200 



DISCOVERY 



certain lyrics written in the nianm-r of the Elizabethan 

 poets ; and two or three volumes of old letters, pre- 

 scriptions, bills, and the like cobbled up by Clare in 

 covers of wall-paper (an anticipation of a modern 

 fashion). These ragged relics on closer inspection 

 proved of great value, being covered with poetry in 

 various directions and in Clare's most private hand- 

 writing, but poetry that fully rewarded the labours of 

 the salvage. The Asylum manuscripts did not take 

 shape, but a transcript of some hundreds of poems 

 came to light and was itself transcribed. From these 

 and certain other materials, as well as from what had 

 prc\iously been printed by or about the poet, a volume 

 entitled John Clare : Poems chiefly from Manuscript 

 was produced last year. Here was a poet, not unknown 

 to many critics and readers, who died not si.xty years 

 since ; and yet it was possible to present his life and 

 his work in such a manner that John Clare seemed an 

 actual discover}'. The adventure, if such it may be 

 considered, is not yet ended. The 1920 volume, had 

 the stress of practical publishing been less cramping, 

 could have been twice or thrice as large without 

 monotony or dilution ; and masses of new material 

 have emerged later, notably the collection purchased 

 so valiantly (and withal so wisely) by the Northampton 

 Library. It is earnestly hoped that the whole of Clare's 

 work, apart from what he himself suppressed or never 

 intended for publication, may form a definitive edition, 

 and the preliminary labours have advanced steadily ; 

 while, carefully as was the brief memoir in the last 

 volume prepared, there are now in my hands fresh facts 

 and impressions enough to make some reconstruction 

 worth while. 



In conclusion, let us attempt to sum up the poetry 

 of Clare and the chief literature about him. He is, 

 indeed, first and foremost a nature poet. A naturalist, ' 

 who is also one of the finest of recent judges of poetry, 

 even claims that he is England's only nature poet ; and 

 this, to my mind, is no exaggeration. He observes, he 

 sympathises with, he glorifies, and how deeply he loves 

 " every mood and tone " of nature ; the drama is of 

 God's own writing, he dare not miss a syllable or ges- 

 ture. The eternity and harmony, the architecture and 

 mystery and calm are for ever in his mind, whether he 

 be staring 



O'er the disordered scenes of woods and fields. 

 Ploughed lands, thin travelled with half-hungry sheep. 



Pastures tracked deep with cows. 



Where small birds seek for seed. 



The little bees with coal black faces 

 Gathering sweets from little flowers like stars. 



Other poets love nature, yet their passion is but dim 



' Mr. H. J. Massinghara. 



by his ; they come with pride, and he as a mortal 

 wooing a goddess. 



And I love all the things 

 Her bright eyes look upon. 



He is not only the poet of nature ; there is another 

 mysticism in him, which gives us such poems as " The 

 Invitation to Eternity," sombre and strange, or the 

 noble spirit-kindling " Love Lives beyond the Tomb." 



On his weaknesses as a poet I will not dwell : the 

 chief is his failure to realise that a single pwem depends 

 as much on the development as on the richness of its 

 materials. Hence, he rarely achieves perfection in any 

 enterprise of length. But his lyrical gift often brings 

 from words as divine a music as I know. 



I add the briefest bibliography of Clare : — 



1. Poems descriptive oj Rural Life and Scenery 



2. The Village Minstrel 'in two volumes] 



3. The Shepherd's Calendar 



4. The Rural Muse ..... 



1820 

 1821 

 1827 

 1835 

 1865 

 1873 



1901 



1908 



5. Life : by Frederick Martin ..... 



6. Life and Remains ." by J. L. Cherry 



7. Poems : with memoir by Xorman Gale. Rugby : 



G. E. Over 



8. Poems: with introduction by Arthur Symons. O.xford 



University Press. ...... 



9. Poems chiefly from Manuscript : selected and edited by 



Edmund Blunden and Alan Porter ; with memoir. 

 London : Cobden-Sanderson .... 



Chemical Elements and 

 Isotopes 



By A. S. Russell, D.Sc. 



student o/ Clirist C/iurch, Ox/ord 



In a previous article " I gave a short description of 

 present theories of the structure of the atom. The 

 chief points of that article may be summarised as 

 follows : 



1. Each element is composed of atoms all of which 

 are e.\actly similar. 



2. The atoms of different elements possess the same 

 kind of structure, differing merely in detail. 



3. The structure of the atom is supposed to be this. 

 .\t the centre of the atom is a tiny core of positive 

 electricity called the nucleus. The nucleus may con- 

 tain both positive and negative electricity, but the 

 former is greatly in excess. It contains approxim- 

 ately the whole of the mass of the atom. Surrounding 



' Discovery, vol. i, p. 361. 



