16 THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. 



or on that ; he conceals some things and ex- 

 aggerates others, so that even with the picture 

 of Farmer Iden before us, it would be rash to 

 conclude that we know the elder Jefferies. 

 Some of the pictures, however, must be surely 

 drawn from the life. For instance, that of the 

 farmer planting his potatoes : 



11 Under the wall was a large patch recently 

 dug, beside the patch a grass path, and on the 

 path a wheelbarrow. A man was busy putting 

 in potatoes ; he wore the raggedest coat ever 

 seen on a respectable back. As the wind 

 lifted the tails it was apparent that the lining 

 was loose and only hung by threads, the cuffs 

 were worn through, there was a hole beneath 

 each arm, and on each shoulder the nap of the 

 cloth was gone ; the colour, which had once 

 been gray, was now a mixture of several soils 

 and numerous kinds of grit. The hat he had 

 on was no better ; it might have been made of 

 some hard pasteboard, it was so bare. 



" The way in which he was planting potatoes 

 was wonderful ; every potato was placed at 

 exactly the right distance apart, and a hole 



