Abstract
IT is no disparagement to Mr. Hele to say that he is not a Gilbert White, and the reviewers who have compared this book with the “Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne” have certainly done its author a wrong, while they have shown their own want of discrimination. Gilbert White was in the front rank of the naturalists and antiquarians of his day; as an outdoor observer he had no equal, and perhaps never will have one. Add to this the charming and delicate simplicity of his ideas, rendered all the more striking by the slight shade of pedantry which not ungracefully tinges his style; for the old pupil of Warton never forgot his scholarly breeding, and what wonder is there that “Selborne” is an English classic? If ever there was a naturalist in whom the poetic faculty was developed, if ever there was one who wittingly or unwittingly possessed the scientific use of the imagination, Gilbert White was the man. Now, there is nothing to show that Mr. Hele is a closer observer than (happily) many of his fellows, and what he has to say he says in very plain, straightforward language. It is clear that he keeps his eyes open whene'er he takes his walks abroad, but he favours us with few inferences from his own experience. Still we must particularly praise the absence of any attempt at fine writing, and the consequence is a little volume of a kind of which we should be glad to see many more. The “matters historical and antiquarian” of which he treats are, of course, beside the path of Nature, though the old boat found in company with flint-flakes deserves the attention of the Anthropological Institute; but the topographical, ornithological, and entomological notes include much that is of interest, exception being taken perhaps to a few of the statements. However, Mr. Hele's opening assertion that “Aldeburgh, as a place of resort for the naturalist, may be fairly classed as one of the most attractive localities in the east of England,” is undoubtedly true, and his sketch of the neighbourhood shows that he appreciates its advantages. We have derived great pleasure from this unpretending little volume, and are sure most of our readers will do the same.
Notes or Jottings about Aldeburgh Suffolk.
Relating to Matters Historical, Antiquarian, Ornithological, and Entomological. By Nicholas Fenwick Hele., Surgeon. 8vo, pp. 198. (London, 1870.)
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Notes or Jottings about Aldeburgh Suffolk . Nature 3, 485 (1871). https://doi.org/10.1038/003485b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/003485b0