The “unsociability” of the Vagabond in general, and Thoreau in particular Thoreau and George Meredith Similarity in attitude towards the Earth V ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON I Romance—what is it? 117 Its twofold character Romanticism analysed The elfish character of Stevenson’s work II The “Ariel” element in Stevenson predominant 120 The “unreality” of his fiction Light but little heat III The Romantic and the Artist 123 Blake—Shelley—Keats—Tennyson His ideal as an artist His courageous gaiety IV His captivating grace 126 The essays discussed—their merits and defects His indebtedness to Hazlitt, Lamb, Montaigne His “private bravado” V The artist exemplified in three ways: (1) The maker 130 of phrases; (2) The limner of pictures; (3) The painter of character. Illustrations Dickens, Browning, and Stevenson—their love of the grotesque Treatment of Nature in fiction from the days of Mrs. Radcliffe to the present day Scott—the Brontës—Kingsley—Thomas Hardy Stevenson moralizes VI Is the “Shorter Catechist” element a weakness? 137 Edgar Allan Poe and Stevenson VI RICHARD JEFFERIES I Jefferies, Borrow, and Thoreau 141 The neuroticism of Jefferies Distinction between susceptibility and passion II Jefferies as an artist 143 He loved the Earth with every nerve of his body His acute sense of touch Compare with Keats Illustrations His writings, studies, and tactile sensation Their sensuous charm III His mysticism 148 Illustration Compare with Tennyson Mysticism and hysteria The psychology of hysteria “Yoga” and the Sufis Oriental ecstasies and the trances of Jefferies Max Nordau—Professor William James De Quincey and Jefferies compared IV Differences between Thoreau and Jefferies 156 Praise and desire alternate in Jefferies’ writings His joy in the beauty and in the plenitude of the Earth V Jefferies as a thinker 158 “All things seem possible in the open air” Defect in his Nature creed His attitude towards the animal creation “Good sport” His democratic sympathies—influence of Ruskin His stoicism