50 GILBERT WHITE OF SELBOENE 1743 



"he never would sit for his portrait," is not correct. 

 The present writer has often heard his father, the 

 late Algernon Holt- White, say, upon the authority 

 of his own father, Thomas Holt -White, who was 

 Gilbert White's nephew and knew him very well, 

 that the naturalist showed no disinclination to have 

 his portrait painted when urged to this course by 

 his brother Thomas, but that he did not, as it 

 happened, ever have it done. 



Writing to his friend Mr. Churton many years 

 after this time, on August 20th, 1783, Gilbert White 

 mentions a copy of verses as appearing in ' The 

 Gentleman's Magazine' for June, 1783, "written by 

 a poor dear Oxford friend long since dead, about 

 35 years ago," i.e. in 1748, soon after this attack of 

 small-pox. 



From these verses, which are here appended, it will 

 be seen that there is what was perhaps a merely 

 jocular mention of the "roughen'd face," but it 

 hardly follows from this that he was badly disfigured 

 in later life, or indeed marked at all. 



"THE METAMORPHOSIS 



" Corycius long admired (a curious swain !) 

 The wealth and beauties of Pomona s reign ; 

 The vegetable world engrossed his heart. 

 His garden lingering nature help'd by art ; 

 Where in the smoking beds high heap'd appear 

 Sallads and mushrooms thro' the various year. 



But of each species sprung from seed or root. 

 The swelling melon was his favourite fruit ; 



