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diff --git a/42856-8.txt b/42856-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d8a2a97..0000000 --- a/42856-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8644 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth, Vol. I (of -2), by Dorothy Wordsworth - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth, Vol. I (of 2) - -Author: Dorothy Wordsworth - -Editor: William Knight - -Release Date: June 2, 2013 [EBook #42856] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOURNALS OF DOROTHY WORDSWORTH, VOL I *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd, Linda Hamilton, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - JOURNALS - OF - DOROTHY WORDSWORTH - VOL. I - - - - -[Illustration: _Dorothy Wordsworth_] - - - - - JOURNALS - OF - DOROTHY WORDSWORTH - - EDITED BY - WILLIAM KNIGHT - - VOL. I - - [Illustration: Rock of Names. Thirlmere.] - - London - MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD. - NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN CO. - 1897 - - _All rights reserved_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - PREFATORY NOTE vii - - I. DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT ALFOXDEN - (FROM 20TH JANUARY TO 22ND MAY 1798) 1 - - II. DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL OF DAYS SPENT AT - HAMBURGH IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 1798 19 - - III. DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT - GRASMERE (14TH MAY TO 21ST DECEMBER 1800) 29 - - IV. DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT - GRASMERE (FROM 10TH OCTOBER 1801 TO 29TH - DECEMBER 1801) 61 - - V. DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT - GRASMERE (FROM 1ST JANUARY 1802 TO 8TH JULY - 1802) 77 - - VI. DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT - GRASMERE (9TH JULY 1802 TO 11TH JANUARY 1803) 139 - - VII. RECOLLECTIONS OF A TOUR MADE IN SCOTLAND - (A.D. 1803) 159 - - - - -PREFATORY NOTE - - -The Journals written by Dorothy Wordsworth, and her reminiscences of -Tours made with her brother, are more interesting to posterity than her -letters. - -A few fragments from her Grasmere Journal were included by the late -Bishop of Lincoln in the _Memoirs_ of his uncle, published in 1850. The -_Recollections of a Tour made in Scotland_ in 1803, were edited in full -by the late Principal Shairp in the year 1874 (third edition 1894). In -1889, I included in my _Life of William Wordsworth_ most of the Journal -written at Alfoxden, much of that referring to Hamburg, and the greater -part of the longer Grasmere Journal. Some extracts from the Journal of a -Tour on the Continent made in 1820 (and of a similar one written by Mrs. -Wordsworth), as well as short records of subsequent visits to Scotland -and to the Isle of Man, were printed in the same volume. None of these, -however, were given in their entirety; nor is it desirable now to print -them _in extenso_, except in the case of the _Recollections of a Tour -made in Scotland_ in 1803. All the Journals contain numerous trivial -details, which bear ample witness to the "plain living and high -thinking" of the Wordsworth household--and, in this edition, samples of -these details are given--but there is no need to record all the cases in -which the sister wrote, "To-day I mended William's shirts," or "William -gathered sticks," or "I went in search of eggs," etc. etc. In all cases, -however, in which a sentence or paragraph, or several sentences and -paragraphs, in the Journals are left out, the omission is indicated by -means of asterisks. Nothing is omitted of any literary or biographical -value. Some persons may think that too much has been recorded, others -that everything should have been printed. As to this, posterity must -judge. I think that many, in future years, will value these Journals, -not only as a record of the relations existing between Wordsworth and -his sister, his wife, her family and his friends, but also as an -illustration of the remarkable literary brotherhood and sisterhood of -the period. - -Coming now to details. - - -I - -I do not know of any Journal written at Racedown, and I do not think -that Dorothy kept one while she and her brother lived in Dorsetshire. In -July 1797 they took up their residence at Alfoxden; but, so far as is -known, it was not till the 20th of January 1798 that Dorothy began to -write a Journal of her own and her brother's life at that place. It was -continued uninterruptedly till Thursday, 22nd May 1798. It gives -numerous details as to the visits of Coleridge to Alfoxden, and the -Wordsworths' visits to him at Nether-Stowey, as well as of the -circumstances under which several of their poems were composed. Many -sentences in the Journal present a curious resemblance to words and -phrases which occur in the poems; and there is no doubt that, as brother -and sister made use of the same note-book--some of Wordsworth's own -verses having been written by him in his sister's journal--the -copartnery may have extended to more than the common use of the same MS. - -The archaic spellings which occur in this Journal are retained; but -inaccuracies--such as Bartelmy for Bartholemew, Crewkshank for -Cruikshank--are corrected. In the edition of 1889 the words were printed -as written in MS.; but it is one thing to reproduce the _bona fide_ text -of a journal, or the _ipsissima verba_ of a poet, and quite another to -reproduce the incorrect spellings of his sister. - - -II - -From the Journal of the days spent at Hamburg in 1798--when the -Wordsworths were on their way to Goslar, and Coleridge to -Ratzeburg--only a few extracts are given, dating from 14th September to -3rd October of that year. These explain themselves. - - -III-VI - -Of the Grasmere Journals much more is given, and a great deal that was -omitted from the first volume of the _Life of Wordsworth_ in 1889, is -now printed. To many readers this will be by far the most interesting -section of all Dorothy Wordsworth's writings. It not only contains -exquisite descriptions of Grasmere and its district--a most felicitous -record of the changes of the seasons and the progress of the year, -details as to flower and tree, bird and beast, mountain and lake--but it -casts a flood of light on the circumstances under which her brother's -poems were composed. It also discloses much as to the doings of the -Wordsworth household, of the visits of Coleridge and others, while it -vividly illustrates the peasant life of Westmoreland at the beginning of -this century. What I have seen of this Journal extends from 14th May to -21st December 1800, and from 10th October 1801 to 16th January 1803. It -is here printed in four sections. - - -VII - -When the late Principal Shairp edited the _Recollections of a Tour made -in Scotland_ in 1803, he inserted an elaborate and valuable -introduction, with a few explanatory and topographical notes. With the -consent of Mrs. Shairp, and of the Principal's son, Sheriff J. C. -Shairp, many of them are now reproduced, with the initials J. C. S. -appended. As some notes were needed at these places, and I could only -have slightly varied the statements of fact, it seemed better for the -reader, and more respectful to the memory of such a Wordsworthian as the -late Principal was, to record them as his. I cordially thank Mrs. -Shairp, and her son, for their kindness in this matter. It should be -added that Dorothy Wordsworth's archaic spelling of many of the names of -places, such as--Lanerk, Ulswater, Strath Eyer, Loch Ketterine, -Inversneyde, etc., are retained. - -These Recollections of the Tour made in Scotland were not all written -down at the time during the journey. Many of them were "afterthoughts." -The Alfoxden and Grasmere Journals were "diaries," in the sense -that--except when the contrary is stated--they were written down day by -day; but certain portions of the Scottish Journal suggest either that -they were entirely written after the return to Grasmere, or were then -considerably expanded. I have not seen the original MS. Dorothy -transcribed it in full for her friend Mrs. Clarkson, commencing the work -in 1803, and finishing it on 31st May 1805 (see vol. ii. p. 78). This -transcript I have seen. It is the only one now traceable. - -It should be mentioned that Dorothy Wordsworth was often quite incorrect -in her dates, both as to the day of the week and the month. Minute -accuracy on these points did not count for much at that time; and very -often a mistake in the date of one entry in her Journal brought with it -a long series of future errors. The same remark applies to the Grasmere -Journal, and to the record of the Continental Tour of 1820. - -Many friends and students of Wordsworth regretted the long delay in the -publication of the Tour made in Scotland in 1803. In the _Recollections -of the Table-Talk of Samuel Rogers_ (1856), p. 208, we find the -following: "I do indeed regret that Wordsworth has printed only -fragments of his sister's journal; it is most excellent, and ought to -have been published entire." It will always hold a place of honour in -itinerary literature. It possesses a singular charm, and has abiding -interest, not only as a record of travel, but also as a mirror of -Scottish life and character nearly a hundred years ago. - - -VIII - -The Journal of a Mountain Ramble, by William and Dorothy Wordsworth in -November 1805, calls for no special remark. The ramble was from Grasmere -by Rydal and Kirkstone Pass to Patterdale and Ullswater, thence to the -top of Place Fell, at the foot of which Wordsworth thought of -buying--and did afterwards buy--a small property near the Lake, thence -to Yanworth, returning to Grasmere by Kirkstone again. The story of this -"ramble," written by Dorothy, was afterwards incorporated in part by -William Wordsworth in his prose _Description of the Scenery of the -Lakes_--another curious instance of their literary copartnery. - - -IX - -In 1820 the poet, his wife, and sister, along with Mr. and Mrs. -Monkhouse, and Miss Horrocks (a sister of Mrs. Monkhouse), spent more -than three months on the Continent. They left Lambeth on the 10th of -July, and returned to London in November. Starting from Dover on 11th -July, they went by Brussels to Cologne, up the Rhine to Switzerland, -were joined by Henry Crabb Robinson at Lucerne, crossed over to the -Italian Lakes, visited Milan, came back to Switzerland, and passed -through France to Paris, where they spent a month. Dorothy Wordsworth -wrote a minute and very careful Journal of this tour, taking notes at -the time, and extending them on her return to Westmoreland. Mrs. -Wordsworth kept a shorter record of the same journey. Crabb Robinson -also wrote a diary of it. Wordsworth recorded and idealised his tour in -a series of poems, named by him "Memorials of a Tour on the Continent, -1820," very few of which were written on the spot; and when, in the -after-leisure of Rydal Mount, he set to work upon them, it is evident -that he consulted, and made frequent use of, the two family Journals, -particularly the one written by his sister. In a letter to Mrs. Clarkson -from Coblentz, dated 22nd July, Dorothy said: "Journals we shall have in -abundance; for all, except my brother and Mrs. Monkhouse, keep a -journal. Mine is nothing but notes, unintelligible to any one but -myself. I look forward, however, to many a pleasant hour's employment at -Rydal Mount in filling up the chasms." - -The originals of these two Journals still exist, and it is hard to say -whether the jottings taken at the time by the wife, or the extended -Journal afterwards written by the sister, is the more admirable, both as -a record of travel and as a commentary on the poet's work. Dorothy's MS. -is nearly as long as her Recollections of the Scottish Tour of 1803. -Extracts from both Journals were published in the library edition of the -Poems in 1884, and in the _Life of William Wordsworth_ in 1889; but -these were limited to passages illustrative of the Poems. - -It is not expedient to print either Journal in full. There are, -however, so many passages of interest and beauty in each--presenting a -vivid picture of the towns and countries through which the Wordsworths -passed, and of the style of continental travelling in those days--that -it seems desirable to insert more numerous extracts from them than those -which have been already printed. They will be found to illustrate much -of the state of things in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France in the -first quarter of the present century; while they afford an interesting -contrast to that which meets the eye of the traveller, and ministers to -his wants, at the present day. In the 80 pages extracted from Dorothy's -Journal alone, it is such passages that have, in the main, been -selected. - -In October 1821, Mr. Robinson was a visitor at Rydal Mount; and after -reading over the Journals of Mrs. and Dorothy Wordsworth, he wrote thus -in his _Diary_:-- - - "_2nd Oct. '21._--I read to-day part of Miss, and also Mrs. W.'s - Journal in Switzerland. They put mine to shame.[1] They had adopted - a plan of journalising which could not fail to render the account - amusing and informing. Mrs. W., in particular, frequently - described, as in a panorama, the objects around her; and these were - written on the spot: and I recollect her often sitting on the - grass, not aware of what kind of employment she had. Now it is - evident that a succession of such pictures must represent the face - of the country. Their Journals were alike abundant in observation - (in which the writers showed an enviable faculty), and were sparing - of reflections, which ought rather to be excited by than obtruded - in a book of travels. I think I shall profit on some future - occasion by the hint I have taken." - - [Footnote 1: Perhaps the most interesting entry in Henry Crabb - Robinson's Journal of the tour is the following: "_26th June - 1820._--I made some cheap purchases: if anything _not wanted_ - can be cheap."] - -Again, in November 1823, Robinson wrote:-- - - "Finished Mrs. Wordsworth's Journal. I do not know when I have felt - more humble than in reading it. It is so superior to my own. She - saw so much more than I did, though we were side by side during a - great part of the time." - -Robinson advised Dorothy Wordsworth to publish her Journal of this -Continental Tour, and she replied to him, 23rd May 1824:-- - - "... Your advice respecting my Continental Journal is, I am sure, - very good, provided it were worth while to make a book of it, - _i.e._ provided I _could_ do so, and provided it were my wish; but - it is not. 'Far better,' I say, 'make another tour, and write the - Journal on a different plan!' In recopying it, I should, as you - advise, omit considerable portions of the description.... But, - observe, my object is not to make a book, but to leave to my niece - a neatly-penned memorial of those few interesting months of our - lives...." - - -X - -In 1822, Dorothy Wordsworth went with Joanna Hutchinson to Scotland, for -change of air and scene. She wrote of this journey:-- - - "I had for years promised Joanna to go with her to Edinburgh--that - was her object; but we planned a little tour, up the Forth to - Stirling, thence by track-boat to Glasgow; from Dumbarton to Rob - Roy's cave by steam; stopping at Tarbet; thence in a cart to - Inverary; back again to Glasgow, down Loch Fyne, and up the Clyde; - thence on the coach to Lanark; and from Lanark to Moffat in a cart. - There we stopped two days, my companion being an invalid; and she - fancied the waters might cure her, but a bathing-place which nobody - frequents is never in order; and we were glad to leave Moffat, - crossing the wild country again in a cart, to the banks of the - river Esk. We returned to Edinburgh for the sake of warm baths. We - were three weeks in lodgings at Edinburgh. Joanna had much of that - sort of pleasure which one has in first seeing a foreign country; - and in our travels, whether on the outside of a coach, on the deck - of a steamboat, or in whatever way we got forward, she was always - cheerful, never complaining of bad fare, bad inns, or anything - else...." - -It was a short excursion, but was memorialised in the usual way by -Dorothy's ever ready pen. - - -XI - -In the following year, 1823, Wordsworth and his wife left Lee Priory, -"for a little tour in Flanders and Holland," as he phrased it in a -letter to John Kenyon. He wrote 16th May:-- - - "We shall go to Dover, with a view to embark for Ostend to-morrow, - unless detained by similar obstacles. From Ostend we mean to go to - Ghent, to Antwerp, Breda, Utrecht, Amsterdam--to Rotterdam by - Haarlem, the Hague, and Leyden--thence to Antwerp by another route, - and perhaps shall return by Mechlin, Brussels, Lille, and Ypres to - Calais--or direct to Ostend as we came. We hope to be landed in - England within a month. We shall hurry through London homewards, - where we are naturally anxious already to be, having left Rydal - Mount so far back as February...." - -The extracts taken from Mary Wordsworth's Journal show how far they -conformed to, and how far they departed from, their original plan of -travel. In them will be found the same directness and simplicity, the -same vividness of touch, as are seen in her Journal of the longer tour -taken in 1820. - - -XII - -In 1828, Dorothy Wordsworth went to the Isle of Man, accompanied by -Mrs. Wordsworth's sister Joanna, to visit her brother Henry Hutchinson. -This was a visit, earlier by five years than that which the poet took -with his sister to the Isle of Man, before proceeding to Scotland, a -tour which gave rise to so many sonnets. Of the later tour she kept no -Journal, but of the earlier one some records survive, from which a few -extracts have been made. - -In conclusion, I must mention the special kindness of the late Mrs. -Wordsworth, the daughter-in-law of the poet, and of Mr. Gordon -Wordsworth his grandson, in granting free access to all the Journals and -MSS. they possessed, and now possess. Without their aid the publication -of these volumes would have been impossible. - -WILLIAM KNIGHT. - - - - - I - - DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL - WRITTEN AT ALFOXDEN - FROM 20TH JANUARY TO 22ND MAY 1798 - -DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT ALFOXDEN IN 1798[2] - - [Footnote 2: In the original MS. there is no title. The above is a - descriptive one, given by the editor.--ED.] - - -Alfoxden, _January 20th 1798_.--The green paths down the hill-sides are -channels for streams. The young wheat is streaked by silver lines of -water running between the ridges, the sheep are gathered together on the -slopes. After the wet dark days, the country seems more populous. It -peoples itself in the sunbeams. The garden, mimic of spring, is gay with -flowers. The purple-starred hepatica spreads itself in the sun, and the -clustering snow-drops put forth their white heads, at first upright, -ribbed with green, and like a rosebud when completely opened, hanging -their heads downwards, but slowly lengthening their slender stems. The -slanting woods of an unvarying brown, showing the light through the thin -net-work of their upper boughs. Upon the highest ridge of that round -hill covered with planted oaks, the shafts of the trees show in the -light like the columns of a ruin. - -_21st._ Walked on the hill-tops--a warm day. Sate under the firs in the -park. The tops of the beeches of a brown-red, or crimson. Those oaks, -fanned by the sea breeze, thick with feathery sea-green moss, as a grove -not stripped of its leaves. Moss cups more proper than acorns for fairy -goblets. - -_22nd._--Walked through the wood to Holford. The ivy twisting round the -oaks like bristled serpents. The day cold--a warm shelter in the -hollies, capriciously bearing berries. Query: Are the male and female -flowers on separate trees? - -_23rd._--Bright sunshine, went out at 3 o'clock. The sea perfectly calm -blue, streaked with deeper colour by the clouds, and tongues or points -of sand; on our return of a gloomy red. The sun gone down. The crescent -moon, Jupiter, and Venus. The sound of the sea distinctly heard on the -tops of the hills, which we could never hear in summer. We attribute -this partly to the bareness of the trees, but chiefly to the absence of -the singing of birds, the hum of insects, that noiseless noise which -lives in the summer air.[3] The villages marked out by beautiful beds of -smoke. The turf fading into the mountain road. The scarlet flowers of -the moss. - - [Footnote 3: Compare Keats, _Miscellaneous Poems_-- - - There crept - A little noiseless noise amongst the leaves - Born of the very sigh that silence heaves. ED. - - And Coleridge, _The Ĉolian Harp_-- - - The stilly murmur of the distant sea - Tells us of silence. ED.] - -_24th._--Walked between half-past three and half-past five. The evening -cold and clear. The sea of a sober grey, streaked by the deeper grey -clouds. The half dead sound of the near sheep-bell, in the hollow of the -sloping coombe, exquisitely soothing. - -_25th._--Went to Poole's after tea. The sky spread over with one -continuous cloud, whitened by the light of the moon, which, though her -dim shape was seen, did not throw forth so strong a light as to chequer -the earth with shadows. At once the clouds seemed to cleave asunder, and -left her in the centre of a black-blue vault. She sailed along, followed -by multitudes of stars, small, and bright, and sharp. Their brightness -seemed concentrated, (half-moon). - -_26th._--Walked upon the hill-tops; followed the sheep tracks till we -overlooked the larger coombe. Sat in the sunshine. The distant -sheep-bells, the sound of the stream; the woodman winding along the -half-marked road with his laden pony; locks of wool still spangled with -the dewdrops; the blue-grey sea, shaded with immense masses of cloud, -not streaked; the sheep glittering in the sunshine. Returned through the -wood. The trees skirting the wood, being exposed more directly to the -action of the sea breeze, stripped of the net-work of their upper -boughs, which are stiff and erect, like black skeletons; the ground -strewed with the red berries of the holly. Set forward before two -o'clock. Returned a little after four. - -_27th._--Walked from seven o'clock till half-past eight. Upon the whole -an uninteresting evening. Only once while we were in the wood the moon -burst through the invisible veil which enveloped her, the shadows of the -oaks blackened, and their lines became more strongly marked. The -withered leaves were coloured with a deeper yellow, a brighter gloss -spotted the hollies; again her form became dimmer; the sky flat, -unmarked by distances, a white thin cloud. The manufacturer's dog makes -a strange, uncouth howl, which it continues many minutes after there is -no noise near it but that of the brook. It howls at the murmur of the -village stream. - -_28th._--Walked only to the mill. - -_29th._--A very stormy day. William walked to the top of the hill to see -the sea. Nothing distinguishable but a heavy blackness. An immense bough -riven from one of the fir trees. - -_30th._--William called me into the garden to observe a singular -appearance about the moon. A perfect rainbow, within the bow one star, -only of colours more vivid. The semi-circle soon became a complete -circle, and in the course of three or four minutes the whole faded away. -Walked to the blacksmith's and the baker's; an uninteresting evening. - -_31st._--Set forward to Stowey at half-past five. A violent storm in -the wood; sheltered under the hollies. When we left home the moon -immensely large, the sky scattered over with clouds. These soon closed -in, contracting the dimensions of the moon without concealing her. The -sound of the pattering shower, and the gusts of wind, very grand. Left -the wood when nothing remained of the storm but the driving wind, and a -few scattering drops of rain. Presently all clear, Venus first showing -herself between the struggling clouds; afterwards Jupiter appeared. The -hawthorn hedges, black and pointed, glittering with millions of diamond -drops; the hollies shining with broader patches of light. The road to -the village of Holford glittered like another stream. On our return, the -wind high--a violent storm of hail and rain at the Castle of Comfort. -All the Heavens seemed in one perpetual motion when the rain ceased; the -moon appearing, now half veiled, and now retired behind heavy clouds, -the stars still moving, the roads very dirty. - -_February 1st._--About two hours before dinner, set forward towards Mr. -Bartholemew's.[4] The wind blew so keen in our faces that we felt -ourselves inclined to seek the covert of the wood. There we had a warm -shelter, gathered a burthen of large rotten boughs blown down by the -wind of the preceding night. The sun shone clear, but all at once a -heavy blackness hung over the sea. The trees almost _roared_, and the -ground seemed in motion with the multitudes of dancing leaves, which -made a rustling sound, distinct from that of the trees. Still the asses -pastured in quietness under the hollies, undisturbed by these -forerunners of the storm. The wind beat furiously against us as we -returned. Full moon. She rose in uncommon majesty over the sea, slowly -ascending through the clouds. Sat with the window open an hour in the -moonlight. - - [Footnote 4: Mr. Bartholemew rented Alfoxden, and sub-let the house to - Wordsworth.--ED.] - -_2nd._--Walked through the wood, and on to the Downs before dinner; a -warm pleasant air. The sun shone, but was often obscured by straggling -clouds. The redbreasts made a ceaseless song in the woods. The wind rose -very high in the evening. The room smoked so that we were obliged to -quit it. Young lambs in a green pasture in the Coombe, thick legs, large -heads, black staring eyes. - -_3rd._--A mild morning, the windows open at breakfast, the redbreasts -singing in the garden. Walked with Coleridge over the hills. The sea at -first obscured by vapour; that vapour afterwards slid in one mighty mass -along the sea-shore; the islands and one point of land clear beyond it. -The distant country (which was purple in the clear dull air), overhung -by straggling clouds that sailed over it, appeared like the darker -clouds, which are often seen at a great distance apparently motionless, -while the nearer ones pass quickly over them, driven by the lower winds. -I never saw such a union of earth, sky, and sea. The clouds beneath our -feet spread themselves to the water, and the clouds of the sky almost -joined them. Gathered sticks in the wood; a perfect stillness. The -redbreasts sang upon the leafless boughs. Of a great number of sheep in -the field, only one standing. Returned to dinner at five o'clock. The -moonlight still and warm as a summer's night at nine o'clock. - -_4th._--Walked a great part of the way to Stowey with Coleridge. The -morning warm and sunny. The young lasses seen on the hill-tops, in the -villages and roads, in their summer holiday clothes--pink petticoats and -blue. Mothers with their children in arms, and the little ones that -could just walk, tottering by their side. Midges or small flies spinning -in the sunshine; the songs of the lark and redbreast; daisies upon the -turf; the hazels in blossom; honeysuckles budding. I saw one solitary -strawberry flower under a hedge. The furze gay with blossom. The moss -rubbed from the pailings by the sheep, that leave locks of wool, and the -red marks with which they are spotted, upon the wood. - -_5th._--Walked to Stowey with Coleridge, returned by Woodlands; a very -warm day. In the continued singing of birds distinguished the notes of a -blackbird or thrush. The sea overshadowed by a thick dark mist, the land -in sunshine. The sheltered oaks and beeches still retaining their brown -leaves. Observed some trees putting out red shoots. Query: What trees -are they? - -_6th._--Walked to Stowey over the hills, returned to tea, a cold and -clear evening, the roads in some parts frozen hard. The sea hid by mist -all the day. - -_7th._--Turned towards Potsdam, but finding the way dirty, changed our -course. Cottage gardens the object of our walk. Went up the smaller -Coombe to Woodlands, to the blacksmith's, the baker's, and through the -village of Holford. Still misty over the sea. The air very delightful. -We saw nothing very new, or interesting. - -_8th._--Went up the Park, and over the tops of the hills, till we came -to a new and very delicious pathway, which conducted us to the Coombe. -Sat a considerable time upon the heath. Its surface restless and -glittering with the motion of the scattered piles of withered grass, and -the waving of the spiders' threads. On our return the mist still hanging -over the sea, but the opposite coast clear, and the rocky cliffs -distinguishable. In the deep Coombe, as we stood upon the sunless hill, -we saw miles of grass, light and glittering, and the insects passing. - -_9th._--William gathered sticks.... - -_10th._--Walked to Woodlands, and to the waterfall. The adder's-tongue -and the ferns green in the low damp dell. These plants now in perpetual -motion from the current of the air; in summer only moved by the -drippings of the rocks. A cloudy day. - -_11th._--Walked with Coleridge near to Stowey. The day pleasant, but -cloudy. - -_12th._--Walked alone to Stowey. Returned in the evening with Coleridge. -A mild, pleasant, cloudy day. - -_13th._--Walked with Coleridge through the wood. A mild and pleasant -morning, the near prospect clear. The ridges of the hills fringed with -wood, showing the sea through them like the white sky, and still beyond -the dim horizon of the distant hills, hanging as it were in one -undetermined line between sea and sky. - -_14th._--Gathered sticks with William in the wood, he being unwell and -not able to go further. The young birch trees of a bright red, through -which gleams a shade of purple. Sat down in a thick part of the wood. -The near trees still, even to their topmost boughs, but a perpetual -motion in those that skirt the wood. The breeze rose gently; its path -distinctly marked, till it came to the very spot where we were. - -_15th._--Gathered sticks in the further wood. The dell green with moss -and brambles, and the tall and slender pillars of the unbranching oaks. -I crossed the water with letters; returned to Wm. and Basil. A shower -met us in the wood, and a ruffling breeze. - -_16th._--Went for eggs into the Coombe, and to the baker's; a hail -shower; brought home large burthens of sticks, a starlight evening, the -sky closed in, and the ground white with snow before we went to bed. - -_17th._--A deep snow upon the ground. Wm. and Coleridge walked to Mr. -Bartholemew's, and to Stowey. Wm. returned, and we walked through the -wood into the Coombe to fetch some eggs. The sun shone bright and clear. -A deep stillness in the thickest part of the wood, undisturbed except by -the occasional dropping of the snow from the holly boughs; no other -sound but that of the water, and the slender notes of a redbreast, which -sang at intervals on the outskirts of the southern side of the wood. -There the bright green moss was bare at the roots of the trees, and the -little birds were upon it. The whole appearance of the wood was -enchanting; and each tree, taken singly, was beautiful. The branches of -the hollies pendent with their white burden, but still showing their -bright red berries, and their glossy green leaves. The bare branches of -the oaks thickened by the snow. - -_18th._--Walked after dinner beyond Woodlands.[5] A sharp and very cold -evening; first observed the crescent moon, a silvery line, a thready -bow, attended by Jupiter and Venus in their palest hues. - - [Footnote 5: This house was afterwards John Kenyon's,--to whom - _Aurora Leigh_ is dedicated,--and was subsequently the residence - of the Rev. William Nichols, author of _The Quantocks and their - Associations_.--ED.] - -_19th._--I walked to Stowey before dinner; Wm. unable to go all the way. -Returned alone; a fine sunny, clear, frosty day. The sea still, and -blue, and broad, and smooth. - -_20th._--Walked after dinner towards Woodlands. - -_21st._--Coleridge came in the morning, which prevented our walking. Wm. -went through the wood with him towards Stowey; a very stormy night. - -_22nd._--Coleridge came in the morning to dinner. Wm. and I walked after -dinner to Woodlands; the moon and two planets; sharp and frosty. Met a -razor-grinder with a soldier's jacket on, a knapsack upon his back, and -a boy to drag his wheel. The sea very black, and making a loud noise as -we came through the wood, loud as if disturbed, and the wind was silent. - -_23rd._--William walked with Coleridge in the morning. I did not go out. - -_24th._--Went to the hill-top. Sat a considerable time overlooking the -country towards the sea. The air blew pleasantly round us. The landscape -mildly interesting. The Welsh hills capped by a huge range of tumultuous -white clouds. The sea, spotted with white, of a bluish grey in general, -and streaked with darker lines. The near shores clear; scattered farm -houses, half-concealed by green mossy orchards, fresh straw lying at the -doors; hay-stacks in the fields. Brown fallows, the springing wheat, -like a shade of green over the brown earth, and the choice meadow plots, -full of sheep and lambs, of a soft and vivid green; a few wreaths of -blue smoke, spreading along the ground; the oaks and beeches in the -hedges retaining their yellow leaves; the distant prospect on the land -side, islanded with sunshine; the sea, like a basin full to the margin; -the dark fresh-ploughed fields; the turnips of a lively rough green. -Returned through the wood. - -_25th._--I lay down in the morning, though the whole day was very -pleasant, and the evening fine. We did not walk. - -_26th._--Coleridge came in the morning, and Mr. and Mrs. Cruikshank[6]; -walked with Coleridge nearly to Stowey after dinner. A very clear -afternoon. We lay sidelong upon the turf, and gazed on the landscape -till it melted into more than natural loveliness. The sea very uniform, -of a pale greyish blue, only one distant bay, bright and blue as a sky; -had there been a vessel sailing up it, a perfect image of delight. -Walked to the top of a high hill to see a fortification. Again sat down -to feed upon the prospect; a magnificent scene, _curiously_ spread out -for even minute inspection, though so extensive that the mind is afraid -to calculate its bounds. A winter prospect shows every cottage, every -farm, and the forms of distant trees, such as in summer have no -distinguishing mark. On our return, Jupiter and Venus before us. While -the twilight still overpowered the light of the moon, we were reminded -that she was shining bright above our heads, by our faint shadows going -before us. We had seen her on the tops of the hills, melting into the -blue sky. Poole called while we were absent. - - [Footnote 6: Of Nether-Stowey, the agent of the Earl of Egmont.--ED.] - -_27th._--I walked to Stowey in the evening. Wm. and Basil went with me -through the wood. The prospect bright, yet _mildly_ beautiful. The sea -big and white, swelled to the very shores, but round and high in the -middle. Coleridge returned with me, as far as the wood. A very bright -moonlight night. Venus almost like another moon. Lost to us at Alfoxden -long before she goes down the large white sea. - - * * * * * * - -_March 1st._--We rose early. A thick fog obscured the distant prospect -entirely, but the shapes of the nearer trees and the dome of the wood -dimly seen and dilated. It cleared away between ten and eleven. The -shapes of the mist, slowly moving along, exquisitely beautiful; passing -over the sheep they almost seemed to have more of life than those quiet -creatures. The unseen birds singing in the mist.[7] - - [Footnote 7: Compare _The Recluse_, 1. 91-- - - Her Voice was like a hidden Bird that sang. ED.] - -_2nd._--Went a part of the way home with Coleridge in the morning. -Gathered fir apples afterwards under the trees. - -_3rd._--I went to the shoemaker's. William lay under the trees till my -return. Afterwards went to the secluded farm house in search of eggs, -and returned over the hill. A very mild, cloudy evening. The rose trees -in the hedges and the elders budding. - -_4th._--Walked to Woodlands after dinner, a pleasant evening. - -_5th._--Gathered fir-apples. A thick fog came on. Walked to the baker's -and the shoemaker's, and through the fields towards Woodlands. On our -return, found Tom Poole in the parlour. He drank tea with us. - -_6th._--A pleasant morning, the sea white and bright, and full to the -brim. I walked to see Coleridge in the evening. William went with me to -the wood. Coleridge very ill. It was a mild, pleasant afternoon, but the -evening became very foggy; when I was near Woodlands, the fog overhead -became thin, and I saw the shapes of the Central Stars. Again it closed, -and the whole sky was the same. - -_7th._--William and I drank tea at Coleridge's. A cloudy sky. Observed -nothing particularly interesting--the distant prospect obscured. One -only leaf upon the top of a tree--the sole remaining leaf--danced round -and round like a rag blown by the wind.[8] - - [Footnote 8: Did this suggest the lines in _Christabel_?-- - - The one red leaf, the last of its clan, - That dances as often as dance it can, - Hanging so light, and hanging so high, - On the topmost twig that looks up at the sky. ED.] - -_8th._--Walked in the Park in the morning. I sate under the fir trees. -Coleridge came after dinner, so we did not walk again. A foggy morning, -but a clear sunny day. - -_9th._--A clear sunny morning, went to meet Mr. and Mrs. Coleridge. The -day very warm. - -_10th._--Coleridge, Wm., and I walked in the evening to the top of the -hill. We all passed the morning in sauntering about the park and -gardens, the children playing about, the old man at the top of the hill -gathering furze; interesting groups of human creatures, the young -frisking and dancing in the sun, the elder quietly drinking in the life -and soul of the sun and air. - -_11th._--A cold day. The children went down towards the sea. William and -I walked to the top of the hills above Holford. Met the blacksmith. -Pleasant to see the labourer on Sunday jump with the friskiness of a cow -upon a sunny day. - -_12th._--Tom Poole returned with Coleridge to dinner, a brisk, cold, -sunny day; did not walk. - -_13th._--Poole dined with us. William and I strolled into the wood. -Coleridge called us into the house. - - * * * * * * - -_15th._--I have neglected to set down the occurrences of this week, so I -do not recollect how we disposed of ourselves to-day. - -_16th._--William, and Coleridge, and I walked in the Park a short time. -I wrote to ----. William very ill, better in the evening; and we called -round by Potsdam. - -_17th._--I do not remember this day. - -_18th._--The Coleridges left us. A cold, windy morning. Walked with -them half way. On our return, sheltered under the hollies, during a -hail-shower. The withered leaves danced with the hailstones. William -wrote a description of the storm.[9] - - [Footnote 9: See "A whirl-blast from behind the hill" in the "Poetical - Works," vol. i. p. 238.--ED.] - -_19th._--Wm. and Basil and I walked to the hill-tops, a very cold bleak -day. We were met on our return by a severe hailstorm. William wrote some -lines describing a stunted thorn.[10] - - [Footnote 10: See _The Thorn_, "Poetical Works," vol. i. p. 239.--ED.] - -_20th._--Coleridge dined with us. We went more than half way home with -him in the evening. A very cold evening, but clear. The spring seemingly -very little advanced. No green trees, only the hedges are budding, and -looking very lovely. - -_21st._--We drank tea at Coleridge's. A quiet shower of snow was in the -air during more than half our walk. At our return the sky partially -shaded with clouds. The horned moon was set. Startled two night birds -from the great elm tree. - -_22nd._--I spent the morning in starching and hanging out linen; walked -_through_ the wood in the evening, very cold. - -_23rd._--Coleridge dined with us. He brought his ballad finished.[11] We -walked with him to the Miner's house. A beautiful evening, very starry, -the horned moon. - - [Footnote 11: The ballad was finished by February 18, 1798. See _Early - Recollections_, etc., by Joseph Cottle, vol. i. p. 307 (1837).--ED.] - -_24th._--Coleridge, the Chesters, and Ellen Cruikshank called. We -walked with them through the wood. Went in the evening into the Coombe -to get eggs; returned through the wood, and walked in the park. A duller -night than last night: a sort of white shade over the blue sky. The -stars dim. The spring continues to advance very slowly, no green trees, -the hedges leafless; nothing green but the brambles that still retain -their old leaves, the evergreens, and the palms, which indeed are not -absolutely green. Some brambles I observed to-day budding afresh, and -those have shed their old leaves. The crooked arm of the old oak tree -points upwards to the moon. - -_25th._--Walked to Coleridge's after tea. Arrived at home at one -o'clock. The night cloudy but not dark. - -_26th._--Went to meet Wedgwood at Coleridge's after dinner. Reached home -at half-past twelve, a fine moonlight night; half moon. - -_27th._--Dined at Poole's. Arrived at home a little after twelve, a -partially cloudy, but light night, very cold. - -_28th._--Hung out the linen. - -_29th._--Coleridge dined with us. - -_30th._--Walked I know not where. - -_31st._--Walked. - -_April 1st._--Walked by moonlight. - -_2nd._--A very high wind. Coleridge came to avoid the smoke; stayed all -night. We walked in the wood, and sat under the trees. The half of the -wood perfectly still, while the wind was making a loud noise behind us. -The still trees only gently bowed their heads, as if listening to the -wind. The hollies in the thick wood unshaken by the blast; only, when it -came with a greater force, shaken by the rain drops falling from the -bare oaks above. - -_3rd._--Walked to Crookham, with Coleridge and Wm., to make the appeal. -Left Wm. there, and parted with Coleridge at the top of the hill. A very -stormy afternoon.... - -_4th._--Walked to the sea-side in the afternoon. A great commotion in -the air, but the sea neither grand nor beautiful. A violent shower in -returning. Sheltered under some fir trees at Potsdam. - -_5th._--Coleridge came to dinner. William and I walked in the wood in -the morning. I fetched eggs from the Coombe. - -_6th._--Went a part of the way home with Coleridge. A pleasant warm -morning, but a showery day. Walked a short distance up the lesser -Coombe, with an intention of going to the source of the brook, but the -evening closing in, cold prevented us. The Spring still advancing very -slowly. The horse-chestnuts budding, and the hedgerows beginning to look -green, but nothing fully expanded. - -_7th._--Walked before dinner up the Coombe, to the source of the brook, -and came home by the tops of the hills; a showery morning, at the -hill-tops; the view opened upon us very grand. - -_8th._--Easter Sunday. Walked in the morning in the wood, and half way -to Stowey; found the air at first oppressively warm, afterwards very -pleasant. - -_9th._--Walked to Stowey, a fine air in going, but very hot in -returning. The sloe in blossom, the hawthorns green, the larches in the -park changed from black to green in two or three days. Met Coleridge in -returning. - -_10th._--I was hanging out linen in the evening. We walked to Holford. I -turned off to the baker's, and walked beyond Woodlands, expecting to -meet William, met him on the hill; a close warm evening ... in bloom. - -_11th._--In the wood in the morning, walked to the top of the hill, then -I went down into the wood. A pleasant evening, a fine air, the grass in -the park becoming green, many trees green in the dell. - -_12th._--Walked in the morning in the wood. In the evening up the -Coombe, fine walk. The Spring advances rapidly, multitudes of primroses, -dog-violets, periwinkles, stitchwort. - -_13th._--Walked in the wood in the morning. In the evening went to -Stowey. I staid with Mr. Coleridge. Wm. went to Poole's. Supped with Mr. -Coleridge. - -_14th._--Walked in the wood in the morning. The evening very stormy, so -we staid within doors. Mary Wollstonecraft's life, etc., came. - -_15th._--Set forward after breakfast to Crookham, and returned to -dinner at three o'clock. A fine cloudy morning. Walked about the -squire's grounds. Quaint waterfalls about, about which Nature was very -successfully striving to make beautiful what art had deformed--ruins, -hermitages, etc. etc. In spite of all these things, the dell romantic -and beautiful, though everywhere planted with unnaturalised trees. -Happily we cannot shape the huge hills, or carve out the valleys -according to our fancy. - -_16th._--New moon. William walked in the wood in the morning. I -neglected to follow him. We walked in the park in the evening.... - -_17th._--Walked in the wood in the morning. In the evening upon the -hill. Cowslips plentiful. - -_18th._--Walked in the wood, a fine sunny morning, met Coleridge -returned from his brother's. He dined with us. We drank tea, and then -walked with him nearly to Stowey.... - -_19th._-- ... - -_20th._--Walked in the evening up the hill dividing the Coombes. Came -home the Crookham way, by the thorn, and the "little muddy pond." Nine -o'clock at our return. William all the morning engaged in wearisome -composition. The moon crescent. _Peter Bell_ begun. - -_21st_, _22nd_, _23rd_.-- ... - -_24th._--Walked a considerable time in the wood. Sat under the trees, in -the evening walked on the top of the hill, found Coleridge on our return -and walked with him towards Stowey. - -_25th._--Coleridge drank tea, walked with him to Stowey. - -_26th._--William went to have his picture taken.[12] I walked with him. -Dined at home. Coleridge and he drank tea. - - [Footnote 12: This was the earliest portrait of Wordsworth by W. - Shuter. It is now in the possession of Mrs. St. John, Ithaca, - U.S.A.--ED.] - -_27th._--Coleridge breakfasted and drank tea, strolled in the wood in -the morning, went with him in the evening through the wood, afterwards -walked on the hills: the moon, a many-coloured sea and sky. - -_28th, Saturday._--A very fine morning, warm weather all the week. - -_May 6th, Sunday._--Expected the painter, and Coleridge. A rainy -morning--very pleasant in the evening. Met Coleridge as we were walking -out. Went with him to Stowey; heard the nightingale; saw a glow-worm. - -_7th._--Walked in the wood in the morning. In the evening, to Stowey -with Coleridge who called. - -_8th._--Coleridge dined, went in the afternoon to tea at Stowey. A -pleasant walk home. - -_9th._-- ... Wrote to Coleridge. - -_Wednesday, 16th May._--Coleridge, William, and myself set forward to -the Chedder rocks; slept at Bridgewater. - -_22nd, Thursday._[13]--Walked to Chedder. Slept at Cross. - - [Footnote 13: It is thus written in the MS., but the 22nd May 1798 - was a _Tuesday_. If the entry refers to a _Thursday_, the day of the - month should have been written 24th. Dorothy Wordsworth was not exact - as to dates.--ED.] - - - - - II - - DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL - OF - DAYS SPENT AT HAMBURGH - IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 1798 - -EXTRACTS FROM DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL OF DAYS SPENT AT HAMBURGH, -IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 1798[14] - - [Footnote 14: This is not Dorothy's own title. Her Journal has no - title.--ED.] - - -Quitted London, Friday, 14th September 1798. Arrived at Yarmouth on -Saturday noon, and sailed on Sunday morning at eleven o'clock. Before we -heaved the anchor I was consigned to the cabin, which I did not quit -till we were in still water at the mouth of the Elbe, on Tuesday morning -at ten o'clock. I was surprised to find, when I came upon deck, that we -could not see the shores, though we were in the river. It was to my eyes -a still sea. But oh! the gentle breezes and the gentle motion!... As we -advanced towards Cuxhaven the shores appeared low and flat, and thinly -peopled; here and there a farm-house, cattle feeding, hay-stacks, a -cottage, a windmill. Some vessels were at anchor at Cuxhaven, an ugly, -black-looking place. Dismissed a part of our crew, and proceeded in the -packet-boat up the river. - -Cast anchor between six and seven o'clock. The moon shone upon the -waters. The shores were visible rock; here and there a light from the -houses. Ships lying at anchor not far from us. We[15] drank tea upon -deck by the light of the moon. I enjoyed solitude and quietness, and -many a recollected pleasure, hearing still the unintelligible jargon of -the many tongues that gabbled in the cabin. Went to bed between ten and -eleven. The party playing at cards, but they were silent, and suffered -us to go to sleep. At four o'clock in the morning we were awakened by -the heaving of the anchor, and till seven, in the intervals of sleep, I -enjoyed the thought that we were advancing towards Hamburgh; but what -was our mortification on being told that there was a thick fog, and that -we could not sail till it was dispersed. I went on to the deck. The air -was cold and wet, the decks streaming, the shores invisible, no hope of -clear weather. At ten however the sun appeared, and we saw the green -shores. All became clear, and we set sail. Churches very frequent on the -right, with spires red, blue, sometimes green; houses thatched or tiled, -and generally surrounded with low trees. A beautiful low green island, -houses, and wood. As we advanced, the left bank of the river became more -interesting. - - [Footnote 15: _i.e._ William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Coleridge, and - Chester.--ED.] - -The houses warm and comfortable, sheltered with trees, and neatly -painted. Blankenese, a village or town scattered over the sides of three -hills, woody where the houses lie and sleep down below, the houses -half-concealed by, and half-obtruding themselves from, the low trees. -Naked boats with masts lying at the bare feet of the Blankenese hills. -Houses more and more frequent as we approach Hamburgh. The banks of the -Elbe more steep. Some gentlemen's seats after the English fashion. The -spires of Altona and Hamburgh visible a considerable time. At Altona we -took a boat, and rowed through the narrow passages of the Elbe, crowded -with vessels of all nations. Landed at the Boom House, where we were -received by porters, ready to carry our luggage to any part of the town. -William went to seek lodgings, and the rest of the party guarded the -luggage. Two boats were about to depart. An elegant English carriage was -placed in one, and presently a very pretty woman, conducted by a -gentleman, seated herself in it, and they rowed off. The other contained -a medley crew of all ages. There was an old woman, with a blue cap -trimmed with broad silver lace, and tied under her chin. She had a short -coloured cloak, etc. While we stood in the street, which was open on one -side to the Elbe, I was much amused by the various employments and -dresses of the people who passed before us.... There were Dutch women -with immense straw bonnets, with flat crowns and rims in the shape of -oyster shells, without trimming, or with only a plain riband round the -crown, and literally as large as a small-sized umbrella. Hamburgher -girls with white caps, with broad overhanging borders, crimped and -stiff, and long lappets of riband. Hanoverians with round borders, -showing all the face, and standing upright, a profusion of riband.... -Fruit-women, with large straw hats in the shape of an inverted bowl, or -white handkerchiefs tied round the head like a bishop's mitre. Jackets -the most common, often the petticoat and jacket of different colours. -The ladies without hats, in dresses of all fashions. Soldiers with -dull-looking red coats, and immense cocked hats. The men little -differing from the English, except that they have generally a pipe in -their mouths. After waiting about an hour we saw Wm. appear. Two porters -carried our luggage upon a sort of wheelbarrow, and we were conducted -through dirty, ill-paved streets to an inn, where, with great -difficulty, and after long seeking, lodgings had been procured for us. - - * * * * * * - -Breakfasted with Mons. de Loutre. Chester and I went to the promenade. -People of all ranks, and in various dresses, walking backwards and -forwards. Ladies with small baskets hanging on their arms, long shawls -of various colours thrown over their shoulders. The women of the lower -order dressed with great modesty.... Went to the French theatre in the -evening.... The piece a mixture of dull declamation and unmeaning rant. -The ballet unintelligible to us, as the story was carried on in singing. -The body of the house very imperfectly lighted, which has a good effect -in bringing out the stage, but the acting was not very amusing.... - -_Sunday._--William went in the boat to Harburgh. In our road to the boat -we looked into one of the large churches. Service was just ended. The -audience appeared to be simply composed of singing boys dressed in large -cocked hats, and a few old women who sat in the aisles.... Met many -bright-looking girls with white caps, carrying black prayer-books in -their hands.... Coleridge went to Ratzeberg at five o'clock in the -diligence. Chester accompanied me towards Altona. The streets wide and -pleasant in that quarter of the town. Immense crowds of people walking -for pleasure, and many pleasure-waggons passing and repassing. Passed -through a nest of Jews. Were invited to view an exhibition of waxwork. -The theatres open, and the billiard-tables attended. The walks very -pleasing between Hamburgh and Altona. A large piece of ground planted -with trees, and intersected by gravel walks. Music, cakes, fruit, -carriages, and foot-passengers of all descriptions. A very good view of -the shipping, and of Altona and the town and spires of Hamburgh. I could -not but remark how much the prospect would have suffered by one of our -English canopies of coal smoke. The ground on the opposite side of the -Elbe appears marshy. There are many little canals or lines of water. -While the sun was yet shining pleasantly, we were obliged to blink -perpetually to turn our eyes to the church clock. The gates are shut at -half-past six o'clock, and there is no admittance into the city after -that time. This idea deducts much from the pleasure of an evening walk. -You are haunted by it long before the time has elapsed.... - -_Wednesday._--Dined with Mr. Klopstock. Had the pleasure of meeting his -brother the poet, a venerable old man, retaining the liveliness and -alertness of youth, though he evidently cannot be very far from the -grave.... The party talked with much interest of the French comedy, and -seemed fond of music. The poet and his lady were obliged to depart soon -after six. He sustained an animated conversation with William during the -whole afternoon. Poor old man! I could not look upon him, the benefactor -of his country, the father of German poetry, without emotion.... - -During my residence in Hamburgh I have never seen anything like a -quarrel in the streets but once, and that was so trifling that it would -scarcely have been noticed in England.... In the shops (except the -established booksellers and stationers) I have constantly observed a -disposition to cheat, and take advantage of our ignorance of the -language and money.... - -_Thursday, 28th September._--William and I set forward at twelve o'clock -to Altona.... The Elbe in the vicinity of Hamburgh is so divided, and -spread out, that the country looks more like a plain overflowed by heavy -rain than the bed of a great river. We went about a mile and a half -beyond Altona: the roads dry and sandy, and a causeway for -foot-passengers.... The houses on the banks of the Elbe, chiefly of -brick, seemed very warm and well built.... - -The small cottage houses seemed to have little gardens, and all the -gentlemen's houses were surrounded by gardens quaintly disposed in beds -and curious knots, with ever-twisting gravel walks and bending poplars. -The view of the Elbe and the spreading country must be very interesting -in a fine sunset. There is a want of some atmospherical irradiation to -give a richness to the view. On returning home we were accosted by the -first beggar whom we have seen since our arrival at Hamburgh. - -_Friday, 29th._--Sought Coleridge at the bookseller's, and went to the -Promenade.... All the Hamburghers full of Admiral Nelson's victory. - -Called at a baker's shop. Put two shillings into the baker's hands, for -which I was to have had four small rolls. He gave me two. I let him -understand that I was to have four, and with this view I took one -shilling from him, pointed to it and to two loaves, and at the same time -offering it to him. Again I took up two others. In a savage manner he -half knocked the rolls out of my hand, and when I asked him for the -other shilling he refused to return it, and would neither suffer me to -take bread, nor give me back my money, and on these terms I quitted the -shop. I am informed that it is the boast and glory of these people to -cheat strangers, that when a feat of this kind is successfully performed -the man goes from the shop into his house, and triumphantly relates it -to his wife and family. The Hamburgher shopkeepers have three sorts of -weights, and a great part of their skill, as shopkeepers, consists in -calculating upon the knowledge of the buyer, and suiting him with scales -accordingly.... - -_Saturday, 30th September._--The grand festival of the Hamburghers, -dedicated to Saint Michael, observed with solemnity, but little -festivity. Perhaps this might be partly owing to the raininess of the -evening. In the morning the churches were opened very early. St. -Christopher's was quite full between eight and nine o'clock. It is a -large heavy-looking building, immense, without either grandeur or -beauty; built of brick, and with few windows.... There are some -pictures, ... one of the Saint fording the river with Christ upon his -back--a giant figure, which amused me not a little.... Walked with -Coleridge and Chester upon the promenade.... We took places in the -morning in the Brunswick coach for Wednesday. - -_Sunday, 1st October._--Coleridge and Chester went to Ratzeberg at -seven o'clock in the morning.... William and I set forward at half-past -eleven with an intention of going to Blankenese.... The buildings all -seem solid and warm in themselves, but still they look cold from their -nakedness of trees. They are generally newly built, and placed in -gardens, which are planted in front with poplars and low shrubs, but the -possessors seem to have no prospective view to a shelter for their -children. They do not plant behind their houses. All the buildings of -this character are near the road which runs at different distances from -the edge of the bank which rises from the river. This bank is generally -steep, scattered over with trees which are either not of ancient growth, -or from some cause do not thrive, but serve very well to shelter and -often conceal the more humble dwellings, which are close to the sandy -bank of the river.... We saw many carriages. In one of them was -Klopstock, the poet. There are many inns and eating-houses by the -roadside. We went to a pretty village, or nest of houses about a league -from Blankenese, and beyond to a large open field, enclosed on one side -with oak trees, through which winds a pleasant gravel walk. On the other -it is open to the river.... When we were within about a mile and a half -or two miles of Altona, we turned out of the road to go down to the -river, and pursued our way along the path that leads from house to -house. These houses are low, never more than two storeys high, built of -brick, or a mixture of brick and wood, and thatched or tiled. They have -all window-shutters, which are painted frequently a grey light green, -but always painted. We were astonished at the excessive neatness which -we observed in the arrangement of everything within these houses. They -have all window curtains as white as snow; the floors of all that we saw -were perfectly clean, and the brass vessels as bright as a mirror.... I -imagine these houses are chiefly inhabited by sailors, pilots, -boat-makers, and others whose business is upon the water. - -_Monday, October 2nd._--William called at Klopstock's to inquire the -road into Saxony. Bought Burgher's poems, the price 6 marks. Sate an -hour at Remnant's. Bought Percy's ancient poetry, 14 marks. Walked on -the ramparts; a very fine morning. - - - - - III - - DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL - WRITTEN AT GRASMERE - (14TH MAY TO 21ST DECEMBER 1800) - -EXTRACTS FROM DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT GRASMERE - - -_May 14th, 1800._--Wm. and John set off into Yorkshire after dinner at -half-past two o'clock, cold pork in their pockets. I left them at the -turning of the Low-wood bay under the trees. My heart was so full that I -could hardly speak to W. when I gave him a farewell kiss. I sate a long -time upon a stone at the margin of the lake, and after a flood of tears -my heart was easier. The lake looked to me, I knew not why, dull and -melancholy, and the weltering on the shores seemed a heavy sound. I -walked as long as I could amongst the stones of the shore. The wood rich -in flowers; a beautiful yellow (palish yellow) flower, that looked -thick, round, and double--the smell very sweet (I supposed it was a -ranunculus), crowfoot, the grassy-leaved rabbit-looking white flower, -strawberries, geraniums, scentless violets, anemones, two kinds of -orchises, primroses, the heckberry very beautiful, the crab coming out -as a low shrub. Met an old man, driving a very large beautiful bull, and -a cow. He walked with two sticks. Came home by Clappersgate. The valley -very green; many sweet views up to Rydale, when I could juggle away the -fine houses; but they disturbed me, even more than when I have been -happier; one beautiful view of the bridge, without Sir Michael's.