BRITISH ZOOLOGISTS. 105 



Militia Laws, or poetical effusions addressed to ladies of 

 his acquaintance. 



Those who would form some idea of Pennant's 

 thoroughly original personal character, should read his 

 1 Literary Life,' the only defect of which is that there 

 is not enough of it. The motto to this vixi et quern 

 dederat cursum fortuna peregi is itself characteristic of 

 the man. His mind, to use his own words, 'was always 

 in a progressive state; it could never stagnate.' At 

 the same time, he was no philosopher or bookworm, 

 but a keen, shrewd, observant man of the world, fond 

 of an active outdoor life, and mixing much in society. 

 ' In the midst of my reigning pursuits,' he says, ' I never 

 neglected the company of my convivial friends, or 

 shunned the society of the gay world.' His energy was 

 extraordinary, as evinced both by his unwearied literary 

 labours, and by the amount of bodily exertion which he 

 underwent. * Almost all my tours,' he tells us, 'were 

 performed on horseback; to that, and to the perfect 

 ease of mind I enjoyed in these pleasing journeys, I 

 owe my viridis senedus ; I still retain, as far as possible, 

 the same species of removal from place to place. I con- 

 sider the absolute resignation of one's person to the. 

 luxury of a carriage, to forebode a very short interval 

 between that and the vehicle which is to convey us to 

 our last stage.' In another place he says: 'I am often 

 astonished at the multiplicity of my publications, especially 

 when I reflect on the various duties it has fallen to my 

 lot to discharge as father of a family, landlord of a 

 small but very numerous tenantry, and a not inactive 

 magistrate. I had a great share of health during the 



