The Story of My Heart, 1883

CHAPTER I: THE STORY OF MY HEART [published Oct. 1883] commences seventeen years ago. In the glow of youth there were times every now and then when I felt the necessity of a strong inspiration of soul thought. My heart was dusty, parched for want of the rain of deep feeling; my mind arid and dry, for there is a dust which settles on the heart as well as that which falls on a ledge. ... When this began to form I felt eager to escape from it, to throw off the heavy clothing, to drink deeply once more at the fresh fountains of life. An inspiration―a long deep breath of the pure air of thought―could alone give health to the heart. There is a hill [Liddington] to which I used to resort at such periods. The labour of walking three miles to it, all the while gradually ascending, seemed to clear my blood of the heaviness accumulated at home. On a warm summer day the slow continued rise required continual effort, which carried away the sense of oppression.... I began to breathe a new air and to have a fresher aspiration. ... Moving up the sweet short turf, at every step my heart seemed to obtain a wider horizon of feeling; with every inhalation of rich pure air, a deeper desire. The very light of the sun was whiter and more brilliant here. By the time I had reached the summit I had entirely forgotten the petty circumstances and the annoyances of existence. I felt myself, myself.

26 June 2006

Liddington Plaque and Viewing Table

Liddington Plaque and Viewing Table. On June 24th around 50 people attended an event at Liddington Hill when a memorial plaque and direction marker was unveiled by Lord Joffe. The weather was perfect, the views superb and a skylark sang overhead to add to the atmosphere of the occasion. Lady Treitel expressed thanks on behalf of the Richard Jefferies Society and read an appropriate passage from 'The Story of my Heart'. The erection of the viewing table and plaques was a millennium project planned by Liddington Parish Council who also wanted to replace the memorial plaque to Richard Jefferies and Alfred Williams that had been placed on the trig point by JB Jones [Swindon schoolmaster and scholar] some 70 years ago. This plaque disappeared a few years ago and it was assumed that vandals had pulled it down. We were pleasantly surprised to learn today that the old plaque had been found in a field and had been taken to the Bath Road Museum. As this is the first we had heard about the recovery of the plaque and, as we can see no value in placing the plaque at Bath Road Museum, we have asked for it back so that it might have place of honour at the Jefferies Museum. Photo: courtesy Gordon Wilson, Liddington Parish Council.