OF RICHARD JEFFERIES 



ALONE in the green-roofed cave, 

 alone with the sunlight and 

 the pure water, there was a 

 sense of something more than these. 

 The water was more to me than water, 

 and the sun than sun. The gleaming 

 rays on the water in my palm held me 

 for a moment, the touch of the water 

 gave me something from itself. A 

 moment, and the gleam was gone, the 

 water flowing away, but I had had them. 

 Beside the physical water and physical 

 light I had received from them their 

 beauty; they had communicated to me 

 this silent mystery. The pure and 

 beautiful water, the pure, clear, and 

 beautiful light, each had given me some- 

 thing of their truth.—' The Life of the 

 Fields ' : Meadow Thoughts. 



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