254 THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. 



near but just above the ridge yonder 

 shining with heavenly splendour in the very 

 dayspring. He knew Eosphoros, the Light- 

 Bringer, the morning star of hope and joy and 

 love, and his heart went out towards the 

 beauty and the glory of it. Under him the 

 broad bosom of the earth seemed to breathe 

 instinct with life, bearing him up, and from 

 the azure ether came the wind, filling his chest 

 with the vigour of the young day. 



" The azure ether yes, and more than that ! 

 Who that has seen it can forget the wondrous 

 beauty of the summer morning's sky ? It is 

 blue it is sapphire it is like the eye of a 

 lovely woman. A rich purple shines through 

 it ; no painter ever approached the colour of 

 it, no Titian or other, none from the beginning. 

 Not even the golden flesh of Rubens 7 women, 

 through the veins in whose limbs a sunlight 

 pulses in lieu of blood shining behind the 

 tissues, can equal the hues that glow behind 

 the blue. 



"The East flamed out at last. Pencilled 

 streaks of cloud high in the dome shone red. 

 An orange light rose up and spread about the 



