122 GILBERT WHITE OF SELBOENE 1734 



whither ! Thomas is much discomposed at this elopement ; 



and has 



"... made as great a coil as 

 Stout Hercules for loss of Hylas. 

 He has forc'd the hangers to repeat 

 The accent of his sad regret : 

 And Echo from the hollow ground 

 His doleful wailings to resound." 



But to be serious, I should be very sorry to lose so old 

 a domestic, that has behaved himself in so blameless a 

 manner in the family for near fifty years. We have leaped 

 this year from winter to summer at once, like the countries 

 round the Baltic, without any gradation of seasons. The 

 Tulips, as soon as blown, gape for breath, and fade. 



Yours, &c., 

 Gil. White. 



in. h. 



The rain in April was . 3 92 

 as yet this month only . 23 ! 

 Pray write soon. 



Mrs. J. White thanks you for your letter; and your 

 father for £10 bank-note. 



May 24. Fine showers this morning, but now hot sun 

 again. No Timothy to be found. 



On June 2nd, 1784, Mulso writes : — 



"I received your kind letter, signifying your return to 

 Selborne. You and your family have a turn for improving 

 every place that you belong to. ... I hope you will retain 

 them that are left in your neighbourhood. New friends may 

 be an amusement, but 'the old are better.' Of D' Balguy* 

 it may be said, here is the man that refused a Bishoprick ; 

 and of you, here is the man who refused livings, and served 

 curacies. ... I think by the time you leave Faringdon you 



* John Balguy (1686-1748), an eminent theologian and moral philosopher. 