[16] -Sate down very often, though it was cold. I resolved to write a journal -of the time, till W. and J. return, and I set about keeping my resolve, -because I will not quarrel with myself, and because I shall give William -pleasure by it when he comes home again. At Rydale, a woman of the -village, stout and well dressed, begged a half-penny. She had never she -said done it before, but these hard times! Arrived at home, set some -slips of privet, the evening cold, had a fire, my face now -flame-coloured. It is nine o'clock. I shall now go to bed.... Oh that I -had a letter from William. - - [Footnote 16: _i.e._ Rydal Hall, the residence of Sir Michael le - Fleming.--ED.] - - * * * * * * - -_Friday Morning, 16th._--Warm and mild, after a fine night of rain.... -The woods extremely beautiful with all autumnal variety and softness. I -carried a basket for mosses, and gathered some wild plants. Oh! that we -had a book of botany. All flowers now are gay and deliciously sweet. The -primrose still prominent; the later flowers and the shiny foxgloves very -tall, with their heads budding. I went forward round the lake at the -foot of Loughrigg Fell. I was much amused with the busyness of a pair of -stone-chats; their restless voices as they skimmed along the water, -following each other, their shadows under them, and their returning back -to the stones on the shore, chirping with the same unwearied voice. -Could not cross the water, so I went round by the stepping-stones.... -Rydale was very beautiful, with spear-shaped streaks of polished -steel.... Grasmere very solemn in the last glimpse of twilight. It calls -home the heart to quietness. I had been very melancholy. In my walk back -I had many of my saddest thoughts, and I could not keep the tears within -me. But when I came to Grasmere I felt that it did me good. I finished -my letter to M. H.... - -_Saturday._--Incessant rain from morning till night.... Worked hard, -and read _Midsummer Night's Dream_, and ballads. Sauntered a little in -the garden. The blackbird sate quietly in its nest, rocked by the wind, -and beaten by the rain. - -_Sunday, 18th._--Went to church, slight showers, a cold air. The -mountains from this window look much greener, and I think the valley is -more green than ever. The corn begins to shew itself. The ashes are -still bare. A little girl from Coniston came to beg. She had lain out -all night. Her step-mother had turned her out of doors; her father could -not stay at home "she flights so." Walked to Ambleside in the evening -round the lake, the prospect exceeding beautiful from Loughrigg Fell. It -was so green that no eye could weary of reposing upon it. The most -beautiful situation for a home, is the field next to Mr. Benson's. I was -overtaken by two Cumberland people who complimented me upon my walking. -They were going to sell cloth, and odd things which they make -themselves, in Hawkshead and the neighbourhood.... Letters from -Coleridge and Cottle. John Fisher[17] overtook me on the other side of -Rydale. He talked much about the alteration in the times, and observed -that in a short time there would be only two ranks of people, the very -rich and the very poor, "for those who have small estates," says he, -"are forced to sell, and all the land goes into one hand." Did not reach -home till ten o'clock. - - [Footnote 17: Their neighbour at Town-End, who helped Wordsworth to - make the steps up to the orchard, in Dove Cottage garden.--ED.] - -_Monday._--Sauntered a good deal in the garden, bound carpets, mended -old clothes, read _Timon of Athens_, dried linen.... Walked up into the -Black Quarter.[18] I sauntered a long time among the rocks above the -church. The most delightful situation possible for a cottage, commanding -two distinct views of the vale and of the lake, is among those rocks.... -The quietness and still seclusion of the valley affected me even to -producing the deepest melancholy. I forced myself from it. The wind rose -before I went to bed.... - - [Footnote 18: I think that this name was given to a bit of the valley - to the north-east of Grasmere village; but Mr. Gordon Wordsworth's - opinion is that "'The Black Quarter' was simply the family nickname - for Easedale. The phrase seems to disappear from the Journals as they - got more accustomed to local names. It is an excellent description of - the usual appearance of these fells, and makes a contrast to the name - of the White Moss, which lay behind Dove Cottage; as Easedale lay in - front, and was equally in their thoughts."--ED.] - -_Tuesday Morning._--A fine mild rain.... Everything green and -overflowing with life, and the streams making a perpetual song, with the -thrushes, and all little birds, not forgetting the stone-chats. The post -was not come in. I walked as far as Windermere, and met him there. - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, May 24th._--Walked in the morning to Ambleside. I found a -letter from Wm. and one from Mary Hutchinson. Wrote to William after -dinner, worked in the garden, sate in the evening under the trees. - -_Sunday._-- ... Read _Macbeth_ in the morning; sate under the trees -after dinner.... I wrote to my brother Christopher.... On my return -found a letter from Coleridge and from Charles Lloyd, and three papers. - -_Monday, May 26th._-- ... Wrote letters to J. H., Coleridge, Col. Ll., -and W. I walked towards Rydale, and turned aside at my favourite field. -The air and the lake were still. One cottage light in the vale, and so -much of day left that I could distinguish objects, the woods, trees, and -houses. Two or three different kinds of birds sang at intervals on the -opposite shore. I sate till I could hardly drag myself away, I grew so -sad. "When pleasant thoughts," etc.[19]... - - [Footnote 19: Compare _Lines written in Early Spring_, "Poetical - Works," vol. i. p. 269-- - - In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts - Bring sad thoughts to the mind. ED.] - -_Tuesday, 27th._--I walked to Ambleside with letters ... only a letter -from Coleridge. I expected a letter from Wm. It was a sweet morning, the -ashes in the valley nearly in full leaf, but still to be distinguished, -quite bare on the higher ground.... - -_Wednesday._--In the morning walked up to the rocks above Jenny -Dockeray's. Sate a long time upon the grass; the prospect divinely -beautiful. If I had three hundred pounds, and could afford to have a bad -interest for my money, I would buy that estate, and we would build a -cottage there to end our days in. I went into her garden and got white -and yellow lilies, etc., periwinkle, etc., which I planted. Sate under -the trees with my work. Worked between 7 and 8, and then watered the -garden. A beautiful evening. The crescent moon hanging above Helm Crag. - -_Thursday._--In the morning worked in the garden a little. Read _King -John_. Miss Simpson, and Miss Falcon, and Mr. S. came very early. Went -to Mr. Gill's boat. Before tea we fished upon the lake, and amongst us -caught 13!... - -_Friday._--In the morning went to Ambleside, forgetting that the post -does not come till the evening. How was I grieved when I was so -informed. I walked back, resolving to go again in the evening. It rained -very mildly and sweetly in the morning as I came home, but came on a wet -afternoon and evening, and chilly. I caught Mr. Olliff's lad as he was -going for letters. He brought me one from Wm. and 12 papers. I planted -London Pride upon the wall, and many things on the borders. John sodded -the wall. As I came past Rydale in the morning, I saw a heron swimming -with only its neck out of water. It beat and struggled amongst the -water, when it flew away, and was long in getting loose. - -_Saturday._--A sweet mild rainy morning. Grundy the carpet man called. I -paid him £1: 10s. Went to the blind man's for plants. I got such a load -that I was obliged to leave my basket in the road, and send Molly for -it.... - -_Sunday, June 1st._--Rain in the night. A sweet mild morning. Read -ballads. Went to church. Singers from Wytheburn. Walked upon the hill -above the house till dinner time. Went again to church. After tea, went -to Ambleside, round the Lakes. A very fine warm evening. Upon the side -of Loughrigg my heart dissolved in what I saw: when I was not startled, -but called from my reverie by a noise as of a child paddling without -shoes. I looked up, and saw a lamb close to me. It approached nearer and -nearer, as if to examine me, and stood a long time. I did not move. At -last, it ran past me, and went bleating along the pathway, seeming to be -seeking its mother. I saw a hare on the high road.... - -_Monday._--A cold dry windy morning. I worked in the garden, and planted -flowers, etc. Sate under the trees after dinner till tea time.... I went -to Ambleside after tea, crossed the stepping-stones at the foot of -Grasmere, and pursued my way on the other side of Rydale and by -Clappersgate. I sate a long time to watch the hurrying waves, and to -hear the regularly irregular sound of the dashing waters. The waves -round about the little Island seemed like a dance of spirits that rose -out of the water, round its small circumference of shore. Inquired about -lodgings for Coleridge, and was accompanied by Mrs. Nicholson as far as -Rydale. This was very kind, but God be thanked, I want not society by a -moonlit lake. It was near eleven when I reached home. I wrote to -Coleridge, and went late to bed. - -_Wednesday._-- ... I walked to the lake-side in the morning, took up -plants, and sate upon a stone reading ballads. In the evening I was -watering plants, when Mr. and Miss Simpson called, and I accompanied -them home, and we went to the waterfall at the head of the valley. It -was very interesting in the twilight. I brought home lemon-thyme, and -several other plants, and planted them by moonlight. I lingered out of -doors in the hope of hearing my brother's tread. - -_Thursday._--I sate out of doors great part of the day, and worked in -the garden. Had a letter from Mr. Jackson, and wrote an answer to -Coleridge. The little birds busy making love, and pecking the blossoms -and bits of moss off the trees. They flutter about and about, and -beneath the trees as I lie under them.[20] I would not go far from home, -expecting my brother. I rambled on the hill above the house, gathered -wild thyme, and took up roots of wild columbine. Just as I was returning -with my load, Mr. and Miss Simpson called. We went again upon the hill, -got more plants, set them, and then went to the blind man's, for London -Pride for Miss Simpson. I went up with them as far as the blacksmith's, -a fine lovely moonlight night. - - [Footnote 20: Compare _The Green Linnet_, in the "Poetical Works," - vol. ii. p. 367.--ED.] - -_Friday._--Sate out of doors reading the whole afternoon, but in the -morning I wrote to my aunt Cookson. In the evening I went to Ambleside -with Coleridge's letter. It was a lovely night as the day had been. I -went by Loughrigg and Clappersgate and just met the post at the -turnpike. He told me there were two letters but none for me, so I was in -no hurry and went round again by Clappersgate, crossed the -stepping-stones and entered Ambleside at Matthew Harrison's. A letter -from Jack Hutchinson, and one from Montagu, enclosing a £3 note. No -William! I slackened my pace as I came near home, fearing to hear that -he was not come. I listened till after one o'clock to every barking dog, -cock-fighting, and other sports. Foxgloves just coming into blossom. - -_Saturday._--A very warm cloudy morning, threatening to rain. I walked -up to Mr. Simpson's to gather gooseberries. It was a very fine -afternoon. Little Tommy came down with me. We went up the hill, to -gather sods and plants; and went down to the lake side, and took up -orchises, etc. I watered the garden and weeded. I did not leave home, in -the expectation of Wm. and John, and sitting at work till after 11 -o'clock I heard a foot at the front of the house, turn round, and open -the gate. It was William! After our first joy was over, we got some tea. -We did not go to bed till 4 o'clock in the morning, so he had an -opportunity of seeing our improvements. The buds were staying; and all -looked fresh, though not gay. There was a greyness on earth and sky. We -did not rise till near 10 in the morning. We were busy all day in -writing letters to Coleridge, Montagu, etc. Mr. and Miss Simpson called -in the evening. The little boy carried our letters to Ambleside. We -walked with Mr. and Miss S. home, on their return.... We met John on our -return home. - -_Monday 9th._--In the morning W. cut down the winter cherry tree. I -sowed French beans and weeded. A coronetted landau went by, when we were -sitting upon the sodded wall. The ladies (evidently tourists) turned an -eye of interest upon our little garden and cottage. Went round to Mr. -Gill's boat, and on to the lake to fish. We caught nothing. It was -extremely cold. The reeds and bullrushes or bullpipes of a tender soft -green, making a plain whose surface moved with the wind. The reeds not -yet tall. The lake clear to the bottom, but saw no fish. In the evening -I stuck peas, watered the garden, and planted brocoli. Did not walk, for -it was very cold. A poor girl called to beg, who had no work, and was -going in search of it to Kendal. She slept in Mr. Benson's ... and went -off after breakfast in the morning with 7d. and a letter to the Mayor of -Kendal. - -_Tuesday 10th._--A cold, yet sunshiny morning. John carried letters to -Ambleside. Wm. stuck peas. After dinner he lay down. John not at home. I -stuck peas alone. Cold showers with hail and rain, but at half-past -five, after a heavy rain, the lake became calm and very beautiful. Those -parts of the water which were perfectly unruffled lay like green islands -of various shapes. William and I walked to Ambleside to seek lodgings -for C. No letters. No papers. It was a very cold cheerless evening. John -had been fishing in Langdale and was gone to bed. - -A very tall woman, tall much beyond the measure of tall women, called -at the door. She had on a very long brown cloak and a very white cap, -without bonnet. Her face was excessively brown, but it had plainly once -been fair. She led a little bare-footed child about two years old by the -hand, and said her husband, who was a tinker, was gone before with the -other children. I gave her a piece of bread. Afterwards on my way to -Ambleside, beside the bridge at Rydale, I saw her husband sitting by the -roadside, his two asses feeding beside him, and the two young children -at play upon the grass. The man did not beg. I passed on and about a -quarter of a mile further I saw two boys before me, one about 10, the -other about 8 years old, at play chasing a butterfly. They were wild -figures, not very ragged, but without shoes and stockings. The hat of -the elder was wreathed round with yellow flowers, the younger whose hat -was only a rimless crown, had stuck it round with laurel leaves. They -continued at play till I drew very near, and then they addressed me with -the begging cant and the whining voice of sorrow. I said "I served your -mother this morning." (The boys were so like the woman who had called at -... that I could not be mistaken.) "O!" says the elder, "you could not -serve my mother for she's dead, and my father's on at the next -town--he's a potter." I persisted in my assertion, and that I would give -them nothing. Says the elder, "Let's away," and away they flew like -lightning. They had however sauntered so long in their road that they -did not reach Ambleside before me, and I saw them go up to Matthew -Harrison's house with their wallet upon the elder's shoulder, and -creeping with a beggar's complaining foot. On my return through -Ambleside I met in the street the mother driving her asses, in the two -panniers of one of which were the two little children, whom she was -chiding and threatening with a wand which she used to drive on her -asses, while the little things hung in wantonness over the pannier's -edge. The woman had told me in the morning that she was of Scotland, -which her accent fully proved, but that she had lived (I think at -Wigtoun), that they could not keep a house and so they travelled.[21] - - [Footnote 21: Compare the poem _Beggars_, in the "Poetical Works" vol. - ii. pp. 276-281.--ED.] - -_Wednesday, 13th June._[22]--A very cold morning. We went on the lake to -set pike floats with John's fish. W. and J. went ... alone. Mr. Simpson -called, and I accompanied him to the lake side. My brothers and I again -went upon the water, and returned to dinner. We landed upon the island -where I saw the whitest hawthorn I have seen this year, the generality -of hawthorns are bloomless. I saw wild roses in the hedges. Wm. and John -went to the pike floats. They brought in two pikes. I sowed kidney beans -and spinnach. A cold evening. Molly stuck the peas. I weeded a little. -Did not walk. - - [Footnote 22: This and the two following dates are incorrectly given. - They should be "Wednesday 11th, Thursday 12th, and Friday 13th - June."--ED.] - -_Thursday, 14th June._--William and I went upon the water to set pike -floats. John fished under Loughrigg. We returned to dinner, two pikes -boiled and roasted. A very cold air but warm sun. W. and I again went -upon the water. We walked to Rydale after tea, and up to potter's. A -cold night, but warmer. - -_Friday, 15th June._--A rainy morning. W. and J. went upon the lake. -Very warm and pleasant, gleams of sunshine. Caught a pike 7-1/2 lbs. -Went upon the water after tea, Mr. Simpson trolling. - -_Saturday._--A fine morning but cloudy. W. and John went upon the lake. -I staid at home. We drank tea at Mr. Simpson's. Stayed till after 10 -o'clock. - -_Sunday._--John walked to Coniston. W. and I sauntered in the garden. -Afterwards walked by the lake side. A cold air. We pushed through the -wood. Walked behind the fir grove, and returned to dinner. The farmer -and the blacksmith from Hawkshead called. - -_Monday._--Wm. and I went to Brathay by Little Langdale and Collath, and -... It was a warm mild morning with threatening rain. The vale of Little -Langdale looked bare and unlovely. Collath was wild and interesting, -from the peat carts and peat gatherers. The valley all perfumed with the -gale and wild thyme. The woods about the waterfall bright with rich -yellow broom. A succession of delicious views from ... to Brathay. We -met near ... a pretty little boy with a wallet over his shoulder. He -came from Hawkshead and was going to sell a sack of meal. He spoke -gently and without complaint. When I asked him if he got enough to eat, -he looked surprised, and said Nay. He was 7 years old but seemed not -more than 5. We drank tea at Mr. Ibbetson's, and returned by Ambleside. -Lent £3: 9s. to the potter at Kendal. Met John on our return home at -about 10 o'clock. Saw a primrose in blossom. - -_Tuesday._--We put the new window in. I ironed, and worked about a good -deal in house and garden. In the evening we walked for letters. Found -one for Coleridge at Rydale, and I returned much tired. - -_Wednesday._--We walked round the lake in the morning and in the evening -to the lower waterfall at Rydale. It was a warm, dark, lowering evening. - -_Thursday._--A very hot morning. W. and I walked up to Mr. Simpson's. W. -and old Mr. S. went to fish in Wytheburn water. I dined with John and -lay under the trees. The afternoon changed from clear to cloudy, and to -clear again. John and I walked up to the waterfall, and to Mr. -Simpson's, and with Miss Simpson. Met the fishers. W. caught a pike -weighing 4-3/4 lbs. There was a gloom almost terrible over Grasmere -water and vale. A few drops fell but not much rain. No Coleridge, whom -we fully expected. - -_Friday._--I worked in the garden in the morning. Wm. prepared pea -sticks. Threatening for rain, but yet it comes not. On Wednesday evening -a poor man called--a hatter. He had been long ill, but was now -recovered. The parish would not help him, because he had implements of -trade, etc. etc. We gave him 6d. - -_Saturday._--Walked up the hill to Rydale lake. Grasmere looked so -beautiful that my heart was almost melted away. It was quite calm, only -spotted with sparkles of light; the church visible. On our return all -distant objects had faded away, all but the hills. The reflection of the -light bright sky above Black Quarter was very solemn.... - -_Sunday._-- ... In the evening I planted a honeysuckle round the yew -tree.... No news of Coleridge.... - -_Monday._--Mr. Simpson called in the morning. W. and I went into -Langdale to fish. The morning was very cold. I sate at the foot of the -lake, till my head ached with cold. The view exquisitely beautiful, -through a gate, and under a sycamore tree beside the first house going -into Loughrigg. Elter-water looked barren, and the view from the church -less beautiful than in winter. When W. went down to the water to fish, I -lay under the wind, my head pillowed upon a mossy rock, and slept about -10 minutes, which relieved my headache. We ate our dinner together, and -parted again.... W. went to fish for pike in Rydale. John came in when I -had done tea and he and I carried a jug of tea to William. We met him in -the old road from Rydale. He drank his tea upon the turf. The setting -sun threw a red purple light upon the rocks, and stone walls of Rydale, -which gave them a most interesting and beautiful appearance. - -_Tuesday._--W. went to Ambleside. John walked out. I made tarts, etc. -Mrs. B. Simpson called and asked us to tea. I went to the view of -Rydale, to meet William. W. and I drank tea at Mr. Simpson's. Brought -down lemon-thyme, greens, etc. The old woman was very happy to see us, -and we were so in the pleasure we gave. She was an affecting picture of -patient disappointment, suffering under no particular affliction. - -_Wednesday._--A very rainy day. I made a shoe. Wm. and John went to -fish in Langdale. In the evening I went above the house, and gathered -flowers, which I planted, foxgloves, etc. On Sunday[23] Mr. and Mrs. -Coleridge and Hartley came. The day was very warm. We sailed to the foot -of Loughrigg. They staid with us three weeks, and till the Thursday -following, from 1st till the 23rd of July.[24] On the Friday preceding -their departure, we drank tea at the island. The weather was delightful, -and on the Sunday we made a great fire, and drank tea in Bainriggs with -the Simpsons. I accompanied Mrs. C. to Wytheburne, and returned with W. -to tea at Mr. Simpson's. It was exceedingly hot, but the day after, -Friday 24th July,[25] still hotter. All the morning I was engaged in -unpacking our Somersetshire goods. The house was a hot oven. I was so -weary, I could not walk: so I went out, and sate with Wm. in the -orchard. We had a delightful half-hour in the warm still evening. - - [Footnote 23: Coleridge arrived at Grasmere on Sunday 29th June.--ED.] - - [Footnote 24: The dates here given are confusing. S. T. C. says he was - ill at Grasmere, and stayed a fortnight. In a letter to Tom Poole he - says he arrived at Keswick on 24th July, which was a Thursday.--ED.] - - [Footnote 25: That Friday was the 25th July. The two next dates were - incorrectly entered by Dorothy.--ED.] - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, 26th._--Still hotter. I sate with W. in the orchard all the -morning, and made my shoe.... - -_Sunday, 27th._--Very warm.... I wrote out _Ruth_ in the afternoon. In -the morning, I read Mr. Knight's _Landscape_.[26] After tea we rowed -down to Loughrigg Fell, visited the white foxglove, gathered wild -strawberries, and walked up to view Rydale. We lay a long time looking -at the lake; the shores all dim with the scorching sun. The ferns were -turning yellow, that is, here and there one was quite turned. We walked -round by Benson's wood home. The lake was now most still, and reflected -the beautiful yellow and blue and purple and grey colours of the sky. We -heard a strange sound in the Bainriggs wood, as we were floating on the -water; it _seemed_ in the wood, but it must have been above it, for -presently we saw a raven very high above us. It called out, and the dome -of the sky seemed to echo the sound. It called again and again as it -flew onwards, and the mountains gave back the sound, seeming as if from -their centre; a musical bell-like answering to the bird's hoarse voice. -We heard both the call of the bird, and the echo, after we could see him -no longer....[27] - - [Footnote 26: _The Landscape: a Didactic Poem in three Books._ By - Richard Payne Knight. 1794.--ED.] - - [Footnote 27: Compare _The Excursion_, book iv. II. 1185-1195.--ED.] - -_Monday._--Received a letter from Coleridge enclosing one from Mr. Davy -about the _Lyrical Ballads_. Intensely hot.... William went into the -wood, and altered his poems.... - - * * * * * * - -_Thursday._--All the morning I was busy copying poems. Gathered peas, -and in the afternoon Coleridge came. He brought the 2nd volume of -Anthology. The men went to bathe, and we afterwards sailed down to -Loughrigg. Read poems on the water, and let the boat take its own -course. We walked a long time upon Loughrigg. I returned in the grey -twilight. The moon just setting as we reached home. - -_Friday, 1st August._--In the morning I copied _The Brothers_. Coleridge -and Wm. went down to the lake. They returned, and we all went together -to Mary Point, where we sate in the breeze, and the shade, and read -Wm.'s poems. Altered _The Whirlblast_, etc. We drank tea in the orchard. - -_Saturday Morning, 2nd._--Wm. and Coleridge went to Keswick. John went -with them to Wytheburn, and staid all day fishing, and brought home 2 -small pikes at night. I accompanied them to Lewthwaite's cottage, and on -my return papered Wm.'s rooms.... About 8 o'clock it gathered for rain, -and I had the scatterings of a shower, but afterwards the lake became of -a glassy calmness, and all was still. I sate till I could see no longer, -and then continued my work in the house. - -_Sunday Morning, 3rd._-- ... A heavenly warm evening, with scattered -clouds upon the hills. There was a vernal greenness upon the grass, from -the rains of the morning and afternoon. Peas for dinner. - -_Monday 4th._--Rain in the night. I tied up scarlet beans, nailed the -honeysuckles, etc. etc. John was prepared to walk to Keswick all the -morning. He seized a returned chaise and went after dinner. I pulled a -large basket of peas and sent to Keswick by a returned chaise. A very -cold evening. Assisted to spread out linen in the morning. - -_Tuesday 5th._--Dried the linen in the morning. The air still cold. I -pulled a bag full of peas for Mrs. Simpson. Miss Simpson drank tea with -me, and supped, on her return from Ambleside. A very fine evening. I -sate on the wall making my shifts till I could see no longer. Walked -half-way home with Miss Simpson. - -_Wednesday, 6th August._-- ... William came home from Keswick at eleven -o'clock. - -_Thursday Morning, 7th August._-- ... William composing in the wood in -the morning. In the evening we walked to Mary Point. A very fine sunset. - -_Friday Morning._--We intended going to Keswick, but were prevented by -the excessive heat. Nailed up scarlet beans in the morning.... Walked -over the mountains by Wattendlath.... A most enchanting walk. -Wattendlath a heavenly scene. Reached Coleridge's at eleven o'clock. - -_Saturday Morning._--I walked with Coleridge in the Windy Brow woods. - -_Sunday._--Very hot. The C.'s went to church. We sailed upon Derwent in -the evening. - -_Monday Afternoon._--Walked to Windy Brow. - -_Tuesday._-- ... Wm. and I walked along the Cockermouth road. He was -altering his poems. - -_Wednesday._--Made the Windy Brow seat. - -_Thursday Morning._--Called at the Speddings. In the evening walked in -the wood with W. Very very beautiful the moon. - - * * * * * * - -_Sunday, 17th August._-- ... William read us _The Seven Sisters_. - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, 23rd._--A very fine morning. Wm. was composing all the -morning. I shelled peas, gathered beans, and worked in the garden till -1/2 past 12. Then walked with Wm. in the wood.... The gleams of -sunshine, and the stirring trees, and gleaming boughs, cheerful lake, -most delightful.... Wm. read _Peter Bell_ and the poem of _Joanna_, -beside the Rothay by the roadside. - - * * * * * * - -_Tuesday, 26th._-- ... A very fine solemn evening. The wind blew very -fierce from the island, and at Rydale. We went on the other side of -Rydale, and sate a long time looking at the mountains, which were all -black at Grasmere, and very bright in Rydale; Grasmere exceedingly dark, -and Rydale of a light yellow green. - - * * * * * * - -_Friday Evening_ [29th August].--We walked to Rydale to inquire for -letters. We walked over the hill by the firgrove. I sate upon a rock, -and observed a flight of swallows gathering together high above my head. -They flew towards Rydale. We walked through the wood over the -stepping-stones. The lake of Rydale very beautiful, partly still. John -and I left Wm. to compose an inscription; that about the path. We had a -very fine walk by the gloomy lake. There was a curious yellow reflection -in the water, as of corn fields. There was no light in the clouds from -which it appeared to come. - -_Saturday Morning, 30th August._-- ... William finished his Inscription -of the Pathway,[28] then walked in the wood; and when John returned, he -sought him, and they bathed together. I read a little of Boswell's _Life -of Johnson_. I went to lie down in the orchard. I was roused by a shout -that Anthony Harrison was come. We sate in the orchard till tea time. -Drank tea early, and rowed down the lake which was stirred by breezes. -We looked at Rydale, which was soft, cheerful, and beautiful. We then -went to peep into Langdale. The Pikes were very grand. We walked back to -the view of Rydale, which was now a dark mirror. We rowed home over a -lake still as glass, and then went to George Mackareth's to hire a horse -for John. A fine moonlight night. The beauty of the moon was startling, -as it rose to us over Loughrigg Fell. We returned to supper at 10 -o'clock. Thomas Ashburner brought us our 8th cart of coals since May -17th. - - [Footnote 28: Professor Dowden thinks that this refers to the poem on - John's Grove. But a hitherto unpublished fragment will soon be issued - by the Messrs. Longman, which may cast fresh light on this - "Inscription of the Pathway."--ED.] - -_Sunday, 31st._-- ... A great deal of corn is cut in the vale, and the -whole prospect, though not tinged with a general autumnal yellow, yet -softened down into a mellowness of colouring, which seems to impart -softness to the forms of hills and mountains. At 11 o'clock Coleridge -came, when I was walking in the still clear moonshine in the garden. He -came over Helvellyn. Wm. was gone to bed, and John also, worn out with -his ride round Coniston. We sate and chatted till half-past three, ... -Coleridge reading a part of _Christabel_. Talked much about the -mountains, etc. etc.... - -_Monday Morning, 1st September._--We walked in the wood by the lake. W. -read _Joanna_, and the _Firgrove_, to Coleridge. They bathed. The -morning was delightful, with somewhat of an autumnal freshness. After -dinner, Coleridge discovered a rock-seat in the orchard. Cleared away -brambles. Coleridge went to bed after tea. John and I followed Wm. up -the hill, and then returned to go to Mr. Simpson's. We borrowed some -bottles for bottling rum. The evening somewhat frosty and grey, but very -pleasant. I broiled Coleridge a mutton chop, which he ate in bed. Wm. -was gone to bed. I chatted with John and Coleridge till near 12. - -_Tuesday, 2nd._--In the morning they all went to Stickle Tarn. A very -fine, warm, sunny, beautiful morning.... The fair-day.... There seemed -very few people and very few stalls, yet I believe there were many cakes -and much beer sold. My brothers came home to dinner at 6 o'clock. We -drank tea immediately after by candlelight. It was a lovely moonlight -night. We talked much about a house on Helvellyn. The moonlight shone -only upon the village. It did not eclipse the village lights, and the -sound of dancing and merriment came along the still air. I walked with -Coleridge and Wm. up the lane and by the church, and then lingered with -Coleridge in the garden. John and Wm. were both gone to bed, and all the -lights out. - -_Wednesday, 3rd September._--Coleridge, Wm., and John went from home, -to go upon Helvellyn with Mr. Simpson. They set out after breakfast. I -accompanied them up near the blacksmith's.... I then went to a funeral -at John Dawson's. About 10 men and 4 women. Bread, cheese, and ale. They -talked sensibly and cheerfully about common things. The dead person, 56 -years of age, buried by the parish. The coffin was neatly lettered and -painted black, and covered with a decent cloth. They set the corpse down -at the door; and, while we stood within the threshold, the men, with -their hats off, sang, with decent and solemn countenances, a verse of a -funeral psalm. The corpse was then borne down the hill, and they sang -till they had passed the Town-End. I was affected to tears while we -stood in the house, the coffin lying before me. There were no near -kindred, no children. When we got out of the dark house the sun was -shining, and the prospect looked as divinely beautiful as I ever saw it. -It seemed more sacred than I had ever seen it, and yet more allied to -human life. The green fields, in the neighbourhood of the churchyard, -were as green as possible; and, with the brightness of the sunshine, -looked quite gay. I thought she was going to a quiet spot, and I could -not help weeping very much. When we came to the bridge, they began to -sing again, and stopped during four lines before they entered the -churchyard.... Wm. and John came home at 10 o'clock. - - * * * * * * - -_Friday, 12th September._-- ... The fern of the mountains now spreads -yellow veins among the trees; the coppice wood turns brown. William -observed some affecting little things in Borrowdale. A decayed house -with the tall, silent rocks seen through the broken windows. A sort of -rough column put upon the gable end of a house, with a ball stone, -smooth from the river-island, upon it for ornament. Near it, a stone -like it, upon an old mansion, carefully hewn. - -_Saturday, 13th September._--Morning. William writing his -Preface[29]--did not walk. Jones, and Mr. Palmer came to tea.... - - [Footnote 29: The Preface to the second edition of _Lyrical - Ballads_.--ED.] - -_Sunday morning, 14th._-- ... A lovely day. Read Boswell in the house in -the morning, and after dinner under the bright yellow leaves of the -orchard. The pear trees a bright yellow. The apple trees still green. A -sweet lovely afternoon.... Here I have long neglected my Journal. John -came home in the evening, after Jones left. Jones returned again on the -Friday, the 19th September. Jones stayed with us till Friday, 26th -September. Coleridge came in. - -_Tuesday, 23rd._--I went home with Jones. Charles Lloyd called on -Tuesday, 23rd. - -_Sunday, 28th._--We heard of the Abergavenny's arrival.... - -_Monday, 29th._--John left us. Wm. and I parted with him in sight of -Ullswater. It was a fine day, showery, but with sunshine and fine -clouds. Poor fellow, my heart was right sad. I could not help thinking -we should see him again, because he was only going to Penrith. - -_Tuesday, 30th September._--Charles Lloyd dined with us. We walked -homewards with him after dinner. It rained very hard. Rydale was -extremely wild, and we had a fine walk. We sate quietly and comfortably -by the fire. I wrote the last sheet of Notes and Preface.[30a] Went to bed -at twelve o'clock. - - [Footnote 30a: _i.e._ of the Notes and Preface to the second edition of - _Lyrical Ballads_.--ED.] - -_Wednesday, 1st October._--A fine morning, a showery night. The lake -still in the morning; in the forenoon flashing light from the beams of -the sun, as it was ruffled by the wind. We corrected the last sheet.[30] - - [Footnote 30: _i.e._ of the Notes and Preface to the second edition of - _Lyrical Ballads_.--ED.] - -_Thursday, 2nd October._--A very rainy morning. We walked after dinner -to observe the torrents. I followed Wm. to Rydale. We afterwards went to -Butterlip How. The Black Quarter looked marshy, and the general prospect -was cold, but the _force_ was very grand. The lichens are now coming out -afresh. I carried home a collection in the afternoon. We had a pleasant -conversation about the manners of the rich; avarice, inordinate desires, -and the effeminacy, unnaturalness, and unworthy objects of education. -The moonlight lay upon the hills like snow. - -_Friday, 3rd October._--Very rainy all the morning. Wm. walked to -Ambleside after dinner. I went with him part of the way. He talked much -about the object of his essay for the second volume of "L. B." ... Amos -Cottle's death in the _Morning Post_. - -_N.B._--When William and I returned from accompanying Jones, we met an -old man almost double. He had on a coat, thrown over his shoulders, -above his waistcoat and coat. Under this he carried a bundle, and had an -apron on and a night-cap. His face was interesting. He had dark eyes and -a long nose. John, who afterwards met him at Wytheburn, took him for a -Jew. He was of Scotch parents, but had been born in the army. He had had -a wife, and "she was a good woman, and it pleased God to bless us with -ten children." All these were dead but one, of whom he had not heard for -many years, a sailor. His trade was to gather leeches, but now leeches -were scarce, and he had not strength for it. He lived by begging, and -was making his way to Carlisle, where he should buy a few godly books to -sell. He said leeches were very scarce, partly owing to this dry season, -but many years they have been scarce. He supposed it owing to their -being much sought after, that they did not breed fast, and were of slow -growth. Leeches were formerly 2s. 6d. per 100; they are now 30s. He had -been hurt in driving a cart, his leg broken, his body driven over, his -skull fractured. He felt no pain till he recovered from his first -insensibility. It was then late in the evening, when the light was just -going away.[31] - - [Footnote 31: Compare _Resolution and Independence_, in the "Poetical - Works," vol. ii. p. 312.--ED.] - -_Saturday, 4th October 1800._--A very rainy, or rather showery and -gusty, morning; for often the sun shines. Thomas Ashburner could not go -to Keswick. Read a part of Lamb's Play.[32] The language is often very -beautiful, but too imitative in particular phrases, words, etc. The -characters, except Margaret, unintelligible, and, except Margaret's, do -not show themselves in action. Coleridge came in while we were at -dinner, very wet. We talked till twelve o'clock. He had sate up all the -night before, writing essays for the newspaper.... Exceedingly delighted -with the second part of _Christabel_. - - [Footnote 32: _Pride's Cure._ The title was afterwards changed to - _John Woodvill_.--ED.] - -_Sunday Morning, 5th October._--Coleridge read _Christabel_ a second -time; we had increasing pleasure. A delicious morning. Wm. and I were -employed all the morning in writing an addition to the Preface. Wm. went -to bed, very ill after working after dinner. Coleridge and I walked to -Ambleside after dark with the letter. Returned to tea at 9 o'clock. Wm. -still in bed, and very ill. Silver How in both lakes. - -_Monday._--A rainy day. Coleridge intending to go, but did not go off. -We walked after dinner to Rydale. After tea read _The Pedlar_. -Determined not to print _Christabel_ with the L. B. - -_Tuesday._--Coleridge went off at eleven o'clock. I went as far as Mr. -Simpson's. Returned with Mary. - -_Wednesday._--Frequent threatening of showers. Received a £5 note from -Montagu. Wm. walked to Rydale. I copied a part of _The Beggars_ in the -morning.... A very mild moonlight night. Glow-worms everywhere. - - * * * * * * - -_Friday, 10th October._--In the morning when I arose the mists were -hanging over the opposite hills, and the tops of the highest hills were -covered with snow. There was a most lively combination at the head of -the vale of the yellow autumnal hills wrapped in sunshine, and overhung -with partial mists, the green and yellow trees, and the distant -snow-topped mountains. It was a most heavenly morning. The Cockermouth -traveller came with thread, hardware, mustard, etc. She is very healthy; -has travelled over the mountains these thirty years. She does not mind -the storms, if she can keep her goods dry. Her husband will not travel -with an ass, because it is the tramper's badge; she would have one to -relieve her from the weary load. She was going to Ulverston, and was to -return to Ambleside Fair.... The fern among the rocks exquisitely -beautiful.... Sent off _The Beggars_, etc., by Thomas Ashburner.... -William sat up after me, writing _Point Rash Judgment_. - -_Saturday, 11th._--A fine October morning. Sat in the house working all -the morning. William composing.... After dinner we walked up Greenhead -Gill in search of a sheepfold. We went by Mr. Olliff's, and through his -woods. It was a delightful day, and the views looked excessively -cheerful and beautiful, chiefly that from Mr. Olliff's field, where our -own house is to be built. The colours of the mountains soft, and rich -with orange fern; the cattle pasturing upon the hilltops; kites sailing -in the sky above our heads; sheep bleating, and feeding in the water -courses, scattered over the mountains. They come down and feed, on the -little green islands in the beds of the torrents, and so may be swept -away. The sheepfold is falling away. It is built nearly in the form of a -heart unequally divided. Looked down the brook, and saw the drops rise -upwards and sparkle in the air at the little falls. The higher sparkled -the tallest. We walked along the turf of the mountain till we came to a -track, made by the cattle which come upon the hills.... - -_Sunday, October 12th._--Sate in the house writing in the morning while -Wm. went into the wood to compose. Wrote to John in the morning; copied -poems for the L. B. In the evening wrote to Mrs. Rawson. Mary Jameson -and Sally Ashburner dined. We pulled apples after dinner, a large basket -full. We walked before tea by Bainriggs to observe the many-coloured -foliage. The oaks dark green with yellow leaves, the birches generally -still green, some near the water yellowish, the sycamore crimson and -crimson-tufted, the mountain ash a deep orange, the common ash -lemon-colour, but many ashes still fresh in their peculiar green, those -that were discoloured chiefly near the water. Wm. composing in the -evening. Went to bed at 12 o'clock. - -_Monday, October 13th._--A grey day. Mists on the hills. We did not walk -in the morning. I copied poems on the Naming of Places. A fair at -Ambleside. Walked in the Black Quarter at night. - - * * * * * * - -_Wednesday._--A very fine clear morning. After Wm. had composed a -little, I persuaded him to go into the orchard. We walked backwards and -forwards. The prospect most divinely beautiful from the seat; all -colours, all melting into each other. I went in to put bread in the -oven, and we both walked within view of Rydale. Wm. again composed at -the sheepfold after dinner. I walked with Wm. to Wytheburn, and he went -on to Keswick. I drank tea, and supped at Mr. Simpson's. A very cold -frosty air in returning. Mr. and Miss S. came with me. Wytheburn looked -very wintry, but yet there was a foxglove blossoming by the roadside. - - * * * * * * - -_Friday, 17th._--A very fine grey morning. The swan hunt.... I walked -round the lake between 1/2 past 12, and 1/2 past one.... In my walk in -the morning, I observed Benson's honey-suckles in flower, and great -beauty. I found Wm. at home, where he had been almost ever since my -departure. Coleridge had done nothing for the L. B. Working hard for -Stuart.[33] Glow-worms in abundance. - - [Footnote 33: The editor of _The Morning Post_.--ED.] - -_Saturday._--A very fine October morning. William worked all the morning -at the sheepfold, but in vain. He lay down in the afternoon till 7 -o'clock, but could not sleep.... We did not walk all day.... - -_Sunday Morning._--We rose late, and walked directly after breakfast. -The tops of Grasmere mountains cut off. Rydale very beautiful. The -surface of the water quite still, like a dim mirror. The colours of the -large island exquisitely beautiful, and the trees, still fresh and -green, were magnified by the mists. The prospects on the west side of -the Lake were very beautiful. We sate at the "two points"[34] looking up -to Parks. The lowing of the cattle was echoed by a hollow voice in the -vale. We returned home over the stepping-stones. Wm. got to work.... - - [Footnote 34: Mary Point and Sarah Point.--ED.] - -_Monday, 20th._--William worked in the morning at the sheepfold. After -dinner we walked to Rydale, crossed the stepping-stones, and while we -were walking under the tall oak trees the Lloyds called out to us. They -went with us on the western side of Rydale. The lights were very grand -upon the woody Rydale hills. Those behind dark and tipped with clouds. -The two lakes were divinely beautiful. Grasmere excessively solemn, the -whole lake calm, and dappled with soft grey ripples. The Lloyds staid -with us till 8 o'clock. We then walked to the top of the hill at Rydale. -Very mild and warm. Beheld 6 glow-worms shining faintly. We went up as -far as the Swan. When we came home the fire was out. We ate our supper -in the dark, and went to bed immediately. William was disturbed in the -night by the rain coming into his room, for it was a very rainy night. -The ash leaves lay across the road. - -_Tuesday, 21st._-- ... Wm. had been unsuccessful in the morning at the -sheepfold. The reflection of the ash scattered, and the tree stripped. - -_Wednesday Morning._-- ... Wm. composed without much success at the -sheepfold. Coleridge came in to dinner. He had done nothing. We were -very merry. C. and I went to look at the prospect from his seat.... Wm. -read _Ruth_, etc., after supper. Coleridge read _Christabel_. - -_Thursday, 23rd._--Coleridge and Stoddart went to Keswick. We -accompanied them to Wytheburn. A wintry grey morning from the top of the -Raise. Grasmere looked like winter, and Wytheburn still more so.... Wm. -was not successful in composition in the evening. - -_Friday, 24th._--A very fine morning. We walked, before Wm. began to -work, to the top of the Rydale hill. He was afterwards only partly -successful in composition. After dinner we walked round Rydale lake, -rich, calm, streaked, very beautiful. We went to the top of Loughrigg. -Grasmere sadly inferior.... The ash in our garden green, one close to it -bare, the next nearly so. - -_Saturday._--A very rainy day. Wm. again unsuccessful. We could not -walk, it was so very rainy. We read Rogers, Miss Seward, Cowper, etc. - -_Sunday._--Heavy rain all night, a fine morning after 10 o'clock. Wm. -composed a good deal in the morning.... - -_Monday, 27th October._-- ... Wm. in the firgrove. I had before walked -with him there for some time. It was a fine shelter from the wind. The -coppices now nearly of one brown. An oak tree in a sheltered place near -John Fisher's, not having lost any of its leaves, was quite brown and -dry.... It was a fine wild moonlight night. Wm. could not compose much. -Fatigued himself with altering. - -_Tuesday, 28th._-- ... We walked out before dinner to our favourite -field. The mists sailed along the mountains, and rested upon them, -enclosing the whole vale. In the evening the Lloyds came. We played a -rubber at whist.... - -_Wednesday._--William worked at his poem all the morning. After dinner, -Mr. Clarkson called.... Played at cards.... Mr. Clarkson slept here. - -_Thursday._--A rainy morning. W. C. went over Kirkstone. Wm. talked all -day, and almost all night, with Stoddart. Mrs. and Miss H. called in the -morning. I walked with them to Tail End.[35] - - [Footnote 35: On the western side of Grasmere Lake.--ED.] - -_Friday Night._-- ... W. and I did not rise till 10 o'clock.... A very -fine moonlight night. The moon shone like herrings in the water. - - * * * * * * - -_Tuesday._-- ... Tremendous wind. The snow blew from Helvellyn -horizontally like smoke.... - - * * * * * * - -_Thursday, 6th November._-- ... Read _Point Rash Judgment_.... - -_Friday, 7th November._-- ... I working and reading _Amelia_. The -Michaelmas daisy droops, the pansies are full of flowers, the ashes -still green all but one, but they have lost many of their leaves. The -copses are quite brown. The poor woman and child from Whitehaven drank -tea.... - -_Saturday, 8th November._--A rainy morning. A whirlwind came that tossed -about the leaves, and tore off the still green leaves of the ashes. Wm. -and I walked out at 4 o'clock. Went as far as Rothay Bridge.... The -whole face of the country in a winter covering. - - * * * * * * - -_Monday._-- ... Jupiter over the hilltops, the only star, like a sun, -flashed out at intervals from behind a black cloud. - -_Tuesday Morning._-- ... William had been working at the sheepfold.... -Played at cards. A mild night, partly clouded, partly starlight. The -cottage lights. The mountains not very distinct. - - * * * * * * - -_Thursday._--We sate in the house all the morning. Rainy weather, played -at cards. A poor woman from Hawkshead begged, a widow of Grasmere. A -merry African from Longtown.... - -_Friday._--Much wind, but a sweet mild morning. I nailed up trees.... -Two letters from Coleridge, very ill. One from Sara H.... - -_Saturday Morning._--A terrible rain, so prevented William from going -to Coleridge's. The afternoon fine.... We both set forward at five -o'clock. A fine wild night. I walked with W. over the Raise. It was -starlight. I parted with him very sad, unwilling not to go on. The -hills, and the stars, and the white waters, with their ever varying yet -ceaseless sound, were very impressive. I supped at the Simpsons'. Mr. S. -walked home with me. - -_Sunday, 16th November._--A very fine warm sunny morning. A letter from -Coleridge, and one from Stoddart. Coleridge better.... One beautiful ash -tree sheltered, with yellow leaves, one low one quite green. A noise of -boys in the rocks hunting some animal. Walked a little in the garden -when I came home. Very pleasant now. Rain comes on. Mr. Jackson called -in the evening, brought me a letter from C. and W. - -_Monday Morning._--A fine clear frosty morning with a sharp wind. I -walked to Keswick. Set off at 5 minutes past 10, and arrived at 1/2 past -2. I found them all well. - -On _Tuesday_ morning W. and C. set off towards Penrith. Wm. met Sara -Hutchinson at Threlkeld. They arrived at Keswick at tea time. - -_Wednesday._--We walked by the lake side and then went to Mr. Denton's. -I called upon the Miss Cochyns. - -_Thursday._--We spent the morning in the town. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Peach -dined with us. - -_Friday._--A very fine day. Went to Mrs. Greaves'. Mrs. C. and I called -upon the Speddings. A beautiful crescent moon. - -_Saturday Morning._--After visiting Mr. Peach's Chinese pictures we set -off to Grasmere. A threatening and rather rainy morning. Arrived at G. -Very dirty and a little wet at the closing in of evening. - -_Sunday._--Wm. not well. I baked bread and pie for dinner. - -_Monday._--A fine morning. Sara and I walked to Rydale. After dinner we -went to Lloyd's, and drank tea, and supped. A sharp cold night, with -sleet and snow. - -_Tuesday._--Read _Tom Jones_. - -_Wednesday._-- ... Wm. very well. We had a delightful walk up into -Easedale. The tops of the mountains covered with snow, frosty and sunny, -the roads slippery. A letter from Mary. The Lloyds drank tea. We walked -with them near to Ambleside. A beautiful moonlight night. Sara and I -walked home. William very well, and highly poetical. - -_Thursday, 27th November._--Wrote to Tom Hutchinson to desire him to -bring Mary with him. A thaw, and the ground covered with snow. Sara and -I walked before dinner. - -_Friday._--Coleridge walked over. Miss Simpson drank tea with us. -William walked home with her. Coleridge was very unwell. He went to bed -before Wm.'s return. - - * * * * * * - -_Sunday, 30th November._--A very fine clear morning. Snow upon the -ground everywhere. Sara and I walked towards Rydale by the upper road, -and were obliged to return, because of the snow. Walked by moonlight. - -_Monday._--A thaw in the night, and the snow was entirely gone. -Coleridge unable to go home. We walked by moonlight. - -_Tuesday, 2nd December._--A rainy morning. Coleridge was obliged to set -off. Sara and I met C. Lloyd and S. turned back with him. I walked round -the 2 lakes with Charles, very pleasant. We all walked to Ambleside. A -pleasant moonlight evening, but not clear. It came on a terrible -evening. Hail, and wind, and cold, and rain. - -_Wednesday, 3rd December._--We lay in bed till 11 o'clock. Wrote to -John, and M. H. William and Sara and I walked to Rydale after tea. A -very fine frosty night. Sara and W. walked round the other side. - -_Thursday._--Coleridge came in, just as we finished dinner. We walked -after tea by moonlight to look at Langdale covered with snow, the Pikes -not grand, but the Old Man[36] very expressive. Cold and slippery, but -exceedingly pleasant. Sat up till half-past one. - - [Footnote 36: Coniston 'Old Man.'--ED.] - -_Friday Morning._--Terribly cold and rainy. Coleridge and Wm. set -forward towards Keswick, but the wind in Coleridge's eyes made him turn -back. Sara and I had a grand bread and cake baking. We were very merry -in the evening, but grew sleepy soon, though we did not go to bed till -twelve o'clock. - -_Saturday._--Wm. accompanied Coleridge to the foot of the Raise. A very -pleasant morning. Sara and I accompanied him half-way to Keswick. -Thirlemere was very beautiful, even more so than in summer. William was -not well, had laboured unsuccessfully.... A letter from M. H. - -_Sunday._--A fine morning. I read. Sara wrote to Hartley, Wm. to Mary, I -to Mrs. C. We walked just before dinner to the lakeside, and found out a -seat in a tree. Windy, but very pleasant. Sara and Wm. walked to the -waterfalls at Rydale. - -_Monday, 8th December._--A sweet mild morning. I wrote to Mrs. Cookson, -and Miss Griffith. - -_Tuesday, 9th._--I dined at Lloyd's. Wm. drank tea. Walked home. A -pleasant starlight frosty evening. Reached home at one o'clock. Wm. -finished his poem to-day. - -_Wednesday, 10th._--Walked to Keswick. Snow upon the ground. A very fine -day. Ate bread and ale at John Stanley's. Found Coleridge better. Stayed -at Keswick till Sunday 14th December. - -_Wednesday._--A very fine day. Writing all the morning for William. - -_Thursday._--Mrs. Coleridge and Derwent came. Sweeping chimneys. - -_Friday._--Baking. - -_Saturday._--Coleridge came. Very ill, rheumatic fever. Rain -incessantly. - -_Monday._--S. and Wm. went to Lloyd's. Wm. dined. It rained very hard -when he came home. - - - - - IV - - DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL - WRITTEN AT GRASMERE - (FROM 10TH OCTOBER 1801 TO 29TH DECEMBER 1801) - -EXTRACTS FROM DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT GRASMERE, FROM -10TH OCTOBER 1801 TO 29TH DECEMBER 1801 - - -_Saturday, 10th October 1801._--Coleridge went to Keswick, after we had -built Sara's seat. - -_Thursday, 15th._-- ... Coleridge came in to Mr. Luff's while we were at -dinner. William and I walked up Loughrigg Fell, then by the -waterside.... - -_Saturday, 24th._--Attempted Fairfield, but misty, and we went no -further than Green Head Gill to the sheepfold; mild, misty, beautifully -soft. Wm. and Tom put out the boat.... - -_Sunday, 25th._--Rode to Legberthwaite with Tom, expecting Mary.... Went -upon Helvellyn. Glorious sights. The sea at Cartmel. The Scotch -mountains beyond the sea to the right. Whiteside large, and round, and -very soft, and green, behind us. Mists above and below, and close to us, -with the sun amongst them. They shot down to the coves. Left John -Stanley's[37] at 10 minutes past 12. Returned thither 1/4 past 4, drank -tea, ate heartily. Before we went on Helvellyn we got bread and cheese. -Paid 4/ for the whole. Reached home at nine o'clock. A soft grey -evening; the light of the moon, but she did not shine on us. Mary and I -sate in C.'s room a while. - - [Footnote 37: The landlord of Wytheburn Inn.--ED.] - - * * * * * * - -_Tuesday, 10th_ [_November_].--Poor C. left us, and we came home -together. We left Keswick at 2 o'clock and did not arrive at Grasmere -till 9 o'clock. I burnt myself with Coleridge's aquafortis. C. had a -sweet day for his ride. Every sight and every sound reminded me of -him--dear, dear fellow, of his many talks to us, by day and by night, of -all dear things. I was melancholy, and could not talk, but at last I -eased my heart by weeping--nervous blubbering says William. It is not -so. O! how many, many reasons have I to be anxious for him. - -_Wednesday, 11th._-- ... Put aside dearest C.'s letters, and now, at -about 7 o'clock, we are all sitting by a nice fire. Wm. with his book -and a candle, and Mary writing to Sara. - -_November 16th._-- ... Wm. is now, at 7 o'clock, reading Spenser. Mary -is writing beside me. The little syke[38] murmurs.[39a] We are quiet and -happy, but poor Peggy Ashburner coughs, as if she would cough her life -away. I am going to write to Coleridge and Sara. Poor C.! I hope he was -in London yesterday.... - - [Footnote 38: A Cumberland word for a rillet.