RICHARD JEFFERIES
Sm.,—It seems hardly necessary- to say that I had no intention of affront- ing Mr. Elwin personally, either in the title or in the substance of my review. Nor did I suggest that his anthology ought to have consisted only of The Story and of extracts from the Notebooks. What I acivally said was, "The essential Richard Jefferies can ' only be apprehended .. . in the Notebooks . . . and in The Story of My Heart." In so far as the pattern and action of Jefferies' mind are concerned, I believe that is true ; and I do not see how this can be taken as implying that no extracts should have been made from the bulk of Jefferies' work. That, indeed, would have been an absurdity, In the case of a popular anthology the term " essential " obviously means what is representative or essential for the purpose of a compilation.. The assertion that Jefferies was always "sick in mind, if not in body" is manifestly untenable, as Mr. _Elwin can easily discover if he follows his own advice and makes himself more fully acquainted with
Jefferies and his writings.—Yours, &c., C. E. Vutuamv. Lollesworth Cottage, West Horsley, Surrey.
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