I suppose that a habit of minute observation of nature is one of the
most difficult things to acquire, as it is one which is less generally
pursued than any other study. In almost all departments of learning and
investigation there have been numberless works published to illustrate
them, and text books would fill the shelves of a large library. Thoreau
in his "Walden" has shown an extremely fine and close observation of the
scenes in which his all too short life was passed, but his object does
not seem at any time to have been the study of nature from an essential
love of it, or to add to his own or the world's knowledge. On the
contrary, nature was the one resource which enabled him to exemplify his
notions of independence, which were of such a sturdy and uncompromising
character that Mr. Emerson, who had suffered some inconvenience from his
experience of Thoreau as an inmate of his household, thought him fitter
to meet occasionally in the open air than as a guest at table and
fireside. There is a delicious harmony with nature in all that he has
written, but his descriptions of out-of-door life invite us rather to
indolent musing than to investigation or study. Who after reading Izaak
Walton ever went a-fishing with the vigor and enterprise of Piscator?
Washington Irving allowed his cork to drift with the current and lay
down in the shadow of a spreading oak to dream with the beloved old
author.
In White's "Natural History of Selborne" we have a unique book indeed,
but of a far more general interest than its title would indicate. Pliny,
the elder, was the father of natural history but to many of us Gilbert
White is entitled to that honor. To an early edition of the book,
without engravings, and much abridged, as compared with Bohn's,
published in 1851, many owe their first interest in the subject.
Mr. Ireland in his charming little "Book Lover's Enchiridion," tells us
that when a boy he was so delighted with it, that in order to possess a
copy of his own (books were not so cheap as now) he actually copied out
the whole work. In a list of one hundred books, Sir John Lubbock
mentions it as "an inestimable blessing." Edward Jesse, author of
"Gleanings in Natural History" attributes his own pursuits as an
out-door naturalist entirely to White's example. Much of the charm of
the book consists in the amiable character of the author, who
"----lived in solitude, midst trees and flowers,
Life's sunshine mingling with its passing showers;
No storms to startle, and few clouds to shade
The even path his Christian virtues made."
Very little is known of him beyond what he has chosen to mention in
his diaries, which were chiefly records of his daily studies and
observations, and in his correspondence, from which the "history" is in
fact made up. From these it is evident that his habits were secluded and
that he was strongly attached to the charms of rural life. He says the
greater part of his time was spent in literary occupations, and
especially in the study of nature. He was born July 18, 1720, in the
house in which he died. His father was his first instructor in natural
history, and to his brother Thomas, a fellow of the Royal Society, he
was indebted for many suggestions for his work. It is also to his
brother's influence that we owe the publication of the book, as it
required much persuasion to induce the philosopher to pass through the
ordeal of criticism, "having a great dread of Reviewers," those
incorrigible _betes noires_ of authors. His brother promising himself to
review the work in the "Gentleman's Magazine," White reluctantly
consented to its publication. The following short abstract from the
review will show its quality, as well as suggest a possible answer to
the current question propounded by students of the census.
"Contemplative persons see with regret the country more and more
deserted every day, as they know that every well-regulated family of
property which quits a village to reside in a town, injures the place
that is forsaken in material circumstances. It is with pleasure,
therefore, we observe that so rational an employment of leisure hours as
the study of nature promises to become popular, since whatever adds to
the number of rural amusements, and consequently counteracts the
allurements of the metropolis is, on this consideration, of national
importance."
It is to be feared, however, that many stronger influences than this of
the study of nature will be necessary to keep the young men of the
present day from the great cities. Indeed, modern naturalists
themselves spend the greater part of their lives at the centers of
knowledge and only make temporary sallies into the woods and fields to
gather data. White was a noble pioneer. The very minuteness--almost
painful--of his observation required him to occupy himself for days and
weeks and months with what to the average mind would seem of the
slightest importance. As an example of his patient investigation, his
famous study of the tortoise may be given. It was more than thirty years
old when it came into his possession, and for many years--perhaps
twenty--we find White watching the habits of the interesting old
reptile, until, we may assume, he knew all about him and his species.
There are over three hundred and fifty different species of animals and
birds treated by White, most of them exhaustively; the beech tree, the
elm, and the oak are described and watched from year to year; and the
geology and fossil remains of Selborne district are presented. We have
daily accounts of the weather, information of the first tree in leaf,
the appearance of the first fungi and the plants first in blossom. He
tells us when mosses vegetate, when insects first appear and disappear,
when birds are first seen and when they migrate--and a thousand other
things; all in a style of such simplicity, united with rare scholarship,
that it is well worth the attention and imitation of students of the
English language. White was educated at Oxford. He had frequent
opportunities, 'tis said, of accepting college livings, but his fondness
for his native village made him decline all preferment. To this we owe
"Selborne" of which Dr. Beardmore, a distinguished scholar, made the
prophetic remark to a nephew of White's: "Your uncle has sent into the
world a publication with nothing to attract attention to it but an
advertisement or two in the newspapers; but depend upon it, the time will
come when very few who buy books will be without it."
The village was far less attractive than our imaginations would depict
it to have been, and the traveler who would "view fair Selborne
aright," according to a contemporary writer, should humor the caprices
of the English climate and visit it only when its fields and foliage are
clothed in their summer verdure.
--CHARLES C. MARBLE.