156 GILBERT WHITE OF SELBORNE 1786 



creature's first appearance after a profound slumber of five 

 months. When a man first rouses himself from a deep sleep, 

 he does not look very wise : but nothing can be more squalid 

 and stupid than our friend, when he first comes crawling out 

 of his hibernacula : so that some farther lines of Dryden's 

 ode, (written he supposes on purpose to ridicule tortoises) 

 may well be applyed to him : — 



" Has rais'd up his head. 

 As awak'd from the dead ; 

 And amaz'd he stares around." 



There was, as I remember, one Abdon, a judge of Israel, 

 of whom there is nothing memorial, but that he had 40 sons 

 and 30 nephews. As a father, this chieftain, I must acknow- 

 ledge, exceeded me much : but as to the matter of Nepotism^ 

 I go much beyond him : for I had 42 nephews and nieces 

 before; and now Mrs. Brown's little daughter makes the 

 43rd; and I have more at hand, if I do not reckon my 

 chickens before they are hatched. Nephew John of Alton, 

 now Dr. Whitey has met with an ugly accident: as he was 

 descending from his hayloft, the ladder turned, and gave him 

 a bad fall on the stones ; by which he bruised his side, and 

 dislocated his left wrist: but he was not confined one day, 

 and is getting well. This young man has found employ, and 

 much riding about : but he must have time to approve him- 

 self, before he can expect much prime business. On March 

 26th Mrs. and Miss Etty left us for some weeks : and on the 

 30th by permission, came Mr. Taylor, our vicar ; and his 

 bride Miss Lisle of Moyle's court near Ring-wood Hants. 

 The lady is of a very good family in this county, and niece 

 to Mr. Lisle of Crooke's-easton ; the gentleman who stood 

 and carried the grand contested election for this county in 

 1733 ; but it cost him £10,000. The lady was desirous of 

 spending part of her honeymoon at her husband's parish. 

 Charles Etty is expected home in June. Nephew Edm^, for 

 which I highly commend him, is parting with all kinds of 



