Vol. xxxiii.] 8 



having cost ' just one pound/ On the other side of the 

 street are some old thatched cottages, part of ' The Wakes ' 

 estate and almost the sole surviving link with the Selborne 

 of the past, which has been sadly modernized in recent 

 years. 



Towards the end of the village is the footpath which, 

 branching from the village street to the right, leads to the 

 top of the Hanger, or hanging wood, which runs parallel to 

 the village street. This path is known as the Zigzag. It is 

 mentioned in the second letter to Pennant and was constructed 

 by Gilbert White and his brothers : various entries occur in 

 the JNaturalist's pocket book of small payments made for its 

 construction and for placing at its top the stone now known 

 by the name of the c wishing stone/ In 1758 the entry 

 occurs, ' Oct. 14. Bringing rock to Zigzag and making area/ 

 In Gilbert White's time the ground to the left of the Zigzag 

 as one ascends was clear of trees, and here stood the 

 ' Hermitage/ a kind of summer-house, where Gilbert White 

 was wont to entertain his neighbours to tea (Twenty-second 

 letter to Pennant) and where brother Henry enacted the 

 part of Hermit. The Hermitage is figured as a vignette in 

 the original edition. Along the Hanger runs the Borstal or 

 ' inclining path ' mentioned in the third letter to Pennant, 

 and on the side of the Borstal stood the new Hermitage which 

 Gilbert White afterwards constructed. 



But this brief catalogue of some of the places in Selborne 

 village most closely connected with the Naturalist's memory 

 should be supplemented by adding the numerous spots in the 

 vicinity which he so often refers to in his writings : Wolmer 

 Forest and its ponds, Oakhanger, and Oakhanger Ponds, 

 Frensham Pond, in Gilbert White's time * a great lake,' and 

 many other places far too numerous to mention, should be 

 visited when time permits, in fact, all the country round 

 Selborne should be explored — it all teems with interest to 

 those who honour the name and memory of Gilbert White. 