--ED.] - [Footnote 39a: Probably some of the lines afterwards included in _The - Excursion._--ED.] - -_Tuesday, 17th._--A very rainy morning. We walked into Easedale before -dinner. The coppices a beautiful brown. The oaks many, a very fine leafy -shade. We stood a long time to look at the corner birch tree. The wind -was among the light thin twigs, and they yielded to it, this way and -that. - -_Wednesday, 18th._--We sate in the house in the morning reading -Spenser. Wm. and Mary walked to Rydale. Very pleasant moonlight. The -lakes beautiful. The church an image of peace. Wm. wrote some lines upon -it.[40] Mary and I walked as far as the Wishing Gate before supper. We -stood there a long time, the whole scene impressive. The mountains -indistinct, the Lake calm and partly ruffled. A sweet sound of water -falling into the quiet Lake.[39] A storm was gathering in Easedale, so -we returned; but the moon came out, and opened to us the church and -village. Helm Crag in shade, the larger mountains dappled like a sky. We -stood long upon the bridge. Wished for Wm.... - - [Footnote 39: Compare _To a Highland Girl_, 1. 8-- - - A murmur near the silent lake. ED.] - - [Footnote 40: Probably some of the lines afterwards included in _The - Excursion._--ED.] - - * * * * * * - -_Friday, 20th._--We walked in the morning to Easedale. In the evening we -had cheerful letters from Coleridge and Sara. - -_Saturday, 21st._--We walked in the morning, and paid one pound and 4d. -for letters. William out of spirits. We had a pleasant walk and spent a -pleasant evening. There was a furious wind and cold at night. Mr. -Simpson drank tea with us, and helped William out with the boat. Wm. and -Mary walked to the Swan, homewards, with him. A keen clear frosty night. -I went into the orchard while they were out. - -_Sunday, 22nd._--We wrote to Coleridge. - - * * * * * * - -_Tuesday, 24th._-- ... It was very windy, and we heard the wind -everywhere about us as we went along the lane, but the walls sheltered -us. John Green's house looked pretty under Silver How. As we were going -along we were stopped at once, at the distance perhaps of 50 yards from -our favourite birch tree. It was yielding to the gusty wind with all its -tender twigs. The sun shone upon it, and it glanced in the wind like a -flying sunshiny shower. It was a tree in shape, with stem and branches, -but it was like a spirit of water. The sun went in, and it resumed its -purplish appearance, the twigs still yielding to the wind, but not so -visibly to us. The other birch trees that were near it looked bright and -cheerful, but it was a creature by its own self among them.... We went -through the wood. It became fair. There was a rainbow which spanned the -lake from the island-house to the foot of Bainriggs. The village looked -populous and beautiful. Catkins are coming out; palm trees budding; the -alder, with its plum-coloured buds. We came home over the -stepping-stones. The lake was foamy with white waves. I saw a solitary -butter-flower in the wood.... Reached home at dinner time. Sent Peggy -Ashburner some goose. She sent me some honey, with a thousand thanks. -"Alas! the gratitude of men has," etc.[41] I went in to set her right -about this, and sate a while with her. She talked about Thomas's having -sold his land. "I," says she, "said many a time he's not come fra London -to buy our land, however." Then she told me with what pains and industry -they had made up their taxes, interest, etc. etc., how they all got up -at 5 o'clock in the morning to spin and Thomas carded, and that they had -paid off a hundred pounds of the interest. She said she used to take -much pleasure in the cattle and sheep. "O how pleased I used to be when -they fetched them down, and when I had been a bit poorly I would gang -out upon a hill and look over't fields and see them, and it used to do -me so much good you cannot think." Molly said to me when I came in, -"Poor body! she's very ill, but one does not know how long she may last. -Many a fair face may gang before her." We sate by the fire without work -for some time, then Mary read a poem of Daniel.... Wm. read Spenser, now -and then, a little aloud to us. We were making his waistcoat. We had a -note from Mrs. C., with bad news from poor C.--very ill. William went to -John's Grove. I went to find him. Moonlight, but it rained.... He had -been surprised, and terrified, by a sudden rushing of winds, which -seemed to bring earth, sky, and lake together, as if the whole were -going to enclose him in. He was glad he was in a high road. - - [Footnote 41: See, in the "Poetical Works," _Simon Lee_, II. 95, 96, - vol. i. p. 268.--ED.] - -In speaking of our walk on Sunday evening, the 22nd November, I forgot -to notice one most impressive sight. It was the moon and the moonlight -seen through hurrying driving clouds immediately behind the Stone-Man -upon the top of the hill, on the forest side. Every tooth and every edge -of rock was visible, and the Man stood like a giant watching from the -roof of a lofty castle. The hill seemed perpendicular from the darkness -below it. It was a sight that I could call to mind at any time, it was -so distinct. - -_Wednesday, 25th November._--It was a showery morning and threatened to -be a wettish day, but the sun shone once or twice. We were engaged to -Mr. Lloyd's and Wm. and Mary were determined to go that it might be -over. I accompanied them to the thorn beside Rydale water. I parted from -them first at the top of the hill, and they called me back. It rained a -little, and rained afterwards all the afternoon. I baked bread, and -wrote to Sara Hutchinson and Coleridge. I passed a pleasant evening, but -the wind roared so, and it was such a storm that I was afraid for them. -They came in at nine o'clock, no worse for their walk, and cheerful, -blooming, and happy. - -_Thursday, 26th._--Mr. Olliff called before Wm. was up to say that they -would drink tea with us this afternoon. We walked into Easedale, to -gather mosses, and to fetch cream. I went for the cream, and they sate -under a wall. It was piercing cold. - - * * * * * * - -_Thursday, 3rd December 1801._--Wm. walked into Easedale. Hail and -snow.... I wrote a little bit of my letter to Coleridge.... - -_Friday, 4th._-- ... Wm. translating _The Prioress's Tale_. William and -Mary walked after tea to Rydale. I finished the letter to Coleridge, and -we received a letter from him and Sara. C.'s letter written in good -spirits. A letter of Lamb's about George Dyer with it.[42] - - [Footnote 42: An unprinted letter.--ED.] - -_Saturday, 5th._-- ... Wm. finished _The Prioress's Tale_, and after tea -Mary and he wrote it out.... - -_Sunday, 6th._--A very fine beautiful sunshiny morning. Wm. worked a -while at Chaucer, then we set forward to walk into Easedale.... We -walked backwards and forwards in the flat field, which makes the second -course of Easedale, with that beautiful rock in the field beside us, and -all the rocks and the woods and the mountains enclosing us round. The -sun was shining among them, the snow thinly scattered upon the tops of -the mountains. In the afternoon we sate by the fire: I read Chaucer -aloud, and Mary read the first canto of _The Fairy Queen_. After tea -Mary and I walked to Ambleside for letters.... It was a sober starlight -evening. The stars not shining as it were with all their brightness when -they were visible, and sometimes hiding themselves behind small greying -clouds, that passed soberly along. We opened C.'s letter at Wilcock's -door. We thought we saw that he wrote in good spirits, so we came -happily homewards where we arrived 2 hours after we left home. It was a -sad melancholy letter, and prevented us all from sleeping. - -_Monday Morning, 7th._--We rose by candlelight. A showery unpleasant -morning, after a downright rainy night. We determined, however, to go to -Keswick if possible, and we set off a little after 9 o'clock. When we -were upon the Raise, it snowed very much; and the whole prospect closed -in upon us, like a moorland valley, upon a moor very wild. But when we -were at the top of the Raise we saw the mountains before us. The sun -shone upon them, here and there; and Wytheburn vale, though wild, looked -soft. The day went on cheerfully and pleasantly. Now and then a hail -shower attacked us; but we kept up a good heart, for Mary is a famous -jockey.... We reached Greta Hall at about one o'clock. Met Mrs. C. in -the field. Derwent in the cradle asleep. Hartley at his dinner. Derwent -the image of his father. Hartley well. We wrote to C. Mrs. C. left us at -1/2 past 2. We drank tea by ourselves, the children playing about us. -Mary said to Hartley, "Shall I take Derwent with me?" "No," says H., "I -cannot spare my little brother," in the sweetest tone possible, "and he -can't do without his mamma." "Well," says Mary, "why can't I be his -mamma? Can't he have more mammas than one?" "No," says H. "What for?" -"Because they do not love, and mothers do." "What is the difference -between mothers and mammas?" Looking at his sleeves, "Mothers wear -sleeves like this, pulling his own tight down, and mammas" (pulling them -up, and making a bustle about his shoulders) "so." We parted from them -at 4 o'clock. It was a little of the dusk when we set off. Cotton mills -lighted up. The first star at Nadel Fell, but it was never dark. We rode -very briskly. Snow upon the Raise. Reached home at seven o'clock. -William at work with Chaucer, _The God of Love_. Sate latish. I wrote a -letter to Coleridge. - -_Tuesday, 8th December 1801._--A dullish, rainyish morning. Wm. at work -with Chaucer. I read Bruce's _Lochleven_.... William worked at _The -Cuckoo and the Nightingale_ till he was tired.... - -_Wednesday Morning, 9th December._-- ... I read _Palemon and -Arcite_.... William writing out his alteration of Chaucer's _Cuckoo and -Nightingale_.... When I had finished a letter to C., ... Mary and I -walked into Easedale, and backwards and forwards in that large field -under George Rawson's white cottage. We had intended gathering mosses, -and for that purpose we turned into the green lane, behind the tailor's, -but it was too dark to see the mosses. The river came galloping past the -Church, as fast as it could come; and when we got into Easedale we saw -Churn Milk Force, like a broad stream of snow at the little foot-bridge. -We stopped to look at the company of rivers, which came hurrying down -the vale, this way and that. It was a valley of streams and islands, -with that great waterfall at the head, and lesser falls in different -parts of the mountains, coming down to these rivers. We could hear the -sound of the lesser falls, but we could not see them. We walked -backwards and forwards till all distant objects, except the white shape -of the waterfall and the lines of the mountains, were gone. We had the -crescent moon when we went out, and at our return there were a few stars -that shone dimly, but it was a grey cloudy night. - -_Thursday, 10th December._-- ... We walked into Easedale to gather -mosses, and then we went ... up the Gill, beyond that little waterfall. -It was a wild scene of crag and mountain. One craggy point rose above -the rest irregular and rugged, and very impressive it was. We were very -unsuccessful in our search after mosses. Just when the evening was -closing in, Mr. Clarkson came to the door. It was a fine frosty evening. -We played at cards. - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, 12th._-- ... Snow upon the ground.... All looked cheerful -and bright. Helm Crag rose very bold and craggy, a Being by itself, and -behind it was the large ridge of mountain, smooth as marble and snow -white. All the mountains looked like solid stone, on our left, going -from Grasmere, _i.e._ White Moss and Nab Scar. The snow hid all the -grass, and all signs of vegetation, and the rocks showed themselves -boldly everywhere, and seemed more stony than rock or stone. The birches -on the crags beautiful, red brown and glittering. The ashes glittering -spears with their upright stems. The hips very beautiful, and so good!! -and, dear Coleridge! I ate twenty for thee, when I was by myself. I came -home first. They walked too slow for me. Wm. went to look at Langdale -Pikes. We had a sweet invigorating walk. Mr. Clarkson came in before -tea. We played at cards. Sate up late. The moon shone upon the waters -below Silver How, and above it hung, combining with Silver How on one -side, a bowl-shaped moon, the curve downwards, the white fields, -glittering roof of Thomas Ashburner's house, the dark yew tree, the -white fields gay and beautiful. Wm. lay with his curtains open that he -might see it. - -_Sunday, 13th._--Mr. Clarkson left us, leading his horse.... The boy -brought letters from Coleridge, and from Sara. Sara in bad spirits about -C. - -_Monday, 14th December._--Wm. and Mary walked to Ambleside in the -morning to buy mouse-traps.... I wrote to Coleridge a very long letter -while they were absent. Sate by the fire in the evening reading. - - * * * * * * - -_Thursday, 17th._--Snow in the night and still snowing.... Ambleside -looked excessively beautiful as we came out--like a village in another -country; and the light cheerful mountains were seen, in the long -distance, as bright and as clear as at mid-day, with the blue sky above -them. We heard waterfowl calling out by the lake side. Jupiter was very -glorious above the Ambleside hills, and one large star hung over the -corner of the hills on the opposite side of Rydale water. - -_Friday, 18th December 1801._--Mary and Wm. walked round the two lakes. -I staid at home to make bread. I afterwards went to meet them, and I met -Wm. Mary had gone to look at Langdale Pikes. It was a cheerful glorious -day. The birches and all trees beautiful, hips bright red, mosses green. -I wrote to Coleridge. - - * * * * * * - -_Sunday, 20th December._--It snowed all day. It was a very deep snow. -The brooms were very beautiful, arched feathers with wiry stalks pointed -to the end, smaller and smaller. They waved gently with the weight of -the snow. - -_Monday 21st_ being the shortest day, Mary walked to Ambleside for -letters. It was a wearisome walk, for the snow lay deep upon the roads -and it was beginning to thaw. I stayed at home. Wm. sate beside me, and -read _The Pedlar_. He was in good spirits, and full of hope of what he -should do with it. He went to meet Mary, and they brought four -letters--two from Coleridge, one from Sara, and one from France. -Coleridge's were melancholy letters. He had been very ill. We were made -very unhappy. Wm. wrote to him, and directed the letter into -Somersetshire. I finished it after tea. In the afternoon Mary and I -ironed. - -_Tuesday, 22nd._-- ... Wm. composed a few lines of _The Pedlar_. We -talked about Lamb's tragedy as we went down the White Moss. We stopped a -long time in going to watch a little bird with a salmon-coloured breast, -a white cross or T upon its wings, and a brownish back with faint -stripes.... It began to pick upon the road at the distance of four yards -from us, and advanced nearer and nearer till it came within the length -of W.'s stick, without any apparent fear of us. As we came up the White -Moss, we met an old man, who I saw was a beggar by his two bags hanging -over his shoulder; but, from half laziness, half indifference, and -wanting to _try_ him, if he would speak, I let him pass. He said -nothing, and my heart smote me. I turned back, and said, "You are -begging?" "Ay," says he. I gave him something. William, judging from his -appearance, joined in, "I suppose you were a sailor?" "Ay," he replied, -"I have been 57 years at sea, 12 of them on board a man-of-war under Sir -Hugh Palmer." "Why have you not a pension?" "I have no pension, but I -could have got into Greenwich hospital, but all my officers are dead." -He was 75 years of age, had a freshish colour in his cheeks, grey hair, -a decent hat with a binding round the edge, the hat worn brown and -glossy, his shoes were small thin shoes low in the quarters, pretty -good. They had belonged to a gentleman. His coat was frock shaped, -coming over his thighs. It had been joined up at the seams behind with -paler blue, to let it out, and there were three bell-shaped patches of -darker blue behind, where the buttons had been. His breeches were either -of fustian, or grey cloth, with strings hanging down, whole and tight. -He had a checked shirt on, and a small coloured handkerchief tied round -his neck. His bags were hung over each shoulder, and lay on each side of -him, below his breast. One was brownish and of coarse stuff, the other -was white with meal on the outside, and his blue waistcoat was whitened -with meal. - - * * * * * * - -We overtook old Fleming at Rydale, leading his little Dutchman-like -grandchild along the slippery road. The same face seemed to be natural -to them both--the old man and the little child--and they went hand in -hand, the grandfather cautious, yet looking proud of his charge. He had -two patches of new cloth at the shoulder-blades of his faded -claret-coloured coat, like eyes at each shoulder, not worn elsewhere. I -found Mary at home in her riding-habit, all her clothes being put up. We -were very sad about Coleridge.... We stopped to look at the stone seat -at the top of the hill. There was a white cushion upon it, round at the -edge like a cushion, and the rock behind looked soft as velvet, of a -vivid green, and so tempting! The snow too looked as soft as a down -cushion. A young foxglove, like a star, in the centre. There were a few -green lichens about it, and a few withered brackens of fern here and -there upon the ground near, all else was a thick snow; no footmark to -it, not the foot of a sheep.... We sate snugly round the fire. I read to -them the Tale of Constance and the Syrian monarch, in the _Man of Lawe's -Tale_, also some of the _Prologue_.... - -_Wednesday, 23rd._-- ... Mary wrote out the Tales from Chaucer for -Coleridge. William worked at _The Ruined Cottage_ and made himself very -ill.... A broken soldier came to beg in the morning. Afterwards a tall -woman, dressed somewhat in a tawdry style, with a long checked muslin -apron, a beaver hat, and throughout what are called good clothes. Her -daughter had gone before, with a soldier and his wife. She had buried -her husband at Whitehaven, and was going back into Cheshire. - -_Thursday, 24th._--Still a thaw. Wm., Mary, and I sate comfortably -round the fire in the evening, and read Chaucer. Thoughts of last year. -I took out my old Journal. - -_Friday, 25th._--_Christmas Day._ We received a letter from Coleridge. -His letter made us uneasy about him. I was glad I was not by myself when -I received it. - -_Saturday, 26th._-- ... We walked to Rydale. Grasmere Lake a beautiful -image of stillness, clear as glass, reflecting all things. The wind was -up, and the waters sounding. The lake of a rich purple, the fields a -soft yellow, the island yellowish-green, the copses red-brown, the -mountains purple, the church and buildings, how quiet they were! Poor -Coleridge, Sara, and dear little Derwent here last year at this time. -After tea we sate by the fire comfortably. I read aloud _The Miller's -Tale_. Wrote to Coleridge.... Wm. wrote part of the poem to -Coleridge.[43] - - [Footnote 43: See _Stanzas, written in my Pocket Copy of Thomson's - Castle of Indolence_, "Poetical Works," vol. ii. p. 305.--ED.] - -_Sunday, 27th._--A fine soft beautiful mild day, with gleams of -sunshine. William went to take in his boat. I sate in John's Grove a -little while. Mary came home. Mary wrote some lines of the third part of -his poem, which he brought to read to us, when we came home.... - -_Monday, 28th of December._--William, Mary, and I set off on foot to -Keswick. We carried some cold mutton in our pockets, and dined at John -Stanley's, where they were making Christmas pies. The sun shone, but it -was coldish. We parted from Wm. upon the Raise. He joined us opposite -Sara's rock. He was busy in composition, and sate down upon the wall. We -did not see him again till we arrived at John Stanley's. There we -roasted apples in the room. After we had left John Stanley's, Wm. -discovered that he had lost his gloves. He turned back, but they were -gone. Wm. rested often. Once he left his Spenser, and Mary turned back -for it, and found it upon the bank, where we had last rested.... We -reached Greta Hall at about 1/2 past 5 o'clock. The children and Mrs. C. -well. After tea, message came from Wilkinson, who had passed us on the -road, inviting Wm. to sup at the Oak. He went. Met a young man (a -predestined Marquis) called Johnston. He spoke to him familiarly of the -L. B. He had seen a copy presented by the Queen to Mrs. Harcourt. Said -he saw them everywhere, and wondered they did not sell. We all went -weary to bed.... - -_Tuesday, 29th._--A fine morning. A thin fog upon the hills which soon -disappeared. The sun shone. Wilkinson went with us to the top of the -hill. We turned out of the road at the second mile stone, and passed a -pretty cluster of houses at the foot of St. John's Vale. The houses were -among tall trees, partly of Scotch fir, and some naked forest trees. We -crossed a bridge just below these houses, and the river winded sweetly -along the meadows. Our road soon led us along the sides of dreary bare -hills, but we had a glorious prospect to the left of Saddleback, -half-way covered with snow, and underneath the comfortable white houses -and the village of Threlkeld. These houses and the village want trees -about them. Skiddaw was behind us, and dear Coleridge's desert home. As -we ascended the hills it grew very cold and slippery. Luckily, the wind -was at our backs, and helped us on. A sharp hail shower gathered at the -head of Martindale, and the view upwards was very grand--wild cottages, -seen through the hurrying hail-shower. The wind drove, and eddied about -and about, and the hills looked large and swelling through the storm. We -thought of Coleridge. O! the bonny nooks, and windings, and curlings of -the beck, down at the bottom of the steep green mossy banks. We dined at -the public-house on porridge, with a second course of Christmas pies. We -were well received by the landlady, and her little Jewish daughter was -glad to see us again. The husband a very handsome man. While we were -eating our dinner a traveller came in. He had walked over Kirkstone, -that morning. We were much amused by the curiosity of the landlord and -landlady to learn who he was, and by his mysterious manner of letting -out a little bit of his errand, and yet telling nothing. He had business -further up in the vale. He left them with this piece of information to -work upon, and I doubt not they discovered who he was and all his -business before the next day at that hour. The woman told us of the -riches of a Mr. Walker, formerly of Grasmere. We said, "What, does he do -nothing for his relations? He has a sickly sister at Grasmere." "Why," -said the man, "I daresay if they had any sons to put forward he would do -it for them, but he has children of his own." - -(_N.B._--His fortune is above £60,000, and he has two children!!) - -The landlord went about a mile and a half with us to put us in the -right way. The road was often very slippery, the wind high, and it was -nearly dark before we got into the right road. I was often obliged to -crawl on all fours, and Mary fell many a time. A stout young man whom we -met on the hills, and who knew Mr. Clarkson, very kindly set us into the -right road, and we inquired again near some houses and were directed, by -a miserable, poverty-struck, looking woman, who had been fetching water, -to go down a miry lane. We soon got into the main road and reached Mr. -Clarkson's at tea time. Mary H. spent the next day with us, and we -walked on Dunmallet before dinner, but it snowed a little. The day -following, being New Year's Eve, we accompanied Mary to Howtown Bridge. - - - - - V - - DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL - WRITTEN AT GRASMERE - (FROM 1ST JANUARY 1802 TO 8TH JULY 1802) - -EXTRACTS FROM DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL (FROM 1ST JANUARY 1802 -TO 8TH JULY 1802) - - -_New Year's Day._--We walked, Wm. and I, towards Martindale. - -_January 2nd._--It snowed all day. We walked near to Dalemain in the -snow. - -_January 3rd._--Sunday. Mary brought us letters from Sara and Coleridge -and we went with her homewards to ... Parted at the stile on the Pooley -side. Thomas Wilkinson dined with us and stayed supper. - -I do not recollect how the rest of our time was spent exactly. We had a -very sharp frost which broke on Friday the 15th January, or rather on -the morning of Saturday 16th. - -On Sunday the 17th we went to meet Mary. It was a mild gentle thaw. -She stayed with us till Friday, 22nd January. On Thursday we dined at -Mr. Myers's, and on Friday, 22nd, we parted from Mary. Before our -parting we sate under a wall in the sun near a cottage above Stainton -Bridge. The field in which we sate sloped downwards to a nearly level -meadow, round which the Emont flowed in a small half-circle as at -Lochleven.[44] The opposite bank is woody, steep as a wall, but not -high, and above that bank the fields slope gently, and irregularly down -to it. These fields are surrounded by tall hedges, with trees among -them, and there are clumps or grovelets of tall trees here and there. -Sheep and cattle were in the fields. Dear Mary! there we parted from -her. I daresay as often as she passes that road she will turn in at the -gate to look at this sweet prospect. There was a barn and I think two or -three cottages to be seen among the trees, and slips of lawn and -irregular fields. During our stay at Mr. Clarkson's we walked every day, -except that stormy Thursday. We dined at Thomas Wilkinson's on Friday -the 15th, and walked to Penrith for Mary. The trees were covered with -hoar-frost--grasses, and trees, and hedges beautiful; a glorious sunset; -frost keener than ever. Next day thaw. Mrs. Clarkson amused us with many -stories of her family and of persons whom she had known. I wish I had -set them down as I heard them, when they were fresh in my memory.... -Mrs. Clarkson knew a clergyman and his wife who brought up ten children -upon a curacy, sent two sons to college, and he left £1000 when he died. -The wife was very generous, gave food and drink to all poor people. She -had a passion for feeding animals. She killed a pig with feeding it over -much. When it was dead she said, "To be sure it's a great loss, but I -thank God it did not die _clemmed_" (the Cheshire word for starved). Her -husband was very fond of playing back-gammon, and used to play whenever -he could get anybody to play with him. She had played much in her youth, -and was an excellent player; but her husband knew nothing of this, till -one day she said to him, "You're fond of back-gammon, come play with -me." He was surprised. She told him she had kept it to herself, while -she had a young family to attend to, but that now she would play with -him! So they began to play, and played every night. Mr. C. told us many -pleasant stories. His journey from London to Wisbeck on foot when a -schoolboy, knife and stick, postboy, etc., the white horse sleeping at -the turnpike gate snoring, the turnpike man's clock ticking, the burring -story, the story of the mastiff, bull-baiting by men at Wisbeck. - - [Footnote 44: This refers probably to Loch Leven in Argyll, but its - point is not obvious, and Dorothy Wordsworth had not then been in - Scotland.--ED.] - -On Saturday, January 23rd, we left Eusemere at 10 o'clock in the -morning, I behind Wm. Mr. Clarkson on his Galloway.[45] The morning not -very promising, the wind cold. The mountains large and dark, but only -thinly streaked with snow; a strong wind. We dined in Grisdale on ham, -bread, and milk. We parted from Mr. C. at one o'clock. It rained all the -way home. We struggled with the wind, and often rested as we went along. -A hail shower met us before we reached the Tarn, and the way often was -difficult over the snow; but at the Tarn the view closed in. We saw -nothing but mists and snow: and at first the ice on the Tarn below us -cracked and split, yet without water, a dull grey white. We lost our -path, and could see the Tarn no longer. We made our way out with -difficulty, guided by a heap of stones which we well remembered. We were -afraid of being bewildered in the mists, till the darkness should -overtake us. We were long before we knew that we were in the right -track, but thanks to William's skill we knew it long before we could see -our way before us. There was no footmark upon the snow either of man or -beast. We saw four sheep before we had left the snow region. The vale of -Grasmere, when the mists broke away, looked soft and grave, of a yellow -hue. It was dark before we reached home. O how happy and comfortable we -felt ourselves, sitting by our own fire, when we had got off our wet -clothes. We talked about the Lake of Como, read the description, looked -about us, and felt that we were happy.... - - [Footnote 45: A Galloway pony.--ED.] - -_Sunday, 24th._--We went into the orchard as soon as breakfast was -over. Laid out the situation for our new room, and sauntered a while. -Wm. walked in the morning. I wrote to Coleridge.... - -_Monday, 25th January._-- ... Wm. tired with composition.... - -_Tuesday, 26th._-- ... We are going to walk, and I am ready and waiting -by the kitchen fire for Wm. We set forward intending to go into -Easedale, but the wind being loudish, and blowing down Easedale, we -walked under Silver How for a shelter. We went a little beyond the syke; -then up to John's Grove, where the storm of Thursday has made sad -ravages. Two of the finest trees are uprooted, one lying with the turf -about its root, as if the whole together had been pared by a knife. The -other is a larch. Several others are blown aside, one is snapped in two. -We gathered together a faggot. Wm. had tired himself with working.... We -received a letter from Mary with an account of C.'s arrival in London. I -wrote to Mary before bedtime.... Wm. wrote out part of his poem, and -endeavoured to alter it, and so made himself ill. I copied out the rest -for him. We went late to bed. Wm. wrote to Annette.[46] - - [Footnote 46: See the "Poetical Works," vol. ii. p. 335.--ED.] - -_Wednesday, 27th._--A beautiful mild morning; the sun shone; the lake -was still, and all the shores reflected in it. I finished my letter to -Mary. Wm. wrote to Stuart. I copied sonnets for him. Mr. Olliff called -and asked us to tea to-morrow. We stayed in the house till the sun shone -more dimly and we thought the afternoon was closing in, but though the -calmness of the Lake was gone with the bright sunshine, yet it was -delightfully pleasant. We found no letter from Coleridge. One from Sara -which we sate upon the wall to read; a sweet long letter, with a most -interesting account of Mr. Patrick. We cooked no dinner. Sate a while by -the fire, and then drank tea at Frank Raty's. As we went past the Nab I -was surprised to see the youngest child amongst them running about by -itself, with a canny round fat face, and rosy cheeks. I called in. They -gave me some nuts. Everybody surprised that we should come over -Grisdale. Paid £1: 3: 3 for letters come since December 1st. Paid also -about 8 shillings at Penrith. The bees were humming about the hive. -William raked a few stones off the garden, his first garden labour this -year. I cut the shrubs. When we returned from Frank's, Wm. wasted his -mind in the Magazines. I wrote to Coleridge, and Mrs. C., closed the -letters up to Samson. Then we sate by the fire, and were happy, only our -tender thoughts became painful.[47] Went to bed at 1/2 past 11. - - [Footnote 47: Compare, in _Lines written in Early Spring_, vol. i. - p. 269-- - - In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts - Bring sad thoughts to the mind. ED.] - -_Thursday, 28th._--A downright rain. A wet night. Wm. wrote an epitaph, -and altered one that he wrote when he was a boy. It cleared up after -dinner. We were both in miserable spirits, and very doubtful about -keeping our engagements to the Olliffs. We walked first within view of -Rydale then to Lowthwaite, then we went to Mr. Olliff. We talked a -while. Wm. was tired. We then played at cards. Came home in the rain. -Very dark. Came with a lantern. Wm. out of spirits and tired. He called -at 1/4 past 3 to know the hour. - -_Friday, 29th January._--Wm. was very unwell. Worn out with his bad -night's rest. I read to him, to endeavour to make him sleep. Then I came -into the other room, and I read the first book of _Paradise Lost_. After -dinner we walked to Ambleside.... A heart-rending letter from Coleridge. -We were sad as we could be. Wm. wrote to him. We talked about Wm.'s -going to London. It was a mild afternoon. There was an unusual softness -in the prospects as we went, a rich yellow upon the fields, and a soft -grave purple on the waters. When we returned many stars were out, the -clouds were moveless, and the sky soft purple, the lake of Rydale calm, -Jupiter behind. Jupiter at least _we_ call him, but William says we -always call the largest star Jupiter. When we came home we both wrote to -C. I was stupefied. - -_Saturday, January 30th._--A cold dark morning. William chopped wood. I -brought it in a basket.... He asked me to set down the story of Barbara -Wilkinson's turtle dove. Barbara is an old maid. She had two turtle -doves. One of them died, the first year I think. The other continued to -live alone in its cage for nine years, but for one whole year it had a -companion and daily visitor--a little mouse, that used to come and feed -with it; and the dove would carry it and cover it over with its wings, -and make a loving noise to it. The mouse, though it did not testify -equal delight in the dove's company, was yet at perfect ease. The poor -mouse disappeared, and the dove was left solitary till its death. It -died of a short sickness, and was buried under a tree, with funeral -ceremony by Barbara and her maidens, and one or two others. - -On _Saturday, 30th_, Wm. worked at _The Pedlar_ all the morning. He kept -the dinner waiting till four o'clock. He was much tired.... - -_Sunday, 31st._--Wm. had slept very ill. He was tired. We walked round -the two lakes. Grasmere was very soft, and Rydale was extremely -beautiful from the western side. Nab Scar was just topped by a cloud -which, cutting it off as high as it could be cut off, made the mountain -look uncommonly lofty.[48] We sate down a long time with different -plans. I always love to walk that way, because it is the way I first -came to Rydale and Grasmere, and because our dear Coleridge did also. -When I came with Wm., 6 and 1/2 years ago, it was just at sunset. There -was a rich yellow light on the waters, and the islands were reflected -there. To-day it was grave and soft, but not perfectly calm. William -says it was much such a day as when Coleridge came with _him_. The sun -shone out before we reached Grasmere. We sate by the roadside at the -foot of the Lake, close to Mary's dear name, which she had cut herself -upon the stone. Wm. cut at it with his knife to make it plainer.[49] We -amused ourselves for a long time in watching the breezes, some as if -they came from the bottom of the lake, spread in a circle, brushing -along the surface of the water, and growing more delicate as it were -thinner, and of a _paler_ colour till they died away. Others spread out -like a peacock's tail, and some went right forward this way and that in -all directions. The lake was still where these breezes were not, but -they made it all alive. I found a strawberry blossom in a rock. The -little slender flower had more courage than the green leaves, for _they_ -were but half expanded and half grown, but the blossom was spread full -out. I uprooted it rashly, and I felt as if I had been committing an -outrage, so I planted it again. It will have but a stormy life of it, -but let it live if it can. We found Calvert here. I brought a -handkerchief full of mosses, which I placed on the chimneypiece when -Calvert was gone. He dined with us, and carried away the encyclopĉdias. -After they were gone, I spent some time in trying to reconcile myself to -the change, and in rummaging out and arranging some other books in their -places. One good thing is this--there is a nice elbow place for Wm., and -he may sit for the picture of John Bunyan any day. Mr. Simpson drank tea -with us. We paid our rent to Benson.... - - [Footnote 48: Compare the poem _To the Clouds_, vol. viii. p. 142, and - the Fenwick note to that poem.--ED.] - - [Footnote 49: This still exists, but is known to few.--ED.] - -_Monday, February 1st._--Wm. slept badly. I baked bread. William worked -hard at _The Pedlar_, and tired himself.... There was a purplish light -upon Mr. Olliff's house, which made me look to the other side of the -vale, when I saw a strange stormy mist coming down the side of Silver -How of a reddish purple colour. It soon came on a heavy rain.... A box -with books came from London. I sate by W.'s bedside, and read in _The -Pleasures of Hope_ to him, which came in the box. He could not fall -asleep. - -_Tuesday, 2nd February._-- ... Wm. went into the orchard after -breakfast, to chop wood. We walked into Easedale.... Walked backwards -and forwards between Goody Bridge and Butterlip How. William wished to -break off composition, but was unable, and so did himself harm. The sun -shone, but it was cold. William worked at _The Pedlar_. After tea I read -aloud the eleventh book of _Paradise Lost_. We were much impressed, and -also melted into tears. The papers came in soon after I had laid aside -the book--a good thing for my Wm.... - -_Wednesday, 3rd._--A rainy morning. We walked to Rydale for letters. -Found one from Mrs. Cookson and Mary H. It snowed upon the hills. We -sate down on the wall at the foot of White Moss. Sate by the fire in the -evening. Wm. tired, and did not compose. He went to bed soon, and could -not sleep. I wrote to Mary H. Sent off the letter by Fletcher. Wrote -also to Coleridge. Read Wm. to sleep after dinner, and read to him in -bed till 1/2 past one. - -_Thursday, 4th._-- ... Wm. thought a little about _The Pedlar_. Read -Smollet's life. - -_Friday, 5th._--A cold snowy morning. Snow and hail showers. We did not -walk. Wm. cut wood a little. Sate up late at _The Pedlar_. - -_Saturday, 6th February._-- ... Two very affecting letters from -Coleridge; resolved to try another climate. I was stopped in my writing, -and made ill by the letters.... Wrote again after tea, and translated -two or three of Lessing's _Fables_. - -_Sunday, 7th._--A fine clear frosty morning. The eaves drop with the -heat of the sun all day long. The ground thinly covered with snow. The -road black, rocks black. Before night the island was quite green. The -sun had melted all the snow. Wm. working at his poem. We sate by the -fire, and did not walk, but read _The Pedlar_, thinking it done; but W. -could find fault with one part of it. It was uninteresting, and must be -altered. Poor Wm.! - -_Monday Morning, 8th February 1802._--It was very windy and rained hard -all the morning. William worked at his poem and I read a little in -Lessing and the grammar. A chaise came past. - -After dinner (_i.e._ we set off at about 1/2 past 4) we went towards -Rydale for letters. It was a "_cauld clash_." The rain had been so cold -that it hardly melted the snow. We stopped at Park's to get some straw -round Wm.'s shoes. The young mother was sitting by a bright wood fire, -with her youngest child upon her lap, and the other two sate on each -side of the chimney. The light of the fire made them a beautiful sight, -with their innocent countenances, their rosy cheeks, and glossy curling -hair. We sate and talked about poor Ellis, and our journey over the -Hawes. Before we had come to the shore of the Lake, we met our patient -bow-bent friend, with his little wooden box at his back. "Where are you -going?" said he. "To Rydale for letters." "I have two for you in my -box." We lifted up the lid, and there they lay. Poor fellow, he -straddled and pushed on with all his might; but we outstripped him far -away when we had turned back with our letters.... I could not help -comparing lots with him. He goes at that slow pace every morning, and -after having wrought a hard day's work returns at night, however weary -he may be, takes it all quietly, and, though perhaps he neither feels -thankfulness nor pleasure, when he eats his supper, and has nothing to -look forward to but falling asleep in bed, yet I daresay he neither -murmurs nor thinks it hard. He seems mechanised to labour. We broke the -seal of Coleridge's letters, and I had light enough just to see that he -was not ill. I put it in my pocket. At the top of the White Moss I took -it to my bosom,--a safer place for it. The sight was wild. There was a -strange mountain lightness, when we were at the top of the White Moss. I -have often observed it there in the evenings, being between the two -valleys. There is more of the sky there than any other place. It has a -strange effect. Sometimes, along with the obscurity of evening, or -night, it seems almost like a peculiar sort of light. There was not much -wind till we came to John's Grove, then it roared right out of the -grove, all the trees were tossing about. Coleridge's letter somewhat -damped us. It spoke with less confidence about France. Wm. wrote to him. -The other letter was from Montagu, with £8. Wm. was very unwell, tired -when he had written. He went to bed and left me to write to M. H., -Montagu, and Calvert, and Mrs. Coleridge. I had written in his letter to -Coleridge. We wrote to Calvert to beg him not to fetch us on Sunday. Wm. -left me with a little peat fire. It grew less. I wrote on, and was -starved. At 2 o'clock I went to put my letters under Fletcher's door. I -never felt such a cold night. There was a strong wind and it froze very -hard. I gathered together all the clothes I could find (for I durst not -go into the pantry for fear of waking Wm.). At first when I went to bed -I seemed to be warm. I suppose because the cold air, which I had just -left, no longer touched my body; but I soon found that I was mistaken. I -could not sleep from sheer cold. I had baked pies and bread in the -morning. Coleridge's letter contained prescriptions. - -_N.B._--The moon came out suddenly when we were at John's Grove, and a -star or two besides. - -_Tuesday._--Wm. had slept better. He fell to work, and made himself -unwell. We did not walk. A funeral came by of a poor woman who had -drowned herself, some say because she was hardly treated by her husband; -others that he was a very decent respectable man, and _she_ but an -indifferent wife. However this was, she had only been married to him -last Whitsuntide and had had very indifferent health ever since. She had -got up in the night, and drowned herself in the pond. She had requested -to be buried beside her mother, and so she was brought in a hearse. She -was followed by some very decent-looking men on horseback, her -sister--Thomas Fleming's wife--in a chaise, and some others with her, -and a cart full of women. Molly says folks thinks o' their mothers. Poor -body, _she_ has been little thought of by any body else. We did a little -of Lessing. I attempted a fable, but my head ached; my bones were sore -with the cold of the day before, and I was downright stupid. We went to -bed, but not till Wm. had tired himself. - -_Wednesday, 10th._--A very snowy morning.... I was writing out the poem, -as we hoped for a final writing.... We read the first part and were -delighted with it, but Wm. afterwards got to some ugly place, and went -to bed tired out. A wild, moonlight night. - -_Thursday, 11th._-- ... Wm. sadly tired and working at _The Pedlar_.... -We made up a good fire after dinner, and Wm. brought his mattress out, -and lay down on the floor. I read to him the life of Ben Jonson, and -some short poems of his, which were too interesting for him, and would -not let him go to sleep. I had begun with Fletcher, but he was too dull -for me. Fuller says, in his _Life of Jonson_ (speaking of his plays), -"If his latter be not so spriteful and vigorous as his first pieces, all -that are old, and all who desire to be old, should excuse him therein." -He says he "beheld" wit-combats between Shakespeare and Jonson, and -compares Shakespeare to an English man-of-war, Jonson to a great Spanish -galleon. There is one affecting line in Jonson's epitaph on his first -daughter-- - - Here lies to each her parents ruth, - Mary the daughter of their youth. - At six months' end she parted hence, - In safety of her innocence. - -Two beggars to-day. I continued to read to Wm. We were much delighted -with the poem of _Penshurst_.[50] Wm. rose better. I was cheerful and -happy. He got to work again. - - [Footnote 50: By Ben Jonson.--ED.] - -_Friday, 12th._--A very fine, bright, clear, hard frost. Wm. working -again. I recopied _The Pedlar_, but poor Wm. all the time at work.... In -the afternoon a poor woman came, she said, to beg, ... but she has been -used to go a-begging, for she has often come here. Her father lived to -the age of 105. She is a woman of strong bones, with a complexion that -has been beautiful, and remained very fresh last year, but now she looks -broken, and her little boy--a pretty little fellow, and whom I have -loved for the sake of Basil--looks thin and pale. I observed this to -her. "Aye," says she, "we have all been ill. Our house was nearly -unroofed in the storm, and we lived in it so for more than a week." The -child wears a ragged drab coat and a fur cap. Poor little fellow, I -think he seems scarcely at all grown since the first time I saw him. -William was with me when we met him in a lane going to Skelwith Bridge. -He looked very pretty. He was walking lazily, in the deep narrow lane, -overshadowed with the hedgerows, his meal poke hung over his shoulder. -He said he "was going a laiting." Poor creature! He now wears the same -coat he had on at that time. When the woman was gone, I could not help -thinking that we are not half thankful enough that we are placed in that -condition of life in which we are. We do not so often bless God for -this, as we wish for this £50, that £100, etc. etc. We have not, -however, to reproach ourselves with ever breathing a murmur. This -woman's was but a common case. The snow still lies upon the ground. Just -at the closing in of the day, I heard a cart pass the door, and at the -same time the dismal sound of a crying infant. I went to the window, and -had light enough to see that a man was driving a cart, which seemed not -to be very full, and that a woman with an infant in her arms was -following close behind and a dog close to her. It was a wild and -melancholy sight. Wm. rubbed his tables after candles were lighted, and -we sate a long time with the windows unclosed, and almost finished -writing _The Pedlar_; but poor Wm. wore himself out, and me out, with -labour. We had an affecting conversation. Went to bed at 12 o'clock. - -_Saturday, 13th._--It snowed a little this morning. Still at work at -_The Pedlar_, altering and refitting. We did not walk, though it was a -very fine day. We received a present of eggs and milk from Janet -Dockeray, and just before she went, the little boy from the Hill brought -us a letter from Sara H., and one from the Frenchman in London. I wrote -to Sara after tea, and Wm. took out his old newspapers, and the new ones -came in soon after. We sate, after I had finished the letter, talking; -and Wm. read parts of his _Recluse_ aloud to me.... - -_Sunday, 14th February._--A fine morning. The sun shines out, but it -has been a hard frost in the night. There are some little snowdrops that -are afraid to put their white heads quite out, and a few blossoms of -hepatica that are half-starved. Wm. left me at work altering some -passages of _The Pedlar_, and went into the orchard. The fine day pushed -him on to resolve, and as soon as I had read a letter to him, which I -had just received from Mrs. Clarkson, he said he would go to Penrith, so -Molly was despatched for the horse. I worked hard, got the writing -finished, and all quite trim. I wrote to Mrs. Clarkson, and put up some -letters for Mary H., and off he went in his blue spencer, and a pair of -new pantaloons fresh from London.... I then sate over the fire, reading -Ben Jonson's _Penshurst_, and other things. Before sunset, I put on my -shawl and walked out. The snow-covered mountains were spotted with rich -sunlight, a palish buffish colour.... I stood at the wishing-gate, and -when I came in view of Rydale, I cast a long look upon the mountains -beyond. They were very white, but I concluded that Wm. would have a very -safe passage over Kirkstone, and I was quite easy about him. After -dinner, a little before sunset, I walked out about 20 yards above -Glow-worm Rock. I met a carman, a Highlander I suppose, with four carts, -the first three belonging to himself, the last evidently to a man and -his family who had joined company with him, and who I guessed to be -potters. The carman was cheering his horses, and talking to a little -lass about ten years of age who seemed to make him her companion. She -ran to the wall, and took up a large stone to support the wheel of one -of his carts, and ran on before with it in her arms to be ready for him. -She was a beautiful creature, and there was something uncommonly -impressive in the lightness and joyousness of her manner. Her business -seemed to be all pleasure--pleasure in her own motions, and the man -looked at her as if he too was pleased, and spoke to her in the same -tone in which he spoke to his horses. There was a wildness in her whole -figure, not the wildness of a Mountain lass, but of the Road lass, a -traveller from her birth, who had wanted neither food nor clothes. Her -mother followed the last cart with a lovely child, perhaps about a year -old, at her back, and a good-looking girl, about fifteen years old, -walked beside her. All the children were like the mother. She had a very -fresh complexion, but she was blown with fagging up the steep hill, and -with what she carried. Her husband was helping the horse to drag the -cart up by pushing it with his shoulder. I reached home, and read German -till about 9 o'clock. I wrote to Coleridge. Went to bed at about 12 -o'clock.... I slept badly, for my thoughts were full of Wm. - -_Monday, 15th February._--It snowed a good deal, and was terribly cold. -After dinner it was fair, but I was obliged to run all the way to the -foot of the White Moss, to get the least bit of warmth into me. I found -a letter from C. He was much better, this was very satisfactory, but his -letter was not an answer to Wm.'s which I expected. A letter from -Annette. I got tea when I reached home, and then set on reading German. -I wrote part of a letter to Coleridge, went to bed and slept badly. - -_Tuesday, 16th._--A fine morning, but I had persuaded myself not to -expect Wm., I believe because I was afraid of being disappointed. I -ironed all day. He came just at tea time, had only seen Mary H. for a -couple of hours between Eamont Bridge and Hartshorn Tree. Mrs. C. -better. He had had a difficult journey over Kirkstone, and came home by -Threlkeld. We spent a sweet evening. He was better, had altered _The -Pedlar_. We went to bed pretty soon. Mr. Graham said he wished Wm. had -been with him the other day--he was riding in a post-chaise and he heard -a strange cry that he could not understand, the sound continued, and he -called to the chaise driver to stop. It was a little girl that was -crying as if her heart would burst. She had got up behind the chaise, -and her cloak had been caught by the wheel, and was jammed in, and it -hung there. She was crying after it, poor thing. Mr. Graham took her -into the chaise, and her cloak was released from the wheel, but the -child's misery did not cease, for her cloak was torn to rags; it had -been a miserable cloak before, but she had no other, and it was the -greatest sorrow that could befall her. Her name was Alice Fell.[51] She -had no parents, and belonged to the next town. At the next town, Mr. G. -left money with some respectable people in the town, to buy her a new -cloak. - - [Footnote 51: See the poem _Alice Fell_, in the "Poetical Works," vol. - ii. p. 273.--ED.] - -_Wednesday, 17th._--A miserable nasty snowy morning. We did not walk, -but the old man from the hill brought us a short letter from Mary H. I -copied the second part of _Peter Bell_.... - -_Thursday, 18th._--A foggy morning. I copied new part of _Peter Bell_ -in W.'s absence, and began a letter to Coleridge. Wm. came in with a -letter from Coleridge.... We talked together till 11 o'clock, when Wm. -got to work, and was no worse for it. Hard frost. - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, 20th._-- ... I wrote the first part of _Peter Bell_.... - -_Sunday, 21st._--A very wet morning. I wrote the 2nd prologue to _Peter -Bell_.... After dinner I wrote the 1st prologue.... Snowdrops quite out, -but cold and winterly; yet, for all this, a thrush that lives in our -orchard has shouted and sung its merriest all day long ... - -_Monday, 22nd._--Wm. brought me 4 letters to read--from Annette and -Caroline,[52] Mary and Sara, and Coleridge.... In the evening we walked -to the top of the hill, then to the bridge. We hung over the wall, and -looked at the deep stream below. It came with a full, steady, yet a very -rapid flow down to the lake. The sykes made a sweet sound everywhere, -and looked very interesting in the twilight, and that little one above -Mr. Olliff's house was very impressive. A ghostly white serpent line, it -made a sound most distinctly heard of itself. The mountains were black -and steep, the tops of some of them having snow yet visible. - - [Footnote 52: See "Poetical Works," vol. ii. p. 335.--ED.] - -_Tuesday, 23rd._-- ... When we came out of our own doors, that dear -thrush was singing upon the topmost of the smooth branches of the ash -tree at the top of the orchard. How long it had been perched on that -same tree I cannot tell, but we had heard its dear voice in the orchard -the day through, along with a cheerful undersong made by our winter -friends, the robins. As we came home, I picked up a few mosses by the -roadside, which I left at home. We then went to John's Grove. There we -sate a little while looking at the fading landscape. The lake, though -the objects on the shore were fading, seemed brighter than when it is -perfect day, and the island pushed itself upwards, distinct and large. -All the shores marked. There was a sweet, sea-like sound in the trees -above our heads. We walked backwards and forwards some time for dear -John's sake, then walked to look at Rydale. Wm. now reading in Bishop -Hall, I going to read German. We have a nice singing fire, with one -piece of wood.... - -_Wednesday, 24th._--A rainy morning. William returned from Rydale very -wet, with letters. He brought a short one from C., a very long one from -Mary. Wm. wrote to Annette, to Coleridge.... I wrote a little bit to -Coleridge. We sent off these letters by Fletcher. It was a tremendous -night of wind and rain. Poor Coleridge! a sad night for a traveller such -as he. God be praised he was in safe quarters. Wm. went out. He never -felt a colder night. - -_Thursday, 25th._--A fine, mild, gay, beautiful morning. Wm. wrote to -Montagu in the morning.... I reached home just before dark, brought some -mosses and ivy, and then got tea, and fell to work at German. I read a -good deal of Lessing's Essay. Wm. came home between 9 and 10 o'clock. We -sat together by the fire till bedtime. Wm. not very much tired. - -_Friday, 26th._--A grey morning till 10 o'clock, then the sun shone -beautifully. Mrs. Lloyd's children and Mrs. Luff came in a chaise, were -here at 11 o'clock, then went to Mrs. Olliff. Wm. and I accompanied them -to the gate. I prepared dinner, sought out _Peter Bell_, gave Wm. some -cold meat, and then we went to walk. We walked first to Butterlip How, -where we sate and overlooked the dale, no sign of spring but the red -tints of the woods and trees. Sate in the sun. Met Charles Lloyd near -the Bridge.... Mr. and Mrs. Luff walked home, the Lloyds stayed till 8 -o'clock. Wm. always gets on better with conversation at home than -elsewhere. The chaise-driver brought us a letter from Mrs. H., a short -one from C. We were perplexed about Sara's coming. I wrote to Mary. Wm. -closed his letter to Montagu, and wrote to Calvert and Mrs. Coleridge. -Birds sang divinely to-day. Wm. better. - -_Sunday, 28th February._--Wm. employed himself with _The Pedlar_. We got -papers in the morning. - -_Monday._--A fine pleasant day, we walked to Rydale. I went on before -for the letters, brought two from M. and S. H. We climbed over the wall -and read them under the shelter of a mossy rock. We met Mrs. Lloyd in -going. Mrs. Olliff's child ill. The catkins are beautiful in the hedges, -the ivy is very green. Robert Newton's paddock is greenish--that is all -we see of Spring; finished and sent off the letter to Sara, and wrote to -Mary. Wrote again to Sara, and Wm. wrote to Coleridge. Mrs. Lloyd called -when I was in bed. - -_Tuesday._[53]--A fine grey morning.... I read German, and a little -before dinner Wm. also read. We walked on Butterlip How under the wind. -It rained all the while, but we had a pleasant walk. The mountains of -Easedale, black or covered with snow at the tops, gave a peculiar -softness to the valley. The clouds hid the tops of some of them. The -valley was populous and enlivened with streams.... - - [Footnote 53: March 2nd.