Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 07.djvu/211

 and his friends love to recall him, now wading into some icy cold river to capture salmon for the purpose of artificial breeding, now smoking and in his shirt sleeves as he arranged his curiosities at South Kensington, and now again humorously dilating in his house in Albany Street on the habits of the pet animals which generally ran loose about his rooms. Numberless as were his personal friends, they were few compared with those who knew and loved him from his books, owing to the unstudied eloquence of all he wrote and the attractive manner in which he descanted on his favourite pursuits. Nothing in the animal or vegetable world came amiss to his insatiable love of nature; he would dwell with warm appreciation upon the adaptation of every animal and every part of its frame to its surroundings, point out the singularities of every specimen that came before him, and thus draw others unconsciously to the practical study of natural history. The native birds, beasts, and fishes lost a friend and protector when Buckland died. Under his love of nature and the extreme interest which he took in biological studies lay a profound but childlike faith.

Buckland's last fishery report was presented on 31 March 1880. His health was then breaking. During the following months he prepared new specimens for his museum, which he determined to leave to the nation. In June he underwent an operation for dropsy. He died on 19 Dec. 1880. Five days after he was buried at Brompton cemetery.

Besides numerous papers on fish, birds, &c., in the ‘Field’ and ‘Land and Water,’ and an article on ‘Rats’ in the ‘Quarterly Review,’ Buckland in his capacity of inspector of salmon fisheries reported annually on the salmon fisheries, and published a book on ‘Fish Hatching’ in 1863. He also wrote reports on the Scotch salmon fisheries in 1871, on the Norfolk fisheries in 1875, on the crab and lobster fisheries in 1877, the Scotch herring fisheries in 1878, and the sea fisheries in 1879. The books by which he is best known are his ‘Curiosities of Natural History,’ 4 vols., 1857–72; the ‘Logbook of a Fisherman and Zoologist,’ 1875; an edition of White's ‘Natural History of Selborne,’ with original notes, 1876; and the ‘Natural History of British Fishes,’ 1881. A gathering from his papers selected by himself was published posthumously in 1882 under the title of ‘Notes and Jottings from Animal Life.’ His life was published in 1885 by Mr. G. C. Bompas, his brother-in-law.

[Private information; Westwood and Satchell's Bibliotheca Piscatoria; Life by Bompas.]  BUCKLAND, RALPH (1564–1611), catholic divine, born in 1564, was the son of Edmund Buckland, who was descended from an ancient family living at West Harptree, Somersetshire. He was admitted into Merchant Taylors' School on 15 June 1571, and in Michaelmas term 1579 he became a commoner of Magdalen College, Oxford, but before he took a degree he came to London and studied the municipal laws for some time. At length, being ‘inflamed with a love to the Roman catholic religion, he left his parents, country, and the prospects of a fair inheritance,’ and went to the English college at Rheims. He proceeded to the Roman seminary in February 1585–6, returned to Rheims in September 1588, and, having been ordained, was in December the same year sent to England to labour on the mission. Wood supposes that he lived chiefly in his own county, and ‘spent above twenty years in doing offices belonging to his profession.’ His name appears on a list of forty-seven priests and jesuits banished in 1606. He died in 1611, leaving behind him ‘among the brethren’ the character of a ‘most pious and seraphical person,—a person who went beyond all of his time for fervent devotion’ (Athenæ Oxon. ed. Bliss, ii. 107). Dodd mentions that Buckland presented a piece of St. Thomas of Canterbury's hair shirt to Douay College, where it was preserved with due respect in a silver case.

His works are: 1. ‘Seaven sparkes of the enkindled soule, with foure lamentations composed in the hard times of Q. Elizabeth,’ 8vo, without place or date, but printed after the accession of James I. Dr. Ussher, primate of Ireland, in a sermon preached at St. Mary's, Oxford, on 5 Nov. 1640, referred to this book, which contains pious aspirations for the reconciliation of Great Britain to the Roman church, and cited passages to show that the existence of the gunpowder plot was known and its success prayed for in Rome two years before its discovery. The alleged proof, however, consisted merely of fervent ejaculations and scriptural quotations such as: Psal. 2, p. 32, ‘But the memory of novelties shall perish with a crack: as a ruinous house falling to the ground.’ Psal. 4, p. 54, ‘The crack was heard into all lands; and made nations quake for fear.’ Wood points out that there is no reason for Ussher's supposition that the book was printed at Rome. 2. ‘An embassage from heaven; wherein Christ giueth to understand his iust indignation against al such as being catholikely minded, dare yeelde their presence to the rites and praier of the malignant church,’ 8vo, without place or date. A metrical epi- 