As the date on which this brief essay will be published marks the three-hundred-and-fourth anniversary of the Rev. Gilbert White’s birth in 1720 at the very same location as the parish he so lovingly chronicled, it seems only appropriate to bring you news of the most recently published edition of his natural history classic epistolary book “The Natural History of Selborne.”
Upon beginning to read this passage again recently, I laughed out loud when I found myself exclaiming “Timothy!” with the enthusiasm of a child seeing the appearance of a favourite character appear upon a stage.
“It has been my misfortune never to have had any neighbours whose studies have led them towards the pursuit of natural knowledge; so that, for want of a companion to quicken my industry and sharpen my attention, I have made but slender progress in a kind of information to which I have been attached from my childhood.”