--ED.] - -_Wednesday._--I was so unlucky as to propose to rewrite _The Pedlar_. -Wm. got to work, and was worn to death. We did not walk. I wrote in the -afternoon. - -_Thursday._--Before we had quite finished breakfast Calvert's man -brought the horses for Wm. We had a deal to do, pens to make, poems to -put in order for writing, to settle for the press, pack up; and the man -came before the pens were made, and he was obliged to leave me with only -two. Since he left me at half-past 11 (it is now 2) I have been putting -the drawers into order, laid by his clothes which he had thrown here and -there and everywhere, filed two months' newspapers and got my dinner, 2 -boiled eggs and 2 apple tarts. I have set Molly on to clean the garden a -little, and I myself have walked. I transplanted some snowdrops--the -Bees are busy. Wm. has a nice bright day. It was hard frost in the -night. The Robins are singing sweetly. Now for my walk. I _will_ be -busy. I _will_ look well, and be well when he comes back to me. O the -Darling! Here is one of his bitter apples. I can hardly find it in my -heart to throw it into the fire.... I walked round the two Lakes, -crossed the stepping-stones at Rydale foot. Sate down where we always -sit. I was full of thought about my darling. Blessings on him. I came -home at the foot of our own hill under Loughrigg. They are making sad -ravages in the woods. Benson's wood is going, and the woods above the -River. The wind has blown down a small fir tree on the Rock, that -terminates John's path. I suppose the wind of Wednesday night. I read -German after tea. I worked and read the L. B., enchanted with the _Idiot -Boy_. Wrote to Wm. and then went to bed. It snowed when I went to bed. - -_Friday._--First walked in the garden and orchard, a frosty sunny -morning. After dinner I gathered mosses in Easedale. I saw before me -sitting in the open field, upon his pack of rags, the old Ragman that I -know. His coat is of scarlet in a thousand patches. When I came home -Molly had shook the carpet and cleaned everything upstairs. When I see -her so happy in her work, and exulting in her own importance, I often -think of that affecting expression which she made use of to me one -evening lately. Talking of her good luck in being in this house, "Aye, -Mistress, them 'at's low laid would have been proud creatures could they -but have seen where I is now, fra what they thought wud be my doom." I -was tired when I reached home. I sent Molly Ashburner to Rydale. No -letters. I was sadly mortified. I expected one fully from Coleridge. -Wrote to William, read the L. B., got into sad thoughts, tried at -German, but could not go on. Read L. B. Blessings on that brother of -mine! Beautiful new moon over Silver How. - -_Friday Morning._--A very cold sunshiny frost. I wrote _The Pedlar_, -and finished it before I went to Mrs. Simpson's to drink tea. Miss S. at -Keswick, but she came home. Mrs. Jameson came in and stayed supper. -Fletcher's carts went past and I let them go with William's letter. Mr. -B. S. came nearly home with me. I found letters from Wm., Mary, and -Coleridge. I wrote to C. Sat up late, and could not fall asleep when I -went to bed. - - * * * * * * - -_Sunday Morning._--A very fine, clear frost. I stitched up _The Pedlar_; -wrote out _Ruth_; read it with the alterations, then wrote Mary H. Read -a little German, ... and in came William, I did not expect him till -to-morrow. How glad I was. After we had talked about an hour, I gave him -his dinner. We sate talking and happy. He brought two new stanzas of -_Ruth_.... - -_Monday Morning._--A soft rain and mist. We walked to Rydale for -letters. The Vale looked very beautiful in excessive simplicity, yet, at -the same time, in uncommon obscurity. The Church stood alone--mountains -behind. The meadows looked calm and rich, bordering on the still lake. -Nothing else to be seen but lake and island.... - -On Friday evening the moon hung over the northern side of the highest -point of Silver How, like a gold ring snapped in two, and shaven off at -the ends. Within this ring lay the circle of the round moon, as -distinctly to be seen as ever the enlightened moon is. William had -observed the same appearance at Keswick, perhaps at the very same -moment, hanging over the Newland Fells. Sent off a letter to Mary H., -also to Coleridge, and Sara, and rewrote in the evening the alterations -of _Ruth_, which we sent off at the same time. - -_Tuesday Morning._--William was reading in Ben Jonson. He read me a -beautiful poem on Love.... We sate by the fire in the evening, and read -_The Pedlar_ over. William worked a little, and altered it in a few -places.... - -_Wednesday._-- ... Wm. read in Ben Jonson in the morning. I read a -little German. We then walked to Rydale. No letters. They are slashing -away in Benson's wood. William has since tea been talking about -publishing the Yorkshire Wolds Poem with _The Pedlar_. - -_Thursday._--A fine morning. William worked at the poem of _The Singing -Bird_.[54] Just as we were sitting down to dinner we heard Mr. -Clarkson's voice. I ran down, William followed. He was so finely mounted -that William was more intent upon the horse than the rider, an offence -easily forgiven, for Mr. Clarkson was as proud of it himself as he well -could be.... - - [Footnote 54: First published in 1807, under the title of _The - Sailor's Mother_.--ED.] - -_Friday._--A very fine morning. We went to see Mr. Clarkson off. The sun -shone while it rained, and the stones of the walls and the pebbles on -the road glittered like silver.... William finished his poem of _The -Singing Bird_. In the meantime I read the remainder of Lessing. In the -evening after tea William wrote _Alice Fell_. He went to bed tired, with -a wakeful mind and a weary body.... - -_Saturday Morning._--It was as cold as ever it has been all winter, very -hard frost.... William finished _Alice Fell_, and then wrote the poem of -_The Beggar Woman_, taken from a woman whom I had seen in May (now -nearly two years ago) when John and he were at Gallow Hill. I sate with -him at intervals all the morning, took down his stanzas, etc.... After -tea I read to William that account of the little boy belonging to the -tall woman, and an unlucky thing it was, for he could not escape from -those very words, and so he could not write the poem. He left it -unfinished, and went tired to bed. In our walk from Rydale he had got -warmed with the subject, and had half cast the poem. - -_Sunday Morning._--William ... got up at nine o'clock, but before he -rose he had finished _The Beggar Boy_, and while we were at breakfast -... he wrote the poem _To a Butterfly_! He ate not a morsel, but sate -with his shirt neck unbuttoned, and his waistcoat open while he did it. -The thought first came upon him as we were talking about the pleasure we -both always felt at the sight of a butterfly. I told him that I used to -chase them a little, but that I was afraid of brushing the dust off -their wings, and did not catch them. He told me how he used to kill all -the white ones when he went to school because they were Frenchmen.... I -wrote it down and the other poems, and I read them all over to him.... -William began to try to alter _The Butterfly_, and tired himself.... - -_Monday Morning._--We sate reading the poems, and I read a little -German.... During W.'s absence a sailor who was travelling from -Liverpool to Whitehaven called, he was faint and pale when he knocked at -the door--a young man very well dressed. We sate by the kitchen fire -talking with him for two hours. He told us interesting stories of his -life. His name was Isaac Chapel. He had been at sea since he was 15 -years old. He was by trade a sail-maker. His last voyage was to the -coast of Guinea. He had been on board a slave ship, the captain's name -Maxwell, where one man had been killed, a boy put to lodge with the pigs -and was half eaten, set to watch in the hot sun till he dropped down -dead. He had been away in North America and had travelled thirty days -among the Indians, where he had been well treated. He had twice swam -from a King's ship in the night and escaped. He said he would rather be -in hell than be pressed. He was now going to wait in England to appear -against Captain Maxwell. "O he's a Rascal, Sir, he ought to be put in -the papers!" The poor man had not been in bed since Friday night. He -left Liverpool at 2 o'clock on Saturday morning; he had called at a farm -house to beg victuals and had been refused. The woman said she would -give him nothing. "Won't you? Then I can't help it." He was excessively -like my brother John. - -_Tuesday._-- ... William went up into the orchard, ... and wrote a part -of _The Emigrant Mother_. After dinner I read him to sleep. I read -Spenser.... We walked to look at Rydale. The moon was a good height -above the mountains. She seemed far distant in the sky. There were two -stars beside her, that twinkled in and out, and seemed almost like -butterflies in motion and lightness. They looked to be far nearer to us -than the moon. - -_Wednesday._--William went up into the orchard and finished the poem. I -went and sate with W. and walked backwards and forwards in the orchard -till dinner time. He read me his poem. I read to him, and my Beloved -slept. A sweet evening as it had been a sweet day, and I walked quietly -along the side of Rydale lake with quiet thoughts--the hills and the -lake were still--the owls had not begun to hoot, and the little birds -had given over singing. I looked before me and saw a red light upon -Silver How as if coming out of the vale below, - - There was a light of most strange birth, - A light that came out of the earth, - And spread along the dark hill-side. - -Thus I was going on when I saw the shape of my Beloved in the road at a -little distance. We turned back to see the light but it was -fading--almost gone. The owls hooted when we sate on the wall at the -foot of White Moss; the sky broke more and more, and we saw the moon now -and then. John Gill passed us with his cart; we sate on. When we came in -sight of our own dear Grasmere, the vale looked fair and quiet in the -moonshine, the Church was there and all the cottages. There were huge -slow-travelling clouds in the sky, that threw large masses of shade upon -some of the mountains. We walked backwards and forwards, between home -and Olliff's, till I was tired. William kindled, and began to write the -poem. We carried cloaks into the orchard, and sate a while there. I left -him, and he nearly finished the poem. I was tired to death, and went to -bed before him. He came down to me, and read the poem to me in bed. A -sailor begged here to-day, going to Glasgow. He spoke cheerfully in a -sweet tone. - -_Thursday._--Rydale vale was full of life and motion. The wind blew -briskly, and the lake was covered all over with bright silver waves, -that were there each the twinkling of an eye, then others rose up and -took their place as fast as they went away. The rocks glittered in the -sunshine. The crows and the ravens were busy, and the thrushes and -little birds sang. I went through the fields, and sate for an hour -afraid to pass a cow. The cow looked at me, and I looked at the cow, and -whenever I stirred the cow gave over eating.... A parcel came in from -Birmingham, with Lamb's play for us, and for C.... As we came along -Ambleside vale in the twilight, it was a grave evening. There was -something in the air that compelled me to various thoughts--the hills -were large, closed in by the sky.... Night was come on, and the moon was -overcast. But, as I climbed the moss, the moon came out from behind a -mountain mass of black clouds. O, the unutterable darkness of the sky, -and the earth below the moon, and the glorious brightness of the moon -itself! There was a vivid sparkling streak of light at this end of -Rydale water, but the rest was very dark, and Loughrigg Fell and Silver -How were white and bright, as if they were covered with hoar frost. The -moon retired again, and appeared and disappeared several times before I -reached home. Once there was no moonlight to be seen but upon the -island-house and the promontory of the island where it stands. "That -needs must be a holy place," etc. etc. I had many very exquisite -feelings, and when I saw this lofty Building in the waters, among the -dark and lofty hills, with that bright, soft light upon it, it made me -more than half a poet. I was tired when I reached home, and could not -sit down to reading. I tried to write verses, but alas! I gave up, -expecting William, and went soon to bed. - -_Friday._--A very rainy morning. I went up into the lane to collect a -few green mosses to make the chimney gay against my darling's return. -Poor C., I did not wish for, or expect him, it rained so.... Coleridge -came in. His eyes were a little swollen with the wind. I was much -affected by the sight of him, he seemed half-stupefied. William came in -soon after. Coleridge went to bed late, and William and I sate up till -four o'clock. A letter from Sara sent by Mary. They disputed about Ben -Jonson. My spirits were agitated very much. - -_Saturday._-- ... When I awoke the whole vale was covered with snow. -William and Coleridge walked.... We had a little talk about going -abroad. After tea William read _The Pedlar_. Talked about various -things--christening the children, etc. etc. Went to bed at 12 o'clock. - -_Sunday._--Coleridge and William lay long in bed. We sent up to George -Mackareth's for the horse to go to Keswick, but we could not have it. -Went with C. to Borwick's where he left us. William very unwell. We had -a sweet and tender conversation. I wrote to Mary and Sara. - -_Monday._--A rainy day. William very poorly. 2 letters from Sara, and -one from poor Annette. Wrote to my brother Richard. We talked a good -deal about C. and other interesting things. We resolved to see Annette, -and that Wm. should go to Mary. Wm. wrote to Coleridge not to expect us -till Thursday or Friday. - -_Tuesday._--A mild morning. William worked at _The Cuckoo_ poem. I -sewed beside him.... I read German, and, at the closing-in of day, went -to sit in the orchard. William came to me, and walked backwards and -forwards. We talked about C. Wm. repeated the poem to me. I left him -there, and in 20 minutes he came in, rather tired with attempting to -write. He is now reading Ben Jonson. I am going to read German. It is -about 10 o'clock, a quiet night. The fire flickers, and the watch ticks. -I hear nothing save the breathing of my Beloved as he now and then -pushes his book forward, and turns over a leaf.... - -_Wednesday._--It was a beautiful spring morning, warm, and quiet with -mists. We found a letter from M. H. I made a vow that we would not leave -this country for G. Hill.[55] ... William altered _The Butterfly_ as we -came from Rydale.... - - [Footnote 55: Gallow Hill, Yorkshire.--ED.] - -_Thursday._-- ... No letter from Coleridge. - -_Friday._-- ... William wrote to Annette, then worked at _The -Cuckoo_.... After dinner I sate 2 hours in the orchard. William and I -walked together after tea, to the top of White Moss. I left Wm. and -while he was absent I wrote out poems. I grew alarmed, and went to seek -him. I met him at Mr. Olliff's. He has been trying, without success, to -alter a passage--his _Silver How_ poem. He had written a conclusion just -before he went out. While I was getting into bed, he wrote _The -Rainbow_. - -_Saturday._--A divine morning. At breakfast William wrote part of an -ode.... We sate all day in the orchard. - -_Sunday._--We went to Keswick. Arrived wet to the skin.... - -_Monday._--Wm. and C. went to Armathwaite. - -_Tuesday, 30th March._--We went to Calvert's. - -_Wednesday, 31st March._-- ... We walked to Portinscale, lay upon the -turf, and looked into the Vale of Newlands; up to Borrowdale, and down -to Keswick--a soft Venetian view. Calvert and Wilkinsons dined with us. -I walked with Mrs. W. to the Quaker's meeting, met Wm., and we walked in -the field together. - -_Thursday, 1st April._--Mrs. C, Wm. and I went to the How. We came home -by Portinscale. - -_Friday, 2nd._--Wm. and I sate all the morning in the field. - -_Saturday, 3rd._--Wm. went on to Skiddaw with C. We dined at -Calvert's.... - -_Sunday, 4th._--We drove by gig to Water End. I walked down to -Coleridge's. Mrs. Calvert came to Greta Bank to tea. William walked down -with Mrs. Calvert, and repeated his verses to them.... - -_Monday, 5th._--We came to Eusemere. Coleridge walked with us to -Threlkeld.... - - * * * * * * - -_Monday, 12th._-- ... The ground covered with snow. Walked to T. -Wilkinson's and sent for letters. The woman brought me one from William -and Mary. It was a sharp, windy night. Thomas Wilkinson came with me to -Barton, and questioned me like a catechiser all the way. Every question -was like the snapping of a little thread about my heart. I was so full -of thought of my half-read letter and other things. I was glad when he -left me. Then I had time to look at the moon while I was thinking my own -thoughts. The moon travelled through the clouds, tinging them yellow as -she passed along, with two stars near her, one larger than the other. -These stars grew and diminished as they passed from, or went into, the -clouds. At this time William, as I found the next day, was riding by -himself between Middleham and Barnard Castle.... - -_Tuesday, 13th April._--Mrs. C. waked me from sleep with a letter from -Coleridge.... I walked along the lake side. The air was become still, -the lake was of a bright slate colour, the hills darkening. The bays -shot into the low fading shores. Sheep resting. All things quiet. When I -returned _William_ was come. The surprise shot through me.... - - * * * * * * - -_Thursday, 15th._--It was a threatening, misty morning, but mild. We -set off after dinner from Eusemere. Mrs. Clarkson went a short way with -us, but turned back. The wind was furious, and we thought we must have -returned. We first rested in the large boathouse, then under a furze -bush opposite Mr. Clarkson's. Saw the plough going in the field. The -wind seized our breath. The lake was rough. There was a boat by itself -floating in the middle of the bay below Water Millock. We rested again -in the Water Millock Lane. The hawthorns are black and green, the -birches here and there greenish, but there is yet more of purple to be -seen on the twigs. We got over into a field to avoid some cows--people -working. A few primroses by the roadside--woodsorrel flower, the -anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, and that starry, yellow flower -which Mrs. C. calls pile wort. When we were in the woods beyond -Gowbarrow Park we saw a few daffodils close to the water-side. We -fancied that the sea had floated the seeds ashore, and that the little -colony had so sprung up. But as we went along there were more and yet -more; and at last, under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was -a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country -turnpike road. I never saw daffodils so beautiful. They grew among the -mossy stones about and above them; some rested their heads upon these -stones, as on a pillow, for weariness; and the rest tossed and reeled -and danced, and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind, that -blew upon them over the lake; they looked so gay, ever glancing, ever -changing. This wind blew directly over the lake to them. There was here -and there a little knot, and a few stragglers higher up; but they were -so few as not to disturb the simplicity, unity, and life of that one -busy highway. We rested again and again. The bays were stormy, and we -heard the waves at different distances, and in the middle of the water, -like the sea.... All was cheerless and gloomy, so we faced the storm. At -Dobson's I was very kindly treated by a young woman. The landlady looked -sour, but it is her way.... William was sitting by a good fire when I -came downstairs. He soon made his way to the library, piled up in a -corner of the window. He brought out a volume of Enfield's _Speaker_, -another miscellany, and an odd volume of Congreve's plays. We had a -glass of warm rum and water. We enjoyed ourselves, and wished for Mary. -It rained and blew, when we went to bed. - -_Friday, 16th April_ (_Good Friday_).--When I undrew curtains in the -morning, I was much affected by the beauty of the prospect, and the -change. The sun shone, the wind had passed away, the hills looked -cheerful, the river was very bright as it flowed into the lake. The -church rises up behind a little knot of rocks, the steeple not so high -as an ordinary three-story house. Trees in a row in the garden under the -wall. The valley is at first broken by little woody knolls that make -retiring places, fairy valleys in the vale, the river winds along under -these hills, travelling, not in a bustle but not slowly, to the lake. We -saw a fisherman in the flat meadow on the other side of the water. He -came towards us, and threw his line over the two-arched bridge. It is a -bridge of a heavy construction, almost bending inwards in the middle, -but it is grey, and there is a look of ancientry in the architecture of -it that pleased me. As we go on the vale opens out more into one vale, -with somewhat of a cradle bed. Cottages, with groups of trees, on the -side of the hills. We passed a pair of twin children, two years old. -Sate on the next bridge which we crossed--a single arch. We rested again -upon the turf, and looked at the same bridge. We observed arches in the -water, occasioned by the large stones sending it down in two streams. A -sheep came plunging through the river, stumbled up the bank, and passed -close to us. It had been frightened by an insignificant little dog on -the other side. Its fleece dropped a glittering shower under its belly. -Primroses by the road-side, pile wort that shone like stars of gold in -the sun, violets, strawberries, retired and half-buried among the grass. -When we came to the foot of Brothers Water, I left William sitting on -the bridge, and went along the path on the right side of the lake -through the wood. I was delighted with what I saw. The water under the -boughs of the bare old trees, the simplicity of the mountains, and the -exquisite beauty of the path. There was one grey cottage. I repeated -_The Glow-worm_, as I walked along. I hung over the gate, and thought I -could have stayed for ever. When I returned, I found William writing a -poem descriptive of the sights and sounds we saw and heard.[56] There -was the gentle flowing of the stream, the glittering, lively lake, green -fields without a living creature to be seen on them; behind us, a flat -pasture with forty-two cattle feeding; to our left, the road leading to -the hamlet. No smoke there, the sun shone on the bare roofs. The people -were at work ploughing, harrowing, and sowing; ... a dog barking now and -then, cocks crowing, birds twittering, the snow in patches at the top of -the highest hills, yellow palms, purple and green twigs on the birches, -ashes with their glittering stems quite bare. The hawthorn a bright -green, with black stems under the oak. The moss of the oak glossy. We -went on. Passed two sisters at work (they first passed us), one with two -pitchforks in her hand, the other had a spade. We had come to talk with -them. They laughed long after we were gone, perhaps half in wantonness, -half boldness. William finished his poem.[56] Before we got to the foot -of Kirkstone, there were hundreds of cattle in the vale. There we ate -our dinner. The walk up Kirkstone was very interesting. The becks among -the rocks were all alive. William showed me the little mossy streamlet -which he had before loved when he saw its bright green track in the -snow. The view above Ambleside very beautiful. There we sate and looked -down on the green vale. We watched the crows at a little distance from -us become white as silver as they flew in the sunshine, and when they -went still further, they looked like shapes of water passing over the -green fields. The whitening of Ambleside church is a great deduction -from the beauty of it, seen from this point. We called at the Luffs, the -Roddingtons there. Did not go in, and went round by the fields. I pulled -off my stockings, intending to wade the beck, but I was obliged to put -them on, and we climbed over the wall at the bridge. The post passed us. -No letters. Rydale Lake was in its own evening brightness: the Island, -and Points distinct. Jane Ashburner came up to us when we were sitting -upon the wall.... The garden looked pretty in the half-moonlight, -half-daylight, as we went up the vale.... - - [Footnote 56: See "The Cock is crowing," etc., vol. ii. p. 293.--ED.] - -_Saturday, 17th._--A mild warm rain. We sate in the garden all the -morning. William dug a little. I transplanted a honey-suckle. The lake -was still. The sheep on the island, reflected in the water, like the -grey-deer we saw in Gowbarrow Park. We walked after tea by moonlight. I -had been in bed in the afternoon, and William had slept in his chair. We -walked towards Rydale backwards and forwards below Mr. Olliff's. The -village was beautiful in the moonlight. Helm Crag we observed very -distinct. The dead hedge round Benson's field bound together at the top -by an interlacing of ash sticks, which made a chain of silver when we -faced the moon. A letter from C. and also one from S. H. I saw a robin -chasing a scarlet butterfly this morning. - -_Sunday, 18th._--Again a mild grey morning, with rising vapours. We sate -in the orchard. William wrote the poem on _The Robin and the -Butterfly_.[57] ... William met me at Rydale ... with the conclusion of -the poem of the Robin. I read it to him in bed. We left out some lines. - - [Footnote 57: See vol. ii. p. 295.--ED.] - - * * * * * * - -_Tuesday, 20th._--A beautiful morning. The sun shone. William wrote a -conclusion to the poem of the Butterfly:-- - - I've watched you now a full half-hour.[58] - - [Footnote 58: Published as a separate poem.--ED.] - -I was quite out of spirits, and went into the orchard. When I came in, -he had finished the poem. It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun shone -upon the level fields, and they grew greener beneath the eye. Houses, -village, all cheerful--people at work. We sate in the orchard and -repeated _The Glow-worm_ and other poems. Just when William came to a -well or trough, which there is in Lord Darlington's park, he began to -write that poem of _The Glow-worm_; ... interrupted in going through the -town of Staindrop, finished it about 2 miles and a half beyond -Staindrop. He did not feel the jogging of the horse while he was -writing; but, when he had done, he felt the effect of it, and his -fingers were cold with his gloves. His horse fell with him on the other -side of St. Helens, Auckland. So much for _The Glow-worm_. It was -written coming from Middleham on Monday, 12th April 1802.... On Tuesday -20th, when we were sitting after tea, Coleridge came to the door. I -startled him with my voice. C. came up fatigued, but I afterwards found -he looked well. William was not well, and I was in low spirits. - -_Wednesday, 21st._--William and I sauntered a little in the garden. -Coleridge came to us, and repeated the verses he wrote to Sara. I was -affected with them, and in miserable spirits.[59] The sunshine, the -green fields, and the fair sky made me sadder; even the little happy, -sporting lambs seemed but sorrowful to me. The pile wort spread out on -the grass a thousand shiny stars. The primroses were there, and the -remains of a few daffodils. The well, which we cleaned out last night, -is still but a little muddy pond, though full of water.... Read -Ferguson's life and a poem or two.... - - [Footnote 59: Can these "Verses" have been the first draft of - _Dejection, an Ode_, in its earliest and afterwards abandoned form? It - is said to have been written on 2nd April 1802.--ED.] - -_Thursday, 22nd._--A fine mild morning. We walked into Easedale. The sun -shone. Coleridge talked of his plan of sowing the laburnum in the woods. -The waters were high, for there had been a great quantity of rain in the -night. I was tired and sate under the shade of a holly tree that grows -upon a rock, and looked down the stream. I then went to the single holly -behind that single rock in the field, and sate upon the grass till they -came from the waterfall. I saw them there, and heard William flinging -stones into the river, whose roaring was loud even where I was. When -they returned, William was repeating the poem:-- - - I have thoughts that are fed by the sun. - -It had been called to his mind by the dying away of the stunning of the -waterfall when he got behind a stone.... - -_Friday, 23rd April 1802._--It being a beautiful morning we set off at -11 o'clock, intending to stay out of doors all the morning. We went -towards Rydale, and before we got to Tom Dawson's we determined to go -under Nab Scar. Thither we went. The sun shone, and we were lazy. -Coleridge pitched upon several places to sit down upon, but we could not -be all of one mind respecting sun and shade, so we pushed on to the foot -of the Scar. It was very grand when we looked up, very stony, here and -there a budding tree. William observed that the umbrella yew tree, that -breasts the wind, had lost its character as a tree, and had become -something like to solid wood. Coleridge and I pushed on before. We left -William sitting on the stones, feasting with silence; and Coleridge and -I sat down upon a rocky seat--a couch it might be under the bower of -William's eglantine, Andrew's Broom. He was below us, and we could see -him. He came to us, and repeated his poems[60] while we sate beside him -upon the ground. He had made himself a seat in the crumbling ground. -Afterwards we lingered long, looking into the vales; Ambleside vale, -with the copses, the village under the hill, and the green fields; -Rydale, with a lake all alive and glittering, yet but little stirred by -breezes; and our dear Grasmere, making a little round lake of nature's -own, with never a house, never a green field, but the copses and the -bare hills enclosing it, and the river flowing out of it. Above rose the -Coniston Fells, in their own shape and colour--not man's hills, but all -for themselves, the sky and the clouds, and a few wild creatures. C. -went to search for something new. We saw him climbing up towards a rock. -He called us, and we found him in a bower--the sweetest that was ever -seen. The rock on one side is very high, and all covered with ivy, which -hung loosely about, and bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side -it was higher than my head. We looked down on the Ambleside vale, that -seemed to wind away from us, the village lying under the hill. The -fir-tree island was reflected beautifully. About this bower there is -mountain-ash, common-ash, yew-tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, grasses, and -flowers, and a carpet of moss. Above, at the top of the rock, there is -another spot. It is scarce a bower, a little parlour only, not enclosed -by walls, but shaped out for a resting-place by the rocks, and the -ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet. We resolved to go -and plant flowers in both these places to-morrow. We wished for Mary and -Sara. Dined late. After dinner Wm. and I worked in the garden. C. -received a letter from Sara. - - [Footnote 60: See _The Waterfall and the Eglantine_, and _The Oak and - the Broom_, vol. ii. pp. 170, 174.--ED.] - -_Saturday, 24th._--A very wet day. William called me out to see a -waterfall behind the barberry tree. We walked in the evening to Rydale. -Coleridge and I lingered behind. C. stopped up the little runnel by the -road-side to make a lake. We all stood to look at Glow-worm Rock--a -primrose that grew there, and just looked out on the road from its own -sheltered bower.[61] The clouds moved, as William observed, in one -regular body like a multitude in motion--a sky all clouds over, not one -cloud.[62] On our return it broke a little out, and we saw here and -there a star. One appeared but for a moment in a pale blue sky. - - [Footnote 61: See _The Primrose of the Rock_, vol. vii. p. 274.--ED.] - - [Footnote 62: Compare _To the Clouds_, vol. viii. p. 142.--ED.] - -_Sunday, 25th April._--After breakfast we set off with Coleridge towards -Keswick. Wilkinson overtook us near the Potter's, and interrupted our -discourse. C. got into a gig with Mr. Beck, and drove away from us. A -shower came on, but it was soon over. We spent the morning in the -orchard reading the _Epithalamium_ of Spenser; walked backwards and -forwards.... - -_Monday, 26th._--I copied Wm.'s poems for Coleridge.... - -_Tuesday, 27th._--A fine morning. Mrs. Luff called. I walked with her to -the boat-house. William met me at the top of the hill with his -fishing-rod in his hand. I turned with him, and we sate on the hill -looking to Rydale. I left him, intending to join him, but he came home, -and said his loins would not stand the pulling he had had. We sate in -the orchard. In the evening W. began to write _The Tinker_; we had a -letter and verses from Coleridge. - -_Wednesday, 28th April._-- ... I copied _The Prioress's Tale_. William -was in the orchard. I went to him; he worked away at his poem.... I -happened to say that when I was a child I would not have pulled a -strawberry blossom. I left him, and wrote out _The Manciple's Tale_. At -dinner time he came in with the poem of _Children gathering -Flowers_,[63] but it was not quite finished, and it kept him long off -his dinner. It is now done. He is working at _The Tinker_. He promised -me he would get his tea, and do no more, but I have got mine an hour and -a quarter, and he has scarcely begun his. We have let the bright sun go -down without walking. Now a heavy shower comes on, and I guess we shall -not walk at all. I wrote a few lines to Coleridge. Then we walked -backwards and forwards between our house and Olliff's. We called upon T. -Hutchinson, and Bell Addison. William left me sitting on a stone. When -we came in we corrected the Chaucers, but I could not finish them -to-night. - - [Footnote 63: See _Foresight_, vol. ii. p. 298.--ED.] - -_Thursday, 29th._-- ... After I had written down _The Tinker_, which -William finished this morning, Luff called. He was very lame, limped -into the kitchen. He came on a little pony. We then went to John's -Grove, sate a while at first; afterwards William lay, and I lay, in the -trench under the fence--he with his eyes shut, and listening to the -waterfalls and the birds. There was no one waterfall above another--it -was a sound of waters in the air--the voice of the air. William heard me -breathing, and rustling now and then, but we both lay still, and unseen -by one another. He thought that it would be so sweet thus to lie in the -grave, to hear the peaceful sounds of the earth, and just to know that -our dear friends were near. The lake was still; there was a boat out. -Silver How reflected with delicate purple and yellowish hues, as I have -seen spar; lambs on the island, and running races together by the -half-dozen, in the round field near us. The copses greenish, hawthorns -green, ... cottages smoking. As I lay down on the grass, I observed the -glittering silver line on the ridge of the backs of the sheep, owing to -their situation respecting the sun, which made them look beautiful, but -with something of strangeness, like animals of another kind, as if -belonging to a more splendid world.... I got mullins and pansies.... - -_Friday, April 30th._--We came into the orchard directly after -breakfast, and sate there. The lake was calm, the day cloudy.... Two -fishermen by the lake side. William began to write the poem of _The -Celandine_.[64] ... Walked backwards and forwards with William--he -repeated his poem to me, then he got to work again and would not give -over. He had not finished his dinner till 5 o'clock. After dinner we -took up the fur gown into the Hollins above. We found a sweet seat, and -thither we will often go. We spread the gown, put on each a cloak, and -there we lay. William fell asleep, he had a bad headache owing to his -having been disturbed the night before, with reading C.'s letter. I did -not sleep, but lay with half-shut eyes looking at the prospect as on a -vision almost, I was so resigned[65] to it. Loughrigg Fell was the most -distant hill, then came the lake, slipping in between the copses. Above -the copse, the round swelling field; nearer to me, a wild intermixture -of rocks, trees, and patches of grassy ground. When we turned the corner -of our little shelter, we saw the church and the whole vale. It is a -blessed place. The birds were about us on all sides. Skobbies, robins, -bull-finches, and crows, now and then flew over our heads, as we were -warned by the sound of the beating of the air above. We stayed till the -light of day was going, and the little birds had begun to settle their -singing. But there was a thrush not far off, that seemed to sing louder -and clearer than the thrushes had sung when it was quite day. We came in -at 8 o'clock, got tea, wrote to Coleridge, and I wrote to Mrs. Clarkson -part of a letter. We went to bed at 20 minutes past 11, with prayers -that William might sleep well. - - [Footnote 64: See vol. ii. p. 300.--ED.] - - [Footnote 65: "Resigned" is curiously used in the Lake District. A - woman there once told me that Mr. Ruskin was "very much resigned to - his own company."--ED.] - -_Saturday, May 1st._--Rose not till half-past 8, a heavenly morning. As -soon as breakfast was over, we went into the garden, and sowed the -scarlet beans about the house. It was a clear sky. - -I sowed the flowers, William helped me. We then went and sate in the -orchard till dinner time. It was very hot. William wrote _The -Celandine_.[66] We planned a shed, for the sun was too much for us. -After dinner, we went again to our old resting-place in the Hollins -under the rock. We first lay under the Holly, where we saw nothing but -the holly tree, and a budding elm tree mossed, with the sky above our -heads. But that holly tree had a beauty about it more than its own, -knowing as we did when we arose. When the sun had got low enough, we -went to the Rock Shade. Oh, the overwhelming beauty of the vale below, -greener than green! Two ravens flew high, high in the sky, and the sun -shone upon their bellies and their wings, long after there was none of -his light to be seen but a little space on the top of Loughrigg Fell. -Heard the cuckoo to-day, this first of May. We went down to tea at 8 -o'clock, and returned after tea. The landscape was fading: sheep and -lambs quiet among the rocks. We walked towards King's, and backwards and -forwards. The sky was perfectly cloudless. _N.B._ it is often so. Three -solitary stars in the middle of the blue vault, one or two on the points -of the high hills. - - [Footnote 66: Doubtless the second of the two poems, beginning thus-- - - Pleasures newly found are sweet. ED.] - -_Tuesday, 4th May._--Though William went to bed nervous, and jaded in -the extreme, he rose refreshed. I wrote out _The Leech Gatherer_ for -him, which he had begun the night before, and of which he wrote several -stanzas in bed this morning. [They started to walk to Wytheburn.] It was -very hot.... We rested several times by the way,--read, and repeated -_The Leech Gatherer_.... We saw Coleridge on the Wytheburn side of the -water; he crossed the beck to us. Mr. Simpson was fishing there. William -and I ate luncheon, and then went on towards the waterfall. It is a -glorious wild solitude under that lofty purple crag. It stood upright by -itself; its own self, and its shadow below, one mass; all else was -sunshine. We went on further. A bird at the top of the crag was flying -round and round, and looked in thinness and transparency, shape and -motion like a moth.... We climbed the hill, but looked in vain for a -shade, except at the foot of the great waterfall. We came down, and -rested upon a moss-covered rock rising out of the bed of the river. -There we lay, ate our dinner, and stayed there till about four o'clock -or later. William and Coleridge repeated and read verses. I drank a -little brandy and water, and was in heaven. The stag's horn is very -beautiful and fresh, springing upon the fells; mountain ashes, green. We -drank tea at a farm house.... We parted from Coleridge at Sara's crag, -after having looked for the letters which C. carved in the morning. I -missed them all. William deepened the X with C.'s pen-knife. We sate -afterwards on the wall, seeing the sun go down, and the reflections in -the still water. C. looked well, and parted from us cheerfully, hopping -upon the side stones. On the Raise we met a woman with two little girls, -one in her arms, the other, about four years old, walking by her side, a -pretty little thing, but half-starved.... Young as she was, she walked -carefully with them. Alas, too young for such cares and such travels. -The mother, when we accosted her, told us how her husband had left her, -and gone off with another woman, and how she "_pursued_" them. Then her -fury kindled, and her eyes rolled about. She changed again to tears. She -was a Cockermouth woman, thirty years of age--a child at Cockermouth -when I was. I was moved, and gave her a shilling.... We had the crescent -moon with the "auld moon in her arms." We rested often, always upon the -bridges. Reached home at about ten o'clock.... We went soon to bed. I -repeated verses to William while he was in bed; he was soothed, and I -left him. "This is the spot" over and over again. - -_Wednesday, 5th May._--A very fine morning, rather cooler than -yesterday. We planted three-fourths of the bower. I made bread. We sate -in the orchard. The thrush sang all day, as he always sings. I wrote to -the Hutchinsons, and to Coleridge. Packed off _Thalaba_. William had -kept off work till near bed-time, when we returned from our walk. Then -he began again, and went to bed very nervous. We walked in the twilight, -and walked till night came on. The moon had the old moon in her arms, -but not so plain to be seen as the night before. When we went to bed it -was a boat without the circle. I read _The Lover's Complaint_ to William -in bed, and left him composed. - -_Thursday, 6th May._--A sweet morning. We have put the finishing stroke -to our bower, and here we are sitting in the orchard. It is one o'clock. -We are sitting upon a seat under the wall, which I found my brother -building up, when I came to him.... He had intended that it should have -been done before I came. It is a nice, cool, shady spot. The small birds -are singing, lambs bleating, cuckoos calling, the thrush sings by fits, -Thomas Ashburner's axe is going quietly (without passion) in the -orchard, hens are cackling, flies humming, the women talking together at -their doors, plum and pear trees are in blossom--apple trees -greenish--the opposite woods green, the crows are cawing, we have heard -ravens, the ash trees are in blossom, birds flying all about us, the -stitchwort is coming out, there is one budding lychnis, the primroses -are passing their prime, celandine, violets, and wood sorrel for ever -more, little geraniums and pansies on the wall. We walked in the evening -to Tail End, to inquire about hurdles for the orchard shed.... When we -came in we found a magazine, and review, and a letter from Coleridge, -verses to Hartley, and Sara H. We read the review, etc. The moon was a -perfect boat, a silver boat, when we were out in the evening. The birch -tree is all over green in _small_ leaf, more light and elegant than when -it is full out. It bent to the breezes, as if for the love of its own -delightful motions. Sloe-thorns and hawthorns in the hedges. - -_Friday, 7th May._--William had slept uncommonly well, so, feeling -himself strong, he fell to work at _The Leech Gatherer_; he wrote hard -at it till dinner time, then he gave over, tired to death--he had -finished the poem. I was making Derwent's frocks. After dinner we sate -in the orchard. It was a thick, hazy, dull air. The thrush sang almost -continually; the little birds were more than usually busy with their -voices. The sparrows are now full fledged. The nest is so full that they -lie upon one another; they sit quietly in their nest with closed mouths. -I walked to Rydale after tea, which we drank by the kitchen fire. The -evening very dull; a terrible kind of threatening brightness at sunset -above Easedale. The sloe-thorn beautiful in the hedges, and in the wild -spots higher up among the hawthorns. No letters. William met me. He had -been digging in my absence, and cleaning the well. We walked up beyond -Lewthwaites. A very dull sky; coolish; crescent moon now and then. I had -a letter brought me from Mrs. Clarkson while we were walking in the -orchard. I observed the sorrel leaves opening at about nine o'clock. -William went to bed tired with thinking about a poem. - -_Saturday Morning, 8th May._--We sowed the scarlet beans in the orchard, -and read _Henry V._ there. William lay on his back on the seat, and -wept.... After dinner William added one to the orchard steps. - -_Sunday Morning, 9th May._--The air considerably colder to-day, but the -sun shone all day. William worked at _The Leech Gatherer_ almost -incessantly from morning till tea-time. I copied _The Leech Gatherer_ -and other poems for Coleridge. I was oppressed and sick at heart, for he -wearied himself to death. After tea he wrote two stanzas in the manner -of Thomson's _Castle of Indolence_, and was tired out. Bad news of -Coleridge. - -_Monday, 10th May._--A fine clear morning, but coldish. William is -still at work, though it is past ten o'clock; he will be tired out, I am -sure. My heart fails in me. He worked a little at odd things, but after -dinner he gave over. An affecting letter from Mary H. We sate in the -orchard before dinner.... I wrote to Mary H.... I wrote to Coleridge, -sent off reviews and poems. Went to bed at twelve o'clock. William did -not sleep till three o'clock. - -_Tuesday, 11th May._--A cool air. William finished the stanzas about C. -and himself. He did not go out to-day. Miss Simpson came in to tea, -which was lucky enough, for it interrupted his labours. I walked with -her to Rydale. The evening cool; the moon only now and then to be seen; -the lake purple as we went; primroses still in abundance. William did -not meet me. He completely finished his poem, I finished Derwent's -frocks. We went to bed at twelve o'clock.... - -_Wednesday, 12th May._--A sunshiny, but coldish morning. We walked into -Easedale.... We brought home heckberry blossom, crab blossom, the -anemone nemorosa, marsh marigold, speedwell,--that beautiful blue one, -the colour of the blue-stone or glass used in jewellery--with the -beautiful pearl-like chives. Anemones are in abundance, and still the -dear dear primroses, violets in beds, pansies in abundance, and the -little celandine. I pulled a bunch of the taller celandine. Butterflies -of all colours. I often see some small ones of a pale purple lilac, or -emperor's eye colour, something of the colour of that large geranium -which grows by the lake side.... William pulled ivy with beautiful -berries. I put it over the chimney-piece. Sate in the orchard the hour -before dinner, coldish.... In the evening we were sitting at the table -writing, when we were roused by Coleridge's voice below. He had walked; -looked palish, but was not much tired. We sate up till one o'clock, all -together, then William went to bed, and I sate with C. in the -sitting-room (where he slept) till a quarter past two o'clock. Wrote to -M. H. - -_Thursday, 13th May._--The day was very cold, with snow showers. -Coleridge had intended going in the morning to Keswick, but the cold and -showers hindered him. We went with him after tea as far as the -plantations by the roadside descending to Wytheburn. He did not look -well when we parted from him.... - -_Friday, 14th May._--A very cold morning--hail and snow showers all -day. We went to Brothers wood, intending to get plants, and to go along -the shore of the lake to the foot. We did go a part of the way, but -there was no pleasure in stepping along that difficult sauntering road -in this ungenial weather. We turned again, and walked backwards and -forwards in Brothers wood. William tired himself with seeking an epithet -for the cuckoo. I sate a while upon my last summer seat, the mossy -stone. William's, unoccupied, beside me, and the space between, where -Coleridge has so often lain. The oak trees are just putting forth yellow -knots of leaves. The ashes with their flowers passing away, and leaves -coming out; the blue hyacinth is not quite full blown; gowans are coming -out; marsh marigolds in full glory; the little star plant, a star -without a flower. We took home a great load of gowans, and planted them -about the orchard. After dinner, I worked bread, then came and mended -stockings beside William; he fell asleep. After tea I walked to Rydale -for letters. It was a strange night. The hills were covered over with a -slight covering of hail or snow, just so as to give them a hoary winter -look with the black rocks. The woods looked miserable, the coppices -green as grass, which looked quite unnatural, and they seemed half -shrivelled up, as if they shrank from the air. O, thought I! what a -beautiful thing God has made winter to be, by stripping the trees, and -letting us see their shapes and forms. What a freedom does it seem to -give to the storms! There were several new flowers out, but I had no -pleasure in looking at them. I walked as fast as I could back again with -my letter from S. H.... Met William at the top of White Moss.... Near -ten when we came in. William and Molly had dug the ground and planted -potatoes in my absence. We wrote to Coleridge; sent off bread and frocks -to the C.'s. Went to bed at half-past eleven. William very nervous. -After he was in bed, haunted with altering _The Rainbow_. - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, 15th._--A very cold and cheerless morning. I sate mending -stockings all the morning. I read in Shakespeare. William lay very late -because he slept ill last night. It snowed this morning just like -Christmas. We had a melancholy letter from Coleridge at bedtime. It -distressed me very much, and I resolved upon going to Keswick the next -day. - -(The following is written on the blotting-paper opposite this date:--) - - S. T. Coleridge. - Dorothy Wordsworth. William Wordsworth. - Mary Hutchinson. Sara Hutchinson. - William. Coleridge. Mary. - Dorothy. Sara. - 16th May - 1802. - John Wordsworth. - -_Sunday, 16th._--William was at work all the morning. I did not go to -Keswick. A sunny, cold, frosty day. A snowstorm at night. We were a good -while in the orchard in the morning. - -_Monday, 17th May._--William was not well, he went with me to Wytheburn -water, and left me in a post-chaise. Hail showers, snow, and cold -attacked me. The people were graving peats under Nadel Fell. A lark and -thrush singing near Coleridge's house. Bancrofts there. A letter from M. -H. - -_Tuesday, 18th May._--Terribly cold, Coleridge not well. Froude called, -Wilkinsons called, C. and I walked in the evening in the garden. Warmer -in the evening. Wrote to M. and S. - -_Wednesday, 19th May._--A grey morning--not quite so cold. C. and I set -off at half-past nine o'clock. Met William near the six-mile stone. We -sate down by the road-side, and then went to Wytheburn water. Longed to -be at the island. Sate in the sun. We drank tea at John Stanley's. The -evening cold and clear. A glorious light on Skiddaw. I was tired. -Brought a cloak down from Mr. Simpson's. Packed up books for Coleridge, -then got supper, and went to bed. - -_Thursday, 20th May._--A frosty, clear morning. I lay in bed late. -William got to work. I was somewhat tired. We sate in the orchard -sheltered all the morning. In the evening there was a fine rain. We -received a letter from Coleridge telling us that he wished us not to go -to Keswick. - -_Friday, 21st May._--A very warm gentle morning, a little rain. William -wrote two sonnets on Buonaparte, after I had read Milton's sonnets to -him. In the evening he went with Mr. Simpson with Borwick's boat to -gather ling in Bainrigg's. I plashed about the well, was much heated, -and I think I caught cold. - -_Saturday, 22nd May._--A very hot morning. A hot wind, as if coming -from a sand desert. We met Coleridge. He was sitting under Sara's rock. -When we reached him he turned with us. We sate a long time under the -wall of a sheep-fold. Had some interesting, melancholy talk, about his -private affairs. We drank tea at a farmhouse. The woman was very kind. -There was a woman with three children travelling from Workington to -Manchester. The woman served them liberally. Afterwards she said that -she never suffered any to go away without a trifle "sec as we have." The -woman at whose house we drank tea the last time was rich and -senseless--she said "she never served any but their own poor." C. came -home with us. We sate some time in the orchard.... Letters from S. and -M. H. - -_Sunday._--I sat with C. in the orchard all the morning.... We walked in -Bainrigg's after tea. Saw the juniper--umbrella shaped. C. went to the -Points,[67] joined us on White Moss. - - [Footnote 67: Mary Point and Sara Point; the "two heath-clad rocks" - referred to in one of the "Poems on the Naming of Places."--ED.] - -_Monday, 24th May._--A very hot morning. We were ready to go off with -Coleridge, but foolishly sauntered, and Miss Taylor and Miss Stanley -called. William and Coleridge and I went afterwards to the top of the -Raise. - -I had sent off a letter to Mary by C. I wrote again, and to C. - -_Tuesday, 25th._-- ... Papers and short note from C.; again no sleep for -William. - - * * * * * * - -_Friday, 28th._-- ... William tired himself with hammering at a passage. - -... We sate in the orchard. The sky cloudy, the air sweet and cool. The -young bullfinches, in their party-coloured raiment, bustle about among -the blossoms, and poise themselves like wire-dancers or tumblers, -shaking the twigs and dashing off the blossoms.[68] There is yet one -primrose in the orchard. The stitchwort is fading. The vetches are in -abundance, blossoming and seeding. That pretty little wavy-looking -dial-like yellow flower, the speedwell, and some others, whose names I -do not yet know. The wild columbines are coming into beauty; some of the -gowans fading. In the garden we have lilies, and many other flowers. The -scarlet beans are up in crowds. It is now between eight and nine -o'clock. It has rained sweetly for two hours and a half; the air is very -mild. The heckberry blossoms are dropping off fast, almost gone; -barberries are in beauty; snowballs coming forward; May roses -blossoming. - - [Footnote 68: Compare _The Green Linnett_, vol. ii. p. 367.--ED.] - -_Saturday, 29th._-- ... William finished his poem on going for Mary. I -wrote it out. I wrote to Mary H., having received a letter from her in -the evening. A sweet day. We nailed up the honeysuckles, and hoed the -scarlet beans. - - * * * * * * - -_Monday, 31st._-- ... We sat out all the day.... I wrote out the poem on -"Our Departure," which he seemed to have finished. In the evening Miss -Simpson brought us a letter from M. H., and a complimentary and critical -letter to W. from John Wilson of Glasgow.[69]... - - [Footnote 69: Christopher North.--ED.] - -_Tuesday._--A very sweet day, but a sad want of rain. We went into the -orchard after I had written to M. H. Then on to Mr. Olliff's intake.... -The columbine was growing upon the rocks; here and there a solitary -plant, sheltered and shaded by the tufts and bowers of trees. It is a -graceful slender creature, a female seeking retirement, and growing -freest and most graceful where it is most alone. I observed that the -more shaded plants were always the tallest. A short note and -gooseberries from Coleridge. We walked upon the turf near John's Grove. -It was a lovely night. The clouds of the western sky reflected a saffron -light upon the upper end of the lake. All was still. We went to look at -Rydale. There was an Alpine, fire-like red upon the tops of the -mountains. This was gone when we came in view of the lake. But we saw -the lake from a new and most beautiful point of view, between two little -rocks, and behind a small ridge that had concealed it from us. This -White Moss, a place made for all kinds of beautiful works of art and -nature, woods and valleys, fairy valleys and fairy tarns, miniature -mountains, alps above alps. - -_Wednesday, 2nd June._--In the morning we observed that the scarlet -beans were drooping in the leaves in great numbers, owing, we guess, to -an insect.... Yesterday an old man called, a grey-headed man, above -seventy years of age. He said he had been a soldier, that his wife and -children had died in Jamaica. He had a beggar's wallet over his -shoulders; a coat of shreds and patches, altogether of a drab colour; he -was tall, and though his body was bent, he had the look of one used to -have been upright. I talked a while, and then gave him a piece of cold -bacon and some money. Said he, "You're a fine woman!" I could not help -smiling; I suppose he meant, "You're a kind woman." Afterwards a woman -called, travelling to Glasgow. After dinner we went into Frank's field, -crawled up the little glen, and planned a seat; ... found a beautiful -shell-like purple fungus in Frank's field. After tea we walked to -Butterlip How, and backwards and forwards there. All the young oak tree -leaves are dry as powder. A cold south wind, portending rain.... - -_Thursday, 3rd June 1802._--A very fine rain. I lay in my bed till ten -o'clock. William much better than yesterday. We walked into Easedale.... -The cuckoo sang, and we watched the little birds as we sate at the door -of the cow-house. The oak copses are brown, as in autumn, with the late -frosts.... We have been reading the life and some of the writings of -poor Logan since dinner. There are many affecting lines and passages in -his poem, _e.g._ - - And everlasting longings for the lost. - -... William is now sleeping with the window open, lying on the window -seat. The thrush is singing. There are, I do believe, a thousand buds on -the honeysuckle tree, all small and far from blowing, save one that is -retired behind the twigs close to the wall, and as snug as a bird nest. -John's rose tree is very beautiful, blended with the honeysuckle. - -Yesterday morning William walked as far as the Swan with Aggy Fisher, -who was going to attend upon Goan's dying infant. She said, "There are -many heavier crosses than the death of an infant;" and went on, "There -was a woman in this vale who buried four grown-up children in one year, -and I have heard her say, when many years were gone by, that she had -more pleasure in thinking of those four than of her living children, for -as children get up and have families of their own, their duty to their -parents _wears out and weakens_. She could trip lightly by the graves of -those who died when they were young ... as she went to church on a -Sunday." - -... A very affecting letter came from M. H., while I was sitting in the -window reading Milton's _Penseroso_ to William. I answered this letter -before I went to bed. - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, 5th._--A fine showery morning. I made both pies and bread; -but we first walked into Easedale, and sate under the oak trees, upon -the mossy stones. There were one or two slight showers. The gowans were -flourishing along the banks of the stream. The strawberry flower hanging -over the brook; all things soft and green. In the afternoon William sate -in the orchard. I went there; was tired, and fell asleep. William began -a letter to John Wilson. - -_Sunday, 6th June._--A showery morning. We were writing the letter to -John Wilson when Ellen came.... After dinner I walked into John Fisher's -intake with Ellen. He brought us letters from Coleridge, Mrs. Clarkson, -and Sara Hutchinson.... - -_Monday, 7th June._--I wrote to Mary H. this morning; sent the C. -"Indolence" poem. Copied the letter to John Wilson, and wrote to my -brother Richard and Mrs. Coleridge. In the evening I walked with Ellen -to Butterlip How.... It was a very sweet evening; there was the cuckoo -and the little birds; the copses still injured, but the trees in general -looked most soft and beautiful in tufts.... I went with Ellen in the -morning to Rydale Falls.... - -_Tuesday, 8th June._--Ellen and I rode to Windermere. We had a fine -sunny day, neither hot nor cold. I mounted the horse at the quarry. We -had no difficulties or delays but at the gates. I was enchanted with -some of the views. From the High Ray the view is very delightful, rich, -and festive, water and wood, houses, groves, hedgerows, green fields, -and mountains; white houses, large and small. We passed two or three -new-looking statesmen's houses. The Curwens' shrubberies looked pitiful -enough under the native trees. We put up our horses, ate our dinner by -the water-side, and walked up to the Station. We went to the Island, -walked round it, and crossed the lake with our horse in the ferry. The -shrubs have been cut away in some parts of the island. I observed to the -boatman that I did not think it improved. He replied: "We think it is, -for one could hardly see the house before." It seems to me to be, -however, no better than it was. They have made no natural glades; it is -merely a lawn with a few miserable young trees, standing as if they were -half-starved. There are no sheep, no cattle upon these lawns. It is -neither one thing nor another--neither natural, nor wholly cultivated -and artificial, which it was before. And that great house! Mercy upon -us! if it _could_ be concealed, it would be well for all who are not -pained to see the pleasantest of earthly spots deformed by man. But it -_cannot_ be covered. Even the tallest of our old oak trees would not -reach to the top of it. When we went into the boat, there were two men -standing at the landing-place. One seemed to be about sixty, a man with -a jolly red face; he looked as if he might have lived many years in Mr. -Curwen's house. He wore a blue jacket and trousers, as the people who -live close by Windermere, particularly at the places of chief resort.... -He looked significantly at our boatman just as we were rowing off, and -said, "Thomas, mind you take the directions off that cask. You know what -I mean. It will serve as a blind for them. _You_ know. It was a blind -business, both for you, and the coachman, ... and all of us. Mind you -take off the directions. 