THE CENTENARY OF GILBERT WHITE. 29l 



functions), which was served in a large tent on the outskirts of the 

 village, Lord Selborne presided, and made a speech appropriate 

 to the occasion. He said: — 



" Whatever might be thought of any other manner of commemorating 

 the centenary anniversary of the death of Gilbert White, no more fitting or 

 proper mode of marking a sense of his contribution to the scieuce and 

 literature of the country could be devised than their meeting. White's 

 work had qualities which were not always met with in scientific or literary 

 works. He would speak first of the character of the man, and then of the 

 character of his book. Until lately there were no means of knowing 

 anything about the character of Gilbert White except through his book, 

 though a good deal might be collected from that source. When the late 

 Professor Bell was engaged in collecting materials for his excellent edition 

 of the ' Selborne,' he had the advantage of having placed in his hands a 

 very large number of letters which were not included in the book, and 

 among them about eighty-six family letters, which enabled them to see Gilbert 

 White in a somewhat different aspect from that in which he presented 

 himself in his book. Until those materials were found, the impression which 

 most people had formed from the book alone — correct, generally, as far as it 

 went, though perhaps not universally so — was this : first, that Gilbert White 

 was a man of excellent natural abilities, strongly cultivated, and of wide 

 classical attainments and accomplishments, conversant with the best Greek 

 and Latin literature, and with the English also. In some of his letters he 

 more than once referred to Chaucer and to the ■ Vision of Piers the Plow- 

 man,' with which Englishmen even of the present day were not always 

 acquainted. White was not only an observer of nature, but one who had 

 prepared himself for observation by the best mental cultivation. He was 

 thoroughly acquainted with all the literature of Natural History— his 

 favourite pursuit — which existed in his time. No one could read his book 

 without noticing his remarkable faculty of observation, the constant aim at 

 truth, exactness, and accuracy, and a good deal of humour every now and 

 then ; nor could anyone help being struck both with the modesty and 

 simplicity of his character. His modesty prevented him from bringing 

 himself forward or drawing any picture of himself which would be adequate 

 to give a perfect view of his nature. His simplicity contributed a very 

 great charm to the book. White was curate of Selborne for many years, 

 but vicar he never was, as he was not anxious for church preferment. The 

 late James Russell Lowell, one of the most eminent literary men of his 

 country, said in the beginning of his book, ' My Study Window,' that 

 White had had a great deal of influence upon his love for observation of 

 nature, and added : ' One of the most delightful books in my father's library 

 was White's • Natural History of Selborne.' For me it has rather gained in 



