New-York tribune., 1909-01-10
HAMPSHIRE JOURNEY
- Fhite's Selborne In Md
srfater.
selborne. December q.

> ssr The naturalist hinseh usually went
= - horseback. and since he was of short
a.. justified the nickname Of ''the little hus-
s. Son which was invented by one Of his
= IS friends The roads leading over the
hv,s have been improved during the last
Aa.--,o, until the beautiful little Hampshire
g.. ,sn be reached easily by good walkers
N..s-y all his favor1te haunts visited before
b..s,u The Swan at Alton, where he must
,sve stayed overnight has been recon-
- and decorated like other inns in the
- =, England, where motor driving has
-. q revival Of fortunes Yet despite the
p -,vrnsze IT is sttn the old bird which the
Ps..,tor;st knew From the i'm the same
l ---,. which he recommended TO one of his
! - rnsy be followed, and II will lead by
T-,,hs,pt sweep over the hills to Faringdon,
=. ne vas for over twenty years curate of
!. r,t,e early English church and ministered
.s,s.,;,v among sick ard poor partshioners.
ar reach of road leads 10 Norton farm. Of
=, early mention is made in the Natural
~..,-v- and then the Hanger, with its beech
-. looms up in the south, with Selborne
! ..ss-,sath f. and the high chalk downs of
=. B,ll snd HAwkley Hanger TO the south and
= This IS tie secluded valley where the
..so,.nsturaIist spent his life in close COM
-.-sr-shfr VIII anu q SlIGulA "a lmChN-
= niles will compass the villages. woods,
srsks. ponds hills and holiows which were his
20 although outside Of It there were wars
- ,svolutions an empire in the making and
= h.,vens and g new earth to be revealed by
sruius science.
.. stiu Gilbert Whites Seloorne, although
s,-s are new red brick houses with slate roofs
...o,r the deep rooted tiled or thatched cot
lac Sf-
+. sheltered vale has expanded to full
-. and the cottages have crept higher on the
,., hrl toward Newton valence; and there
! ]. smoother roads than the rough cartways
:, bridlepaths where he used 10 Plod along
: his horse with his eyes wide open for every
-,rtzststion ~ natural life. Yet in the
su-chrs-d is the great yew. perhaps two feet
| srrer IN ei-th than when he measured IT. but
| rHhout 3 trace Of decadence; and the plestor
| vis its cobbled paths and the spreading syca-
/ na,s where was once the mighty oak. is still
| ~ chil57en's playground as in his day. and the
/ au7oh whose antiquity he underrated has not
ss~ undermined out Of recognition by changes
/ Aeroel atslas and peyvs The Wakes where
/ : Hved in the heart Of his native village has
= reconstructed and enlarged until only a
/ a.tio7 Of the original structure remains; but
4
--r of his observations were conducted and
- his net tortoise used 10 stroll about after
/ --o1o-red mud bath. The outlook upon the
-.sscv-s * as restful as ever il was. and the
/ .-oot winds as picturesquely among the hol-
avs The steep path leading out Of the village
4 Il ,be crest Of the Hanger is more scientifically
/ rs5ed with diagonals and zigzags than il was
! !. his time -et at the summit is the wishing
\ isne which was his goal in an arduous climb.
,,s fhera are the same enhancing views Of
| tie village and the downs. Of which he was
] ,.rs- weary. There are few English villages
| which hsre changed SO little in the course of
! hundred years as Gilbert Whites Selborne.
yhs c1te- environment Of the naturalist's
| san,e s virtually as il was when ne rambled
/ lulanE TIE hills and rillages and obtained ma
] f-,sl for his notebooks The lane behind The
/ Wakes still leads upward 10 the top Of high
dgvn and in the hollow. where the vicarage Of
/ Newton valence IS sheltered. hangs TIE barom-
esr which he filed and refilled and carefully
.anpsred with his own More Hill, where he
] uss5 to find the rarest flowers and birds is as
& syrmstrical in contour and as thickly wooded
q in the olden time With one exception. the
vIlsees 70 the south within the circuit OF his
sIcursions in the saddle quiet and in
tsrfcant as ever. I1ss has become a railway
station. and this has stimulated growth and ac-
tvity, but nothing has happened in Hawkley;
Enpshott Church has been restored with more
sssrgy than discretion. and the lovely village
SIT stands On the edge Of verdaHt common
Hinged with high downs crowned with forests
shd Grentham is g dull hamlet on lower levels.
i Eohner Pond has shrunk in acreage under water,
sst the f5rest behind II is the same wild thicket
which the naturalist knew. The red deer may
faTe disappeared. vet the morasses TEEN with
water fowl as in his day. and the oaks are as
furdy on the way to Blacknoor and the Oak
angsr ponds as beautiful with their sylvan
setng The lane running to Priory Farm. the
eaks Of the Bourne, the Short and Long
/ EIhes the Dorton woods, the sunny sheepwalk
ao the beach forests OF the Hanger are brought
F'nin the circuit before the return 10 Alton,
it these were among Gilbert Whites favor
haunts- His casual references to them in
:. % Natural History might have been re-
sooeo yesterday, SO slight have been the vari-
fnons II the lapse Of 2 century.
ne seleorne district is beautiful even in the
1oae Of winter, when woodland and heath
e no longer verdart. and there are neither
"sa over the cottage easements wild
soans OF the edges Of the Bourne The Hanger
: covered exclusively with beech, which GIL
u White considered tire loveliest Of English
.Fss trees rom the smooth rind, the glossy
@ase and the graceful pendulous boughs; yet,
iae'ons as Il is IN summer as q high wall Of
'7io green oyerhanging the village. IL has even
-~'e refIed beauty in winter, when the delicate
-StTy q the branches and tWigs is outlined
sehs' a gray sky. The red ciays white
-ns and black loans. Of which ne took note
S7s''iolng the incongruous soils. impart va
Fseleo ooior 70 the hilisides and valleys when
Eefoure Is less vivid. and the hues blend
~fAN when the blue mists of winter are
~hne'ent veil through which they can be
~ 1he bright. flashing, willow fringed Oak
ponds, with openings IN the purple for
& V7hind them and with glints OF steel gray
~e SKI, can hardly be more beautiful in
-AIoer tlen they are now, and More Hill sure