'A wink's as good as a nod with some folks;'" -and then he turned round, looking at his companion with an air of -self-satisfaction, and deep insight into unknown things! I could hardly -help laughing outright at him. The laburnums blossom freely at the -island, and in the shrubberies on the shore; they are blighted -everywhere else. Roses of various sorts now out. The brooms were in full -glory everywhere, "veins of gold" among the copses. The hawthorns in the -valley fading away; beautiful upon the hills. We reached home at three -o'clock. After tea William went out and walked and wrote that poem, - - The sun has long been set, etc. - -He ... walked on our own path and wrote the lines; he called me into the -orchard, and there repeated them to me.... - -_Wednesday, 9th June._-- ... The hawthorns on the mountain sides like -orchards in blossom.... - -_Thursday, 10th June._-- ... Coleridge came in with a sack full of -books, etc., and a branch of mountain ash. He had been attacked by a -cow. He came over by Grisdale. A furious wind.... - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, 12th June._--A rainy morning. Coleridge set off before -dinner. We went with him to the Raise, but it rained, so we went no -further. Sheltered under a wall. He would be sadly wet, for a furious -shower came on just when we parted.... - -_Sunday, 13th June._--A fine morning. Sunshiny and bright, but with -rainy clouds. William ... has been altering the poem to Mary this -morning.... I wrote out poems for our journey.... Mr. Simpson came when -we were in the orchard in the morning, and brought us a beautiful -drawing which he had done. In the evening we walked, first on our own -path.... It was a silent night. The stars were out by ones and twos, but -no cuckoo, no little birds; the air was not warm, and we have observed -that since Tuesday, 8th, when William wrote, "The sun has long been -set," that we have had no birds singing after the evening is fairly set -in. We walked to our new view of Rydale, but it put on a sullen face. -There was an owl hooting in Bainrigg's. Its first halloo was so like a -human shout that I was surprised, when it gave its second call tremulous -and lengthened out, to find that the shout had come from an owl. The -full moon (not quite full) was among a company of shady island clouds, -and the sky bluer about it than the natural sky blue. William observed -that the full moon, above a dark fir grove, is a fine image of the -descent of a superior being. There was a shower which drove us into -John's Grove before we had quitted our favourite path. We walked upon -John's path before we went to view Rydale.... - -_Monday, 14th._-- ... William wrote to Mary and Sara about _The Leech -Gatherer_, and wrote to both of them in one ... and to Coleridge -also.... I walked with William ... on our own path. We were driven away -by the horses that go on the commons; then we went to look at Rydale; -walked a little in the fir grove; went again to the top of the hill, and -came home. A mild and sweet night. William stayed behind me. I threw him -the cloak out of the window. The moon overcast. He sate a few minutes in -the orchard; came in sleepy, and hurried to bed. I carried him his bread -and butter. - -_Tuesday, 15th._--A sweet grey, mild morning. The birds sing soft and -low. William has not slept all night; it wants only ten minutes of ten, -and he is in bed yet. After William rose we went and sate in the orchard -till dinner time. We walked a long time in the evening upon our -favourite path; the owls hooted, the night hawk sang to itself -incessantly, but there were no little birds, no thrushes. I left William -writing a few lines about the night hawk and other images of the -evening, and went to seek for letters.... - -_Wednesday, 16th._--We walked towards Rydale for letters.... One from -Mary. We went up into Rydale woods and read it there. We sate near the -old wall, which fenced a hazel grove, which William said was exactly -like the filbert grove at Middleham. It is a beautiful spot, a sloping -or rather steep piece of ground, with hazels growing "tall and erect" in -clumps at distances, almost seeming regular, as if they had been -planted.... I wrote to Mary after dinner, while William sate in the -orchard.... I spoke of the little birds keeping us company, and William -told me that that very morning a bird had perched upon his leg. He had -been lying very still, and had watched this little creature. It had come -under the bench where he was sitting.... He thoughtlessly stirred -himself to look further at it, and it flew on to the apple tree above -him. It was a little young creature that had just left its nest, equally -unacquainted with man, and unaccustomed to struggle against the storms -and winds. While it was upon the apple tree the wind blew about the -stiff boughs, and the bird seemed bemazed, and not strong enough to -strive with it. The swallows come to the sitting-room window as if -wishing to build, but I am afraid they will not have courage for it; but -I believe they will build in my room window. They twitter, and make a -bustle, and a little cheerful song, hanging against the panes of glass -with their soft white bellies close to the glass and their forked -fish-like tails. They swim round and round, and again they come.... I do -not now see the brownness that was in the coppices. The bower hawthorn -blossoms passed away. Those on the hills are a faint white. The wild -guelder-rose is coming out, and the wild roses. I have seen no -honey-suckles yet.... Foxgloves are now frequent. - -_Thursday, 17th._-- ... When I came home I found William at work -attempting to alter a stanza in the poem on our going for Mary, which I -convinced him did not need altering. We sate in the house after dinner. -In the evening walked on our favourite path. A short letter from -Coleridge. William added a little to the Ode he is writing.[70] - - [Footnote 70: Doubtless the _Ode, Intimations of Immortality_.--ED.] - -_Friday, 18th June._--When we were sitting after breakfast ... Luff came -in. He had rode over the Fells. He brought news about Lord Lowther's -intention to pay all debts, etc., and a letter from Mr. Clarkson. He saw -our garden, was astonished at the scarlet beans, etc. etc. etc. When he -was gone, we wrote to Coleridge, M. H., and my brother Richard about the -affair. William determined to go to Eusemere on Monday.... - -_Saturday, 19th._--The swallows were very busy under my window this -morning.... Coleridge, when he was last here, told us that for many -years, there being no Quaker meeting at Keswick, a single old Quaker -woman used to go regularly alone every Sunday to attend the -meeting-house, and there used to sit and perform her worship alone, in -that beautiful place among those fir trees, in that spacious vale, under -the great mountain Skiddaw!!!... On Thursday morning Miss Hudson of -Workington called. She said, "... I sow flowers in the parks several -miles from home, and my mother and I visit them, and watch them how they -grow." This may show that botanists may be often deceived when they find -rare flowers growing far from houses. This was a very ordinary young -woman, such as in any town in the North of England one may find a score. -I sate up a while after William. He then called me down to him. (I was -writing to Mary H.) I read Churchill's _Rosciad_. Returned again to my -writing, and did not go to bed till he called to me. The shutters were -closed, but I heard the birds singing. There was our own thrush, -shouting with an impatient shout; so it sounded to me. The morning was -still, the twittering of the little birds was very gloomy. The owls had -hooted a quarter of an hour before, now the cocks were crowing, it was -near daylight, I put out my candle, and went to bed.... - -_Sunday, 20th._-- ... We were in the orchard a great part of the -morning. After tea we walked upon our own path for a long time. We -talked sweetly together about the disposal of our riches. We lay upon -the sloping turf. Earth and sky were so lovely that they melted our very -hearts. The sky to the north was of a chastened yet rich yellow, fading -into pale blue, and streaked and scattered over with steady islands of -purple, melting away into shades of pink. It was like a vision to me.... - - * * * * * * - -_Tuesday morning._-- ... I walked to Rydale. I waited long for the post, -lying in the field, and looking at the distant mountains, looking and -listening to the river. I met the post. Letters from Montagu and -Richard. I hurried back, forwarded these to William, and wrote to -Montagu. When I came home I wrote to my brother Christopher. I could -settle to nothing.... I read the _Midsummer Night's Dream_, and began -_As You Like It_. - -_Wednesday, 23rd June._-- ... A sunshiny morning. I walked to the top -of the hill and sate under a wall near John's Grove, facing the sun. I -read a scene or two in _As You Like It_.... Coleridge and Leslie came -just as I had lain down after dinner. C. brought me William's letter. He -had got well to Eusemere. Coleridge and I accompanied Leslie to the -boat-house. It was a sullen, coldish evening, no sunshine; but after we -had parted from Leslie a light came out suddenly that repaid us for all. -It fell only upon one hill, and the island, but it arrayed the grass and -trees in gem-like brightness. I cooked Coleridge's supper. We sate up -till one o'clock. - -_Thursday, 24th June._--I went with C. half way up the Raise. It was a -cool morning.... William came in just when M. had left me. It was a -mild, rainy evening.... We sate together talking till the first dawning -of day; a happy time. - -_Friday, 25th June._-- ... I went, just before tea, into the garden. I -looked up at my swallow's nest, and it was gone. It had fallen down. -Poor little creatures, they could not themselves be more distressed than -I was. I went upstairs to look at the ruins. They lay in a large heap -upon the window ledge; these swallows had been ten days employed in -building this nest, and it seemed to be almost finished. I had watched -them early in the morning, in the day many and many a time, and in the -evenings when it was almost dark. I had seen them sitting together side -by side in their unfinished nest, both morning and night. When they -first came about the window they used to hang against the panes, with -their white bellies and their forked tails, looking like fish; but then -they fluttered and sang their own little twittering song. As soon as the -nest was broad enough, a sort of ledge for them, they sate both mornings -and evenings, but they did not pass the night there. I watched them one -morning, when William was at Eusemere, for more than an hour. Every now -and then there was a motion in their wings, a sort of tremulousness, and -they sang a low song to one another. - - * * * * * * - -... It is now eight o'clock; I will go and see if my swallows are on -their nest. Yes! there they are, side by side, both looking down into -the garden. I have been out on purpose to see their faces. I knew by -looking at the window that they were there.... Coleridge and William -came in at about half-past eleven. They talked till after twelve. - -_Wednesday, 30th June._-- ... We met an old man between the Raise and -Lewthwaites. He wore a rusty but untorn hat, an excellent blue coat, -waistcoat, and breeches, and good mottled worsted stockings. His beard -was very thick and grey, of a fortnight's growth we guessed; it was a -regular beard, like grey _plush_. His bundle contained Sheffield ware. -William said to him, after we had asked him what his business was, "You -are a very old man?" "Aye, I am eighty-three." I joined in, "Have you -any children?" "Children? Yes, plenty. I have children and -grand-children, and great grand-children. I have a great grand-daughter, -a fine lass, thirteen years old." I then said, "Won't they take care of -you?" He replied, much offended, "Thank God, I can take care of myself." -He said he had been a servant of the Marquis of Granby--"O he was a good -man; he's in heaven; I hope he is." He then told us how he shot himself -at Bath, that he was with him in Germany, and travelled with him -everywhere. "He was a famous boxer, sir." And then he told us a story of -his fighting with his farmer. "He used always to call me bland and -sharp." Then every now and then he broke out, "He was a good man! When -we were travelling he never asked at the public-houses, as it might be -there" (pointing to the "Swan"), "what we were to pay, but he would put -his hand into his pocket and give them what he liked; and when he came -out of the house he would say, Now, they would have charged me a -shilling or tenpence. God help them, poor creatures!" I asked him again -about his children, how many he had. Says he, "I cannot tell you" (I -suppose he confounded children and grand-children together); "I have one -daughter that keeps a boarding-school at Skipton, in Craven. She teaches -flowering and marking. And another that keeps a boarding-school at -Ingleton. I brought up my family under the Marquis." He was familiar -with all parts of Yorkshire. He asked us where we lived. At Grasmere. -"The bonniest dale in all England!" says the old man. I bought a pair of -slippers from him, and we sate together by the road-side. When we parted -I tried to lift his bundle, and it was almost more than I could do.... -After tea I wrote to Coleridge, and closed up my letter to M. H. We went -soon to bed. A weight of children a poor man's blessing!... - - * * * * * * - -_Friday, 2nd July._--A very rainy morning.... I left William, and wrote -a short letter to M. H. and to Coleridge, and transcribed the -alterations in _The Leech Gatherer_. - - * * * * * * - -_Sunday, 4th July._-- ... William finished _The Leech Gatherer_ to-day. - -_Monday, 5th July._--A very sweet morning. William stayed some time in -the orchard.... I copied out _The Leech Gatherer_ for Coleridge, and for -us. Wrote to Mrs. Clarkson, M. H., and Coleridge.... - -_Tuesday, 6th July._-- ... We set off towards Rydale for letters. The -rain met us at the top of the White Moss, and it came on very heavily -afterwards. It drove past Nab Scar in a substantial shape, as if going -to Grasmere was as far as it could go.... The swallows have completed -their beautiful nest.... - -_Wednesday, 7th._-- ... Walked on the White Moss. Glow-worms. Well for -them children are in bed when they shine. - -_Thursday, 8th._-- ... When I was coming home, a post-chaise passed -with a little girl behind in a patched, ragged cloak. In the afternoon, -after we had talked a little, William fell asleep. I read the _Winter's -Tale_; then I went to bed, but did not sleep. The swallows stole in and -out of their nest, and sate there, _whiles_ quite still, _whiles_ they -sung low for two minutes or more, at a time just like a muffled robin. -William was looking at _The Pedlar_ when I got up. He arranged it, and -after tea I wrote it out--280 lines.... The moon was behind. William -hurried me out in hopes that I should see her. We walked first to the -top of the hill to see Rydale. It was dark and dull, but our own vale -was very solemn--the shape of Helm Crag was quite distinct, though -black. We walked backwards and forwards on the White Moss path; there -was a sky-like white brightness on the lake. The Wyke cottage right at -the foot of Silver How. Glow-worms out, but not so numerous as last -night. O, beautiful place! Dear Mary, William. The hour is come ... I -must prepare to go. The swallows, I must leave them, the wall, the -garden, the roses, all. Dear creatures! they sang last night after I was -in bed; seemed to be singing to one another, just before they settled to -rest for the night. Well, I must go. Farewell.[71] - - [Footnote 71: Several of the poems, referred to in this Journal, are - difficult, if not impossible, to identify. _The Inscription of the - Pathway_, finished on the 28th of August 1800; _The Epitaph_, written - on the 28th January 1801; _The Yorkshire Wolds poem_, referred to on - March 10th, 1802; also _The Silver Howe poem_, and that known in the - Wordsworth household as _The Tinker_. It is possible that some of them - were intentionally suppressed. The _Inscription of the Pathway_ and - _The Tinker_ will, however, soon be published.--ED.] - - - - - VI - - DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL - WRITTEN AT GRASMERE - (9TH JULY 1802 TO 11TH JANUARY 1803) - -EXTRACTS FROM DOROTHY WORDSWORTH'S JOURNAL (9TH JULY 1802 TO 11TH -JANUARY 1803) - - -On Friday morning, July 9th, William and I set forward to Keswick on -our road to Gallow Hill. We had a pleasant ride, though the day was -showery.... Coleridge met us at Sara's Rock.... We had been told by a -handsome man, an inhabitant of Wytheburn, with whom he had been talking -(and who seemed, by the bye, much pleased with his companion), that C. -was waiting for us. We reached Keswick against tea-time. We called at -Calvert's on the Saturday evening.... On Monday, 12th July, we went to -Eusemere. Coleridge walked with us six or seven miles. He was not well, -and we had a melancholy parting after having sate together in silence by -the road-side. We turned aside to explore the country near Hutton-John, -and had a new and delightful walk. The valley, which is subject to the -decaying mansion that stands at its head, seems to join its testimony to -that of the house, to the falling away of the family greatness, and the -hedges are in bad condition. The land wants draining, and is overrun -with brackens; yet there is a something everywhere that tells of its -former possessors. The trees are left scattered about as if intended to -be like a park, and these are very interesting, standing as they do upon -the sides of the steep hills that slope down to the bed of the river, a -little stony-bedded stream that spreads out to a considerable breadth at -the village of Dacre. A little above Dacre we came into the right road -to Mr. Clarkson's, after having walked through woods and fields, never -exactly knowing whether we were right or wrong. We learnt, however, that -we had saved half-a-mile. We sate down by the river-side to rest, and -saw some swallows flying about and under the bridge, and two little -schoolboys were loitering among the scars seeking after their nests. We -reached Mr. Clarkson's at about eight o'clock after a sauntering walk, -having lingered and loitered and sate down together that we might be -alone. Mr. and Mrs. C. were just come from Luff's. We spent Tuesday, the -13th of July, at Eusemere; and on Wednesday morning, the 14th, we walked -to Emont Bridge, and mounted the coach between Bird's Nest and Hartshorn -Tree.... At Greta Bridge the sun shone cheerfully, and a glorious ride -we had over Gaterly Moor. Every building was bathed in golden light. The -trees were more bright than earthly trees, and we saw round us miles -beyond miles--Darlington spire, etc. etc. We reached Leeming Lane at -about nine o'clock: supped comfortably, and enjoyed our fire. - -On Thursday morning, at a little before seven, being the 15th July, we -got into a post-chaise and went to Thirsk to breakfast. We were well -treated, but when the landlady understood that we were going to _walk_ -off, and leave our luggage behind, she threw out some saucy words in our -hearing. The day was very hot, and we rested often and long before we -reached the foot of the Hambledon Hills, and while we were climbing -them, still oftener.... We were almost overpowered with thirst, when I -heard the trickling of a little stream of water. I was before William, -and I stopped till he came up to me. We sate a long time by this water, -and climbed the hill slowly. I was footsore; the sun shone hot; the -little Scotch cattle panted and tossed fretfully about. The view was -hazy, and we could see nothing from the top of the hill but an -undistinct wide-spreading country, full of trees, but the buildings, -towns, and houses were lost. We stopped to examine that curious stone, -then walked along the flat common.... Arrived very hungry at Rivaux. -Nothing to eat at the Millers, as we expected, but at an exquisitely -neat farm-house we got some boiled milk and bread. This strengthened us, -and I went down to look at the ruins. Thrushes were singing; cattle -feeding among green-grown hillocks about the ruins. The hillocks were -scattered over with _grovelets_ of wild roses and other shrubs, and -covered with wild flowers. I could have stayed in this solemn quiet spot -till evening, without a thought of moving, but William was waiting for -me, so in a quarter of an hour I went away. We walked upon Mr. -Duncombe's terrace and looked down upon the Abbey. It stands in a larger -valley among a brotherhood of valleys, of different length and -breadth,--all woody, and running up into the hills in all directions. We -reached Helmsly just at dusk. We had a beautiful view of the castle from -the top of the hill, and slept at a very nice inn, and were well -treated; floors as smooth as ice. On Friday morning, 16th July, we -walked to Kirby. Met people coming to Helmsly fair. Were misdirected, -and walked a mile out of our way.... A beautiful view above -Pickering.... Met Mary and Sara seven miles from G. H. Sheltered from -the rain; beautiful glen, spoiled by the large house; sweet church and -churchyard. Arrived at Gallow Hill at seven o'clock. - -_Friday Evening, 16th July._-- ... Sara, Tom, and I rode up Bedale. -Wm., Mary, Sara, and I went to Scarborough, and we walked in the Abbey -pasture, and to Wykeham; and on Monday, the 26th, we went off with Mary -in a post-chaise. We had an interesting ride over the Wolds, though it -rained all the way. Single thorn bushes were scattered about on the -turf, sheep-sheds here and there, and now and then a little hut. -Swelling grounds, and sometimes a single tree or a clump of trees.... We -passed through one or two little villages, embosomed in tall trees. -After we had parted from Mary, there were gleams of sunshine, but with -showers. We saw Beverley in a heavy rain, and yet were much pleased with -the beauty of the town. Saw the minster--a pretty, clean building, but -injured very much with Grecian architecture. The country between -Beverley and Hull very rich, but miserably flat--brick houses, -windmills, houses again--dull and endless. Hull a frightful, dirty, -brickhousey, tradesmanlike, rich, vulgar place; yet the river--though -the shores are so low that they can hardly be seen--looked beautiful -with the evening lights upon it, and boats moving about. We walked a -long time, and returned to our dull day-room but quiet evening one, to -supper. - -_Tuesday, 20th._--Market day. Streets dirty, very rainy, did not leave -Hull till four o'clock, and left Barton at about six; rained all the way -almost. A beautiful village at the foot of a hill with trees. A -gentleman's house converted into a lady's boarding-school.... We left -Lincoln on Wednesday morning, 27th July, at six o'clock. It rained -heavily, and we could see nothing but the antientry of some of the -buildings as we passed along. The night before, however, we had seen -enough to make us regret this. The minster stands at the edge of a hill -overlooking an immense plain. The country very flat as we went along; -the day mended. We went to see the outside of the minster while the -passengers were dining at Peterborough; the west end very grand.... - -On Thursday morning, 29th, we arrived in London. Wm. left me at the -Sun.... After various troubles and disasters, we left London on Saturday -morning at half-past five or six, the 31st of July. We mounted the Dover -coach at Charing Cross. It was a beautiful morning. The city, St. -Paul's, with the river, and a multitude of little boats, made a most -beautiful sight as we crossed Westminster Bridge. The houses were not -overhung by their cloud of smoke, and they were spread out endlessly, -yet the sun shone so brightly, with such a fierce light, that there was -even something like the purity of one of nature's own grand -spectacles.[72] - - [Footnote 72: Compare the sonnet _Composed upon Westminster Bridge, - September 3, 1802_, in vol. ii. p. 328.--ED.] - -We rode on cheerfully, now with the Paris diligence before us, now -behind. We walked up the steep hills, a beautiful prospect everywhere, -till we even reached Dover. At first the rich, populous, wide-spreading, -woody country about London, then the River Thames, ships sailing, chalk -cliffs, trees, little villages. Afterwards Canterbury, situated on a -plain, rich and woody, but the city and cathedral disappointed me. Hop -grounds on each side of the road some miles from Canterbury; then we -came to a common, the race ground, an elevated plain, villages among -trees in the bed of a valley at our right, and, rising above this -valley, green hills scattered over with wood, neat gentlemen's houses. -One white house, almost hid with green trees, which we longed for, and -the parson's house, as neat a place as could be, which would just have -suited Coleridge. No doubt we may have found one for Tom Hutchinson and -Sara, and a good farm too. We halted at a half-way house--fruit carts -under the shade of trees, seats for guests, a tempting place to the -weary traveller. Still, as we went along, the country was beautiful and -hilly, with cottages lurking under the hills, and their little plots of -hop ground like vineyards. It was a bad hop year. A woman on the top of -the coach said to me, "It is a sad thing for the poor people, for the -hop-gathering is the woman's harvest; there is employment about the hops -for women and children." - -We saw the castle of Dover, and the sea beyond, four or five miles -before we reached it. We looked at it through a long vale, the castle -being upon an eminence, as it seemed, at the end of this vale, which -opened to the sea. The country now became less fertile, but near Dover -it seemed more rich again. Many buildings stand on the flat fields, -sheltered with tall trees. There is one old chapel that might have been -there just in the same state in which it now is when this vale was as -retired, and as little known to travellers as our own Cumberland -mountain wilds thirty years ago. There was also a very old building on -the other side of the road, which had a strange effect among the many -new ones that are springing up everywhere. It seemed odd that it could -have kept itself pure in its ancientry among so many upstarts. It was -near dark when we reached Dover. We were told that a packet was about to -sail, so we went down to the custom-house in half-an-hour--had our -luggage examined, etc. etc., and then we drank tea with the Honourable -Mr. Knox and his tutor. We arrived at Calais at four o'clock on Sunday -morning, the 31st of July. We stayed in the vessel till half-past seven; -then William went for letters at about half-past eight or nine. We found -out Annette and C. chez Madame Avril dans la Rue de la Tête d'or. We -lodged opposite two ladies, in tolerably decent-sized rooms, but badly -furnished.... The weather was very hot. We walked by the sea-shore -almost every evening with Annette and Caroline, or William and I alone. -I had a bad cold, and could not bathe at first, but William did. It was -a pretty sight to see as we walked upon the sands when the tide was low, -perhaps a hundred people bathing about a quarter of a mile distant from -us. And we had delightful walks after the heat of the day was -passed--seeing far off in the west the coast of England like a cloud -crested with Dover castle, which was but like the summit of the -cloud--the evening star and the glory of the sky,[73] the reflections in -the water were more beautiful than the sky itself, purple waves brighter -than precious stones, for ever melting away upon the sands. The fort, a -wooden building, at the entrance of the harbour at Calais, when the -evening twilight was coming on, and we could not see anything of the -building but its shape, which was far more distinct than in perfect -daylight, seemed to be reared upon pillars of ebony, between which -pillars the sea was seen in the most beautiful colours that can be -conceived. Nothing in romance was ever half so beautiful. Now came in -view, as the evening star sunk down, and the colours of the west faded -away, the two lights of England, lighted up by Englishmen in our country -to warn vessels off rocks or sands. These we used to see from the pier, -when we could see no other distant objects but the clouds, the sky, and -the sea itself--all was dark behind. The town of Calais seemed deserted -of the light of heaven, but there was always light, and life, and joy -upon the sea. One night I shall never forget--the day had been very hot, -and William and I walked alone together upon the pier. The sea was -gloomy, for there was a blackness over all the sky, except when it was -overspread with lightning, which often revealed to us a distant vessel -near, as the waves roared and broke against the pier, and they were -interfused with greenish fiery light. The more distant sea always black -and gloomy. It was also beautiful, on the calm hot night, to see the -little boats row out of harbour with wings of fire, and the sail boats -with the fiery track which they cut as they went along, and which closed -up after them with a hundred thousand sparkles, and streams of glow-worm -light. Caroline was delighted. - - [Footnote 73: Compare the sonnet ("Poetical Works," vol. ii. p. 330) - beginning-- - - Fair Star of evening, Splendour of the west. ED.] - -On Sunday, the 29th of August, we left Calais at twelve o'clock in the -morning, and landed at Dover at one on Monday the 30th.... It was very -pleasant to me, when we were in the harbour at Dover, to breathe the -fresh air, and to look up, and see the stars among the ropes of the -vessel. The next day was very hot. We ... bathed, and sate upon the -Dover Cliffs, and looked upon France with many a melancholy and tender -thought. We could see the shores almost as plain as if it were but an -English lake. We mounted the coach, and arrived in London at six, the -30th August. It was misty, and we could see nothing. We stayed in London -till Wednesday the 22nd of September, and arrived at Gallow Hill on -Friday. - -_September 24th._--Mary first met us in the avenue. She looked so fat -and well that we were made very happy by the sight of her; then came -Sara, and last of all Joanna. Tom was forking corn, standing upon the -corn cart. We dressed ourselves immediately and got tea. The garden -looked gay with asters and sweet peas. Jack and George came on Friday -evening, 1st October. On Saturday, 2nd, we rode to Hackness, William, -Jack, George, and Sara single. I behind Tom. On Sunday 3rd, Mary and -Sara were busy packing. - -On Monday, 4th October 1802, my brother William was married to Mary -Hutchinson.[74] I slept a good deal of the night, and rose fresh and -well in the morning. At a little after eight o'clock, I saw them go down -the avenue towards the church. William had parted from me upstairs. When -they were absent, my dear little Sara prepared the breakfast. I kept -myself as quiet as I could, but when I saw the two men running up the -walk, coming to tell us it was over, I could stand it no longer, and -threw myself on the bed, where I lay in stillness, neither hearing nor -seeing anything till Sara came upstairs to me, and said, "They are -coming." This forced me from the bed where I lay, and I moved, I knew -not how, straight forward, faster than my strength could carry me, till -I met my beloved William, and fell upon his bosom. He and John -Hutchinson led me to the house, and there I stayed to welcome my dear -Mary. As soon as we had breakfasted, we departed. It rained when we set -off. Poor Mary was much agitated, when she parted from her brothers and -sisters, and her home. Nothing particular occurred till we reached -Kirby. We had sunshine and showers, pleasant talk, love and -cheerfulness. We were obliged to stay two hours at K. while the horses -were feeding. We wrote a few lines to Sara, and then walked out; the sun -shone, and we went to the churchyard after we had put a letter into the -post-office for the _York Herald_. We sauntered about, and read the -grave-stones. There was one to the memory of five children, who had all -died within five years, and the longest lived had only lived four -years.... - - [Footnote 74: It may not be a too trivial detail to note that - Coleridge's _Dejection, an Ode_, appeared in _The Morning Post_ on - Wordsworth's marriage day.--ED.] - -We left Kirby at about half-past two. There is not much variety of -prospect from K. to Helmsley, but the country is very pleasant, being -rich and woody, and Helmsley itself stands very sweetly at the foot of -the rising grounds of Duncombe Park, which is scattered over with tall -woods; and, lifting itself above the common buildings of the town, -stands Helmsley Castle, now a ruin, formerly inhabited by the gay Duke -of Buckingham. Every foot of the road was of itself interesting to us, -for we had travelled along it on foot, William and I, when we went to -fetch our dear Mary, and had sate upon the turf by the roadside more -than once. Before we reached Helmsley, our driver told us that he could -not take us any further, so we stopped at the same inn where we had -slept before. My heart danced at the sight of its cleanly outside, -bright yellow walls, casements overshadowed with jasmine, and its low, -double gavel-ended front.... Mary and I warmed ourselves at the kitchen -fire. We then walked into the garden, and looked over a gate, up to the -old ruin which stands at the top of the mount, and round about it the -moats are grown up into soft green cradles, hollows surrounded with -green grassy hillocks, and these are overshadowed by old trees, chiefly -ashes. I prevailed upon William to go up with me to the ruins.... The -sun shone, it was warm and very pleasant. One part of the castle seems -to be inhabited. There was a man mowing nettles in the open space which -had most likely once been the castle-court. There is one gateway -exceedingly beautiful. Children were playing upon the sloping ground. We -came home by the street. After about an hour's delay, we set forward -again; had an excellent driver, who opened the gates so dexterously that -the horses never stopped. Mary was very much delighted with the view of -the castle from the point where we had seen it before. I was pleased to -see again the little path which we had walked upon, the gate I had -climbed over, and the road down which we had seen the two little boys -drag a log of wood, and a team of horses struggle under the weight of a -great load of timber. We had felt compassion for the poor horses that -were under the governance of oppression and ill-judging drivers, and for -the poor boys, who seemed of an age to have been able to have dragged -the log of wood merely out of the love of their own activity, but from -poverty and bad food they panted for weakness, and were obliged to fetch -their father from the town to help them. Duncombe house looks well from -the road--a large building, though I believe only two-thirds of the -original design are completed. We rode down a very steep hill to Rivaux -valley, with woods all round us. We stopped upon the bridge to look at -the Abbey, and again when we had crossed it. Dear Mary had never seen a -ruined abbey before except Whitby. We recognised the cottages, houses, -and the little valleys as we went along. We walked up a long hill, the -road carrying us up the cleft or valley with woody hills on each side of -us. When we went to G. H. I had walked down the valley alone. William -followed me. - -Before we had crossed the Hambledon Hill, and reached the point -overlooking Yorkshire, it was quite dark. We had not wanted, however, -fair prospects before us, as we drove along the flat plain of the high -hill. Far far off from us, in the western sky, we saw shapes of castles, -ruins among groves, a great spreading wood, rocks, and single trees, a -minster with its tower unusually distinct, minarets in another quarter, -and a round Grecian Temple also; the colours of the sky of a bright -grey, and the forms of a sober grey, with a dome. As we descended the -hill there was no distinct view, but of a great space; only near us we -saw the wild (and as the people say) bottomless tarn in the hollow at -the side of the hill. It seemed to be made visible to us only by its own -light, for all the hill about us was dark. Before we reached Thirsk we -saw a light before us, which we at first thought was the moon, then -lime-kilns; but when we drove into the market-place it proved a large -bonfire, with lads dancing round it, which is a sight I dearly love. The -inn was like an illuminated house--every room full. We asked the cause, -and were told by the girl that it was "Mr. John Bell's birthday, that he -had heired his estate." The landlady was very civil. She did not -recognise the despised foot-travellers. We rode on in the dark, and -reached Leeming Lane at eleven o'clock.... - -The next morning we set off at about half-past eight o'clock. It was a -cheerful, sunny morning.... We had a few showers, but when we came to -the green fields of Wensley, the sun shone upon them all, and the Ure in -its many windings glittered as it flowed along under the green slopes of -Middleham Castle. Mary looked about for her friend Mr. Place, and -thought she had him sure on the contrary side of the vale from that on -which we afterwards found he lived. We went to a new built house at -Leyburn, the same village where William and I had dined on our road to -Grasmere two years and three-quarters ago, but not the same house. The -landlady was very civil, giving us cake and wine, but the horses being -out we were detained at least two hours, and did not set off till two -o'clock. We paid for thirty-five miles, _i.e._ to Sedbergh, but the -landlady did not encourage us to hope to get beyond Hawes.... When we -passed through the village of Wensley my heart melted away, with dear -recollections--the bridge, the little waterspout, the steep hill, the -church. They are among the most vivid of my own inner visions, for they -were the first objects that I saw after we were left to ourselves, and -had turned our whole hearts to Grasmere as a home in which we were to -rest. The vale looked most beautiful each way. To the left the bright -silver stream inlaid the flat and very green meadows, winding like a -serpent. To the right, we did not see it so far, it was lost among trees -and little hills. I could not help observing, as we went along, how much -more varied the prospects of Wensley Dale are in the summer time than I -could have thought possible in the winter. This seemed to be in great -measure owing to the trees being in leaf, and forming groves and -screens, and thence little openings upon recesses and concealed -retreats, which in winter only made a part of the one great vale. The -beauty of the summer time here as much excels that of the winter, as the -variety (owing to the excessive greenness) of the fields, and the trees -in leaf half concealing, and--where they do not conceal--softening the -hard bareness of the limey white roofs. One of our horses seemed to grow -a little restive as we went through the first village, a long village on -the side of a hill. It grew worse and worse, and at last we durst not go -on any longer. We walked a while, and then the post boy was obliged to -take the horse out, and go back for another. We seated ourselves again -snugly in the post-chaise. The wind struggled about us and rattled the -window, and gave a gentle motion to the chaise, but we were warm and at -our ease within. Our station was at the top of a hill, opposite Bolton -Castle, the Ure flowing beneath. William has since written a sonnet on -this our imprisonment. Hard was thy durance, poor Queen Mary! compared -with ours....[75] - - [Footnote 75: This sonnet was not thought worthy of being - preserved.--ED.] - -We had a sweet ride till we came to a public-house on the side of a -hill, where we alighted and walked down to see the waterfalls. The sun -was not set, and the woods and fields were spread over with the yellow -light of evening, which made their greenness a thousand times more -green. There was too much water in the river for the beauty of the -falls, and even the banks were less interesting than in winter. Nature -had entirely got the better in her struggles against the giants who -first cast the mould of these works; for, indeed, it is a place that did -not in winter remind one of God, but one could not help feeling as if -there had been the agency of some "mortal instruments," which Nature had -been struggling against without making a perfect conquest. There was -something so wild and new in this feeling, knowing, as we did in the -inner man, that God alone had laid his hand upon it, that I could not -help regretting the want of it; besides, it is a pleasure to a real -lover of Nature to give winter all the glory he can, for summer _will_ -make its own way, and speak its own praises. We saw the pathway which -William and I took at the close of evening, the path leading to the -rabbit warren where we lost ourselves. Sloe farm, with its holly hedges, -was lost among the green hills and hedgerows in general, but we found it -out, and were glad to look at it again. William left us to seek the -waterfalls.... - -At our return to the inn, we found new horses and a new driver, and we -went on nicely to Hawes, where we arrived before it was quite dark.... -We rose at six o'clock--a rainy morning.... There was a very fine view -about a mile from Hawes, where we crossed a bridge; bare and very green -fields with cattle, a glittering stream, cottages, a few ill-grown -trees, and high hills. The sun shone now. Before we got upon the bare -hills, there was a hunting lodge on our right, exactly like Greta Hill, -with fir plantations about it. We were very fortunate in the day, gleams -of sunshine, passing clouds, that travelled with their shadows below -them. Mary was much pleased with Garsdale. It was a dear place to -William and me. We noted well the public-house (Garsdale Hall) where we -had baited, ... and afterwards the mountain which had been adorned by -Jupiter in his glory when we were here before. It was midday when we -reached Sedbergh, and market day. We were in the same room where we had -spent the evening together in our road to Grasmere. We had a pleasant -ride to Kendal, where we arrived at two o'clock. The day favoured us. M. -and I went to see the house where dear Sara had lived.... I am always -glad to see Staveley; it is a place I dearly love to think of--the first -mountain village that I came to with William when we first began our -pilgrimage together.... Nothing particular occurred till we reached Ings -chapel. The door was open, and we went in. It is a neat little place, -with a marble floor and marble communion table, with a painting over it -of the last supper, and Moses and Aaron on each side. The woman told us -that "they had painted them as near as they could by the dresses as they -are described in the Bible," and gay enough they are. The marble had -been sent by Richard Bateman from Leghorn. The woman told us that a man -had been at her house a few days before, who told her he had helped to -bring it down the Red Sea, and she believed him gladly!... We ... -arrived at Grasmere at about six o'clock on Wednesday evening, the 6th -of October 1802.... I cannot describe what I felt.... We went by candle -light into the garden, and were astonished at the growth of the brooms, -Portugal laurels, etc. etc. etc. The next day, Thursday, we unpacked the -boxes. On Friday, 8th, ... Mary and I walked first upon the hill-side, -and then in John's Grove, then in view of Rydale, the first walk that I -had taken with my sister. - - * * * * * * - -_Monday, 11th._--A beautiful day. We walked to the Easedale hills to -hunt waterfalls. William and Mary left me sitting on a stone on the -solitary mountains, and went to Easedale tarn.... The approach to the -tarn is very beautiful. We expected to have found Coleridge at home, but -he did not come till after dinner. He was well, but did not look so. - -_Tuesday, 12th October._--We walked with Coleridge to Rydale. - -_Wednesday, 13th._--Set forwards with him towards Keswick, and he -prevailed us to go on. We consented, Mrs. C. not being at home. The day -was delightful.... - -_Thursday, 14th._--We went in the evening to Calvert's. Moonlight. -Stayed supper. - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, 16th._--Came home, Mary and I. William returned to Coleridge -before we reached Nadel Fell. Mary and I had a pleasant walk. The day -was very bright; the people busy getting in their corn. Reached home at -about five o'clock.... - -_Sunday, 17th._--We had thirteen of our neighbours to tea. William came -in just as we began tea. - - * * * * * * - -_Saturday, 30th October._--William is gone to Keswick. Mary went with -him to the top of the Raise. She is returned, and is now sitting near me -by the fire. It is a breathless, grey day, that leaves the golden woods -of autumn quiet in their own tranquillity, stately and beautiful in -their decaying. The lake is a perfect mirror. - -William met Stoddart at the bridge at the foot of Legberthwaite dale.... -They surprised us by their arrival at four o'clock in the afternoon.... -After tea, S. read Chaucer to us. - -_Monday, 31st October._[76]-- ... William and S. went to Keswick. Mary -and I walked to the top of the hill and looked at Rydale. I was much -affected when I stood upon the second bar of Sara's gate. The lake was -perfectly still, the sun shone on hill and vale, the distant birch trees -looked like large golden flowers. Nothing else in colour was distinct -and separate, but all the beautiful colours seemed to be melted into one -another, and joined together in one mass, so that there were no -differences, though an endless variety, when one tried to find it out. -The fields were of one sober yellow brown.... - - [Footnote 76: This should have been entered 1st November.--ED.] - - * * * * * * - -_Tuesday, 2nd November._--William returned from Keswick. - - * * * * * * - -_Friday, 5th._-- ... I wrote to Montagu, ... and sent off letters to -Miss Lamb and Coleridge.... - - * * * * * * - -_Sunday, 7th._--Fine weather. Letters from Coleridge that he was gone to -London. Sara at Penrith. I wrote to Mrs. Clarkson. William began to -translate Ariosto. - -_Monday, 8th._--A beautiful day. William got to work again at Ariosto, -and so continued all the morning, though the day was so delightful that -it made my very heart long to be out of doors, and see and feel the -beauty of the autumn in freedom. The trees on the opposite side of the -lake are of a yellow brown, but there are one or two trees opposite our -windows (an ash tree, for instance) quite green, as in spring. The -fields are of their winter colour, but the island is as green as ever it -was.... William is writing out his stanzas from Ariosto.... The evening -is quiet. Poor Coleridge! Sara is at Keswick, I hope.... I have read one -canto of Ariosto to-day.... - - * * * * * * - -_24th December._--Christmas Eve. William is now sitting by me, at -half-past ten o'clock. I have been ... repeating some of his sonnets to -him, listening to his own repeating, reading some of Milton's, and the -_Allegro_ and _Penseroso_. It is a quick, keen frost.... Coleridge came -this morning with Wedgwood. We all turned out ... one by one, to meet -him. He looked well. We had to tell him of the birth of his little girl, -born yesterday morning at six o'clock. William went with them to -Wytheburn in the chaise, and M. and I met W. on the Raise. It was not an -unpleasant morning.... The sun shone now and then, and there was no -wind, but all things looked cheerless and distinct; no meltings of sky -into mountains, the mountains like stone work wrought up with huge -hammers. Last Sunday was as mild a day as I ever remember.... Mary and I -went round the lakes. There were flowers of various kinds--the topmost -bell of a foxglove, geraniums, daisies, a buttercup in the water (but -this I saw two or three days before), small yellow flowers (I do not -know their name) in the turf. A large bunch of strawberry blossoms.... -It is Christmas Day, Saturday, 25th December 1802. I am thirty-one years -of age. It is a dull, frosty day. - -... On Thursday, 30th December, I went to Keswick. William rode before -me to the foot of the hill nearest K. There we parted close to a little -watercourse, which was then noisy with water, but on my return a dry -channel.... We stopped our horse close to the ledge, opposite a tuft of -primroses, three flowers in full blossom and a bud. They reared -themselves up among the green moss. We debated long whether we should -pluck them, and at last left them to live out their day, which I was -right glad of at my return the Sunday following; for there they -remained, uninjured either by cold or wet. I stayed at Keswick over New -Year's Day, and returned on Sunday, the 2nd January.... William was -alarmed at my long delay, and came to within three miles of Keswick.... -Coleridge stayed with us till Tuesday, January 4th. W. and I ... walked -with him to Ambleside. We parted with him at the turning of the lane, he -going on horseback to the top of Kirkstone. On Thursday 6th, C. -returned, and on Friday, the 7th, he and Sara went to Keswick. W. -accompanied them to the foot of Wytheburn.... It was a gentle day, and -when William and I returned home just before sunset, it was a heavenly -evening. A soft sky was among the hills, and a summer sunshine above, -and blending with this sky, for it was more like sky than clouds; the -turf looked warm and soft. - - * * * * * * - -_Monday, January 10th 1803._--I lay in bed to have a drench of sleep -till one o'clock. Worked all day.... Ominously cold. - -_Tuesday, January 11th._--A very cold day, ... but the blackness of the -cold made us slow to put forward, and we did not walk at all. Mary read -the Prologue to Chaucer's tales to me in the morning. William was -working at his poem to C. Letter from Keswick and from Taylor on -William's marriage. C. poorly, in bad spirits.... Read part of _The -Knights Tale_ with exquisite delight. Since tea Mary has been down -stairs copying out Italian poems for Stuart. William has been working -beside me, and here ends this imperfect summary.... - - - - - VII - - RECOLLECTIONS - OF - A TOUR MADE IN SCOTLAND - (A.D. 1803) - - -CONTENTS - - -=First Week= - - DAY PAGE - - 1. Left Keswick--Grisdale--Mosedale--Hesket - Newmarket--Caldbeck Falls 163 - - 2. Rose Castle--Carlisle--Hatfield--Longtown 164 - - 3. Solway Moss--Enter Scotland--Springfield-- - Gretna Green--Annan--Dumfries 165 - - 4. Burns's Grave 166 - Ellisland--Vale of Nith 168 - Brownhill 169 - Poem to Burns's Sons 171 - - 5. Thornhill--Drumlanrigg--River Nith 171 - Turnpike house 172 - Sportsman 173 - Vale of Menock 174 - Wanlockhead 175 - Leadhills 178 - Miners 178 - Hopetoun mansion 179 - Hostess 180 - - 6. Road to Crawfordjohn 183 - Douglas Mill 187 - Clyde--Lanerk 189 - Boniton Linn 191 - - -=Second Week= - - 7. Falls of the Clyde 193 - Cartland Crags 197 - Fall of Stonebyres--Trough of the Clyde 200 - Hamilton 201 - - 8. Hamilton House 202 - Baroncleugh--Bothwell Castle 204 - Glasgow 208 - - 9. Bleaching ground (Glasgow Green) 209 - Road to Dumbarton 211 - - 10. Rock and Castle of Dumbarton 213 - Vale of Leven 217 - Smollett's Monument 218 - Loch Lomond 218 - Luss 221 - - 11. Islands of Loch Lomond 225 - Road to Tarbet 230 - The Cobbler 231 - Tarbet 231 - - 12. Left Tarbet for the Trossachs 233 - Rob Roy's Caves 235 - Inversneyde Ferryhouse and Waterfall 235 - Singular building 236 - Loch Ketterine 238 - Glengyle 240 - Mr. Macfarlane's 241 - - 13. Breakfast at Glengyle 243 - Lairds of Glengyle--Rob Roy 244 - Burying-ground 246 - Ferryman's hut 246 - Trossachs 248 - Loch Achray 252 - Return to Ferryman's hut 253 - - -RECOLLECTIONS OF A TOUR MADE IN SCOTLAND. A.D. 1803 - - -_FIRST WEEK_ - -William and I parted from Mary on Sunday afternoon, August 14th 1803; -and William, Coleridge, and I left Keswick on Monday morning, the 15th, -at twenty minutes after eleven o'clock. The day was very hot; we walked -up the hills, and along all the rough road, which made our walking half -the day's journey. Travelled under the foot of Carrock, a mountain -covered with stones on the lower part; above, it is very rocky, but -sheep pasture there; we saw several where there seemed to be no grass to -tempt them. Passed the foot of Grisdale and Mosedale, both pastoral -valleys, narrow, and soon terminating in the mountains--green, with -scattered trees and houses, and each a beautiful stream. At Grisdale our -horse backed upon a steep bank where the road was not fenced, just above -a pretty mill at the foot of the valley; and we had a second threatening -of a disaster in crossing a narrow bridge between the two dales; but -this was not the fault of either man or horse. Slept at Mr. -Younghusband's public-house, Hesket Newmarket. In the evening walked to -Caldbeck Falls, a delicious spot in which to breathe out a summer's -day--limestone rocks, hanging trees, pools, and water-breaks--caves and -caldrons which have been honoured with fairy names, and no doubt -continue in the fancy of the neighbourhood to resound with fairy revels. - -_Tuesday, August 16th._--Passed Rose Castle upon the Caldew, an ancient -building of red stone with sloping gardens, an ivied gateway, velvet -lawns, old garden walls, trim flower-borders with stately and luxuriant -flowers. We walked up to the house and stood some minutes watching the -swallows that flew about restlessly, and flung their shadows upon the -sunbright walls of the old building; the shadows glanced and twinkled, -interchanged and crossed each other, expanded and shrunk up, appeared -and disappeared every instant; as I observed to William and Coleridge, -seeming more like living things than the birds themselves. Dined at -Carlisle; the town in a bustle with the assizes; so many strange faces -known in former times and recognised, that it half seemed as if I ought -to know them all, and, together with the noise, the fine ladies, etc., -they put me into confusion. This day Hatfield was condemned. I stood at -the door of the gaoler's house, where he was; William entered the house, -and Coleridge saw him; I fell into conversation with a debtor, who told -me in a dry way that he was "far over-learned," and another man observed -to William that we might learn from Hatfield's fate "not to meddle with -pen and ink." We gave a shilling to my companion, whom we found out to -be a friend of the family, a fellow-sailor with my brother John "in -Captain Wordsworth's ship." Walked upon the city walls, which are broken -down in places and crumbling away, and most disgusting from filth. The -city and neighbourhood of Carlisle disappointed me; the banks of the -river quite flat, and, though the holms are rich, there is not much -beauty in the vale from the want of trees--at least to the eye of a -person coming from England, and, I scarcely know how, but to me the -holms had not a _natural_ look; there was something townish in their -appearance, a dulness in their strong deep green. To Longtown--not very -interesting, except from the long views over the flat country; the road -rough, chiefly newly mended. Reached Longtown after sunset, a town of -brick houses belonging chiefly to the Graham family. Being in the form -of a cross and not long, it had been better called Crosstown. There are -several shops, and it is not a very small place; but I could not meet -with a silver thimble, and bought a half-penny brass one. Slept at the -Graham's Arms, a large inn. Here, as everywhere else, the people seemed -utterly insensible of the enormity of Hatfield's offences; the ostler -told William that he was quite a gentleman, paid every one genteelly, -etc. etc. He and "Mary" had walked together to Gretna Green; a heavy -rain came on when they were there; a returned chaise happened to pass, -and the driver would have taken them up; but "Mr. Hope's" carriage was -to be sent for; he did not choose to accept the chaise-driver's offer. - -_Wednesday, August 17th._--Left Longtown after breakfast. About half a -mile from the town a guidepost and two roads, to Edinburgh and Glasgow; -we took the left-hand road, to Glasgow. Here saw a specimen of the -luxuriance of the heath-plant, as it grows in Scotland; it was in the -enclosed plantations--perhaps sheltered by them. These plantations -appeared to be not well grown for their age; the trees were stunted. -Afterwards the road, treeless, over a peat-moss common--the Solway Moss; -here and there an earth-built hut with its peat stack, a scanty growing -willow hedge round the kail-garth, perhaps the cow pasturing near,--a -little lass watching it,--the dreary waste cheered by the endless -singing of larks. - -We enter Scotland by crossing the river Sark; on the Scotch side of the -bridge the ground is unenclosed pasturage; it was very green, and -scattered over with that yellow flowered plant which we call grunsel; -the hills heave and swell prettily enough; cattle feeding; a few corn -fields near the river. At the top of the hill opposite is Springfield, a -village built by Sir William Maxwell--a dull uniformity in the houses, -as is usual when all built at one time, or belonging to one individual, -each just big enough for two people to live in, and in which a family, -large or small as it may happen, is crammed. There the marriages are -performed. Further on, though almost contiguous, is Gretna Green, upon a -hill and among trees. This sounds well, but it is a dreary place; the -stone houses dirty and miserable, with broken windows. There is a -pleasant view from the churchyard over Solway Firth to the Cumberland -mountains. Dined at Annan. On our left as we travelled along appeared -the Solway Firth and the mountains beyond, but the near country dreary. -Those houses by the roadside which are built of stone are comfortless -and dirty; but we peeped into a clay "biggin" that was very "canny," and -I daresay will be as warm as a swallow's nest in winter. The town of -Annan made me think of France and Germany; many of the houses large and -gloomy, the size of them outrunning the comforts. One thing which was -like Germany pleased me: the shopkeepers express their calling by some -device or painting; bread-bakers have biscuits, loaves, cakes, painted -on their window-shutters; blacksmiths horses' shoes, iron tools, etc. -etc.; and so on through all trades. - -Reached Dumfries at about nine o'clock--market-day; met crowds of people -on the road, and every one had a smile for us and our car.... The inn -was a large house, and tolerably comfortable; Mr. Rogers and his sister, -whom we had seen at our own cottage at Grasmere a few days before, had -arrived there that same afternoon on their way to the Highlands; but we -did not see them till the next morning, and only for about a quarter of -an hour. - -_Thursday, August 18th._--Went to the churchyard where Burns is buried. -A bookseller accompanied us. He showed us the outside of Burns's house, -where he had lived the last three years of his life, and where he died. -It has a mean appearance, and is in a bye situation, whitewashed; dirty -about the doors, as almost all Scotch houses are; flowering plants in -the windows. - -Went on to visit his grave. He lies at a corner of the churchyard, and -his second son, Francis Wallace, beside him. There is no stone to mark -the spot; but a hundred guineas have been collected, to be expended on -some sort of monument. "There," said the bookseller, pointing to a -pompous monument, "there lies Mr. Such-a-one"--I have forgotten his -name,--"a remarkably clever man; he was an attorney, and hardly ever -lost a cause he undertook. Burns made many a lampoon upon him, and there -they rest, as you see." We looked at the grave with melancholy and -painful reflections, repeating to each other his own verses:-- - - Is there a man whose judgment clear - Can others teach the course to steer, - Yet runs himself life's mad career - Wild as the wave?