260 THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. 



formation of clods and cold matter into living 

 things that the joy and the hope of summer 

 reside. Every blade of grass, each leaf, each 

 separate floret and petal, is an inscription speak- 

 ing of hope. Consider the grasses and the oaks, 

 the swallows, the sweet blue butterfly they are 

 one and all a sign and token showing before 

 our eyes earth made into life. So that my 

 hope becomes as broad as the horizon afar, 

 reiterated by every leaf, sung on every bough, 

 reflected in the gleam of every flower. There 

 is so much for us yet to come, so much to be 

 gathered, and enjoyed. Not for you or me, 

 now, but for our race, who will ultimately use 

 this magical secret for their happiness. Earth 

 holds secrets enough to give them the life of 

 the fabled Immortals. My heart is fixed firm 

 and stable in the belief that ultimately the 

 sunshine and the summer, the flowers and the 

 azure sky, shall become, as it were, interwoven 

 into man's existence. He shall take from all 

 their beauty and enjoy their glory. Hence it 

 is that a flower is to me so much more than 

 stalk and petals. When I look in the glass I 

 see that every line in my face means pessimism ; 



