56 THE LIFE OF RICHARD JEFFERIES 



harshly as a reporter, and fell foul of the parish clerk 

 over it. 



Now and then he took a short holiday. He mentions 

 running about on the Lewes Downs ; but usually he stayed 

 at Sydenham with his uncle and aunt, the Harrilds, and 

 in September, 1866, he writes as if he had meant to walk 

 all the way home to Coate. He walked from Temple Bar 

 to Windsor, by way of Piccadilly (' which you may remark 

 to uncle is precious long pica '), Kensington, Hounslow, 

 and Colnbrook, but, the weather being gloomy and he 

 tired on reaching Windsor, he took a train that was soon 

 to start, and gave up the walk. There was not always a 

 train waiting for him when he was tired ; ' The Story of 

 My Heart ' shows that his eager heart and brain often 

 winged him to walk until he was exhausted, and it is not 

 unlikely that he lost as well as gained in after-years by his 

 long journeys ' on his nerves.' 



He was full of interest in ideas, and evidently of con- 

 fidence, too. In December, 1866, he refers in a letter 

 to some ' unfortunate discussions ' with his uncle, which 

 must have given ' a very disagreeable impression of him 

 as obstinate and opinionative.' He began to argue on 

 theological questions with his father also. He dressed a 

 little uncommonly, and mentions ' what the Sydenham 

 people chose to consider his outlandish hat.' He recon- 

 sidered the religious ' superstitions and traditions acquired 

 compulsorily in childhood,' and apparently passed through 

 a stage of aggressive negation. There is no certain evi- 

 dence on his religious education. The Sunday services for 

 Coate were held actually at Coate Farm for a time, and in 

 an early letter he speaks of a Tuesday prayer-meeting 

 there, but with a spectator's interest. James Jefferies 

 was an irregular church-goer. It is not apparent that the 

 religious atmosphere was particularly strong, or that 

 Richard was particularly affected by it. If he had been, 

 it is most unlikely that religion would not have powerfully 

 affected the mystic experiences of his youth, through 

 which, if ever, he would be passionately exposed to its 