-- - Here let him pause, and through a tear - Survey this grave. - - The poor Inhabitant below - Was quick to learn, and wise to know - And keenly felt the friendly glow - And softer flame; - But thoughtless follies laid him low, - And stain'd his name. - -The churchyard is full of grave-stones and expensive monuments in all -sorts of fantastic shapes--obelisk-wise, pillar-wise, etc. In speaking -of Gretna Green, I forgot to mention that we visited the churchyard. The -church is like a huge house; indeed, so are all the churches, with a -steeple, not a square tower or spire,--a sort of thing more like a -glass-house chimney than a Church of England steeple; grave-stones in -abundance, few verses, yet there were some--no texts. Over the graves of -married women the maiden name instead of that of the husband, "spouse" -instead of "wife," and the place of abode preceded by "in" instead of -"of." When our guide had left us, we turned again to Burns's house. Mrs. -Burns was gone to spend some time by the sea-shore with her children. We -spoke to the servant-maid at the door, who invited us forward, and we -sate down in the parlour. The walls were coloured with a blue wash; on -one side of the fire was a mahogany desk, opposite to the window a -clock, and over the desk a print from the _Cotter's Saturday Night_, -which Burns mentions in one of his letters having received as a present. -The house was cleanly and neat in the inside, the stairs of stone, -scoured white, the kitchen on the right side of the passage, the parlour -on the left. In the room above the parlour the poet died, and his son -after him in the same room. The servant told us she had lived five years -with Mrs. Burns, who was now in great sorrow for the death of "Wallace." -She said that Mrs. Burns's youngest son was at Christ's Hospital. - -We were glad to leave Dumfries, which is no agreeable place to them who -do not love the bustle of a town that seems to be rising up to wealth. -We could think of little else but poor Burns, and his moving about on -that unpoetic ground. In our road to Brownhill, the next stage, we -passed Ellisland at a little distance on our right, his farmhouse. We -might there have had more pleasure in looking round, if we had been -nearer to the spot; but there is no thought surviving in connexion with -Burns's daily life that is not heart-depressing. Travelled through the -vale of Nith, here little like a vale, it is so broad, with irregular -hills rising up on each side, in outline resembling the old-fashioned -valances of a bed. There is a great deal of arable land; the corn ripe; -trees here and there--plantations, clumps, coppices, and a newness in -everything. So much of the gorse and broom rooted out that you wonder -why it is not all gone, and yet there seems to be almost as much gorse -and broom as corn; and they grow one among another you know not how. -Crossed the Nith; the vale becomes narrow, and very pleasant; corn -fields, green hills, clay cottages; the river's bed rocky, with woody -banks. Left the Nith about a mile and a half, and reached Brownhill, a -lonely inn, where we slept. The view from the windows was pleasing, -though some travellers might have been disposed to quarrel with it for -its general nakedness; yet there was abundance of corn. It is an open -country--open, yet all over hills. At a little distance were many -cottages among trees, that looked very pretty. Brownhill is about seven -or eight miles from Ellisland. I fancied to myself, while I was sitting -in the parlour, that Burns might have caroused there, for most likely -his rounds extended so far, and this thought gave a melancholy interest -to the smoky walls. It was as pretty a room as a thoroughly dirty one -could be--a square parlour painted green, but so covered over with smoke -and dirt that it looked not unlike green seen through black gauze. There -were three windows, looking three ways, a buffet ornamented with -tea-cups, a superfine largeish looking-glass with gilt ornaments -spreading far and wide, the glass spotted with dirt, some ordinary -alehouse pictures, and above the chimney-piece a print in a much better -style--as William guessed, taken from a painting by Sir Joshua -Reynolds--of some lady of quality, in the character of Euphrosyne. "Ay," -said the servant-girl, seeing that we looked at it, "there's many -travellers would give a deal for that, it's more admired than any in the -house." We could not but smile; for the rest were such as may be found -in the basket of any Italian image and picture hawker. - -William and I walked out after dinner; Coleridge was not well, and -slept upon the carriage cushions. We made our way to the cottages among -the little hills and knots of wood, and then saw what a delightful -country this part of Scotland might be made by planting forest trees. -The ground all over heaves and swells like a sea; but for miles there -are neither trees nor hedgerows, only "mound" fences and tracts; or -slips of corn, potatoes, clover--with hay between, and barren land; but -near the cottages many hills and hillocks covered with wood. We passed -some fine trees, and paused under the shade of one close by an old -mansion that seemed from its neglected state to be inhabited by farmers. -But I must say that many of the "gentlemen's" houses which we have -passed in Scotland have an air of neglect, and even of desolation. It -was a beech, in the full glory of complete and perfect growth, very -tall, with one thick stem mounting to a considerable height, which was -split into four "thighs," as Coleridge afterwards called them, each in -size a fine tree. Passed another mansion, now tenanted by a -schoolmaster; many boys playing upon the lawn. I cannot take leave of -the country which we passed through to-day, without mentioning that we -saw the Cumberland mountains within half a mile of Ellisland, Burns's -house, the last view we had of them. Drayton has prettily described the -connexion which this neighbourhood has with ours when he makes Skiddaw -say-- - - Scurfell[77] from the sky, - That Anadale[78] doth crown, with a most amorous eye, - Salutes me every day, or at my pride looks grim, - Oft threat'ning me with clouds, as I oft threat'ning him. - - [Footnote 77: Criffel.--J. C. S.] - - [Footnote 78: Annandale.--J. C. S.] - -These lines recurred to William's memory, and we talked of Burns, and -of the prospect he must have had, perhaps from his own door, of Skiddaw -and his companions, indulging ourselves in the fancy that we _might_ -have been personally known to each other, and he have looked upon those -objects with more pleasure for our sakes. We talked of Coleridge's -children and family, then at the foot of Skiddaw, and our own new-born -John a few miles behind it; while the grave of Burns's son, which we had -just seen by the side of his father, and some stories heard at Dumfries -respecting the dangers his surviving children were exposed to, filled us -with melancholy concern, which had a kind of connexion with ourselves. -In recollection of this, William long afterwards wrote the following -Address to the sons of the ill-fated poet:-- - - Ye now are panting up life's hill, - 'Tis twilight time of good and ill, - And more than common strength and skill - Must ye display, - If ye would give the better will - Its lawful sway. - - Strong-bodied if ye be to bear - Intemperance with less harm, beware, - But if your Father's wit ye share, - Then, then indeed, - Ye Sons of Burns, for watchful care - There will be need. - - For honest men delight will take - To shew you favour for his sake, - Will flatter you, and Fool and Rake - Your steps pursue, - And of your Father's name will make - A snare for you. - - Let no mean hope your souls enslave, - Be independent, generous, brave; - Your Father such example gave, - And such revere, - But be admonished by his grave, - And think and fear. - -_Friday, August 19th._--Open country for a considerable way. Passed -through the village of Thornhill, built by the Duke of Oueensberry; the -"brother-houses" so small that they might have been built to stamp a -character of insolent pride on his own huge mansion of Drumlanrigg, -which is full in view on the opposite side of the Nith. This mansion is -indeed very large; but to us it appeared like a gathering together of -little things. The roof is broken into a hundred pieces, cupolas, etc., -in the shape of casters, conjuror's balls, cups, and the like. The -situation would be noble if the woods had been left standing; but they -have been cut down not long ago, and the hills above and below the house -are quite bare. About a mile and a half from Drumlanrigg is a turnpike -gate at the top of a hill. We left our car with the man, and turned -aside into a field where we looked down upon the Nith, which runs far -below in a deep and rocky channel; the banks woody; the view pleasant -down the river towards Thornhill, an open country--corn fields, -pastures, and scattered trees. Returned to the turnpike house, a cold -spot upon a common, black cattle feeding close to the door. Our road led -us down the hill to the side of the Nith, and we travelled along its -banks for some miles. Here were clay cottages perhaps every half or -quarter of a mile. The bed of the stream rough with rocks; banks -irregular, now woody, now bare; here a patch of broom, there of corn, -then of pasturage; and hills green or heathy above. We were to have -given our horse meal and water at a public-house in one of the hamlets -we passed through, but missed the house, for, as is common in Scotland, -it was without a sign-board. Travelled on, still beside the Nith, till -we came to a turnpike house, which stood rather high on the hill-side, -and from the door we looked a long way up and down the river. The air -coldish, the wind strong. - -We asked the turnpike man to let us have some meal and water. He had no -meal, but luckily we had part of a feed of corn brought from Keswick, -and he procured some hay at a neighbouring house. In the meantime I went -into the house, where was an old man with a grey plaid over his -shoulders, reading a newspaper. On the shelf lay a volume of the Scotch -Encyclopĉdia, a History of England, and some other books. The old man -was a caller by the way. The man of the house came back, and we began to -talk. He was very intelligent; had travelled all over England, Scotland, -and Ireland as a gentleman's servant, and now lived alone in that -lonesome place. He said he was tired of his bargain, for he feared he -should lose by it. And he had indeed a troublesome office, for -coal-carts without number were passing by, and the drivers seemed to do -their utmost to cheat him. There is always something peculiar in the -house of a man living alone. This was but half-furnished, yet nothing -seemed wanting for _his_ comfort, though a female who had travelled half -as far would have needed fifty other things. He had no other meat or -drink in the house but oat bread and cheese--the cheese was made with -the addition of seeds--and some skimmed milk. He gave us of his bread -and cheese, and milk, which proved to be sour. - -We had yet ten or eleven miles to travel, and no food with us. William -lay under the wind in a corn-field below the house, being not well -enough to partake of the milk and bread. Coleridge gave our host a -pamphlet, "The Crisis of the Sugar Colonies"; he was well acquainted -with Burns's poems. There was a politeness and a manly freedom in this -man's manners which pleased me very much. He told us that he had served -a gentleman, a captain in the army--he did not know who he was, for none -of his relations had ever come to see him, but he used to receive many -letters--that he had lived near Dumfries till they would let him stay no -longer, he made such havoc with the game; his whole delight from morning -till night, and the long year through, was in field sports; he would be -on his feet the worst days in winter, and wade through snow up to the -middle after his game. If he had company he was in tortures till they -were gone; he would then throw off his coat and put on an old jacket not -worth half-a-crown. He drank his bottle of wine every day, and two if he -had better sport than usual. Ladies sometimes came to stay with his -wife, and he often carried them out in an Irish jaunting-car, and if -they vexed him he would choose the dirtiest roads possible, and spoil -their clothes by jumping in and out of the car, and treading upon them. -"But for all that"--and so he ended all--"he was a good fellow, and a -clever fellow, and he liked him well." He would have ten or a dozen -hares in the larder at once, he half maintained his family with game, -and he himself was very fond of eating of the spoil--unusual with true -heart-and-soul sportsmen. - -The man gave us an account of his farm where he had lived, which was so -cheap and pleasant that we thought we should have liked to have had it -ourselves. Soon after leaving the turnpike house we turned up a hill to -the right, the road for a little way very steep, bare hills, with sheep. - -After ascending a little while we heard the murmur of a stream far below -us, and saw it flowing downwards on our left, towards the Nith, and -before us, between steep green hills, coming along a winding valley. The -simplicity of the prospect impressed us very much. There was a single -cottage by the brook side; the dell was not heathy, but it was -impossible not to think of Peter Bell's Highland Girl. - -We now felt indeed that we were in Scotland; there was a natural -peculiarity in this place. In the scenes of the Nith it had not been the -same as England, but yet not simple, naked Scotland. The road led us -down the hill, and now there was no room in the vale but for the river -and the road; we had sometimes the stream to the right, sometimes to the -left. The hills were pastoral, but we did not see many sheep; green -smooth turf on the left, no ferns. On the right the heath-plant grew in -abundance, of the most exquisite colour; it covered a whole hill-side, -or it was in streams and patches. We travelled along the vale without -appearing to ascend for some miles; all the reaches were beautiful, in -exquisite proportion, the hills seeming very high from being so near to -us. It might have seemed a valley which nature had kept to herself for -pensive thoughts and tender feelings, but that we were reminded at every -turning of the road of something beyond by the coal-carts which were -travelling towards us. Though these carts broke in upon the tranquillity -of the glen, they added much to the picturesque effect of the different -views, which indeed wanted nothing, though perfectly bare, houseless, -and treeless. - -After some time our road took us upwards towards the end of the valley. -Now the steeps were heathy all around. Just as we began to climb the -hill we saw three boys who came down the cleft of a brow on our left; -one carried a fishing-rod, and the hats of all were braided with -honeysuckles; they ran after one another as wanton as the wind. I cannot -express what a character of beauty those few honeysuckles in the hats of -the three boys gave to the place: what bower could they have come from? -We walked up the hill, met two well-dressed travellers, the woman -barefoot. Our little lads before they had gone far were joined by some -half-dozen of their companions, all without shoes and stockings. They -told us they lived at Wanlockhead, the village above, pointing to the -top of the hill; they went to school and learned Latin, Virgil, and some -of them Greek, Homer, but when Coleridge began to inquire further, off -they ran, poor things! I suppose afraid of being examined. - -When, after a steep ascent, we had reached the top of the hill, we saw -a village about half a mile before us on the side of another hill, which -rose up above the spot where we were, after a descent, a sort of valley -or hollow. Nothing grew upon this ground, or the hills above or below, -but heather, yet round about the village--which consisted of a great -number of huts, all alike, and all thatched, with a few larger slated -houses among them, and a single modern-built one of a considerable -size--were a hundred patches of cultivated ground, potatoes, oats, hay, -and grass. We were struck with the sight of haycocks fastened down with -aprons, sheets, pieces of sacking--as we supposed, to prevent the wind -from blowing them away. We afterwards found that this practice was very -general in Scotland. Every cottage seemed to have its little plot of -ground, fenced by a ridge of earth; this plot contained two or three -different divisions, kail, potatoes, oats, hay; the houses all standing -in lines, or never far apart; the cultivated ground was all together -also, and made a very strange appearance with its many greens among the -dark brown hills, neither tree nor shrub growing; yet the grass and the -potatoes looked greener than elsewhere, owing to the bareness of the -neighbouring hills; it was indeed a wild and singular spot--to use a -woman's illustration, like a collection of patchwork, made of pieces as -they might have chanced to have been cut by the mantua-maker, only just -smoothed to fit each other, the different sorts of produce being in such -a multitude of plots, and those so small and of such irregular shapes. -Add to the strangeness of the village itself, that we had been climbing -upwards, though gently, for many miles, and for the last mile and a half -up a steep ascent, and did not know of any village till we saw the boys -who had come out to play. The air was very cold, and one could not help -thinking what it must be in winter, when those hills, now "red brown," -should have their three months' covering of snow. - -The village, as we guessed, is inhabited by miners; the mines belong to -the Duke of Queensberry. The road to the village, down which the lads -scampered away, was straight forward. I must mention that we met, just -after we had parted from them, another little fellow, about six years -old, carrying a bundle over his shoulder; he seemed poor and half -starved, and was scratching his fingers, which were covered with the -itch. He was a miner's son, and lived at Wanlockhead; did not go to -school, but this was probably on account of his youth. I mention him -because he seemed to be a proof that there was poverty and wretchedness -among these people, though we saw no other symptom of it; and afterwards -we met scores of the inhabitants of this same village. Our road turned -to the right, and we saw, at the distance of less than a mile, a tall -upright building of grey stone, with several men standing upon the roof, -as if they were looking out over battlements. It stood beyond the -village, upon higher ground, as if presiding over it,--a kind of -enchanter's castle, which it might have been, a place where Don Quixote -would have gloried in. When we drew nearer we saw, coming out of the -side of the building, a large machine or lever, in appearance like a -great forge-hammer, as we supposed for raising water out of the mines. -It heaved upwards once in half a minute with a slow motion, and seemed -to rest to take breath at the bottom, its motion being accompanied with -a sound between a groan and "jike." There would have been something in -this object very striking in any place, as it was impossible not to -invest the machine with some faculty of intellect; it seemed to have -made the first step from brute matter to life and purpose, showing its -progress by great power. William made a remark to this effect, and -Coleridge observed that it was like a giant with one idea. At all -events, the object produced a striking effect in that place, where -everything was in unison with it--particularly the building itself, -which was turret-shaped, and with the figures upon it resembled much one -of the fortresses in the wooden cuts of Bunyan's _Holy War_. - -After ascending a considerable way we began to descend again; and now -we met a team of horses dragging an immense tree to the lead mines, to -repair or add to the building, and presently after we came to a cart, -with another large tree, and one horse left in it, right in the middle -of the highway. We were a little out of humour, thinking we must wait -till the team came back. There were men and boys without number all -staring at us; after a little consultation they set their shoulders to -the cart, and with a good heave all at once they moved it, and we passed -along. These people were decently dressed, and their manners decent; -there was no hooting or impudent laughter. Leadhills, another mining -village, was the place of our destination for the night; and soon after -we had passed the cart we came in sight of it. This village and the -mines belong to Lord Hopetoun; it has more stone houses than -Wanlockhead, one large old mansion, and a considerable number of old -trees--beeches, I believe. The trees told of the coldness of the -climate; they were more brown than green--far browner than the ripe -grass of the little hay-garths. Here, as at Wanlockhead, were haycocks, -hay-stacks, potato-beds, and kail-garths in every possible variety of -shape, but, I suppose from the irregularity of the ground, it looked far -less artificial--indeed, I should think that a painter might make -several beautiful pictures in this village. It straggles down both sides -of a mountain glen. As I have said, there is a large mansion. There is -also a stone building that looks like a school, and the houses are -single, or in clusters, or rows as it may chance. - -We passed a decent-looking inn, the Hopetoun Arms; but the house of -Mrs. Otto, a widow, had been recommended to us with high encomiums. We -did not then understand Scotch inns, and were not quite satisfied at -first with our accommodations, but all things were smoothed over by -degrees; we had a fire lighted in our dirty parlour, tea came after a -reasonable waiting; and the fire with the gentle aid of twilight, -burnished up the room into cheerful comfort. Coleridge was weary; but -William and I walked out after tea. We talked with one of the miners, -who informed us that the building which we had supposed to be a school -was a library belonging to the village. He said they had got a book into -it a few weeks ago, which had cost thirty pounds, and that they had all -sorts of books. "What! have you Shakespeare?" "Yes, we have that," and -we found, on further inquiry, that they had a large library, of long -standing, that Lord Hopetoun had subscribed liberally to it, and that -gentlemen who came with him were in the habit of making larger or -smaller donations. Each man who had the benefit of it paid a small sum -monthly--I think about fourpence. - -The man we talked with spoke much of the comfort and quiet in which they -lived one among another; he made use of a noticeable expression, saying -that they were "very peaceable people considering they lived so much -under-ground";--wages were about thirty pounds a year; they had land for -potatoes, warm houses, plenty of coals, and only six hours' work each -day, so that they had leisure for reading if they chose. He said the -place was healthy, that the inhabitants lived to a great age; and indeed -we saw no appearance of ill-health in their countenances; but it is not -common for people working in lead mines to be healthy; and I have since -heard that it is _not_ a healthy place. However this may be, they are -unwilling to allow it; for the landlady the next morning, when I said to -her "You have a cold climate," replied, "Ay, but it is _varra -halesome_." We inquired of the man respecting the large mansion; he told -us that it was built, as we might see, in the form of an H, and belonged -to the Hopetouns, and they took their title from thence,[79] and that -part of it was used as a chapel. We went close to it, and were a good -deal amused with the building itself, standing forth in bold -contradiction of the story which I daresay every man of Leadhills tells, -and every man believes, that it is in the shape of an H; it is but half -an H, and one must be very accommodating to allow it even _so_ much, for -the legs are far too short. - - [Footnote 79: There is some mistake here. The Hopetoun title was not - taken from any place in the Leadhills, much less from the house shaped - like an H.--J. C. S.] - -We visited the burying-ground, a plot of land not very small, crowded -with graves, and upright grave-stones, over-looking the village and the -dell. It was now the closing in of evening. Women and children were -gathering in the linen for the night, which was bleaching by the -burn-side;--the graves overgrown with grass, such as, by industrious -culture, had been raised up about the houses; but there were bunches of -heather here and there, and with the blue-bells that grew among the -grass the small plot of ground had a beautiful and wild appearance. - -William left me, and I went to a shop to purchase some thread; the woman -had none that suited me; but she would send a "_wee_ lad" to the other -shop. In the meantime I sat with the mother, and was much pleased with -her manner and conversation. She had an excellent fire, and her cottage, -though very small, looked comfortable and cleanly; but remember I saw it -only by firelight. She confirmed what the man had told us of the quiet -manner in which they lived; and indeed her house and fireside seemed to -need nothing to make it a cheerful happy spot, but health and good -humour. There was a bookishness, a certain formality in this woman's -language, which was very remarkable. She had a dark complexion, dark -eyes, and wore a very white cap, much over her face, which gave her the -look of a French woman, and indeed afterwards the women on the roads -frequently reminded us of French women, partly from the extremely white -caps of the elder women, and still more perhaps from a certain gaiety -and party-coloured appearance in their dress in general. White bed-gowns -are very common, and you rarely meet a young girl with either hat or -cap; they buckle up their hair often in a graceful manner. - -I returned to the inn, and went into the kitchen to speak with the -landlady; she had made a hundred hesitations when I told her we wanted -three beds. At last she confessed she _had_ three beds, and showed me -into a parlour which looked damp and cold, but she assured me in a tone -that showed she was unwilling to be questioned further, that all _her_ -beds were well aired. I sat a while by the kitchen fire with the -landlady, and began to talk to her; but, much as I had heard in her -praise--for the shopkeeper had told me she was a varra discreet woman--I -cannot say that her manners pleased me much. But her servant made -amends, for she was as pleasant and cheerful a lass as was ever seen; -and when we asked her to do anything, she answered, "Oh yes," with a -merry smile, and almost ran to get us what we wanted. She was about -sixteen years old: wore shoes and stockings, and had her hair tucked up -with a comb. The servant at Brownhill was a coarse-looking wench, -barefoot and bare-legged. I examined the kitchen round about; it was -crowded with furniture, drawers, cupboards, dish-covers, pictures, pans, -and pots, arranged without order, except that the plates were on -shelves, and the dish-covers hung in rows; these were very clean, but -floors, passages, staircase, everything else dirty. There were two beds -in recesses in the wall; above one of them I noticed a shelf with some -books:--it made me think of Chaucer's Clerke of Oxenforde:-- - - Liever had he at his bed's head - Twenty books clothed in black and red. - -They were baking oat-bread, which they cut into quarters, and half-baked -over the fire, and half-toasted before it. There was a suspiciousness -about Mrs. Otto, almost like ill-nature; she was very jealous of any -inquiries that might appear to be made with the faintest idea of a -comparison between Leadhills and any other place, except the advantage -was evidently on the side of Leadhills. We had nice honey to breakfast. -When ready to depart, we learned that we might have seen the library, -which we had not thought of till it was too late, and we were very sorry -to go away without seeing it. - -_Saturday, August 20th._--Left Leadhills at nine o'clock, regretting -much that we could not stay another day, that we might have made more -minute inquiries respecting the manner of living of the miners, and been -able to form an estimate, from our own observation, of the degree of -knowledge, health, and comfort that there was among them. The air was -keen and cold; we might have supposed it to be three months later in the -season and two hours earlier in the day. The landlady had not lighted us -a fire; so I was obliged to get myself toasted in the kitchen, and when -we set off I put on both grey cloak and spencer. - -Our road carried us down the valley, and we soon lost sight of -Leadhills, for the valley made a turn almost immediately, and we saw two -miles, perhaps, before us; the glen sloped somewhat rapidly--heathy, -bare, no hut or house. Passed by a shepherd, who was sitting upon the -ground, reading, with the book on his knee, screened from the wind by -his plaid, while a flock of sheep were feeding near him among the rushes -and coarse grass--for, as we descended we came among lands where grass -grew with the heather. Travelled through several reaches of the glen, -which somewhat resembled the valley of Menock on the other side of -Wanlockhead; but it was not near so beautiful; the forms of the -mountains did not melt so exquisitely into each other, and there was a -coldness, and, if I may so speak, a want of simplicity in the surface of -the earth; the heather was poor, not covering a whole hill-side; not in -luxuriant streams and beds interveined with rich verdure; but patchy and -stunted, with here and there coarse grass and rushes. But we soon came -in sight of a spot that impressed us very much. At the lower end of this -new reach of the vale was a decayed tree, beside a decayed cottage, the -vale spreading out into a level area which was one large field, without -fence and without division, of a dull yellow colour; the vale seemed to -partake of the desolation of the cottage, and to participate in its -decay. And yet the spot was in its nature so dreary that one would -rather have wondered how it ever came to be tenanted by man, than lament -that it was left to waste and solitude. Yet the encircling hills were so -exquisitely formed that it was impossible to conceive anything more -lovely than this place would have been if the valley and hill-sides had -been interspersed with trees, cottages, green fields, and hedgerows. But -all was desolate; the one large field which filled up the area of the -valley appeared, as I have said, in decay, and seemed to retain the -memory of its connexion with man in some way analogous to the ruined -building; for it was as much of a field as Mr. King's best pasture -scattered over with his fattest cattle. - -We went on, looking before us, the place losing nothing of its hold upon -our minds, when we discovered a woman sitting right in the middle of the -field, alone, wrapped up in a grey cloak or plaid. She sat motionless -all the time we looked at her, which might be nearly half an hour. We -could not conceive why she sat there, for there were neither sheep nor -cattle in the field; her appearance was very melancholy. In the meantime -our road carried us nearer to the cottage, though we were crossing over -the hill to the left, leaving the valley below us, and we perceived that -a part of the building was inhabited, and that what we had supposed to -be _one_ blasted tree was eight trees, four of which were entirely -blasted; the others partly so, and round about the place was a little -potato and cabbage garth, fenced with earth. No doubt, that woman had -been an inhabitant of the cottage. However this might be, there was so -much obscurity and uncertainty about her, and her figure agreed so well -with the desolation of the place, that we were indebted to the chance of -her being there for some of the most interesting feelings that we had -ever had from natural objects connected with man in dreary solitariness. - -We had been advised to go along the _new_ road, which would have -carried us down the vale; but we met some travellers who recommended us -to climb the hill, and go by the village of Crawfordjohn as being much -nearer. We had a long hill, and after having reached the top, steep and -bad roads, so we continued to walk for a considerable way. The air was -cold and clear--the sky blue. We walked cheerfully along in the -sunshine, each of us alone, only William had the charge of the horse and -car, so he sometimes took a ride, which did but poorly recompense him -for the trouble of driving. I never travelled with more cheerful spirits -than this day. Our road was along the side of a high moor. I can always -walk over a moor with a light foot; I seem to be drawn more closely to -nature in such places than anywhere else; or rather I feel more strongly -the power of nature over me, and am better satisfied with myself for -being able to find enjoyment in what unfortunately to many persons is -either dismal or insipid. This moor, however, was more than commonly -interesting; we could see a long way, and on every side of us were -larger or smaller tracts of cultivated land. Some were extensive farms, -yet in so large a waste they did but look small, with farm-houses, -barns, etc., others like little cottages, with enough to feed a cow, and -supply the family with vegetables. In looking at these farms we had -always one feeling. Why did the plough stop there? Why might not they as -well have carried it twice as far? There were no hedgerows near the -farms, and very few trees. As we were passing along, we saw an old man, -the first we had seen in a Highland bonnet, walking with a staff at a -very slow pace by the edge of one of the moorland corn-fields; he wore a -grey plaid, and a dog was by his side. There was a scriptural solemnity -in this man's figure, a sober simplicity which was most impressive. -Scotland is the country above all others that I have seen, in which a -man of imagination may carve out his own pleasures. There are so many -_inhabited_ solitudes, and the employments of the people are so -immediately connected with the places where you find them, and their -dresses so simple, so much alike, yet, from their being folding -garments, admitting of an endless variety, and falling often so -gracefully. - -After some time we descended towards a broad vale, passed one -farm-house, sheltered by fir trees, with a burn close to it; children -playing, linen bleaching. The vale was open pastures and corn-fields -unfenced, the land poor. The village of Crawfordjohn on the slope of a -hill a long way before us to the left. Asked about our road of a man who -was driving a cart; he told us to go through the village, then along -some fields, and we should come to a "herd's house by the burn side." -The highway was right through the vale, unfenced on either side; the -people of the village, who were making hay, all stared at us and our -carriage. We inquired the road of a middle-aged man, dressed in a shabby -black coat, at work in one of the hay fields; he looked like the -minister of the place, and when he spoke we felt assured that he was so, -for he was not sparing of hard words, which, however, he used with great -propriety, and he spoke like one who had been accustomed to dictate. Our -car wanted mending in the wheel, and we asked him if there was a -blacksmith in the village. "Yes," he replied, but when we showed him the -wheel he told William that he might mend it himself without a -blacksmith, and he would put him in the way; so he fetched hammer and -nails and gave his directions, which William obeyed, and repaired the -damage entirely to his own satisfaction and the priest's, who did not -offer to lend any assistance himself; not as if he would not have been -willing in case of need; but as if it were more natural for him to -dictate, and because he thought it more fit that William should do it -himself. He spoke much about the propriety of every man's lending all -the assistance in his power to travellers, and with some ostentation of -self-praise. Here I observed a honeysuckle and some flowers growing in a -garden, the first I had seen in Scotland. It is a pretty -cheerful-looking village, but must be very cold in winter; it stands on -a hillside, and the vale itself is very high ground, unsheltered by -trees. - -Left the village behind us, and our road led through arable ground for -a considerable way, on which were growing very good crops of corn and -potatoes. Our friend accompanied us to show us the way, and Coleridge -and he had a scientific conversation concerning the uses and properties -of lime and other manures. He seemed to be a well-informed man; somewhat -pedantic in his manners; but this might be only the difference between -Scotch and English.[80] - - [Footnote 80: Probably the Rev. John Aird, minister of the parish, - 1801-1815.--J. C. S.] - -Soon after he had parted from us, we came upon a stony, rough road over -a black moor; and presently to the "herd's house by the burn side." We -could hardly cross the burn dry-shod, over which was the only road to -the cottage. In England there would have been stepping-stones or a -bridge; but the Scotch need not be afraid of wetting their bare feet. -The hut had its little kail-garth fenced with earth; there was no other -enclosure--but the common, heathy with coarse grass. Travelled along the -common for some miles, before we joined the great road from Longtown to -Glasgow--saw on the bare hill-sides at a distance, sometimes a solitary -farm, now and then a plantation, and one very large wood, with an -appearance of richer ground above; but it was so very high we could not -think it possible. Having descended considerably, the common was no -longer of a peat-mossy brown heath colour, but grass with rushes was its -chief produce; there was sometimes a solitary hut, no enclosures except -the kail-garth, and sheep pasturing in flocks, with shepherd-boys -tending them. I remember one boy in particular; he had no hat on, and -only had a grey plaid wrapped about him. It is nothing to describe, but -on a bare moor, alone with his sheep, standing, as he did, in utter -quietness and silence, there was something uncommonly impressive in his -appearance, a solemnity which recalled to our minds the old man in the -corn-field. We passed many people who were mowing, or raking the grass -of the common; it was little better than rushes; but they did not mow -straight forward, only here and there, where it was the best; in such a -place hay-cocks had an uncommon appearance to us. - -After a long descent we came to some plantations which were not far from -Douglas Mill. The country for some time had been growing into -cultivation, and now it was a wide vale with large tracts of corn; trees -in clumps, no hedgerows, which always make a country look bare and -unlovely. For my part, I was better pleased with the desert places we -had left behind, though no doubt the inhabitants of this place think it -"a varra bonny spot," for the Scotch are always pleased with their own -abode, be it what it may; and afterwards at Edinburgh, when we were -talking with a bookseller of our travels, he observed that it was "a -fine country near Douglas Mill." Douglas Mill is a single house, a large -inn, being one of the regular stages between Longtown and Glasgow, and -therefore a fair specimen of the best of the country inns of Scotland. -As soon as our car stopped at the door we felt the difference. At an -English inn of this size, a waiter, or the master or mistress, would -have been at the door immediately, but we remained some time before -anybody came; then a barefooted lass made her appearance, but she only -looked at us and went away. The mistress, a remarkably handsome woman, -showed us into a large parlour; we ordered mutton-chops, and I finished -my letter to Mary; writing on the same window-ledge on which William had -written to me two years before. - -After dinner, William and I sat by a little mill-race in the garden. We -had left Leadhills and Wanlockhead far above us, and now were come into -a warmer climate; but there was no richness in the face of the country. -The shrubs looked cold and poor, and yet there were some very fine trees -within a little distance of Douglas Mill, so that the reason, perhaps, -why the few low shrubs and trees which were growing in the gardens -seemed to be so unluxuriant, might be, that there being no hedgerows, -the general appearance of the country was naked, and I could not help -seeing the same coldness where, perhaps, it did not exist in itself to -any great degree, for the corn crops are abundant, and I should think -the soil is not bad. While we were sitting at the door, two of the -landlady's children came out; the elder, a boy about six years old, was -running away from his little brother, in petticoats; the ostler called -out, "Sandy, tak' your wee brither wi' you"; another voice from the -window, "Sawny, dinna leave your wee brither"; the mother then came, -"Alexander, tak' your wee brother by the hand"; Alexander obeyed, and -the two went off in peace together. We were charged eightpence for hay -at this inn, another symptom of our being in Scotland. Left Douglas Mill -at about three o'clock; travelled through an open corn country, the -tracts of corn large and unenclosed. We often passed women or children -who were watching a single cow while it fed upon the slips of grass -between the corn. William asked a strong woman, about thirty years of -age, who looked like the mistress of a family--I suppose moved by some -sentiment of compassion for her being so employed,--if the cow would eat -the corn if it were left to itself: she smiled at his simplicity. It is -indeed a melancholy thing to see a full-grown woman thus waiting, as it -were, body and soul devoted to the poor beast; yet even this is better -than working in a manufactory the day through. - -We came to a moorish tract; saw before us the hills of Loch Lomond, Ben -Lomond and another, distinct each by itself. Not far from the roadside -were some benches placed in rows in the middle of a large field, with a -sort of covered shed like a sentry-box, but much more like those boxes -which the Italian puppet-showmen in London use. We guessed that it was a -pulpit or tent for preaching, and were told that a sect met there -occasionally, who held that toleration was unscriptural, and would have -all religions but their own exterminated. I have forgotten what name the -man gave to this sect; we could not learn that it differed in any other -respect from the Church of Scotland. Travelled for some miles along the -open country, which was all without hedgerows, sometimes arable, -sometimes moorish, and often whole tracts covered with grunsel.[81] -There was one field, which one might have believed had been sown with -grunsel, it was so regularly covered with it--a large square field upon -a slope, its boundary marked to our eyes only by the termination of the -bright yellow; contiguous to it were other fields of the same size and -shape, one of clover, the other of potatoes, all equally regular crops. -The oddness of this appearance, the grunsel being uncommonly luxuriant, -and the field as yellow as gold, made William laugh. Coleridge was -melancholy upon it, observing that there was land enough wasted to rear -a healthy child. - - [Footnote 81: Ragweed.--J. C. S.] - -We left behind us, considerably to the right, a single high -mountain;[82] I have forgotten its name; we had had it long in view. Saw -before us the river Clyde, its course at right angles to our road, which -now made a turn, running parallel with the river; the town of Lanerk in -sight long before we came to it. I was somewhat disappointed with the -first view of the Clyde: the banks, though swelling and varied, had a -poverty in their appearance, chiefly from the want of wood and -hedgerows. Crossed the river and ascended towards Lanerk, which stands -upon a hill. When we were within about a mile of the town, William -parted from Coleridge and me, to go to the celebrated waterfalls. -Coleridge did not attempt to drive the horse; but led him all the way. -We inquired for the best inn, and were told that the New Inn was the -best; but that they had very "genteel apartments" at the Black Bull, and -made less charges, and the Black Bull was at the entrance of the town, -so we thought we would stop there, as the horse was obstinate and weary. -But when we came to the Black Bull we had no wish to enter the -apartments; for it seemed the abode of dirt and poverty, yet it was a -large building. The town showed a sort of French face, and would have -done much more, had it not been for the true British tinge of -coal-smoke; the doors and windows dirty, the shops dull, the women too -seemed to be very dirty in their dress. The town itself is not ugly; the -houses are of grey stone, the streets not very narrow, and the -market-place decent. The New Inn is a handsome old stone building, -formerly a gentleman's house. We were conducted into a parlour, where -people had been drinking; the tables were unwiped, chairs in disorder, -the floor dirty, and the smell of liquors was most offensive. We were -tired, however, and rejoiced in our tea. - - [Footnote 82: Tinto.--J. C. S.] - -The evening sun was now sending a glorious light through the street, -which ran from west to east; the houses were of a fire red, and the -faces of the people as they walked westward were almost like a -blacksmith when he is at work by night. I longed to be out, and meet -with William, that we might see the Falls before the day was gone. Poor -Coleridge was unwell, and could not go. I inquired my road, and a little -girl told me she would go with me to the porter's lodge, where I might -be admitted. I was grieved to hear that the Falls of the Clyde were shut -up in a gentleman's grounds, and to be viewed only by means of lock and -key. Much, however, as the pure feeling with which one would desire to -visit such places is disturbed by useless, impertinent, or even -unnecessary interference with nature, yet when I was there the next -morning I seemed to feel it a less disagreeable thing than in smaller -and more delicate spots, if I may use the phrase. My guide, a sensible -little girl, answered my inquiries very prettily. She was eight years -old, read in the "Collection," a book which all the Scotch children whom -I have questioned read in. I found it was a collection of hymns; she -could repeat several of Dr. Watts'. We passed through a great part of -the town, then turned down a steep hill, and came in view of a long -range of cotton mills,[83] the largest and loftiest I had ever seen; -climbed upwards again, our road leading us along the top of the left -bank of the river; both banks very steep and richly wooded. The girl -left me at the porter's lodge. Having asked after William, I was told -that no person had been there, or could enter but by the gate. The night -was coming on, therefore I did not venture to go in, as I had no hope of -meeting William. I had a delicious walk alone through the wood; the -sound of the water was very solemn, and even the cotton mills in the -fading light of evening had somewhat of the majesty and stillness of the -natural objects. It was nearly dark when I reached the inn. I found -Coleridge sitting by a good fire, which always makes an inn room look -comfortable. In a few minutes William arrived; he had heard of me at the -gate, and followed as quickly as he could, shouting after me. He was -pale and exceedingly tired. - - [Footnote 83: New Lanark, Robert Owen's mills.--J. C. S.] - -After he had left us he had taken a wrong road, and while looking about -to set himself right had met with a barefooted boy, who said he would go -with him. The little fellow carried him by a wild path to the upper of -the Falls, the Boniton Linn, and coming down unexpectedly upon it, he -was exceedingly affected by the solemn grandeur of the place. This fall -is not much admired or spoken of by travellers; you have never a full, -breast view of it; it does not make a complete self-satisfying place, an -abode of its own, as a perfect waterfall seems to me to do; but the -river, down which you look through a long vista of steep and ruin-like -rocks, the roaring of the waterfall, and the solemn evening lights, must -have been most impressive. One of the rocks on the near bank, even in -broad daylight, as we saw it the next morning, is exactly like the -fractured arch of an abbey. With the lights and shadows of evening upon -it, the resemblance must have been much more striking. - -William's guide was a pretty boy, and he was exceedingly pleased with -him. Just as they were quitting the waterfall, William's mind being full -of the majesty of the scene, the little fellow pointed to the top of a -rock, "There's a fine slae-bush there." "Ay," said William, "but there -are no slaes upon it," which was true enough; but I suppose the child -remembered the slaes of another summer, though, as he said, he was but -"half seven years old," namely, six and a half. He conducted William to -the other fall, and as they were going along a narrow path, they came to -a small cavern, where William lost him, and looking about, saw his -pretty figure in a sort of natural niche fitted for a statue, from which -the boy jumped out laughing, delighted with the success of his trick. -William told us a great deal about him, while he sat by the fire, and of -the pleasure of his walk, often repeating, "I wish you had been with -me." Having no change, he gave the boy sixpence, which was certainly, if -he had formed any expectations at all, far beyond them; but he received -it with the utmost indifference, without any remark of surprise or -pleasure; most likely he did not know how many halfpence he could get -for it, and twopence would have pleased him more. My little girl was -delighted with the sixpence I gave her, and said she would buy a book -with it on Monday morning. What a difference between the manner of -living and education of boys and of girls among the lower classes of -people in towns! she had never seen the Falls of the Clyde, nor had ever -been further than the porter's lodge; the boy, I daresay, knew every -hiding-place in every accessible rock, as well as the fine "slae bushes" -and the nut trees. - - -_SECOND WEEK_ - -_Sunday, August 21st._--The morning was very hot, a morning to tempt us -to linger by the water-side. I wished to have had the day before us, -expecting so much from what William had seen; but when we went there, I -did not desire to stay longer than till the hour which we had prescribed -to ourselves; for it was a rule not to be broken in upon, that the -person who conducted us to the Falls was to remain by our side till we -chose to depart. We left our inn immediately after breakfast. The lanes -were full of people going to church; many of the middle-aged women wore -long scarlet cardinals, and were without hats: they brought to my mind -the women of Goslar as they used to go to church in their silver or gold -caps, with their long cloaks, black or coloured. - -The banks of the Clyde from Lanerk to the Falls rise immediately from -the river; they are lofty and steep, and covered with wood. The road to -the Falls is along the top of one of the banks, and to the left you have -a prospect of the open country, corn fields and scattered houses. To the -right, over the river, the country spreads out, as it were, into a plain -covered over with hills, no one hill much higher than another, but hills -all over; there were endless pastures overgrown with broom, and -scattered trees, without hedges or fences of any kind, and no distinct -footpaths. It was delightful to see the lasses in gay dresses running -like cattle among the broom, making their way straight forward towards -the river, here and there as it might chance. They waded across the -stream, and, when they had reached the top of the opposite bank, sat -down by the road-side, about half a mile from the town, to put on their -shoes and cotton stockings, which they brought tied up in -pocket-handkerchiefs. The porter's lodge is about a mile from Lanerk, -and the lady's house--for the whole belongs to a lady, whose name I have -forgotten[84]--is upon a hill at a little distance. We walked, after we -had entered the private grounds, perhaps two hundred yards along a -gravel carriage-road, then came to a little side gate, which opened upon -a narrow gravel path under trees, and in a minute and a half, or less, -were directly opposite to the great waterfall. I was much affected by -the first view of it. The majesty and strength of the water, for I had -never before seen so large a cataract, struck me with astonishment, -which died away, giving place to more delightful feelings; though there -were some buildings that I could have wished had not been there, though -at first unnoticed. The chief of them was a neat, white, lady-like -house,[85] very near to the waterfall. William and Coleridge however -were in a better and perhaps wiser humour, and did not dislike the -house; indeed, it was a very nice-looking place, with a moderate-sized -garden, leaving the green fields free and open. This house is on the -side of the river opposite to the grand house and the pleasure-grounds. -The waterfall Cora Linn is composed of two falls, with a sloping space, -which _appears_ to be about twenty yards between, but is much more. The -basin which receives the fall is enclosed by noble rocks, with trees, -chiefly hazels, birch, and ash growing out of their sides whenever there -is any hold for them; and a magnificent resting-place it is for such a -river; I think more grand than the Falls themselves. - - [Footnote 84: Lady Mary Ross.--J. C. S.] - - [Footnote 85: Corehouse.