A Cotswold Village

A Cotswold Village, by J. Arthur
Gibbs

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Title: A Cotswold Village
Author: J. Arthur Gibbs
Release Date: February 19, 2004 [EBook #11160]
Language: English
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[Illustration: Photo, W. Shawncross, Guildford.]
[Frontispiece. J. ARTHUR GIBBS.]

A COTSWOLD VILLAGE
OR COUNTRY LIFE AND PURSUITS IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE
BY J. ARTHUR GIBBS
"Go, little booke; God send thee good passage, And specially let this be
thy prayere Unto them all that thee will read or hear, Where thou art
wrong after their help to call, Thee to correct in any part or all."
GEOFFREY CHAUCER.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
1918

PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION
Before the third edition of this work had been published the author
passed away, from sudden failure of the heart, at the early age of
thirty-one. Two or three biographical notices, written by those who
highly appreciated him and who deeply mourn his loss, have already
appeared in the newspapers; and I therefore wish to add only a few
words about one whose kind smile of welcome will greet us no more in
this life.
Joseph Arthur Gibbs was one of those rare natures who combine a love
of outdoor life, cricket and sport of every kind, with a refined and
scholarly taste for literature. He had, like his father, a keen observation
for every detail in nature; and from a habit of patient watchfulness he
acquired great knowledge of natural history. From his grandfather, the
late Sir Arthur Hallam Elton, he inherited his taste for literary work and
the deep poetical feeling which are revealed so clearly in his book. On
leaving Eton, he wrote a Vale, of which his tutor, Mr. Luxmoore,
expressed his high appreciation; and later on, when, after leaving

Oxford, he was living a quiet country life, he devoted himself to
literary pursuits.
He was not, however, so engrossed in his work as to ignore other duties;
and he was especially interested in the villagers round his home, and
ever ready to give what is of greater value than money, personal trouble
and time in finding out their wants and in relieving them. His
unvarying kindness and sympathy will never be forgotten at Ablington;
for, as one of the villagers wrote in a letter of condolence on hearing of
his death, "he went in and out as a friend among them." With all his
tenderness of heart, he had a strict sense of justice and a clear judgment,
and weighed carefully both sides of any question before he gave his
verdict.
Arthur Gibbs went abroad at the end of March 1899 for a month's trip
to Italy, and in his Journal he wrote many good descriptions of scenery
and of the old towns; and the way in which he describes his last
glimpse of Florence during a glorious sunset shows how greatly he
appreciated its beauty. In his Journal in April he dwells on the
shortness of life, and in the following solemn words he sounds a
warning note:--
"Do not neglect the creeping hours of time: 'the night cometh when no
man can work.' All time is wasted unless spent in work for God. The
best secular way of spending the precious thing that men call time is by
making always for some grand end--a great book, to show forth the
wonders of creation and the infinite goodness of the Creator. You must
influence for good if you write, and write nothing that you will regret
some day or think trivial."
These words, written a month before the end came, tell their own tale.
The writer of them had a deep love for all things that are "lovely, pure,
and of good report"; and in his book one sees clearly the adoration he
felt for that God whom he so faithfully served. There are many
different kinds of work in this world, and diversities of gifts; to him
was given the spirit to discern the work of God in Nature's glory, and
the power to win others to see it also. He had a remarkable influence
for good at Oxford, and the letters from his numerous friends and from

his former tutor at Christ Church show that this influence has never
been forgotten, but has left its mark not only on his college, but on the
university.
Like his namesake and relative,