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.

21 June 2026

Nature Notes in June

 


Samuel Looker transcribed the following page of un-dated notes by Jefferies and published them in Field and Farm with the title Bird Notes in June.

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16 June 2026

Wayland Smith's cave

 

                                 photo courtesy of Tom Saunders

Richard Jefferies wrote about the Wayland Smithy (just off the Ridgeway) in an article for the North Wilts Herald published on 2 November 1867. He wrote under the name 'Geoffrey' and there were eight articles in all as part of his 'History of Swindon and Antiquities of its Environs' that was later published as Jefferies Land and edited by Grace Toplis in 1896.

It also featured as the dolmen in Greene Ferne Farm.
 
                                                                                  photo courtesy of Hedley Thorne
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11 June 2026

Richard Jefferies memorial elm in Tolworth


Andrew Rossabi (President of the Richard Jefferies Society) gave a talk at Surbiton Library on Richard Jefferies’ Tolworth years on 26 September 2018. It was a beautiful sunny day and this memorable occasion was followed by a walk to the Richard Jefferies Bird Sanctuary where a young English elm sapling, that was Dutch elm disease-resistant, was planted as a Jefferies’ memorial in The Wood next to the Sanctuary fence and behind Surbiton Station.
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