William Wordsworth

days of life-at-high-pressure-when, in the words of Pope, we have too much thinking to have common thought'-for man to be alone; to withdraw himself at intervals from his fellows; and to commune with Nature and with his own heart.

I have to acknowledge my deep indebtedness to a large number of authorities, too extensive to mention in a preface; and if I have inadvertently made use of any copyright matter without the necessary permission, I must ask those interested to accept the expression of my unfeigned regret, and to grant their kind indulgence. I have not wilfully trespassed in this respect. To F. W. H. Myers, Esq., author of the excellent volume on Wordsworth, published in the English Men of Letters Series, I have to avow my hearty and special thanks for his cheerful consent to give the extract from the important letter of Dorothy Wordsworth, with reference to 'The White Doe of Rylstone,' and any others I might require to make.

I desire also to embrace this-the earliest-opportunity of publicly thanking, most cordially, Miss Quillinan, of Loughrigg Holme, Rydal; the Rev. Henry M. Fletcher, Rector of Grasmere; J. Fleming Green, Esq., of Grasmere; and Robert Crewdson,

Esq., of Rydal Mount; for their generous kindness, and for the valuable assistance afforded by one and all, during my recent visit to the Lake District.

If the perusal of this biography lead to any of its readers making or renewing their acquaintance with the imperishable writings of the poet, and impart but a tithe of the pleasure experienced by me in its composition, I shall accomplish the objects I had in view throughout, and be more than abundantly rewarded.

'He either fears his fate too much,

Or his deserts are small,

Who dares not put it to the touch,
To win or lose it all.'

J. M. S.

November 1887.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

IN sending forth a further edition of this little book, I have to express my heart-felt thanks for the support accorded by the public to the first edition, and for the favourable reception granted to the same by the press in general throughout the country. A selection of critical opinions will be found at the close of the volume.

Though substantially the same as when it originally appeared, the contents have yet been considerably enlarged, while the entire work has been carefully and minutely revised, with the result that it is now, I trust, more worthy not only of the attention of the reader, but also of the exalted subject of which it treats.

The longer I meditate on the life and writings of Wordsworth-who wrote, as the great Apelles painted, for eternity!-the more am I constrained to admire and venerate his ennobling character as a man and his transcendent genius as a poet; and it is to me a source of intense satisfaction to feel

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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

that I have done something, however little, to extend the increasing circle of his fame. The value of Wordsworth as a poet can be adequately estimated only by those who really love him and are in sympathy with him, and, happily, they are by no means few; still, it is undeniable that there are thousands and tens of thousands who, to quote his own glowing language,

'Speak the tongue

That Shakespeare spake; the faith and morals hold
Which Milton held,'

to whom his works, in which they would find comfort and consolation, are, even yet, practically a sealed book. That such should be the case, 'cannot but make the judicious grieve'; all true Wordsworthians must, therefore, hail with pleasure every effort to bring him closer to the masses.

Whether I shall at some future time expand the scope of this biography is at present doubtful ; meanwhile, I have the gratifying assurance-so ungrudgingly given-of one of the most competent critics of the day, that into its pages I have compressed 'a general statement of all that it concerns the public to know of the life of one of the first of English poets.' To that public I commend the work.

1892.

J. M. S.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Some tributes to Wordsworth's eminence as a poet-

His birth (April 7, 1770) and parentage-His mother

dies (1778)-Is sent to the Grammar School, Hawks-

head, where he makes his first attempts at poetry-

His impressions of his mother-Early days at Penrith

and Cockermouth-His boyish pastimes described-

His father dies (1783)-Is sent to Cambridge (Oct.,

1787)-Does not like the restraint of university life-