18 LETTERS TO GILBERT WHITE 



Party : alas poor "Whiting ! I know Tom Mander laughs and 

 despises Him, but if I know anything of Tom, Tempus erit Turno 

 &c : He'll wish He had not loos'd somebody's Girdle. 



By my bad writing You will conclude that my Hand is tir'd 

 with writing Sermons : nothing less. I have done nothing that 

 way except preaching at Hampton & reading Prayers, Christ'ning, 

 Churching, &c : &c : at Sunbury : — Curvo nee faciem Littore 

 dimovet says Horace of a Mother, but You may say it of me if 

 you please, not that I look upon ye River in Expectation of a 

 Conference with old Thames as your ever-poetic Imagination 

 made You fancy : no, ye Reason is perfectly Prose & dull, 'tis in 

 Order to see my Books &c: coming from Oxford, which are not yet 

 arriv'd nor do I hear any tidings of them : I sleep indeed upon ye 

 Banks of ye River as ^neas, but I don't dream of my Supplies 

 nor do I find 'em when I wake. But I give myself an Air of too 

 great Concern about Books, it won't pass with You who know 

 me. — But while I speak, they arrive, — I must break off in Order 

 to receive them. — All safe I — I can hardly set about giving You 

 an Account of my manner of living, it will not bear Order, for it 

 is in ye greatest Degree dissipated : I lie at a Gardener's in Sun- 

 bury, I live sometimes at ye Vicaridge, sometimes I go to 

 Hampton, where I find my Mother at one House, my Sister at 

 another and You know who at a third or fourth, for that Person 

 has two. But where do I study ? I am a Philosopher & pick up 

 Knowledge en Passant : This Afternoon many of ye Gentlemen 

 of this Place (I am at Sunbury for a week) come to ye Bishop in 

 Order to meet with ye future Vicar. If I cannot recommend my- 

 self to them & find some One more particularly engaging than ye 

 Rest, I shall look for a very disagreable winter, which I shall 

 spend here alone. Think of that and my constitution. I shall 

 go to Town with ye Family, which may be in about a week's 

 Time, write to me there at all Events. Pray get into Orders & 

 make me a Visit at Sunbury, but cum tu& Merce veni : bring a 

 Discourse, which if it is like your common, will both edify & 

 delight. Let me know of all your Rambles & adventures, & tell 

 Tom Mander that I expect some of his wit to enliven my Winter 

 Hours & keep my risible muscles in Order : I don't mean by this 

 to forbid his writing before, or visiting my Retreat. Tell me of 

 your Brother Jack.* My good will extends to all your Family ; 

 perhaps I may make your Sister Nanny a Visit sooner than She 

 expects me. When You get back to Oxford let me know how 

 Oriel goes on : t I have ye strongest Desiderium for that Place, & 



* John White, b. 1727 admitted a (Surrey) Scholar of C. C, C. Oxford, 

 March 12, 174-|. 



t Gilbert White frequently visited and resided at Oriel until he went up 

 in 1752 as junior Proctor. After his year of office he generally visited his 

 College twice or thrice annually, but never resided there for any length 

 of time. 



