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.

16 September 2011

Birthday Lecture


John Price has been Chairman of the Richard Jefferies Society since 2004. He is now retired, but spent a lifetime working in Education. Having gained a Degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge, he taught for eleven years, before becoming an Education Officer and Advisor/Inspector. He then became Head of the truly “Public” School in Marlborough, St John’s, where he stayed for 14 years. For three and a half years, until 1999, he lived and worked on St. Helena, where he was Chief Education Officer. John also chaired an ‘A’ Level Biological Sciences Committee for one of the major Examining Boards, and for many years was the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. He has no formal literary training or qualifications whatever, apart from ‘O’- level English Language!