l62 THE LIFE OF RICHARD JEFFERIES 



The last chapter, where Sir Bevis talks with the wind, 

 brings back the same thought in an even more prophetic 

 way. The wind tells him of the man in the tumulus on 

 the hill : 



' " He died about a minute ago, dear, just before you 

 came up the hill. If you were to ask the people who live 

 in the houses, where they will not let me in (they care- 

 fully shut out the sun too), they would tell you he died 

 thousands of years ago ; but they are foolish, very foolish. 

 It was hardly so long ago as yesterday. Did not the 

 brook tell you all about that ? 



' " Now this man, and all his people, used to love me 

 and drink me as much as ever they could all day long and 

 a great part of the night, and when they died they still 

 wanted to be with me, and so they were all buried on the 

 tops of the hills, and you will find these curious little 

 mounds everywhere on the ridges, dear, where I blow 

 along. There I come to them still, and sing through the 

 long dry grass, and rush over the turf, and I bring the 

 scent of the clover from the plain, and the bees come 

 humming along upon me. The sun comes, too, and the 

 rain. But I am here most ; the sun only shines by day, 

 and the rain only comes now and then. 



' " But I am always here, day and night, winter and 

 summer. Drink me as much as you will, you cannot 

 drink me away ; there is always just as much of me left. 

 As I told you, the people who were buried in those little 

 mounds used to drink me, and oh ! how they raced along 

 the turf, dear ; there is nobody can run so fast now ; and 

 they leaped and danced, and sang and shouted. I loved 

 them as I love you, my darling ; there, sit down and rest 

 on the thyme, dear, and I will stroke your hair and sing 

 to you. . . . 



' " There never was a yesterday," whispered the wind 

 presently, " and there never will be to-morrow. It is all 

 one long to-day. When the man in the hill was you were 

 too, and he still is now you are here ; but of these things 

 you will know when you are older, that is, if you will only 



