THE EEV. GILBERT WHITE. XIX 



it Only when its fields and foliage are clothed in their summer 

 verdure, or autumnal russet, and lighted up in genial sun- 

 shine ; for its beauty is of the joyous seasons, fitted neither 

 to be observed by the sullen influence of a rainy day, nor 

 torn by the rude hand of winter. Descending into c the 

 single straggling street ' of which the village consists, my 

 steps were instinctively directed towards the hanger, and I 

 soon found myself climbing the winding path which was cut 

 through the beech- wood in the time of Gilbert White. A 

 sweeter spot than the interior of this thick covert, with 

 its craggy slopes, and 'graceful pendulous foliage,' it is 

 impossible to conceive. The effect on entering its cool 

 shades, and deep twilight gloom, after the full blaze of the 

 glowing sunshine, was most refreshing, and stole over the 

 senses with a peculiar delight. The stillness which reigned 

 around was here only broken by the hum of insects, and the 

 tinkling of the bells from a herd of cattle, which, the wood- 

 land being part of the village common ground, were turned 

 in to graze. The charm of the scene was much increased 

 by this rural music, borne through the glades in the hanger. 

 " Mr. White's own house, the successive abode of several 

 generations of his family, is, of course, the first object of 

 the traveller's inquiry. It stands not very far from the 

 church, and is an irregular, unpretending edifice, which 

 has evidently been enlarged at different periods, with more 

 care of interior comfort than of architectural symmetry. 

 Aided by the old-fashioned neatness of its lawns and gravel 

 walks, the house preserves the staid aspect of bygone days, 

 and has apparently undergone no alteration since the death 

 of the naturalist. It was impossible to gaze on the spot 

 without recalling to memory those hundred little passages in 

 his book which, with so pleasing and beautiful an association, 

 have identified the intellectual pursuits of the man, with the 

 tasteful purity of his mind, with the every beauty of, his 



