GILBEET WHITE AGAIN 179 



that the little creatures which they look tipoii as 

 their enemies are really their best friends. 



White has had imitators, but no successful rivals. 

 A work much in the spirit and manner of his 

 famous book, called "Jesse's Gleanings in Natural 

 History," was published fifty years later. It had 

 some reputation in its own day, but seems to be 

 quite forgotten in our time. A good reader quickly 

 sees that its pages have not the same fresh, distinc- 

 tive quality as White's, not the same atmosphere of 

 unconscious curiosity and alert interest. They are 

 stamped with a die far less clear and individua,!. 

 The field covered is the same, the facts and incidents 

 are the same, but the medium through which we see 

 them all is not the same. 



The following extract gives a fair sample of the 

 style : — 



"The enjoyments and delights of a country life 



have been sung by poets in all ages, and it is our 



own fault if we find the country irksome, or less 



agreeable than a crowded metropolis. It affords 



many resources of a most agreeable nature, to those 



who seek for rational and tranquil enjoyments. A 



beautiful prospect, a walk by the side of a river in 



fine weather, in the agreeable shade of a wood or 



cool valley, have great charms for those who are 



fond of the country. We may then exclaim with 



Virgil, — 



'0, qui me gelidis convallibus Haemi 

 Sistat, et ingenti ramorum protegat umbra! ' " 



But even the Virgilian quotation does not give it 

 the flavor of White's pages. 



