ONE OF THE NEW VOTERS. 99 



back from his forehead, and that was his toilet. His 

 dry throat sent him to the pump, but he did not 

 swallow much of the water — he washed his mouth 

 out, and that was enough ; and so without breakfast 

 he went to his work. Looking down from the stile 

 on the high ground there seemed to be a white cloud 

 resting on the valley, through which the tops of the 

 high trees penetrated; the hedgerows beneath were 

 concealed, and their course could only be traced by 

 the upper branches of the elms. Under this cloud 

 the wheat-fields were blotted out; there seemed 

 neither corn nor grass, work for man nor food for 

 animal; there could be nothing doing there surely. 

 In the stillness of the August morning, without song 

 of bird, the sun, shining brilliantly high above the 

 mist, seemed to be the only living thing, to possess 

 the whole and reign above absolute peace. It is a 

 curious sight to see the early harvest morn — all 

 hushed under the burning sun, a morn that you 

 know is full of life and meaning, yet quiet as if man's 

 foot had never trodden the land. Only the sun is 

 there, rolling on his endless way. 



Koger's head was bound with brass, but had it 

 not been he would not have observed anything in 

 the aspect of the earth. Had a brazen band been 

 drawn firmly round his forehead it could not have 

 felt more stupefied. His eyes blinked in the sun- 

 light; every now and then he stopped to save him- 

 self from staggering ; he was not in a condition to 

 think. It would have mattered not at all if his head 

 had been clear; earth, sky, and sun were nothing 

 to him; he knew the footpath, and saw that the 



