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