THE COUNTRY LIFE. 221 



" His soul saw through the weary years- 

 Past war-bells' chimes and poor men's tears 



That day when Time shall bring to birth 

 (By many a heart whose hope seems vain, 

 And many a fight where Love slays Pain) 



True Freedom, come to reign on earth."* 



In thinking of Jefferies and the country life, 

 one is continually tempted to compare him 

 with Thoreau. There are some points of resem- 

 blance. Neither Thoreau nor Jefferies had a 

 scientific training. I do not gather from any 

 page in the works of the latter that he was a 

 scientific botanist, entomologist, or ornitholo- 

 gist. Both were men of few wants and simple 

 habits. Neither went to church, yet in the 

 heart of each there was a profound sense of 

 religion, which, in the case of Jefferies, took 

 the form of a firm faith in the future destiny 

 of the soul. Both men were impatient of 

 authority and of imitation. Each desired to 

 be self- sufficient. What Emerson says of 

 Thoreau in respect of open air and exercise 

 might have been written of Jefferies. " The 

 length of his walk uniformly made the length 



* These lines were communicated to me by the writer, Mr. 

 H. H. von Sturmer, of Cambridge. 