--J. C. S.] - -After having stayed some time, we returned by the same footpath into -the main carriage-road, and soon came upon what William calls an -ell-wide gravel walk, from which we had different views of the Linn. We -sat upon a bench, placed for the sake of one of these views, whence we -looked down upon the waterfall, and over the open country, and saw a -ruined tower, called Wallace's Tower, which stands at a very little -distance from the fall, and is an interesting object. A lady and -gentleman, more expeditious tourists than ourselves, came to the spot; -they left us at the seat, and we found them again at another station -above the Falls. Coleridge, who is always good-natured enough to enter -into conversation with anybody whom he meets in his way, began to talk -with the gentleman, who observed that it was a _majestic_ waterfall. -Coleridge was delighted with the accuracy of the epithet, particularly -as he had been settling in his own mind the precise meaning of the words -grand, majestic, sublime, etc., and had discussed the subject with -William at some length the day before. "Yes, sir," says Coleridge, "it -_is_ a majestic waterfall." "Sublime and beautiful," replied his friend. -Poor Coleridge could make no answer, and, not very desirous to continue -the conversation, came to us and related the story, laughing heartily. - -The distance from one Linn to the other may be half a mile or more, -along the same ell-wide walk. We came to a pleasure-house, of which the -little girl had the key; she said it was called the Fog-house, because -it was lined with "fog," namely moss. On the outside it resembled some -of the huts in the prints belonging to Captain Cook's Voyages, and -within was like a hay-stack scooped out. It was circular, with a -dome-like roof, a seat all round fixed to the wall, and a table in the -middle,--seat, wall, roof, and table all covered with moss in the -neatest manner possible. It was as snug as a bird's nest; I wish we had -such a one at the top of our orchard, only a great deal smaller. We -afterwards found that huts of the same kind were common in the -pleasure-grounds of Scotland; but we never saw any that were so -beautifully wrought as this. It had, however, little else to recommend -it, the situation being chosen without judgment; there was no prospect -from it, nor was it a place of seclusion and retirement, for it stood -close to the ell-wide gravel walk. We wished we could have shoved it -about a hundred yards further on, when we arrived at a bench which was -also close to the walk, for just below the bench, the walk elbowing out -into a circle, there was a beautiful spring of clear water, which we -could see rise up continually, at the bottom of a round stone basin full -to the brim, the water gushing out at a little outlet and passing away -under the walk. A reason was wanted for placing the hut where it is; -what a good one would this little spring have furnished for bringing it -hither! Along the whole of the path were openings at intervals for views -of the river, but, as almost always happens in gentlemen's grounds, they -were injudiciously managed; you were prepared for a dead stand--by a -parapet, a painted seat, or some other device. - -We stayed some time at the Boniton Fall, which has one great advantage -over the other falls, that it is at the termination of the -pleasure-grounds, and we see no traces of the boundary-line; yet, except -under some accidental circumstances, such as a sunset like that of the -preceding evening, it is greatly inferior to the Cora Linn. We returned -to the inn to dinner. The landlord set the first dish upon the table, as -is common in England, and we were well waited upon. This first dish was -true Scottish--a boiled sheep's head, with the hair singed off; -Coleridge and I ate heartily of it; we had barley broth, in which the -sheep's head had been boiled. A party of tourists whom we had met in the -pleasure-grounds drove from the door while we were waiting for dinner; I -guess they were fresh from England, for they had stuffed the pockets of -their carriage with bundles of heather, roots and all, just as if -Scotland grew no heather but on the banks of the Clyde. They passed away -with their treasure towards Loch Lomond. A party of boys, dressed all -alike in blue, very neat, were standing at the chaise-door; we -conjectured they were charity scholars; but found on inquiry that they -were apprentices to the cotton factory; we were told that they were well -instructed in reading and writing. We had seen in the morning a flock of -girls dressed in grey coming out of the factory, probably apprentices -also. - -After dinner set off towards Hamilton, but on foot, for we had to turn -aside to the Cartland Rocks, and our car was to meet us on the road. A -guide attended us, who might almost in size, and certainly in activity, -have been compared with William's companion who hid himself in the niche -of the cavern. His method of walking and very quick step soon excited -our attention. I could hardly keep up with him; he paddled by our side, -just reaching to my shoulder, like a little dog, with his long snout -pushed before him--for he had an enormous nose, and walked with his head -foremost. I said to him, "How quick you walk!" he replied, "_That_ was -_not_ quick walking," and when I asked him what he called so, he said -"Five miles an hour," and then related in how many hours he had lately -walked from Lanerk to Edinburgh, done some errands, and returned to -Lanerk--I have forgotten the particulars, but it was a very short -time--and added that he had an old father who could walk at the rate of -four miles an hour, for twenty-four miles, any day, and had never had an -hour's sickness in his life. "Then," said I, "he has not drunk much -strong liquor?" "Yes, enough to drown him." From his eager manner of -uttering this, I inferred that he himself was a drinker; and the man who -met us with the car told William that he gained a great deal of money as -an errand-goer, but spent it all in tippling. He had been a shoe-maker, -but could not bear the confinement on account of a weakness in his -chest. - -The neighbourhood of Lanerk is exceedingly pleasant; we came to a sort -of district of glens or little valleys that cleave the hills, leaving a -cheerful, open country above them, with no superior hills, but an -undulating surface. Our guide pointed to the situation of the Cartland -Crags. We were to cross a narrow valley, and walk down on the other -side, and then we should be at the spot; but the little fellow made a -sharp turn down a footpath to the left, saying, "We must have some -conversation here." He paddled on with his small pawing feet till we -came right opposite to a gentleman's house on the other side of the -valley, when he halted, repeating some words, I have forgotten what, -which were taken up by the most distinct echo I ever heard--this is -saying little: it was the most distinct echo that it is possible to -conceive. It shouted the names of our fireside friends in the very tone -in which William and Coleridge spoke; but it seemed to make a joke of -me, and I could not help laughing at my own voice, it was so shrill and -pert, exactly as if some one had been mimicking it very successfully, -with an intention of making me ridiculous. I wished Joanna had been -there to laugh, for the echo is an excellent laugher, and would have -almost made her believe that it was a true story which William has told -of her and the mountains. We turned back, crossed the valley, went -through the orchard and plantations belonging to the gentleman's house. -By the bye, we observed to our guide that the echo must bring many -troublesome visitors to disturb the quiet of the owner of that house, -"Oh no," said he, "he glories in much company." He was a native of that -neighbourhood, had made a moderate fortune abroad, purchased an estate, -built the house, and raised the plantations; and further, had made a -convenient walk through his woods to the Cartland Crags. The house was -modest and neat, and though not adorned in the best taste, and though -the plantations were of fir, we looked at it with great pleasure, there -was such true liberality and kind-heartedness in leaving his orchard -path open, and his walks unobstructed by gates. I hope this goodness is -not often abused by plunderers of the apple-trees, which were hung with -tempting apples close to the path. - -At the termination of the little valley, we descended through a wood -along a very steep path to a muddy stream running over limestone rocks; -turned up to the left along the bed of the stream, and soon we were -closed in by rocks on each side. They were very lofty--of limestone, -trees starting out of them, high and low, overhanging the stream or -shooting up towards the sky. No place of the kind could be more -beautiful if the stream had been clear, but it was of a muddy yellow -colour; had it been a large river, one might have got the better of the -unpleasantness of the muddy water in the grandeur of its roaring, the -boiling up of the foam over the rocks, or the obscurity of its pools. - -We had been told that the Cartland Crags were better worth going to see -than the Falls of the Clyde. I did not think so; but I have seen rocky -dells resembling this before, with clear water instead of that muddy -stream, and never saw anything like the Falls of the Clyde. It would be -a delicious spot to have near one's house; one would linger out many a -day in the cool shade of the caverns, and the stream would soothe one by -its murmuring; still, being an old friend, one would not love it the -less for its homely face. Even we, as we passed along, could not help -stopping for a long while to admire the beauty of the lazy foam, for -ever in motion, and never moved away, in a still place of the water, -covering the whole surface of it with streaks and lines and ever-varying -circles. Wild marjoram grew upon the rocks in great perfection and -beauty; our guide gave me a bunch, and said he should come hither to -collect a store for tea for the winter, and that it was "varra -halesome": he drank none else. We walked perhaps half a mile along the -bed of the river; but it might _seem_ to be much further than it was, -owing to the difficulty of the path, and the sharp and many turnings of -the glen. Passed two of Wallace's Caves. There is scarce a noted glen in -Scotland that has not a cave for Wallace or some other hero. Before we -left the river the rocks became less lofty, turned into a wood through -which was a convenient path upwards, met the owner of the house and the -echo-ground, and thanked him for the pleasure which he had provided for -us and other travellers by making such pretty pathways. - -It was four o'clock when we reached the place where the car was waiting. -We were anxious to be off, as we had fifteen miles to go; but just as we -were seating ourselves we found that the cushions were missing. William -was forced to go back to the town, a mile at least, and Coleridge and I -waited with the car. It rained, and we had some fear that the evening -would be wet, but the rain soon ceased, though the sky continued -gloomy--an unfortunate circumstance, for we had to travel through a -beautiful country, and of that sort which is most set off by sunshine -and pleasant weather. - -Travelled through the Vale or _Trough_ of the Clyde, as it is called, -for ten or eleven miles, having the river on our right. We had fine -views both up and down the river for the first three or four miles, our -road being not close to it, but above its banks, along the open country, -which was here occasionally intersected by hedgerows. - -Left our car in the road, and turned down a field to the Fall of -Stonebyres, another of the falls of the Clyde, which I had not heard -spoken of; therefore it gave me the more pleasure. We saw it from the -top of the bank of the river at a little distance. It has not the -imposing majesty of Cora Linn; but it has the advantage of being left to -itself, a grand solitude in the heart of a populous country. We had a -prospect above and below it, of cultivated grounds, with hay-stacks, -houses, hills; but the river's banks were lonesome, steep, and woody, -with rocks near the fall. - -A little further on, came more into company with the river; sometimes -we were close to it, sometimes above it, but always at no great -distance; and now the vale became more interesting and amusing. It is -very populous, with villages, hamlets, single cottages, or farm-houses -embosomed in orchards, and scattered over with gentlemen's houses, some -of them very ugly, tall and obtrusive, others neat and comfortable. We -seemed now to have got into a country where poverty and riches were -shaking hands together; pears and apples, of which the crop was -abundant, hung over the road, often growing in orchards unfenced; or -there might be bunches of broom along the road-side in an interrupted -line, that looked like a hedge till we came to it and saw the gaps. -Bordering on these fruitful orchards perhaps would be a patch, its chief -produce being gorse or broom. There was nothing like a moor or common -anywhere; but small plots of uncultivated ground were left high and low, -among the potatoes, corn, cabbages, which grew intermingled, now among -trees, now bare. The Trough of the Clyde is, indeed, a singular and very -interesting region; it is somewhat like the upper part of the vale of -Nith, but above the Nith is much less cultivated ground--without -hedgerows or orchards, or anything that looks like a rich country. We -met crowds of people coming from the kirk; the lasses were gaily -dressed, often in white gowns, coloured satin bonnets, and coloured silk -handkerchiefs, and generally with their shoes and stockings in a bundle -hung on their arm. Before we left the river the vale became much less -interesting, resembling a poor English country, the fields being large, -and unluxuriant hedges. - -It had been dark long before we reached Hamilton, and William had some -difficulty in driving the tired horse through the town. At the inn they -hesitated about being able to give us beds, the house being -brim-full--lights at every window. We were rather alarmed for our -accommodations during the rest of the tour, supposing the house to be -filled with _tourists_; but they were in general only regular -travellers; for out of the main road from town to town we saw scarcely a -carriage, and the inns were empty. There was nothing remarkable in the -treatment we met with at this inn, except the lazy impertinence of the -waiter. It was a townish place, with a great larder set out; the house -throughout dirty. - -_Monday, August 22nd._--Immediately after breakfast walked to the Duke -of Hamilton's house to view the picture-gallery, chiefly the famous -picture of Daniel in the Lions' Den, by Rubens. It is a large building, -without grandeur, a heavy, lumpish mass, after the fashion of the -Hopetoun H,[86] only five times the size, and with longer legs, which -makes it gloomy. We entered the gate, passed the porter's lodge, where -we saw nobody, and stopped at the front door, as William had done two -years before with Sir William Rush's family. We were met by a little -mean-looking man, shabbily dressed, out of livery, who, we found, was -the porter. After scanning us over, he told us that we ought not to have -come to that door. We said we were sorry for the mistake, but as one of -our party had been there two years before, and was admitted by the same -entrance, we had supposed it was the regular way. After many -hesitations, and having kept us five minutes waiting in the large hall, -while he went to consult with the housekeeper, he informed us that we -could not be admitted at that time, the housekeeper being unwell; but -that we might return in an hour: he then conducted us through long -gloomy passages to an obscure door at the corner of the house. We asked -if we might be permitted to walk in the park in the meantime; and he -told us that this would not be agreeable to the Duke's family. We -returned to the inn discontented enough, but resolved not to waste an -hour, if there were anything else in the neighbourhood worth seeing. The -waiter told us there was a curious place called Baroncleugh, with -gardens cut out in rocks, and we determined to go thither. We had to -walk through the town, which may be about as large as Penrith, and -perhaps a mile further, along a dusty turnpike road. The morning was -hot, sunny, and windy, and we were half tired before we reached the -place; but were amply repaid for our trouble. - - [Footnote 86: The house belonging to the Earls of Hopetoun at - Leadhills, not that which bears this name about twelve miles from - Edinburgh.--J. C. S.] - -The general face of the country near Hamilton is much in the ordinary -English style; not very hilly, with hedgerows, corn fields, and stone -houses. The Clyde is here an open river with low banks, and the country -spreads out so wide that there is no appearance of a regular vale. -Baroncleugh is in a beautiful deep glen through which runs the river -Avon, a stream that falls into the Clyde. The house stands very sweetly -in complete retirement; it has its gardens and terraces one above -another, with flights of steps between, box-trees and yew-trees cut in -fantastic shapes, flower-borders and summer-houses; and, still below, -apples and pears were hanging in abundance on the branches of large old -trees, which grew intermingled with the natural wood, elms, beeches, -etc., even to the water's edge. The whole place is in perfect harmony -with the taste of our ancestors, and the yews and hollies are shaven as -nicely, and the gravel walks and flower-borders kept in as exact order, -as if the spirit of the first architect of the terraces still presided -over them. The opposite bank of the river is left in its natural -wildness, and nothing was to be seen higher up but the deep dell, its -steep banks being covered with fine trees, a beautiful relief or -contrast to the garden, which is one of the most elaborate old things -ever seen, a little hanging garden of Babylon. - -I was sorry to hear that the owner of this sweet place did not live -there always. He had built a small thatched house to eke out the old -one: it was a neat dwelling, with no false ornaments. We were -exceedingly sorry to quit this spot, which is left to nature and past -times, and should have liked to have pursued the glen further up; we -were told that there was a ruined castle; and the walk itself must be -very delightful; but we wished to reach Glasgow in good time, and had to -go again to Hamilton House. Returned to the town by a much shorter road, -and were very angry with the waiter for not having directed us to it; -but he was too great a man to speak three words more than he could help. - -We stopped at the proper door of the Duke's house, and seated ourselves -humbly upon a bench, waiting the pleasure of the porter, who, after a -little time, informed us that we could not be admitted, giving no reason -whatever. When we got to the inn, we could just gather from the waiter -that it was not usual to refuse admittance to strangers; but that was -all: he could not, or would not, help us, so we were obliged to give it -up, which mortified us, for I had wished much to see the picture. -William vowed that he would write that very night to Lord Archibald -Hamilton, stating the whole matter, which he did from Glasgow. - -I ought to have mentioned the park, though, as we were not allowed to -walk there, we saw but little of it. It looked pleasant, as all parks -with fine trees must be, but, as it seemed to be only a large, nearly -level, plain, it could not be a particularly beautiful park, though it -borders upon the Clyde, and the Avon runs, I believe, through it, after -leaving the solitude of the glen of Baroncleugh. - -Quitted Hamilton at about eleven o'clock. There is nothing interesting -between Hamilton and Glasgow till we came to Bothwell Castle, a few -miles from Hamilton. The country is cultivated, but not rich, the fields -large, a perfect contrast to the huddling together of hills and trees, -corn and pasture grounds, hay-stacks, cottages, orchards, broom and -gorse, but chiefly broom, that had amused us so much the evening before -in passing through the Trough of the Clyde. A native of Scotland would -not probably be satisfied with the account I have given of the Trough of -the Clyde, for it is one of the most celebrated scenes in Scotland. We -certainly received less pleasure from it than we had expected; but it -was plain that this was chiefly owing to the unfavourable circumstances -under which we saw it--a gloomy sky and a cold blighting wind. It is a -very beautiful district, yet there, as in all the other scenes of -Scotland celebrated for their fertility, we found something which gave -us a notion of barrenness, of what was not altogether genial. The new -fir and larch plantations, here as in almost every other part of -Scotland, contributed not a little to this effect. - -Crossed the Clyde not far from Hamilton, and had the river for some -miles at a distance from us, on our left; but after having gone, it -might be, three miles, we came to a porter's lodge on the left side of -the road, where we were to turn to Bothwell Castle, which is in Lord -Douglas's grounds. The woman who keeps the gate brought us a book, in -which we wrote down our names. Went about half a mile before we came to -the pleasure-grounds. Came to a large range of stables, where we were to -leave the car; but there was no one to unyoke the horse, so William was -obliged to do it himself, a task which he performed very awkwardly, -being then new to it. We saw the ruined castle embosomed in trees, -passed the house, and soon found ourselves on the edge of a steep brow -immediately above and overlooking the course of the river Clyde through -a deep hollow between woods and green steeps. We had approached at right -angles from the main road to the place over a flat, and had seen nothing -before us but a nearly level country terminated by distant slopes, the -Clyde hiding himself in his deep bed. It was exceedingly delightful to -come thus unexpectedly upon such a beautiful region. - -The Castle stands nobly, overlooking the Clyde. When we came up to it I -was hurt to see that flower-borders had taken place of the natural -overgrowings of the ruin, the scattered stones and wild plants. It is a -large and grand pile, of red freestone, harmonizing perfectly with the -rocks of the river, from which, no doubt, it has been hewn. When I was a -little accustomed to the unnaturalness of a modern garden, I could not -help admiring the excessive beauty and luxuriance of some of the plants, -particularly the purple-flowered clematis, and a broad-leaved creeping -plant without flowers, which scrambled up the castle wall along with the -ivy, and spread its vine-like branches so lavishly that it seemed to be -in its natural situation, and one could not help thinking that, though -not self-planted among the ruins of this country, it must somewhere have -its natural abode in such places. If Bothwell Castle had not been close -to the Douglas mansion we should have been disgusted with the -possessor's miserable conception of "adorning" such a venerable ruin; -but it is so very near to the house that of necessity the -pleasure-grounds must have extended beyond it, and perhaps the neatness -of a shaven lawn and the complete desolation natural to a ruin might -have made an unpleasing contrast; and besides, being within the -precincts of the pleasure-grounds, and so very near to the modern -mansion of a noble family, it has forfeited in some degree its -independent majesty, and becomes a tributary to the mansion; its -solitude being interrupted, it has no longer the same command over the -mind in sending it back into past times, or excluding the ordinary -feelings which we bear about us in daily life. We had then only to -regret that the castle and house were so near to each other; and it was -impossible _not_ to regret it; for the ruin presides in state over the -river, far from city or town, as if it might have had a peculiar -privilege to preserve its memorials of past ages and maintain its own -character and independence for centuries to come. - -We sat upon a bench under the high trees, and had beautiful views of -the different reaches of the river above and below. On the opposite -bank, which is finely wooded with elms and other trees, are the remains -of an ancient priory, built upon a rock: and rock and ruin are so -blended together that it is impossible to separate the one from the -other. Nothing can be more beautiful than the little remnants of this -holy place; elm trees--for we were near enough to distinguish them by -their branches--grow out of the walls, and overshadow a small but very -elegant window. It can scarcely be conceived what a grace the castle and -priory impart to each other; and the river Clyde flows on smooth and -unruffled below, seeming to my thoughts more in harmony with the sober -and stately images of former times, than if it had roared over a rocky -channel, forcing its sound upon the ear. It blended gently with the -warbling of the smaller birds and chattering of the larger ones that had -made their nests in the ruins. In this fortress the chief of the English -nobility were confined after the battle of Bannockburn. If a man is to -be a prisoner, he scarcely could have a more pleasant place to solace -his captivity; but I thought that for close confinement I should prefer -the banks of a lake or the sea-side. The greatest charm of a brook or -river is in the liberty to pursue it through its windings; you can then -take it in whatever mood you like; silent or noisy, sportive or quiet. -The beauties of a brook or river must be sought, and the pleasure is in -going in search of them; those of a lake or of the sea come to you of -themselves. These rude warriors cared little perhaps about either; and -yet if one may judge from the writings of Chaucer and from the old -romances, more interesting passions were connected with natural objects -in the days of chivalry than now, though going in search of scenery, as -it is called, had not then been thought of. I had heard nothing of -Bothwell Castle, at least nothing that I remembered, therefore, perhaps, -my pleasure was greater, compared with what I received elsewhere, than -others might feel. - -At our return to the stables we found an inferior groom, who helped -William to yoke the horse, and was very civil. We grew hungry before we -had travelled many miles, and seeing a large public-house--it was in a -walled court some yards from the road--Coleridge got off the car to -inquire if we could dine there, and was told we could have nothing but -eggs. It was a miserable place, very like a French house; indeed we -observed, in almost every part of Scotland, except Edinburgh, that we -were reminded ten times of France and Germany for once of England. - -Saw nothing remarkable after leaving Bothwell, except the first view of -Glasgow, at some miles distance, terminated by the mountains of Loch -Lomond. The suburbs of Glasgow extend very far, houses on each side of -the highway,--all ugly, and the inhabitants dirty. The roads are very -wide; and everything seems to tell of the neighbourhood of a large town. -We were annoyed by carts and dirt, and the road was full of people, who -all noticed our car in one way or other; the children often sent a -hooting after us. - -Wearied completely, we at last reached the town, and were glad to walk, -leading the car to the first decent inn, which was luckily not far from -the end of the town. William, who gained most of his road-knowledge from -ostlers, had been informed of this house by the ostler at Hamilton; it -proved quiet and tolerably cheap, a new building--the Saracen's Head. I -shall never forget how glad I was to be landed in a little quiet -back-parlour, for my head was beating with the noise of carts which we -had left, and the wearisomeness of the disagreeable objects near the -highway; but with my first pleasant sensations also came the feeling -that we were not in an English inn--partly from its half-unfurnished -appearance, which is common in Scotland, for in general the deal -wainscots and doors are unpainted, and partly from the dirtiness of the -floors. Having dined, William and I walked to the post-office, and after -much seeking found out a quiet timber-yard wherein to sit down and read -our letter. We then walked a considerable time in the streets, which are -perhaps as handsome as streets can be, which derive no particular effect -from their situation in connexion with natural advantages, such as -rivers, sea, or hills. The Trongate, an old street, is very -picturesque--high houses, with an intermixture of gable fronts towards -the street. The New Town is built of fine stone, in the best style of -the very best London streets at the west end of the town, but, not being -of brick, they are greatly superior. One thing must strike every -stranger in his first walk through Glasgow--an appearance of business -and bustle, but no coaches or gentlemen's carriages; during all the time -we walked in the streets I only saw three carriages, and these were -travelling chaises. I also could not but observe a want of cleanliness -in the appearance of the lower orders of the people, and a dulness in -the dress and outside of the whole mass, as they moved along. We -returned to the inn before it was dark. I had a bad headache, and was -tired, and we all went to bed soon. - - -_Tuesday, August 23rd._--A cold morning. Walked to the -bleaching-ground,[87] a large field bordering on the Clyde, the banks of -which are perfectly flat, and the general face of the country is nearly -so in the neighbourhood of Glasgow. This field, the whole summer -through, is covered with women of all ages, children, and young girls -spreading out their linen, and watching it while it bleaches. The scene -must be very cheerful on a fine day, but it rained when we were there, -and though there was linen spread out in all parts, and great numbers of -women and girls were at work, yet there would have been many more on a -fine day, and they would have appeared happy, instead of stupid and -cheerless. In the middle of the field is a wash-house, whither the -inhabitants of this large town, rich and poor, send or carry their linen -to be washed. There are two very large rooms, with each a cistern in the -middle for hot water; and all round the rooms are benches for the women -to set their tubs upon. Both the rooms were crowded with washers; there -might be a hundred, or two, or even three; for it is not easy to form an -accurate notion of so great a number; however, the rooms were large, and -they were both full. It was amusing to see so many women, arms, head, -and face all in motion, all busy in an ordinary household employment, in -which we are accustomed to see, at the most, only three or four women -employed in one place. The women were very civil. I learnt from them the -regulations of the house; but I have forgotten the particulars. The -substance of them is, that "so much" is to be paid for each tub of -water, "so much" for a tub, and the privilege of washing for a day, and, -"so much" to the general overlookers of the linen, when it is left to be -bleached. An old man and woman have this office, who were walking about, -two melancholy figures. - - [Footnote 87: Glasgow Green.--J. C. S.] - -The shops at Glasgow are large, and like London shops, and we passed by -the largest coffee-room I ever saw. You look across the piazza of the -Exchange, and see to the end of the coffee-room, where there is a -circular window, the width of the room. Perhaps there might be thirty -gentlemen sitting on the circular bench of the window, each reading a -newspaper. They had the appearance of figures in a fantoccine, or men -seen at the extremity of the opera-house, diminished into puppets. - -I am sorry I did not see the High Church: both William and I were tired, -and it rained very hard after we had left the bleaching-ground; besides, -I am less eager to walk in a large town than anywhere else; so we put it -off, and I have since repented of my irresolution. - -Dined, and left Glasgow at about three o'clock, in a heavy rain. We -were obliged to ride through the streets to keep our feet dry, and, in -spite of the rain, every person as we went along stayed his steps to -look at us; indeed, we had the pleasure of spreading smiles from one end -of Glasgow to the other--for we travelled the whole length of the town. -A set of schoolboys, perhaps there might be eight, with satchels over -their shoulders, and, except one or two, without shoes and stockings, -yet very well dressed in jackets and trousers, like gentlemen's -children, followed us in great delight, admiring the car and longing to -jump up. At last, though we were seated, they made several attempts to -get on behind; and they looked so pretty and wild, and at the same time -so modest, that we wished to give them a ride, and there being a little -hill near the end of the town, we got off, and four of them who still -remained, the rest having dropped into their homes by the way, took our -places; and indeed I would have walked two miles willingly, to have had -the pleasure of seeing them so happy. When they were to ride no longer, -they scampered away, laughing and rejoicing. New houses are rising up in -great numbers round Glasgow, citizen-like houses, and new plantations, -chiefly of fir; the fields are frequently enclosed by hedgerows, but -there is no richness, nor any particular beauty for some miles. - -The first object that interested us was a gentleman's house upon a -green plain or holm, almost close to the Clyde, sheltered by tall trees, -a quiet modest mansion, and, though white-washed, being an old building, -and no other house near it, or in connexion with it, and standing upon -the level field, which belonged to it, its own domain, the whole scene -together brought to our minds an image of the retiredness and sober -elegance of a nunnery; but this might be owing to the greyness of the -afternoon, and our having come immediately from Glasgow, and through a -country which, till now, had either had a townish taint, or at best -little of rural beauty. While we were looking at the house we overtook a -foot-traveller, who, like many others, began to talk about our car. We -alighted to walk up a hill, and, continuing the conversation, the man -told us, with something like a national pride, that it belonged to a -Scotch Lord, Lord Semple; he added, that a little further on we should -see a much finer prospect, as fine a one as ever we had seen in our -lives. Accordingly, when we came to the top of the hill, it opened upon -us most magnificently. We saw the Clyde, now a stately sea-river, -winding away mile after mile, spotted with boats and ships, each side of -the river hilly, the right populous with single houses and -villages--Dunglass Castle upon a promontory, the whole view terminated -by the rock of Dumbarton, at five or six miles' distance, which stands -by itself, without any hills near it, like a sea-rock. - -We travelled for some time near the river, passing through clusters of -houses which seemed to owe their existence rather to the wealth of the -river than the land, for the banks were mostly bare, and the soil -appeared poor, even near the water. The left side of the river was -generally uninhabited and moorish, yet there are some beautiful spots: -for instance, a nobleman's house,[88] where the fields and trees were -rich, and, in combination with the river, looked very lovely. As we went -along William and I were reminded of the views upon the Thames in Kent, -which, though greatly superior in richness and softness, are much -inferior in grandeur. Not far from Dumbarton, we passed under some -rocky, copse-covered hills, which were so like some of the hills near -Grasmere that we could have half believed they were the same. Arrived at -Dumbarton before it was dark, having pushed on briskly that we might -have start of a traveller at the inn, who was following us as fast as he -could in a gig. Every front room was full, and we were afraid we should -not have been admitted. They put us into a little parlour, dirty, and -smelling of liquors, the table uncleaned, and not a chair in its place; -we were glad, however, of our sorry accommodations. - - [Footnote 88: No doubt Erskine House, the seat of Lord Blantyre. - --J.C. S.] - -While tea was preparing we lolled at our ease, and though the -room-window overlooked the stable-yard, and at our entrance there -appeared to be nothing but gloom and unloveliness, yet while I lay -stretched upon the carriage cushions on three chairs, I discovered a -little side peep which was enough to set the mind at work. It was no -more than a smoky vessel lying at anchor, with its bare masts, a clay -hut and the shelving bank of the river, with a green pasture above. -Perhaps you will think that there is not much in this, as I describe it: -it is true; but the effect produced by these simple objects, as they -happened to be combined, together with the gloom of the evening, was -exceedingly wild. Our room was parted by a slender partition from a -large dining-room, in which were a number of officers and their wives, -who, after the first hour, never ceased singing, dancing, laughing, or -loud talking. The ladies sang some pretty songs, a great relief to us. -We went early to bed; but poor Coleridge could not sleep for the noise -at the street door; he lay in the parlour below stairs. It is no -uncommon thing in the best inns of Scotland to have shutting-up beds in -the sitting-rooms. - - -_Wednesday, August 24th._--As soon as breakfast was over, William and I -walked towards the Castle, a short mile from the town. We overtook two -young men, who, on our asking the road, offered to conduct us, though it -might seem it was not easy to miss our way, for the rock rises singly by -itself from the plain on which the town stands. The rock of Dumbarton is -very grand when you are close to it, but at a little distance, under an -ordinary sky, and in open day, it is not grand, but curiously wild. The -castle and fortifications add little effect to the general view of the -rock, especially since the building of a modern house, which is -white-washed, and consequently jars, wherever it is seen, with the -natural character of the place. There is a path up to the house, but it -being low water we could walk round the rock, which we resolved to do. -On that side next the town green grass grows to a considerable height up -the rock, but wherever the river borders upon it, it is naked stone. I -never saw rock in nobler masses, or more deeply stained by time and -weather; nor is this to be wondered at, for it is in the very eye of -sea-storms and land-storms, of mountain winds and water winds. It is of -all colours, but a rusty yellow predominates. As we walked along, we -could not but look up continually, and the mass above being on every -side so huge, it appeared more wonderful than when we saw the whole -together. - -We sat down on one of the large stones which lie scattered near the base -of the rock, with sea-weed growing amongst them. Above our heads the -rock was perpendicular for a considerable height, nay, as it seemed, to -the very top, and on the brink of the precipice a few sheep, two of them -rams with twisted horns, stood, as if on the look-out over the wide -country. At the same time we saw a sentinel in his red coat, walking -backwards and forwards between us and the sky, with his firelock over -his shoulder. The sheep, I suppose owing to our being accustomed to see -them in similar situations, appeared to retain their real size, while, -on the contrary, the soldier seemed to be diminished by the distance -till he almost looked like a puppet moved with wires for the pleasure of -children, or an eight years' old drummer in his stiff, manly dress -beside a company of grenadiers. I had never before, perhaps, thought of -sheep and men in soldiers' dresses at the same time, and here they were -brought together in a strange fantastic way. As will be easily -conceived, the fearlessness and stillness of those quiet creatures, on -the brow of the rock, pursuing their natural occupations, contrasted -with the restless and apparently unmeaning motions of the dwarf soldier, -added not a little to the general effect of this place, which is that of -wild singularity, and the whole was aided by a blustering wind and a -gloomy sky. Coleridge joined us, and we went up to the top of the rock. - -The road to a considerable height is through a narrow cleft, in which a -flight of steps is hewn; the steps nearly fill the cleft, and on each -side the rocks form a high and irregular wall; it is almost like a long -sloping cavern, only that it is roofed by the sky. We came to the -barracks; soldiers' wives were hanging out linen upon the rails, while -the wind beat about them furiously--there was nothing which it could set -in motion but the garments of the women and the linen upon the rails; -the grass--for we had now come to green grass--was close and smooth, and -not one pile an inch above another, and neither tree nor shrub. The -standard pole stood erect without a flag. The rock has two summits, one -much broader and higher than the other. When we were near to the top of -the lower eminence we had the pleasure of finding a little garden of -flowers and vegetables belonging to the soldiers. There are three -distinct and very noble prospects--the first up the Clyde towards -Glasgow--Dunglass Castle, seen on its promontory--boats, sloops, hills, -and many buildings; the second, down the river to the sea--Greenock and -Port-Glasgow, and the distant mountains at the entrance of Loch Long; -and the third extensive and distant view is up the Leven, which here -falls into the Clyde, to the mountains of Loch Lomond. The distant -mountains in all these views were obscured by mists and dingy clouds, -but if the grand outline of any one of the views can be seen, it is -sufficient recompense for the trouble of climbing the rock of Dumbarton. - -The soldier who was our guide told us that an old ruin which we came to -at the top of the higher eminence had been a wind-mill--an inconvenient -station, though certainly a glorious place for wind; perhaps if it -really had been a wind-mill it was only for the use of the garrison. We -looked over cannons on the battery-walls, and saw in an open field below -the yeomanry cavalry exercising, while we could hear from the town, -which was full of soldiers, "Dumbarton's drums beat bonny, O!" Yet while -we stood upon this eminence, rising up so far as it does--inland, and -having the habitual old English feeling of our own security as -islanders--we could not help looking upon the fortress, in spite of its -cannon and soldiers, and the rumours of invasion, as set up against the -hostilities of wind and weather rather than for any other warfare. On -our return we were invited into the guard-room, about half-way down the -rock, where we were shown a large rusty sword, which they called -Wallace's Sword, and a trout boxed up in a well close by, where they -said he had been confined for upwards of thirty years. For the pleasure -of the soldiers, who were anxious that we should see him, we took some -pains to spy him out in his black den, and at last succeeded. It was -pleasing to observe how much interest the poor soldiers--though -themselves probably new to the place--seemed to attach to this -antiquated inhabitant of their garrison. - -When we had reached the bottom of the rock along the same road by which -we had ascended, we made our way over the rough stones left bare by the -tide, round the bottom of the rock, to the point where we had set off. -This is a wild and melancholy walk on a blustering cloudy day: the naked -bed of the river, scattered over with sea-weed; grey swampy fields on -the other shore; sea-birds flying overhead; the high rock perpendicular -and bare. We came to two very large fragments, which had fallen from the -main rock; Coleridge thought that one of them was as large as -Bowder-Stone,[89] William and I did not; but it is impossible to judge -accurately; we probably, without knowing it, compared them with the -whole mass from which they had fallen, which, from its situation, we -consider as one rock or stone, and there is no object of the kind for -comparison with the Bowder-Stone. When we leave the shore of the Clyde -grass begins to show itself on the rock; go a considerable way--still -under the rock--along a flat field, and pass immediately below the white -house, which wherever seen looks so ugly. - - [Footnote 89: A rock in Borrowdale, Cumberland.--ED.] - -Left Dumbarton at about eleven o'clock. The sky was cheerless and the -air ungenial, which we regretted, as we were going to Loch Lomond, and -wished to greet the first of the Scottish lakes with our cheerfullest -and best feelings. Crossed the Leven at the end of Dumbarton, and, when -we looked behind, had a pleasing view of the town, bridge, and rock; but -when we took in a reach of the river at the distance of perhaps half a -mile, the swamp ground, being so near a town, and not in its natural -wildness, but seemingly half cultivated, with houses here and there, -gave us an idea of extreme poverty of soil, or that the inhabitants were -either indolent or miserable. We had to travel four miles on the banks -of the "Water of Leven" before we should come to Loch Lomond. Having -expected a grand river from so grand a lake, we were disappointed; for -it appeared to me not to be very much larger than the Emont, and is not -near so beautiful; but we must not forget that the day was cold and -gloomy. Near Dumbarton it is like a river in a flat country, or under -the influence of tides; but a little higher up it resembles one of our -rivers, flowing through a vale of no extreme beauty, though prettily -wooded; the hills on each side not very high, sloping backwards from the -bed of the vale, which is neither very narrow nor very wide; the -prospect terminated by Ben Lomond and other mountains. The vale is -populous, but looks as if it were not inhabited by cultivators of the -earth; the houses are chiefly of stone; often in rows by the river-side; -they stand pleasantly, but have a tradish look, as if they might have -been off-sets from Glasgow. We saw many bleach-yards, but no other -symptom of a manufactory, except something in the houses that was not -rural, and a want of independent comforts. Perhaps if the river had been -glittering in the sun, and the smoke of the cottages rising in distinct -volumes towards the sky, as I have seen in the vale or basin below -Pillsden in Dorsetshire, when every cottage, hidden from the eye, -pointed out its lurking-place by an upright wreath of white smoke, the -whole scene might have excited ideas of perfect cheerfulness. - -Here, as on the Nith, and much more than in the Trough of the Clyde, a -great portion of the ground was uncultivated, but the hills being less -wild, the river more stately, and the ground not heaved up so -irregularly and tossed about, the imperfect cultivation was the more to -be lamented, particularly as there were so many houses near the river. -In a small enclosure by the wayside is a pillar erected to the memory of -Dr. Smollett, who was born in a village at a little distance, which we -could see at the same time, and where, I believe, some of the family -still reside. There is a long Latin inscription, which Coleridge -translated for my benefit. The Latin is miserably bad[90]--as Coleridge -said, such as poor Smollett, who was an excellent scholar, would have -been ashamed of. - - [Footnote 90: The inscription on the pillar was written by Professor - George Stuart of Edinburgh, John Ramsay of Ochtertyre and Dr. Samuel - Johnson; for Dr. Johnson's share in the work see Croker's Boswell, p. - 392.--J. C. S.] - -Before we came to Loch Lomond the vale widened, and became less -populous. We climbed over a wall into a large field to have a better -front view of the lake than from the road. This view is very much like -that from Mr. Clarkson's windows: the mountain in front resembles -Hallan; indeed, is almost the same; but Ben Lomond is not seen standing -in such majestic company as Helvellyn, and the meadows are less -beautiful than Ulswater. The reach of the lake is very magnificent; you -see it, as Ulswater is seen beyond the promontory of Old Church, winding -away behind a large woody island that looks like a promontory. The -outlet of the lake--we had a distinct view of it in the field--is very -insignificant. The bulk of the river is frittered away by small alder -bushes, as I recollect; I do not remember that it was reedy, but the -ground had a swampy appearance; and here the vale spreads out wide and -shapeless, as if the river were born to no inheritance, had no -sheltering cradle, no hills of its own. As we have seen, this does not -continue long; it flows through a distinct, though not a magnificent -vale. But, having lost the pastoral character which it had in the -youthful days of Smollett--if the description in his ode to his native -stream be a faithful one--it is less interesting than it was then. - -The road carried us sometimes close to the lake, sometimes at a -considerable distance from it, over moorish grounds, or through -half-cultivated enclosures; we had the lake on our right, which is here -so wide that the opposite hills, not being high, are cast into -insignificance, and we could not distinguish any buildings near the -water, if any there were. It is however always delightful to travel by a -lake of clear waters, if you see nothing else but a very ordinary -country; but we had some beautiful distant views, one in particular, -down the high road, through a vista of over-arching trees; and the near -shore was frequently very pleasing, with its gravel banks, bendings, and -small bays. In one part it was bordered for a considerable way by -irregular groups of forest trees or single stragglers, which, although -not large, seemed old; their branches were stunted and knotty, as if -they had been striving with storms, and had half yielded to them. Under -these trees we had a variety of pleasing views across the lake, and the -very rolling over the road and looking at its smooth and beautiful -surface was itself a pleasure. It was as smooth as a gravel walk, and of -the bluish colour of some of the roads among the lakes of the north of -England. - -Passed no very remarkable place till we came to Sir James Colquhoun's -house, which stands upon a large, flat, woody peninsula, looking towards -Ben Lomond. There must be many beautiful walks among the copses of the -peninsula, and delicious views over the water; but the general surface -of the country is poor, and looks as if it ought to be rich and well -peopled, for it is not mountainous; nor had we passed any hills which a -Cumbrian would dignify with the name of mountains. There was many a -little plain or gently-sloping hill covered with poor heath or broom -without trees, where one should have liked to see a cottage in a bower -of wood, with its patch of corn and potatoes, and a green field with a -hedge to keep it warm. As we advanced we perceived less of the coldness -of poverty, the hills not having so large a space between them and the -lake. The surface of the hills being in its natural state, is always -beautiful; but where there is only a half cultivated and half peopled -soil near the banks of a lake or river, the idea is forced upon one that -they who do live there have not much of cheerful enjoyment. - -But soon we came to just such a place as we had wanted to see. The road -was close to the water, and a hill, bare, rocky, or with scattered -copses rose above it. A deep shade hung over the road, where some little -boys were at play; we expected a dwelling-house of some sort; and when -we came nearer, saw three or four thatched huts under the trees, and at -the same moment felt that it was a paradise. We had before seen the lake -only as one wide plain of water; but here the portion of it which we saw -was bounded by a high and steep, heathy and woody island opposite, which -did not appear like an island, but the main shore, and framed out a -little oblong lake apparently not so broad as Rydale-water, with one -small island covered with trees, resembling some of the most beautiful -of the holms of Windermere, and only a narrow river's breadth from the -shore. This was a place where we should have liked to have lived, and -the only one we had seen near Loch Lomond. How delightful to have a -little shed concealed under the branches of the fairy island! the -cottages and the island might have been made for the pleasure of each -other. It was but like a natural garden, the distance was so small; nay, -one could not have forgiven any one living there, not compelled to daily -labour, if he did not connect it with his dwelling by some feeling of -domestic attachment, like what he has for the orchard where his children -play. I thought, what a place for William! he might row himself over -with twenty strokes of the oars, escaping from the business of the -house, and as safe from intruders, with his boat anchored beside him, as -if he had locked himself up in the strong tower of a castle. We were -unwilling to leave this sweet spot; but it was so simple, and therefore -so rememberable, that it seemed almost as if we could have carried it -away with us. It was nothing more than a small lake enclosed by trees at -the ends and by the way-side, and opposite by the island, a steep bank -on which the purple heath was seen under low oak coppice-wood, a group -of houses over-shadowed by trees, and a bending road. There was one -remarkable tree, an old larch with hairy branches, which sent out its -main stem horizontally across the road, an object that seemed to have -been singled out for injury where everything else was lovely and -thriving, tortured into that shape by storms, which one might have -thought could not have reached it in that sheltered place. - -We were now entering into the Highlands. I believe Luss is the place -where we were told that country begins; but at these cottages I would -have gladly believed that we were there, for it was like a new region. -The huts were after the Highland fashion, and the boys who were playing -wore the Highland dress and philabeg. On going into a new country I seem -to myself to waken up, and afterwards it surprises me to remember how -much alive I have been to the distinctions of dress, household -arrangements, etc. etc., and what a spirit these little things give to -wild, barren, or ordinary places. The cottages are within about two -miles of Luss. Came in view of several islands; but the lake being so -very wide, we could see little of their peculiar beauties, and they, -being large, hardly looked like islands. - -Passed another gentleman's house, which stands prettily in a bay,[91] -and soon after reached Luss, where we intended to lodge. On seeing the -outside of the inn we were glad that we were to have such pleasant -quarters. It is a nice-looking white house, by the road-side; but there -was not much promise of hospitality when we stopped at the door: no -person came out till we had shouted a considerable time. A barefooted -lass showed me up-stairs, and again my hopes revived; the house was -clean for a Scotch inn, and the view very pleasant to the lake, over the -top of the village--a cluster of thatched houses among trees, with a -large chapel in the midst of them. Like most of the Scotch kirks which -we had seen, this building resembles a big house; but it is a much more -pleasing building than they generally are, and has one of our rustic -belfries, not unlike that at Ambleside, with two bells hanging in the -open air. We chose one of the back rooms to sit in, being more snug, and -they looked upon a very sweet prospect--a stream tumbling down a cleft -or glen on the hill-side, rocky coppice ground, a rural lane, such as we -have from house to house at Grasmere, and a few out-houses. We had a -poor dinner, and sour ale; but as long as the people were civil we were -contented. - - [Footnote 91: Camstraddan House and bay.--J. C. S.] - -Coleridge was not well, so he did not stir out, but William and I -walked through the village to the shore of the lake. When I came close -to the houses, I could not but regret a want of loveliness correspondent -with the beauty of the situation and the appearance of the village at a -little distance; not a single ornamented garden. We saw potatoes and -cabbages, but never a honeysuckle. Yet there were wild gardens, as -beautiful as any that ever man cultivated, overgrowing the roofs of some -of the cottages, flowers and creeping plants. How elegant were the -wreaths of the bramble that had "built its own bower" upon the riggins -in several parts of the village; therefore we had chiefly to regret the -want of gardens, as they are symptoms of leisure and comfort, or at -least of no painful industry. Here we first saw houses without windows, -the smoke coming out of the open window-places; the chimneys were like -stools with four legs a hole being left in the roof for the smoke, and -over that a slate placed upon four sticks--sometimes the whole leaned as -if it were going to fall. The fields close to Luss lie flat to the lake, -and a river, as large as our stream near the church at Grasmere, flows -by the end of the village, being the same which comes down the glen -behind the inn; it is very much like our stream--beds of blue pebbles -upon the shores. - -We walked towards the head of the lake, and from a large pasture field -near Luss, a gentle eminence, had a very interesting view back upon the -village and the lake and islands beyond. We then perceived that Luss -stood in the centre of a spacious bay, and that close to it lay another -small one, within the larger, where the boats of the inhabitants were -lying at anchor, a beautiful natural harbour. The islands, as we look -down the water, are seen in great beauty. Inch-ta-vannach, the same that -framed out the little peaceful lake which we had passed in the morning, -towers above the rest. The lake is very wide here, and the opposite -shores not being lofty the chief part of the permanent beauty of this -view is among the islands, and on the near shore, including the low -promontories of the bay of Luss, and the village; and we saw it under -its dullest aspect--the air cold, the sky gloomy, without a glimpse of -sunshine. - -On a splendid evening, with the light of the sun diffused over the whole -islands, distant hills, and the broad expanse of the lake, with its -creeks, bays, and little slips of water among the islands, it must be a -glorious sight. - -Up the lake there are no islands; Ben Lomond terminates the view, -without any other large mountains; no clouds were upon it, therefore we -saw the whole size and form of the mountain, yet it did not appear to me -so large as Skiddaw does from Derwent-water. Continued our walk a -considerable way towards the head of the lake, and went up a high hill, -but saw no other reach of the water. The hills on the Luss side become -much steeper, and the lake, having narrowed a little above Luss, was no -longer a very wide lake where we lost sight of it. - -Came to a bark hut by the shores, and sate for some time under the -shelter of it. While we were here a poor woman with a little child by -her side begged a penny of me, and asked where she could "find quarters -in the village." She was a travelling beggar, a native of Scotland, had -often "heard of that water," but was never there before. This woman's -appearance, while the wind was rustling about us, and the waves breaking -at our feet, was very melancholy: the waters looked wide, the hills -many, and dark, and far off--no house but at Luss. I thought what a -dreary waste must this lake be to such poor creatures, struggling with -fatigue and poverty and unknown ways! - -We ordered tea when we reached the inn, and desired the girl to light -us a fire; she replied, "I dinna ken whether she'll gie fire," meaning -her mistress. We told her we did not wish her mistress to give fire, we -only desired her to let _her_ make it and we would pay for it. The girl -brought in the tea-things, but no fire, and when I asked if she was -coming to light it, she said "her mistress was not varra willing to gie -fire." At last, however, on our insisting upon it, the fire was lighted: -we got tea by candlelight, and spent a comfortable evening. I had seen -the landlady before we went out, for, as had been usual in all the -country inns, there was a demur respecting beds, notwithstanding the -house was empty, and there were at least half-a-dozen spare beds. Her -countenance corresponded with the unkindness of denying us a fire on a -cold night, for she was the most cruel and hateful-looking woman I ever -saw. She was overgrown with fat, and was sitting with her feet and legs -in a tub of water for the dropsy,--probably brought on by -whisky-drinking. The sympathy which I felt and expressed for her, on -seeing her in this wretched condition--for her legs were swollen as -thick as mill-posts--seemed to produce no effect; and I was obliged, -after five minutes' conversation, to leave the affair of the beds -undecided. Coleridge had some talk with her daughter, a smart lass in a -cotton gown, with a bandeau round her head, without shoes and stockings. -She told Coleridge with some pride that she had not spent all her time -at Luss, but was then fresh from Glasgow. - -It came on a very stormy night; the wind rattled every window in the -house, and it rained heavily. William and Coleridge had bad beds, in a -two-bedded room in the garrets, though there were empty rooms on the -first floor, and they were disturbed by a drunken man, who had come to -the inn when we were gone to sleep. - - -_Thursday, August 25th._--We were glad when we awoke to see that it was -a fine morning--the sky was bright blue, with quick-moving clouds, the -hills cheerful, lights and shadows vivid and distinct. The village -looked exceedingly beautiful this morning from the garret windows--the -stream glittering near it, while it flowed under trees through the level -fields to the lake. After breakfast, William and I went down to the -water-side. The roads were as dry as if no drop of rain had fallen, -which added to the pure cheerfulness of the appearance of the village, -and even of the distant prospect, an effect which I always seem to -perceive from clearly bright roads, for they are always brightened by -rain, after a storm; but when we came among the houses I regretted even -more than last night, because the contrast was greater, the slovenliness -and dirt near the doors; and could not but remember, with pain from the -contrast, the cottages of Somersetshire, covered with roses and myrtle, -and their small gardens of herbs and flowers. While lingering by the -shore we began to talk with a man who offered to row us to -Inch-ta-vannach; but the sky began to darken; and the wind being high, -we doubted whether we should venture, therefore made no engagement; he -offered to sell me some thread, pointing to his cottage, and added that -many English ladies carried thread away from Luss. - -Presently after Coleridge joined us, and we determined to go to the -island. I was sorry that the man who had been talking with us was not -our boatman; William by some chance had engaged another. We had two -rowers and a strong boat; so I felt myself bold, though there was a -great chance of a high wind. The nearest point of Inch-ta-vannach is not -perhaps more than a mile and a quarter from Luss; we did not land there, -but rowed round the end, and landed on that side which looks towards our -favourite cottages, and their own island, which, wherever seen, is still -their own. It rained a little when we landed, and I took my cloak, which -afterwards served us to sit down upon in our road up the hill, when the -day grew much finer, with gleams of sunshine. This island belongs to Sir -James Colquhoun, who has made a convenient road, that winds gently to -the top of it. - -We had not climbed far before we were stopped by a sudden burst of -prospect, so singular and beautiful that it was like a flash of images -from another world. We stood with our backs to the hill of the island, -which we were ascending, and which shut out Ben Lomond entirely, and all -the upper part of the lake, and we looked towards the foot of the lake, -scattered over with islands without beginning and without end. The sun -shone, and the distant hills were visible, some through sunny mists, -others in gloom with patches of sunshine; the lake was lost under the -low and distant hills, and the islands lost in the lake, which was all -in motion with travelling fields of light, or dark shadows under rainy -clouds. There are many hills, but no commanding eminence at a distance -to confine the prospect, so that the land seemed endless as the water. - -What I had heard of Loch Lomond, or any other place in Great Britain, -had given me no idea of anything like what we beheld: it was an -outlandish scene--we might have believed ourselves in North America. The -islands were of every possible variety of shape and surface--hilly and -level, large and small, bare, rocky, pastoral, or covered with wood. -Immediately under my eyes lay one large flat island, bare and green, so -flat and low that it scarcely appeared to rise above the water, with -straggling peat-stacks and a single hut upon one of its out-shooting -promontories--for it was of a very irregular shape, though perfectly -flat. Another, its next neighbour, and still nearer to us, was covered -over with heath and coppice-wood, the surface undulating, with flat or -sloping banks towards the water, and hollow places, cradle-like valleys, -behind. These two islands, with Inch-ta-vannach, where we were standing, -were intermingled with the water, I might say interbedded and -interveined with it, in a manner that was exquisitely pleasing. There -were bays innumerable, straits or passages like calm rivers, landlocked -lakes, and, to the main water, stormy promontories. The solitary hut on -the flat green island seemed unsheltered and desolate, and yet not -wholly so, for it was but a broad river's breadth from the covert of the -wood of the other island. Near to these is a miniature, an islet covered -with trees, on which stands a small ruin that looks like the remains of -a religious house; it is overgrown with ivy, and were it not that the -arch of a window or gateway may be distinctly seen, it would be -difficult to believe that it was not a tuft of trees growing in the -shape of a ruin, rather than a ruin overshadowed by trees. When we had -walked a little further we saw below us, on the nearest large island, -where some of the wood had been cut down, a hut, which we conjectured to -be a bark hut. It appeared to be on the shore of a little forest lake, -enclosed by Inch-ta-vannach, where we were, and the woody island on -which the hut stands. - -Beyond we had the same intricate view as before, and could discover -Dumbarton rock with its double head. There being a mist over it, it had -a ghost-like appearance--as I observed to William and Coleridge, -something like the Tor of Glastonbury from the Dorsetshire hills. Right -before us, on the flat island mentioned before, were several small -single trees or shrubs, growing at different distances from each other, -close to the shore, but some optical delusion had detached them from the -land on which they stood, and they had the appearance of so many little -vessels sailing along the coast of it. I mention the circumstance, -because, with the ghostly image of Dumbarton Castle, and the ambiguous -ruin on the small island, it was much in the character of the scene, -which was throughout magical and enchanting--a new world in its great -permanent outline and composition, and changing at every moment in every -part of it by the effect of sun and wind, and mist and shower and cloud, -and the blending lights and deep shades which took the place of each -other, traversing the lake in every direction. The whole was indeed a -strange mixture of soothing and restless images, of images inviting to -rest, and others hurrying the fancy away into an activity still more -pleasing than repose. Yet, intricate and homeless, that is, without -lasting abiding-place for the mind, as the prospect was, there was no -perplexity; we had still a guide to lead us forward. - -Wherever we looked, it was a delightful feeling that there was -something beyond. Meanwhile, the sense of quiet was never lost sight of; -the little peaceful lakes among the islands might make you forget that -the great water, Loch Lomond, was so near; and yet are more beautiful, -because you know that it is so: they have their own bays and creeks -sheltered within a shelter. When we had ascended to the top of the -island we had a view up to Ben Lomond, over the long, broad water -without spot or rock; and, looking backwards, saw the islands below us -as on a map. This view, as may be supposed, was not nearly so -interesting as those we had seen before. We hunted out all the houses on -the shore, which were very few: there was the village of Luss, the two -gentlemen's houses, our favourite cottages, and here and there a hut; -but I do not recollect any comfortable-looking farm-houses, and on the -opposite shore not a single dwelling. The whole scene was a combination -of natural wildness, loveliness, beauty, and barrenness, or rather -bareness, yet not comfortless or cold; but the whole was beautiful. We -were too far off the more distant shore to distinguish any particular -spots which we might have regretted were not better cultivated, and near -Luss there was no want of houses. - -After we had left the island, having been so much taken with the beauty -of the bark hut and the little lake by which it appeared to stand, we -desired the boatman to row us through it, and we landed at the hut. -Walked upon the island for some time, and found out sheltered places for -cottages. There were several woodmen's huts, which, with some scattered -fir-trees, and others in irregular knots, that made a delicious -murmuring in the wind, added greatly to the romantic effect of the -scene. They were built in the form of a cone from the ground, like -savages' huts, the door being just large enough for a man to enter with -stooping. Straw beds were raised on logs of wood, tools lying about, and -a forked bough of a tree was generally suspended from the roof in the -middle to hang a kettle upon. It was a place that might have been just -visited by new settlers. I thought of Ruth and her dreams of romantic -love: - - And then he said how sweet it were, - A fisher or a hunter there, - A gardener in the shade, - Still wandering with an easy mind, - To build a household fire, and find - A home in every glade.