xx MEMOIR, 



taining and instructive Added to a naturally 



cheerful manner (though formal at the first introduc- 

 tion), he possessed a most insinuating address, and left 

 in the minds of those with whom he had conversed a 

 pleasing recollection of him ; for he had the peculiar 

 faculty of attaching to him all of every age, particularly 

 young people, who listened with delight to his instruc- 

 tive tales ; nor did they ever forget his expressive eye 

 and his look of complacency. 



" If I were called upon to say in what point he parti- 

 cularly excelled, I think I should say it was his mode of 

 addressing his poor neighbours ; his kind philanthropy 

 and his charitable wishes towards them ever made him inti- 

 mate with their wants, and his humane inquiries always 

 made them feel that he was their true friend." 



Such is the simple testimony of one who knew and 

 loved him ; and it has been amply confirmed by many 

 now passed away, but who, in years gone by, gave as- 

 surance of their own personal experience of the benefi- 

 cence of his heart and conduct. The relative above 

 quoted adds, " To those who were intimately acquainted 

 with him, a pleasing vein of humour showed itself fre- 

 quently in conversation." This, too, is conspicuous in 

 many anecdotes of his life, as well as in his private letters. 



Gilbert White was born at Selborne on the 18th of 

 July, 1720. He was the eldest son of John White, of 

 that place, and of Anne, daughter of the Rev. Thomas 

 Holt, rector of Streatham, in the county of Surrey. That 

 his descent, both on his father's and mother's side, from 

 a highly respectable ancestry was not a matter of in- 

 difference to him is evinced by the following detail, 

 which was copied from his own autograph, formerly in 



