How much country life in England has owed to men
of Mr. Heathcote's sort ! They were nearly all historians ; and many of them lived long enough to be contemporary historians of near a century. One of the most pleasing books in my library is a privately printed book giving a history of the fens in the Crowland and Peterborough neighbourhood. It was written by Mr. John Heathcote's father, who lived in vigour to a great old age. In one of the illustrations, a water-colour of the Fens in winter, you can see a flaw where the frost had made ice of the artist's aquarelle. Mr. John Heathcote was as fond of the history of games OS Gilbert White of the topographical history of Selborne. I remember him showing me an early print of skating Dutch- men playing kolv on the ice with sticks that were halfway between the driver of the golf player and the bandy of the hockey player. Mr. John Heathcote's son (who possesses that first covered tennis ball) has written a charming book of the history, scenery and natural history of St. Kilda, an island to which he was attracted by his relationship to the MaeLeods of Skye. It is at least comely that we should recognize their love of history by acknow- ledging the part they themselves played, directly and in person, as by their researches and records.
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