[92] - - [Footnote 92: See _Ruth_, stanza xiii.--ED.] - -We found the main lake very stormy when we had left the shelter of the -islands, and there was again a threatening of rain, but it did not come -on. I wanted much to go to the old ruin, but the boatmen were in a hurry -to be at home. They told us it had been a stronghold built by a man who -lived there alone, and was used to swim over and make depredations on -the shore,--that nobody could ever lay hands on him, he was such a good -swimmer, but at last they caught him in a net. The men pointed out to us -an island belonging to Sir James Colquhoun, on which were a great -quantity of deer. - -Arrived at the inn at about twelve o'clock, and prepared to depart -immediately: we should have gone with great regret if the weather had -been warmer and the inn more comfortable. When we were leaving the door, -a party with smart carriage and servants drove up, and I observed that -the people of the house were just as slow in their attendance upon them -as on us, with one single horse and outlandish Hibernian vehicle. - -When we had travelled about two miles the lake became considerably -narrower, the hills rocky, covered with copses, or bare, rising more -immediately from the bed of the water, and therefore we had not so often -to regret the want of inhabitants. Passed by, or saw at a distance, -sometimes a single cottage, or two or three together, but the whole -space between Luss and Tarbet is a solitude to the eye. We were reminded -of Ulswater, but missed the pleasant farms, and the mountains were not -so interesting: we had not seen them in companies or brotherhoods rising -one above another at a long distance. Ben Lomond stood alone, opposite -to us, majestically overlooking the lake; yet there was something in -this mountain which disappointed me,--a want of massiveness and -simplicity, perhaps from the top being broken into three distinct -stages. The road carried us over a bold promontory by a steep and high -ascent, and we had a long view of the lake pushing itself up in a narrow -line through an avenue of mountains, terminated by the mountains at the -head of the lake, of which Ben Lui, if I do not mistake, is the most -considerable. The afternoon was showery and misty, therefore we did not -see this prospect so distinctly as we could have wished, but there was a -grand obscurity over it which might make the mountains appear more -numerous. - -I have said so much of this lake that I am tired myself, and I fear I -must have tired my friends. We had a pleasant journey to Tarbet; more -than half of it on foot, for the road was hilly, and after we had -climbed one small hill we were not desirous to get into the car again, -seeing another before us, and our path was always delightful, near the -lake, and frequently through woods. When we were within about half a -mile of Tarbet, at a sudden turning looking to the left, we saw a very -craggy-topped mountain amongst other smooth ones; the rocks on the -summit distinct in shape as if they were buildings raised up by man, or -uncouth images of some strange creature. We called out with one voice, -'That's what we wanted!' alluding to the frame-like uniformity of the -side-screens of the lake for the last five or six miles. As we -conjectured, this singular mountain was the famous Cobbler, near -Arrochar. Tarbet was before us in the recess of a deep, large bay, under -the shelter of a hill. When we came up to the village we had to inquire -for the inn, there being no signboard. It was a well-sized white house, -the best in the place. We were conducted up-stairs into a sitting-room -that might make any good-humoured travellers happy--a square room, with -windows on each side, looking, one way, towards the mountains, and -across the lake to Ben Lomond, the other. - -There was a pretty stone house before (_i.e._ towards the lake) some -huts, scattered trees, two or three green fields with hedgerows, and a -little brook making its way towards the lake; the fields are almost -flat, and screened on that side nearest the head of the lake by a hill, -which, pushing itself out, forms the bay of Tarbet, and, towards the -foot, by a gentle slope and trees. The lake is narrow, and Ben Lomond -shuts up the prospect, rising directly from the water. We could have -believed ourselves to be by the side of Ulswater, at Glenridden, or in -some other of the inhabited retirements of that lake. We were in a -sheltered place among mountains; it was not an open joyous bay, with a -cheerful populous village, like Luss; but a pastoral and retired spot, -with a few single dwellings. The people of the inn stared at us when we -spoke, without giving us an answer immediately, which we were at first -disposed to attribute to coarseness of manners, but found afterwards -that they did not understand us at once, Erse being the language spoken -in the family. Nothing but salt meat and eggs for dinner--no potatoes; -the house smelt strongly of herrings, which were hung to dry over the -kitchen fire. - -Walked in the evening towards the head of the lake; the road was steep -over the hill, and when we had reached the top of it we had long views -up and down the water. Passed a troop of women who were resting -themselves by the roadside, as if returning from their day's labour. -Amongst them was a man, who had walked with us a considerable way in the -morning, and told us he was just come from America, where he had been -for some years,--was going to his own home, and should return to -America. He spoke of emigration as a glorious thing for them who had -money. Poor fellow! I do not think that he had brought much back with -him, for he had worked his passage over: I much suspected that a bundle, -which he carried upon a stick, tied in a pocket-handkerchief, contained -his all. He was almost blind, he said, as were many of the crew. He -intended crossing the lake at the ferry; but it was stormy, and he -thought he should not be able to get over that day. I could not help -smiling when I saw him lying by the roadside with such a company about -him, not like a wayfaring man, but seeming as much at home and at his -ease as if he had just stepped out of his hut among them, and they had -been neighbours all their lives. Passed one pretty house, a large -thatched dwelling with out-houses, but the prospect above and below was -solitary. - -The sun had long been set before we returned to the inn. As travellers, -we were glad to see the moon over the top of one of the hills, but it -was a cloudy night, without any peculiar beauty or solemnity. After tea -we made inquiries respecting the best way to go to Loch Ketterine; the -landlord could give but little information, and nobody seemed to know -anything distinctly of the place, though it was but ten miles off. We -applied to the maid-servant who waited on us: she was a fine-looking -young woman, dressed in a white bed-gown, her hair fastened up by a -comb, and without shoes and stockings. When we asked her about the -Trossachs she could give us no information, but on our saying, "Do you -know Loch Ketterine?" she answered with a smile, "I _should_ know that -loch, for I was bred and born there." After much difficulty we learned -from her that the Trossachs were at the foot of the lake, and that by -the way we were to go we should come upon them at the head, should have -to travel ten miles to the foot[93] of the water, and that there was no -inn by the way. The girl spoke English very distinctly; but she had few -words, and found it difficult to understand us. She did not much -encourage us to go, because the roads were bad, and it was a long way, -"and there was no putting-up for the like of us." We determined, -however, to venture, and throw ourselves upon the hospitality of some -cottager or gentleman. We desired the landlady to roast us a couple of -fowls to carry with us. There are always plenty of fowls at the doors of -a Scotch inn, and eggs are as regularly brought to table at breakfast as -bread and butter. - - [Footnote 93: This distinction between the foot and head is not very - clear. What is meant is this: They would have to travel the whole - length of the lake, from the west to the east end of it, before they - came to the Trossachs, the pass leading away from the east end of the - lake.--J. C. S.] - - -_Friday, August 26th._--We did not set off till between ten and eleven -o'clock, much too late for a long day's journey. Our boatman lived at -the pretty white house which we saw from the windows: we called at his -door by the way, and, even when we were near the house, the outside -looked comfortable; but within I never saw anything so miserable from -dirt, and dirt alone: it reminded one of the house of a decayed weaver -in the suburbs of a large town, with a sickly wife and a large family; -but William says it was far worse, that it was quite Hottentotish. - -After long waiting, and many clumsy preparations, we got ourselves -seated in the boat; but we had not floated five yards before we -perceived that if any of the party--and there was a little Highland -woman who was going over the water with us, the boatman, his helper, and -ourselves--should stir but a few inches, leaning to one side or the -other, the boat would be full in an instant, and we at the bottom; -besides, it was very leaky, and the woman was employed to lade out the -water continually. It appeared that this crazy vessel was not the man's -own, and that _his_ was lying in a bay at a little distance. He said he -would take us to it as fast as possible, but I was so much frightened I -would gladly have given up the whole day's journey; indeed not one of us -would have attempted to cross the lake in that boat for a thousand -pounds. We reached the larger boat in safety after coasting a -considerable way near the shore, but just as we were landing, William -dropped the bundle which contained our food into the water. The fowls -were no worse, but some sugar, ground coffee, and pepper-cake seemed to -be entirely spoiled. We gathered together as much of the coffee and -sugar as we could and tied it up, and again trusted ourselves to the -lake. The sun shone, and the air was calm--luckily it had been so while -we were in the crazy boat--we had rocks and woods on each side of us, or -bare hills; seldom a single cottage, and there was no rememberable place -till we came opposite to a waterfall of no inconsiderable size, that -appeared to drop directly into the lake: close to it was a hut, which we -were told was the ferry-house. On the other side of the lake was a -pretty farm under the mountains, beside a river, the cultivated grounds -lying all together, and sloping towards the lake from the mountain -hollow down which the river came. It is not easy to conceive how -beautiful these spots appeared after moving on so long between the -solitary steeps. - -We went a considerable way further, and landed at Rob Roy's Caves, which -are in fact no caves, but some fine rocks on the brink of the lake, in -the crevices of which a man might hide himself cunningly enough; the -water is very deep below them, and the hills above steep and covered -with wood. The little Highland woman, who was in size about a match for -our guide at Lanerk, accompanied us hither. There was something very -gracious in the manners of this woman; she could scarcely speak five -English words, yet she gave me, whenever I spoke to her, as many -intelligible smiles as I had needed English words to answer me, and -helped me over the rocks in the most obliging manner. She had left the -boat out of good-will to us, or for her own amusement. She had never -seen these caves before; but no doubt had heard of them, the tales of -Rob Roy's exploits being told familiarly round the "ingles" hereabouts, -for this neighbourhood was his home. We landed at Inversneyde, the -ferry-house by the waterfall, and were not sorry to part with our -boatman, who was a coarse hard-featured man, and, speaking of the -French, uttered the basest and most cowardly sentiments. His helper, a -youth fresh from the Isle of Skye, was innocent of this fault, and -though but a bad rower, was a far better companion; he could not speak a -word of English, and sang a plaintive Gaelic air in a low tone while he -plied his oar. - -The ferry-house stood on the bank a few yards above the landing-place -where the boat lies. It is a small hut under a steep wood, and a few -yards to the right, looking towards the hut, is the waterfall. The fall -is not very high, but the stream is considerable, as we could see by the -large black stones that were lying bare, but the rains, if they had -reached this place, had had little effect upon the waterfall; its noise -was not so great as to form a contrast with the stillness of the bay -into which it falls, where the boat, and house, and waterfall itself -seemed all sheltered and protected. The Highland woman was to go with us -the two first miles of our journey. She led us along a bye foot-path a -shorter way up the hill from the ferry-house. There is a considerable -settling in the hills that border Loch Lomond, at the passage by which -we were to cross to Loch Ketterine; Ben Lomond, terminating near the -ferry-house, is on the same side of the water with it, and about three -miles above Tarbet. - -We had to climb right up the hill, which is very steep, and, when close -under it, seemed to be high, but we soon reached the top, and when we -were there had lost sight of the lake; and now our road was over a moor, -or rather through a wide moorland hollow. Having gone a little way, we -saw before us, at the distance of about half a mile, a very large stone -building, a singular structure, with a high wall round it, naked hill -above, and neither field nor tree near; but the moor was not overgrown -with heath merely, but grey grass, such as cattle might pasture upon. We -could not conjecture what this building was; it appeared as if it had -been built strong to defend it from storms; but for what purpose? -William called out to us that we should observe that place well, for it -was exactly like one of the spittals of the Alps, built for the -reception of travellers, and indeed I had thought it must be so before -he spoke. This building, from its singular structure and appearance, -made the place, which is itself in a country like Scotland nowise -remarkable, take a character of unusual wildness and desolation--this -when we first came in view of it; and afterwards, when we had passed it -and looked back, three pyramidal mountains on the opposite side of Loch -Lomond terminated the view, which under certain accidents of weather -must be very grand. Our Highland companion had not English enough to -give us any information concerning this strange building; we could only -get from her that it was a "large house," which was plain enough. - -We walked about a mile and a half over the moor without seeing any other -dwelling but one hut by the burn-side, with a peat-stack and a -ten-yards-square enclosure for potatoes; then we came to several -clusters of houses, even hamlets they might be called, but where there -is any land belonging to the Highland huts there are so many -out-buildings near, which differ in no respect from the dwelling-houses -except that they send out no smoke, that one house looks like two or -three. Near these houses was a considerable quantity of cultivated -ground, potatoes and corn, and the people were busy making hay in the -hollow places of the open vale, and all along the sides of the becks. It -was a pretty sight altogether--men and women, dogs, the little running -streams, with linen bleaching near them, and cheerful sunny hills and -rocks on every side. We passed by one patch of potatoes that a florist -might have been proud of; no carnation-bed ever looked more gay than -this square plot of ground on the waste common. The flowers were in very -large bunches, and of an extraordinary size, and of every conceivable -shade of colouring from snow-white to deep purple. It was pleasing in -that place, where perhaps was never yet a flower cultivated by man for -his own pleasure, to see these blossoms grow more gladly than elsewhere, -making a summer garden near the mountain dwellings. - -At one of the clusters of houses we parted with our companion, who had -insisted on bearing my bundle while she stayed with us. I often tried to -enter into conversation with her, and seeing a small tarn before us, was -reminded of the pleasure of fishing and the manner of living there, and -asked her what sort of food was eaten in that place, if they lived much -upon fish, or had mutton from the hills; she looked earnestly at me, and -shaking her head, replied, "Oh yes! eat fish--no papists, eat -everything." The tarn had one small island covered with wood; the stream -that runs from it falls into Loch Ketterine, which, after we had gone a -little beyond the tarn, we saw at some distance before us. - -Pursued the road, a mountain horse-track, till we came to a corner of -what seemed the head of the lake, and there sate down completely tired, -and hopeless as to the rest of our journey. The road ended at the shore, -and no houses were to be seen on the opposite side except a few widely -parted huts, and on the near side was a trackless heath. The land at the -head of the lake was but a continuation of the common we had come along, -and was covered with heather, intersected by a few straggling -foot-paths. - -Coleridge and I were faint with hunger, and could go no further till we -had refreshed ourselves, so we ate up one of our fowls, and drank of the -water of Loch Ketterine; but William could not be easy till he had -examined the coast, so he left us, and made his way along the moor -across the head of the lake. Coleridge and I, as we sate, had what -seemed to us but a dreary prospect--a waste of unknown ground which we -guessed we must travel over before it was possible for us to find a -shelter. We saw a long way down the lake; it was all moor on the near -side; on the other the hills were steep from the water, and there were -large coppice-woods, but no cheerful green fields, and no road that we -could see; we knew, however, that there must be a road from house to -house; but the whole lake appeared a solitude--neither boats, islands, -nor houses, no grandeur in the hills, nor any loveliness in the shores. -When we first came in view of it we had said it was like a barren -Ulswater--Ulswater dismantled of its grandeur, and cropped of its lesser -beauties. When I had swallowed my dinner I hastened after William, and -Coleridge followed me. Walked through the heather with some labour for -perhaps half a mile, and found William sitting on the top of a small -eminence, whence we saw the real head of the lake, which was pushed up -into the vale a considerable way beyond the promontory where we now -sate. The view up the lake was very pleasing, resembling Thirlemere -below Armath. There were rocky promontories and woody islands, and, what -was most cheering to us, a neat white house on the opposite shore; but -we could see no boats, so, in order to get to it we should be obliged to -go round the head of the lake, a long and weary way. - -After Coleridge came up to us, while we were debating whether we should -turn back or go forward, we espied a man on horseback at a little -distance, with a boy following him on foot, no doubt a welcome sight, -and we hailed him. We should have been glad to have seen either man, -woman, or child at this time, but there was something uncommon and -interesting in this man's appearance, which would have fixed our -attention wherever we had met him. He was a complete Highlander in -dress, figure, and face, and a very fine-looking man, hardy and -vigorous, though past his prime. While he stood waiting for us in his -bonnet and plaid, which never look more graceful than on horseback, I -forgot our errand, and only felt glad that we were in the Highlands. -William accosted him with, "Sir, do you speak English?" He replied, "A -little." He spoke however, sufficiently well for our purpose, and very -distinctly, as all the Highlanders do who learn English as a foreign -language; but in a long conversation they want words; he informed us -that he himself was going beyond the Trossachs, to Callander, that no -boats were kept to "let"; but there were two gentlemen's houses at this -end of the lake, one of which we could not yet see, it being hidden from -us by a part of the hill on which we stood. The other house was that -which we saw opposite to us; both the gentlemen kept boats, and probably -might be able to spare one of their servants to go with us. After we had -asked many questions, which the Highlander answered with patience and -courtesy, he parted from us, going along a sort of horse-track, which a -foot-passenger, if he once get into it, need not lose if he be careful. - -When he was gone we again debated whether we should go back to Tarbet, -or throw ourselves upon the mercy of one of the two gentlemen for a -night's lodging. What we had seen of the main body of the lake made us -little desire to see more of it; the Highlander upon the naked heath, in -his Highland dress, upon his careful-going horse, with the boy following -him, was worth it all; but after a little while we resolved to go on, -ashamed to shrink from an adventure. Pursued the horse-track, and soon -came in sight of the other gentleman's house, which stood on the -opposite side of the vale, a little above the lake. It was a white -house; no trees near it except a new plantation of firs; but the fields -were green, sprinkled over with hay-cocks, and the brook which comes -down the valley and falls into the lake ran through them. It was like a -new-made farm in a mountain vale, and yet very pleasing after the -depressing prospect which had been before us. - -Our road was rough, and not easy to be kept. It was between five and -six o'clock when we reached the brook side, where Coleridge and I -stopped, and William went up towards the house, which was in a field, -where about half a dozen people were at work. He addressed himself to -one who appeared like the master, and all drew near him, staring at -William as nobody could have stared but out of sheer rudeness, except in -such a lonely place. He told his tale, and inquired about boats; there -were no boats, and no lodging nearer than Callander, ten miles beyond -the foot of the lake. A laugh was on every face when William said we -were come to see the Trossachs; no doubt they thought we had better have -stayed at our own homes. William endeavoured to make it appear not so -very foolish, by informing them that it was a place much celebrated in -England, though perhaps little thought of by them, and that we only -differed from many of our countrymen in having come the wrong way in -consequence of an erroneous direction. - -After a little time the gentleman said we should be accommodated with -such beds as they had, and should be welcome to rest in their house if -we pleased. William came back for Coleridge and me; the men all stood at -the door to receive us, and now their behaviour was perfectly courteous. -We were conducted into the house by the same man who had directed us -hither on the other side of the lake, and afterwards we learned that he -was the father of our hostess. He showed us into a room up-stairs, -begged we would sit at our ease, walk out, or do just as we pleased. It -was a large square deal wainscoted room, the wainscot black with age, -yet had never been painted: it did not look like an English room, and -yet I do not know in what it differed, except that in England it is not -common to see so large and well-built a room so ill-furnished: there -were two or three large tables, and a few old chairs of different sorts, -as if they had been picked up one did not know how, at sales, or had -belonged to different rooms of the house ever since it was built. We sat -perhaps three-quarters of an hour, and I was about to carry down our wet -coffee and sugar and ask leave to boil it, when the mistress of the -house entered, a tall fine-looking woman, neatly dressed in a -dark-coloured gown, with a white handkerchief tied round her head; she -spoke to us in a very pleasing manner, begging permission to make tea -for us, an offer which we thankfully accepted. Encouraged by the -sweetness of her manners, I went down-stairs to dry my feet by the -kitchen fire; she lent me a pair of stockings, and behaved to me with -the utmost attention and kindness. She carried the tea-things into the -room herself, leaving me to make tea, and set before us cheese and -butter and barley cakes. These cakes are as thin as our oat-bread, but, -instead of being crisp, are soft and leathery, yet we, being hungry, and -the butter delicious, ate them with great pleasure, but when the same -bread was set before us afterwards we did not like it. - -After tea William and I walked out; we amused ourselves with watching -the Highlanders at work: they went leisurely about everything, and -whatever was to be done, all followed, old men, and young, and little -children. We were driven into the house by a shower, which came on with -the evening darkness, and the people leaving their work paused at the -same time. I was pleased to see them a while after sitting round a -blazing fire in the kitchen, father and son-in-law, master and man, and -the mother with her little child on her knee. When I had been there -before tea I had observed what a contrast there was between the mistress -and her kitchen; she did not differ in appearance from an English -country lady; but her kitchen, roof, walls, and floor of mud, was all -black alike; yet now, with the light of a bright fire upon so many happy -countenances, the whole room made a pretty sight. - -We heard the company laughing and talking long after we were in bed; -indeed I believe they never work till they are tired.[94] The children -could not speak a word of English: they were very shy at first; but -after I had caressed the eldest, and given her a red leather purse, with -which she was delighted, she took hold of my hand and hung about me, -changing her side-long looks for pretty smiles. Her mother lamented they -were so far from school, they should be obliged to send the children -down into the Lowlands to be taught reading and English. Callander, the -nearest town, was twenty miles from them, and it was only a small place: -they had their groceries from Glasgow. She said that at Callander was -their nearest church, but sometimes "got a preaching at the Garrison." -In explaining herself she informed us that the large building which had -puzzled us in the morning had been built by Government, at the request -of one of the Dukes of Montrose, for the defence of his domains against -the attacks of Rob Roy. I will not answer for the truth of this; perhaps -it might have been built for this purpose, and as a check on the -Highlands in general; certain it is, however, that it was a garrison; -soldiers used to be constantly stationed there, and have only been -withdrawn within the last thirteen or fourteen years. Mrs. Macfarlane -attended me to my room; she said she hoped I should be able to sleep -upon blankets, and said they were "fresh from the fauld." - - [Footnote 94: She means that they stop work before they are - tired.--ED.] - - -_Saturday, August 27th._--Before I rose, Mrs. Macfarlane came into my -room to see if I wanted anything, and told me she should send the -servant up with a basin of whey, saying, "We make very good whey in this -country"; indeed, I thought it the best I had ever tasted; but I cannot -tell how this should be, for they only make skimmed-milk cheeses. I -asked her for a little bread and milk for our breakfast, but she said it -would be no trouble to make tea, as she must make it for the family; so -we all breakfasted together. The cheese was set out, as before, with -plenty of butter and barley-cakes, and fresh baked oaten cakes, which, -no doubt, were made for us: they had been kneaded with cream, and were -excellent. All the party pressed us to eat, and were very jocose about -the necessity of helping out their coarse bread with butter, and they -themselves ate almost as much butter as bread. In talking of the French -and the present times, their language was what most people would call -Jacobinical. They spoke much of the oppressions endured by the -Highlanders further up, of the absolute impossibility of their living in -any comfort, and of the cruelty of laying so many restraints on -emigration. Then they spoke with animation of the attachment of the -clans to their lairds: "The laird of this place, Glengyle, where we -live, could have commanded so many men who would have followed him to -the death; and now there are none left." It appeared that Mr. -Macfarlane, and his wife's brother, Mr. Macalpine, farmed the place, -inclusive of the whole vale upwards to the mountains, and the mountains -themselves, under the lady of Glengyle, the mother of the young laird, a -minor. It was a sheep-farm. - -Speaking of another neighbouring laird, they said he had gone, like the -rest of them, to Edinburgh, left his lands and his own people, spending -his money where it brought him not any esteem, so that he was of no -value either at home or abroad. We mentioned Rob Roy, and the eyes of -all glistened; even the lady of the house, who was very diffident, and -no great talker, exclaimed, "He was a good man, Rob Roy! he had been -dead only about eighty years, had lived in the next farm, which belonged -to him, and there his bones were laid."[95] He was a famous swordsman. -Having an arm much longer than other men, he had a greater command with -his sword. As a proof of the length of his arm, they told us that he -could garter his tartan stockings below the knee without stooping, and -added a dozen different stories of single combats, which he had fought, -all in perfect good-humour, merely to prove his prowess. I daresay they -had stories of this kind which would hardly have been exhausted in the -long evenings of a whole December week, Rob Roy being as famous here as -ever Robin Hood was in the Forest of Sherwood; _he_ also robbed from the -rich, giving to the poor, and defending them from oppression. They tell -of his confining the factor of the Duke of Montrose in one of the -islands of Loch Ketterine, after having taken his money from him--the -Duke's rents--in open day, while they were sitting at table. He was a -formidable enemy of the Duke, but being a small laird against a greater, -was overcome at last, and forced to resign all his lands on the Braes of -Loch Lomond, including the caves which we visited, on account of the -money he had taken from the Duke and could not repay. - - [Footnote 95: There is a mistake here. His bones were laid about - fifteen or twenty miles from thence, in Balquhidder kirkyard. But it - was under the belief that his "grave is near the head of Loch - Ketterine, in one of those pinfold-like burial grounds, of neglected - and desolate appearance, which the traveller meets with in the - Highlands of Scotland," that the well-known poem on _Rob Roy's Grave_ - was composed.--J. C. S.] - -When breakfast was ended the mistress desired the person whom we took -to be her husband to "return thanks." He said a short grace, and in a -few minutes they all went off to their work. We saw them about the door -following one another like a flock of sheep, with the children after, -whatever job they were engaged in. Mrs. Macfarlane told me she would -show me the burying-place of the lairds of Glengyle, and took me to a -square enclosure like a pinfold, with a stone ball at every corner; we -had noticed it the evening before, and wondered what it could be. It was -in the middle of a "planting," as they call plantations, which was -enclosed for the preservation of the trees, therefore we had to climb -over a high wall: it was a dismal spot, containing four or five graves -overgrown with long grass, nettles, and brambles. Against the wall was a -marble monument to the memory of one of the lairds, of whom they spoke -with veneration: some English verses were inscribed upon the marble, -purporting that he had been the father of his clan, a brave and good -man. When we returned to the house she said she would show me what -curious feathers they had in their country, and brought out a bunch -carefully wrapped up in paper. On my asking her what bird they came -from, "Oh!" she replied, "it is a great beast." We conjectured it was an -eagle, and from her description of its ways, and the manner of -destroying it, we knew it was so. She begged me to accept of some of the -feathers, telling me that some ladies wore them in their heads. I was -much pleased with the gift, which I shall preserve in memory of her -kindness and simplicity of manners, and the Highland solitude where she -lived. - -We took leave of the family with regret: they were handsome, healthy, -and happy-looking people. It was ten o'clock when we departed. We had -learned that there was a ferry-boat kept at three miles' distance, and -if the man was at home he would row us down the lake to the Trossachs. -Our walk was mostly through coppice-woods, along a horse-road, upon -which narrow carts might travel. Passed that white house which had -looked at us with such a friendly face when we were on the other side; -it stood on the slope of a hill, with green pastures below it, plots of -corn and coppice-wood, and behind, a rocky steep covered with wood. It -was a very pretty place, but the morning being cold and dull the -opposite shore appeared dreary. Near to the white house we passed by -another of those little pinfold squares, which we knew to be a -burying-place; it was in a sloping green field among woods, and within -sound of the beating of the water against the shore, if there were but a -gentle breeze to stir it: I thought if I lived in that house, and my -ancestors and kindred were buried there, I should sit many an hour under -the walls of this plot of earth, where all the household would be -gathered together. - -We found the ferryman at work in the field above his hut, and he was at -liberty to go with us, but, being wet and hungry, we begged that he -would let us sit by his fire till we had refreshed ourselves. This was -the first genuine Highland hut we had been in. We entered by the -cow-house, the house-door being within, at right angles to the outer -door. The woman was distressed that she had a bad fire, but she heaped -up some dry peats and heather, and, blowing it with her breath, in a -short time raised a blaze that scorched us into comfortable feelings. A -small part of the smoke found its way out of the hole of the chimney, -the rest through the open window-places, one of which was within the -recess of the fireplace, and made a frame to a little picture of the -restless lake and the opposite shore, seen when the outer door was open. -The woman of the house was very kind: whenever we asked her for anything -it seemed a fresh pleasure to her that she had it for us; she always -answered with a sort of softening down of the Scotch exclamation, -"Hoot!" "Ho! yes, ye'll get that," and hied to her cupboard in the -spence. We were amused with the phrase "Ye'll get that" in the -Highlands, which appeared to us as if it came from a perpetual feeling -of the difficulty with which most things are procured. We got oatmeal, -butter, bread and milk, made some porridge, and then departed. It was -rainy and cold, with a strong wind. - -Coleridge was afraid of the cold in the boat, so he determined to walk -down the lake, pursuing the same road we had come along. There was -nothing very interesting for the first three or four miles on either -side of the water: to the right, uncultivated heath or poor -coppice-wood, and to the left, a scattering of meadow ground, patches of -corn, coppice-woods, and here and there a cottage. The wind fell, and it -began to rain heavily. On this William wrapped himself in the boatman's -plaid, and lay at the bottom of the boat till we came to a place where I -could not help rousing him. - -We were rowing down that side of the lake which had hitherto been -little else than a moorish ridge. After turning a rocky point we came to -a bay closed in by rocks and steep woods, chiefly of full-grown birch. -The lake was elsewhere ruffled, but at the entrance of this bay the -breezes sunk, and it was calm: a small island was near, and the opposite -shore, covered with wood, looked soft through the misty rain. William, -rubbing his eyes, for he had been asleep, called out that he hoped I had -not let him pass by anything that was so beautiful as this; and I was -glad to tell him that it was but the beginning of a new land. After we -had left this bay we saw before us a long reach of woods and rocks and -rocky points, that promised other bays more beautiful than what we had -passed. The ferryman was a good-natured fellow, and rowed very -industriously, following the ins and outs of the shore; he was delighted -with the pleasure we expressed, continually repeating how pleasant it -would have been on a fine day. I believe he was attached to the lake by -some sentiment of pride, as his own domain--his being almost the only -boat upon it--which made him, seeing we were willing gazers, take far -more pains than an ordinary boatman; he would often say, after he had -compassed the turning of a point, "This is a bonny part," and he always -chose the bonniest, with greater skill than our prospect-hunters and -"picturesque travellers"; places screened from the winds--that was the -first point; the rest followed of course,--richer growing trees, rocks -and banks, and curves which the eye delights in. - -The second bay we came to differed from the rest; the hills retired a -short space from the lake, leaving a few level fields between, on which -was a cottage embosomed in trees: the bay was defended by rocks at each -end, and the hills behind made a shelter for the cottage, the only -dwelling, I believe, except one, on this side of Loch Ketterine. We now -came to steeps that rose directly from the lake, and passed by a place -called in the Gaelic the Den of the Ghosts,[96] which reminded us of -Lodore; it is a rock, or mass of rock, with a stream of large black -stones like the naked or dried-up bed of a torrent down the side of it; -birch-trees start out of the rock in every direction, and cover the hill -above, further than we could see. The water of the lake below was very -deep, black, and calm. Our delight increased as we advanced, till we -came in view of the termination of the lake, seeing where the river -issues out of it through a narrow chasm between the hills. - - [Footnote 96: Goblins' Cave.--J. C. S.] - -Here I ought to rest, as we rested, and attempt to give utterance to our -pleasure: but indeed I can impart but little of what we felt. We were -still on the same side of the water, and, being immediately under the -hill, within a considerable bending of the shore, we were enclosed by -hills all round, as if we had been upon a smaller lake of which the -whole was visible. It was an entire solitude; and all that we beheld was -the perfection of loveliness and beauty. - -We had been through many solitary places since we came into Scotland, -but this place differed as much from any we had seen before, as if there -had been nothing in common between them; no thought of dreariness or -desolation found entrance here; yet nothing was to be seen but water, -wood, rocks, and heather, and bare mountains above. We saw the mountains -by glimpses as the clouds passed by them, and were not disposed to -regret, with our boatman, that it was not a fine day, for the near -objects were not concealed from us, but softened by being seen through -the mists. The lake is not very wide here, but appeared to be much -narrower than it really is, owing to the many promontories, which are -pushed so far into it that they are much more like islands than -promontories. We had a longing desire to row to the outlet and look up -into the narrow passage through which the river went; but the point -where we were to land was on the other side, so we bent our course right -across, and just as we came in sight of two huts, which have been built -by Lady Perth as a shelter for those who visit the Trossachs, Coleridge -hailed us with a shout of triumph from the door of one of them, exulting -in the glory of Scotland. The huts stand at a small distance from each -other, on a high and perpendicular rock, that rises from the bed of the -lake. A road, which has a very wild appearance, has been cut through the -rock; yet even here, among these bold precipices, the feeling of -excessive beautifulness overcomes every other. While we were upon the -lake, on every side of us were bays within bays, often more like tiny -lakes or pools than bays, and these not in long succession only, but all -round, some almost on the broad breast of the water, the promontories -shot out so far. - -After we had landed we walked along the road to the uppermost of the -huts, where Coleridge was standing. From the door of this hut we saw -Benvenue opposite to us--a high mountain, but clouds concealed its top; -its side, rising directly from the lake, is covered with birch-trees to -a great height, and seamed with innumerable channels of torrents; but -now there was no water in them, nothing to break in upon the stillness -and repose of the scene; nor do I recollect hearing the sound of water -from any side, the wind being fallen and the lake perfectly still; the -place was all eye, and completely satisfied the sense and the heart. -Above and below us, to the right and to the left, were rocks, knolls, -and hills, which, wherever anything could grow--and that was everywhere -between the rocks--were covered with trees and heather; the trees did -not in any place grow so thick as an ordinary wood; yet I think there -was never a bare space of twenty yards: it was more like a natural -forest where the trees grow in groups or singly, not hiding the surface -of the ground, which, instead of being green and mossy, was of the -richest purple. The heather was indeed the most luxuriant I ever saw; it -was so tall that a child of ten years old struggling through it would -often have been buried head and shoulders, and the exquisite beauty of -the colour, near or at a distance, seen under the trees, is not to be -conceived. But if I were to go on describing for evermore, I should give -but a faint, and very often a false, idea of the different objects and -the various combinations of them in this most intricate and delicious -place; besides, I tired myself out with describing at Loch Lomond, so I -will hasten to the end of my tale. This reminds me of a sentence in a -little pamphlet written by the minister of Callander, descriptive of the -environs of that place. After having taken up at least six -closely-printed pages with the Trossachs, he concludes thus, "In a word, -the Trossachs beggar all description,"--a conclusion in which everybody -who has been there will agree with him. I believe the word Trossachs -signifies "many hills": it is a name given to all the eminences at the -foot of Loch Ketterine, and about half a mile beyond. - -We left the hut, retracing the few yards of road which we had climbed; -our boat lay at anchor under the rock in the last of all the -compartments of the lake, a small oblong pool, almost shut up within -itself, as several others had appeared to be, by jutting points of rock; -the termination of a long out-shooting of the water, pushed up between -the steps of the main shore where the huts stand, and a broad promontory -which, with its hillocks and points and lesser promontories, occupies -the centre of the foot of the lake. A person sailing through the lake up -the middle of it, would just as naturally suppose that the outlet was -here as on the other side; and so it might have been, with the most -trifling change in the disposition of the ground, for at the end of this -slip of water the lake is confined only by a gentle rising of a few -yards towards an opening between the hills, a narrow pass or valley -through which the river might have flowed. The road is carried through -this valley, which only differs from the lower part of the vale of the -lake in being excessively narrow, and without water; it is enclosed by -mountains, rocky mounds, hills and hillocks scattered over with -birch-trees, and covered with Dutch myrtle and heather, even surpassing -what we had seen before. Our mother Eve had no fairer, though a more -diversified garden, to tend, than we found within this little close -valley. It rained all the time, but the mists and calm air made us ample -amends for a wetting. - -At the opening of the pass we climbed up a low eminence, and had an -unexpected prospect suddenly before us--another lake, small compared -with Loch Ketterine, though perhaps four miles long, but the misty air -concealed the end of it. The transition from the solitary wildness of -Loch Ketterine and the narrow valley or pass to this scene was very -delightful: it was a gentle place, with lovely open bays, one small -island, corn fields, woods, and a group of cottages. This vale seemed to -have been made to be tributary to the comforts of man, Loch Ketterine -for the lonely delight of Nature, and kind spirits delighting in beauty. -The sky was grey and heavy,--floating mists on the hill-sides, which -softened the objects, and where we lost sight of the lake it appeared so -near to the sky that they almost touched one another, giving a visionary -beauty to the prospect. While we overlooked this quiet scene we could -hear the stream rumbling among the rocks between the lakes, but the -mists concealed any glimpse of it which we might have had. This small -lake is called Loch Achray. - -We returned, of course, by the same road. Our guide repeated over and -over again his lamentations that the day was so bad, though we had often -told him--not indeed with much hope that he would believe us--that we -were glad of it. As we walked along he pulled a leafy twig from a -birch-tree, and, after smelling it, gave it to me, saying, how "sweet -and halesome" it was, and that it was pleasant and very halesome on a -fine summer's morning to sail under the banks where the birks are -growing. This reminded me of the old Scotch songs, in which you -continually hear of the "pu'ing the birks." Common as birches are in the -north of England, I believe their sweet smell is a thing unnoticed among -the peasants. We returned again to the huts to take a farewell look. We -had shared our food with the ferryman and a traveller whom we had met -here, who was going up the lake, and wished to lodge at the ferry-house, -so we offered him a place in the boat. Coleridge chose to walk. We took -the same side of the lake as before, and had much delight in visiting -the bays over again; but the evening began to darken, and it rained so -heavily before we had gone two miles that we were completely wet. It was -dark when we landed, and on entering the house I was sick with cold. - -The good woman had provided, according to her promise, a better fire -than we had found in the morning; and indeed when I sate down in the -chimney-corner of her smoky biggin, I thought I had never been more -comfortable in my life. Coleridge had been there long enough to have a -pan of coffee boiling for us, and having put our clothes in the way of -drying, we all sate down, thankful for a shelter. We could not prevail -upon the man of the house to draw near the fire, though he was cold and -wet, or to suffer his wife to get him dry clothes till she had served -us, which she did, though most willingly, not very expeditiously. A -Cumberland man of the same rank would not have had such a notion of what -was fit and right in his own house, or if he had, one would have accused -him of servility; but in the Highlander it only seemed like politeness, -however erroneous and painful to us, naturally growing out of the -dependence of the inferiors of the clan upon their laird; he did not, -however, refuse to let his wife bring out the whisky-bottle at our -request: "She keeps a dram," as the phrase is; indeed, I believe there -is scarcely a lonely house by the wayside in Scotland where travellers -may not be accommodated with a dram. We asked for sugar, butter, -barley-bread, and milk, and with a smile and a stare more of kindness -than wonder, she replied, "Ye'll get that," bringing each article -separately. - -We caroused our cups of coffee, laughing like children at the strange -atmosphere in which we were: the smoke came in gusts, and spread along -the walls and above our heads in the chimney, where the hens were -roosting like light clouds in the sky. We laughed and laughed again, in -spite of the smarting of our eyes, yet had a quieter pleasure in -observing the beauty of the beams and rafters gleaming between the -clouds of smoke. They had been crusted over and varnished by many -winters, till, where the firelight fell upon them, they were as glossy -as black rocks on a sunny day cased in ice. When we had eaten our supper -we sate about half an hour, and I think I had never felt so deeply the -blessing of a hospitable welcome and a warm fire. The man of the house -repeated from time to time that we should often tell of this night when -we got to our homes, and interposed praises of this, his own lake, which -he had more than once, when we were returning in the boat, ventured to -say was "bonnier than Loch Lomond." - -Our companion from the Trossachs, who it appeared was an Edinburgh -drawing-master going during the vacation on a pedestrian tour to John o' -Groat's House, was to sleep in the barn with William and Coleridge, -where the man said he had plenty of dry hay. I do not believe that the -hay of the Highlands is often very dry, but this year it had a better -chance than usual: wet or dry, however, the next morning they said they -had slept comfortably. When I went to bed, the mistress, desiring me to -"go ben," attended me with a candle, and assured me that the bed was -dry, though not "sic as I had been used to." It was of chaff; there were -two others in the room, a cupboard and two chests, on one of which stood -the milk in wooden vessels covered over; I should have thought that milk -so kept could not have been sweet, but the cheese and butter were good. -The walls of the whole house were of stone unplastered. It consisted of -three apartments,--the cow-house at one end, the kitchen or house in the -middle, and the spence at the other end. The rooms were divided, not up -to the rigging, but only to the beginning of the roof, so that there was -a free passage for light and smoke from one end of the house to the -other. - -I went to bed some time before the family. The door was shut between -us, and they had a bright fire, which I could not see; but the light it -sent up among the varnished rafters and beams, which crossed each other -in almost as intricate and fantastic a manner as I have seen the -under-boughs of a large beech-tree withered by the depth of the shade -above, produced the most beautiful effect that can be conceived. It was -like what I should suppose an underground cave or temple to be, with a -dripping or moist roof, and the moonlight entering in upon it by some -means or other, and yet the colours were more like melted gems. I lay -looking up till the light of the fire faded away, and the man and his -wife and child had crept into their bed at the other end of the room. I -did not sleep much, but passed a comfortable night, for my bed, though -hard, was warm and clean: the unusualness of my situation prevented me -from sleeping. I could hear the waves beat against the shore of the -lake; a little "syke" close to the door made a much louder noise; and -when I sate up in my bed I could see the lake through an open -window-place at the bed's head. Add to this, it rained all night. I was -less occupied by remembrance of the Trossachs, beautiful as they were, -than the vision of the Highland hut, which I could not get out of my -head. I thought of the Fairyland of Spenser, and what I had read in -romance at other times, and then, what a feast would it be for a London -pantomime-maker, could he but transplant it to Drury Lane, with all its -beautiful colours! - - -END OF VOL. I - - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_. - - - - -Transcriber's Note - -Footnotes have been moved below the paragraph to which they relate. -Both Footnote 30 on Page 50 and Footnote 39 on Page 65 refer to two -items rather than one. I have repeated these footnotes below their -respective paragraphs in order to accommodate the repetition. - -"=" is used in the text to indicate that a fancy font was used. - -Inconsistencies have been retained in spelling, hyphenation, formatting, -punctuation, and grammar, except where indicated in the list below: - - - Comma added after "wife" on Page viii - - Period removed after "III" on Page ix - - Comma removed after "Mrs." on Page xiv - - Comma changed to a period after "Ed" on Page 21 - - Period added after "us" on Page 23 - - Period added after "morning" on Page 27 - - "pen-knive" changed to "pen-knife" on Page 117 - - "w th" changed to "with" on Page 134 - - Footnote number was missing and has been added for Footnote 77 - - Footnote anchor added to "glade" on Page 229 - - "he" changed to "the" on Page 251 - - Apostrophe changed to a comma after "biggin" on Page 253 - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth, Vol. I -(of 2), by Dorothy Wordsworth - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOURNALS OF DOROTHY WORDSWORTH, VOL I *** - -***** This file should be named 42856-8.txt or 42856-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/8/5/42856/ - -Produced by sp1nd, Linda Hamilton, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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