But this is not all--he went a step further; he not only composed and committed that part of his work to his faithful and retentive memory; but he _corrected_ it all in his head!!!--and, as he said, when it was thus prepared, 'I had nothing to do but to write it down.' By this new and wonderful mode of composition, he studied and completed his 'Farmer's Boy,' in a garret, among six or seven of his fellow-workmen, without their ever once suspecting or knowing anything of the matter!"[31] [31] "Lives of Eminent Englishmen." Fullarton & Co., 1838. Vol. viii. p. 245. See also "Views Illustrative of Works of Robert Bloomfield," by E. W. Brayley. London: 1806, p. 17. Bloomfield was thirty-two years of age when his poem was complete and attempts were being made to find a printer and publisher. These attempts were for a time fruitless. One after another the publishers rejected the "copy" of the unknown writer. At length, it was sent by George Bloomfield, who always had full confidence in Robert's powers, to a gentleman of literary tastes living at Troston Hall, near Bury, in Suffolk--Mr. Capel Lofft. This gentleman had the good sense at once to perceive the genuine merits of the poem submitted to his judgment, and to recommend its publication. By his kind influence and aid a publisher was soon found. Messrs. Vernon & Hood paid the poet £50 for his copy, and afterward, when the poem proved a success, honorably advanced an additional £200, besides giving the author an interest in his copyright. The success of the poem was immediate and complete. It was warmly received by the public, and praised in all quarters as a masterpiece of natural poetic simplicity and beauty. Twenty-six thousand copies were sold in the first three years of its issue, seven editions having been called for. The position secured by the "Farmer's Boy" on its first publication has been held until the present day. All lovers of poetry read it with delight. It is natural and graceful as the song of a bird "warbling his native woodnotes wild." When the English song-bird sings in captivity there seems to be a touch of pathos in his note; and one can hardly resist the same impression in reading these sweet rustic melodies in verse which came from the lips of the shoemaker-poet imprisoned in a London garret. Yet there is something much more stimulating in Bloomfield's lines than this. They are sweet and joyous, and full of that glowing enthusiasm for beauty which all fine natures feel. Besides the editions sent forth in this country, the "Farmer's Boy" was printed at Leipsic, and was translated into French, Italian, and Latin.