle Museum/ 
with plans and numerous illustrations. The account therein 
given of the collection of British birds, including many 
SER. IX.—VOL. IV. 
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