y all they need for the day's work.
A three-pronged fork rests across the man's shoulder, and a wallet of
lunch hangs from his left arm. The woman has a basket, a linen sack,
and a bit of rope. Evidently something is to be brought home. Just now
she has swung the empty basket up over her shoulders and it covers her
head like a huge sunbonnet.

The two young people are full of the healthy vigor which makes work
a pleasure. They go cheerfully to their day's task as if they really
enjoyed it. We cannot help suspecting that they are lovers. The man
carries himself erect with a conscious air of manliness, and steps
briskly, with his hand thrust into his pocket. The girl hides her
shyness in the shadow of the basket as she turns her face towards
his. The two swing along buoyantly, keeping step as if accustomed to
walking together.

At the close of the day's work the basket and sack will be filled, and
the laborers will return to their home by the same way. The burden may
be heavy, but they will bear it as the reward of their toil.

The picture of Going to Work was painted at about the same time[1]
as the The Sower, which forms one of the later illustrations of our
collection. A comparison of the pictures will show interesting points
of resemblance between the two men striding down hill. Though Going to
Work is not as a work of art of equal rank with The Sower, we get in
both pictures a delightful sense of motion which makes the figures
seem actually alive.

[Footnote 1: That is, within a year. See dates in the _Historical
Directory_.]

II

THE KNITTING LESSON

In the picture we have been examining we have seen something of the
outdoor life of the French peasants, and now we are shown the interior
of one of their houses, where a Knitting Lesson is being given. The
girls of the French peasantry are taught only the plainest kinds of
needlework. They have to begin to make themselves useful very early in
life, and knitting is a matter of special importance. In these large
families many pairs of stockings are needed, and all must be homemade.
This is work which the little girls can do while the mother is busy
with heavier labors. The knitting work becomes a girl's constant
companion, and there are few moments when her hands are idle.

The little girl in our picture is still a beginner in the art, and the
lesson is a very exciting occasion to her. Already she feels like a
woman.

The mother and daughter have t