February 15, 1883

It is from Victorian Science in Context (1997) by Bernard Lightman, that we learn about a Victorian naturalist, a woman motivated by the conviction that nature encouraged faith in a god who created such a beautiful world. Our subject is Eliza Brightwen, born October 30, 1830. She was quite well-known in her life-time for her books, such as:

Wild nature won by kindness (1892)
Inmates of my house and garden.(1895)
Glimpses into Plant Life, 1897

Eliza  Brightwen, nee Elder,  came from a comfortable background. In 1855 she married the banker George Brightwen. They had a large, luxurious, and secluded estate in Stanmore. In 1872 she became so ill that she had to stay in bed all the time. After her husband died, February 15, 1883, Eliza recovered and spent the rest of her life observing nature, collecting pet animals, and writing about all this. Pet birds figure into her stories; she had a pet starling who was so attached to her that the bird tried to put bugs into Brightwen's mouth to feed her. She included in her books details about the non-cute also, such as the snails. She rarely left the estate.

Considering her background as an invalid, it is heartening to read the following  details of athletic behavior we find in her journals. We copied this excerpt from her posthumously published journals and memoirs: Eliza Brightwen, naturalist & philanthropist ; an autobiography. (1909) Edited by W. H. Chesson, with an  introduction and  epilogue by Edmond Gosse. 

…[I found a] poor cat caught by its leg in a spring trap. It was wild with pain and not over safe to approach, but at last I got my foot on the spring and let the poor creature loose. I was very jubilant at catching a live mole that was scuttling along on the surface of a dry ditch. This happened on a week day …