At Dover. From the Pier-head."—"For the impres sions on which this sonnet turns, I am indebted to the experience of my daughter, during her residence at Dover, with our dear friend Miss F——.” Oh, what a wreck.?—The sad condition of poor Mrs. Southey put me upon writing this. It has afforded comfort to many persons whose friends have been similarly affected.' Intent on gathering wool.3. Suggested by a conversation with Miss F., who, along with her sister, had, during their childhood, found much delight in such gatherings for the purpose here alluded to.' The volume closes with The Borderers, a Tragedy,' the history of which has been already communicated to the reader.4 1 Vol. iii. p. 148. 2 Vol. ii. p. 314. 3 Vol. ii. p. 315. CHAPTER LIV. PERSONAL NARRATIVE. MR. WORDSWORTH returned from his tour in Italy in August, 1837. While in London, he addressed the following letter to Professor Henry Reed, of Philadelphia, who had published an edition of Wordsworth's Poetical Works in America. This was the commencement of a correspondence which was carried on without interruption, and with mutual gratification, to the year 1846. The friendship of the correspondents continued unbroken to the time of Mr. Wordsworth's death. To Professor Henry Reed, of Philadelphia. 'My dear Sir, 'London, August 19, [1837.] Upon returning from a tour of several months upon the Continent, I find two letters from you awaiting my arrival, along with the edition of my Poems you have done me the honour of editing. To begin with the former letter, April 25, 1836: It gives me concern that you should have thought it necessary (not to apologize, for that you have not done, but) to explain at length why you addressed me in the language of affectionate regard. It must surely be gratifying to one, whose aim as an author has been the hearts of his fellow-creatures of all ranks and in all stations, to find that he has succeeded in any quar. ter; and still more must he be gratified to learn that he has pleased in a distant country men of simple habits and cultivated taste, who are at the same time widely acquainted with literature. Your second letter, accompanying the edition of the Poems, I have read, but unluckily have it not before me. It was lent to Serjeant Talfourd, on account of the passage in it that alludes to the possible and desirable establishment of English copyright in America. I shall now hasten to notice the edition which you have superintended of my Poems. This I can do with. much pleasure, as the book, which has been shown to several persons of taste, Mr. Rogers, in particular, is allowed to be far the handsomest specimen of printing in double columns which they have seen. Allow me to thank you for the pains you have bestowed upon the work. Do not apprehend that any difference in our several arrangements of the poems can be of much importance; you appear to understand me far too well for that to be possible. I have only to regret, in respect to this volume, that it should have been published before my last edition, in the correction of which I took great pains, as my last labour in that way, and which moreover contains several additional pieces. It may be allowed me also to express a hope that such a law will be passed ere long by the American legislature, as will place English authors in general upon a better footing in America than at present they have obtained, and that the protection of copyright between the two countries will be reciprocal. The vast circulation of English works in America offers a temptation for hasty and incorrect printing; and that same vast circulation would, without adding to the price of each copy of an English work in a degree that could be grudged or thought injurious by any purchaser, allow an American remunera tion, which might add considerably to the comforts of English authors, who may be in narrow circumstances, yet who at the same time may have written solely from honourable motives. Besides, Justice is the foundation on which both law and practice ought to rest. Having many letters to write on returning to England after so long an absence, I regret that I must be so brief on the present occasion. I cannot conclude, however, without assuring you that the acknowledgments which I receive from the vast continent of America are among the most grateful that reach me. What a vast field is there open to the English mind, acting through our noble language! Let us hope that our authors of true genius will not be unconscious of that thought, or inattentive to the duty which it imposes upon them, of doing their utmost to instruct, to purify, and to elevate their readers. That such may be my own endeavour through the short time I shall have to remain in this world, is a prayer in which I am and your life's partner will join me. Believe me sure you gratefully, Your much obliged friend, 'W. WORDSWORTH.' In September of the same year, Mr. Wordsworth was with his friends and relatives at Brinsop Court, Herefordshire, whence he wrote the following letter to Mr. Quillinan, who had just arrived from Oporto; in which he pays a just and honourable tribute to his poetical and critical powers. To Edward Quillinan, Esq. 'My dear Mr. Quillinan, Brinsop Court, Sept. 20, 1837. 'We are heartily glad to learn from your letter, just re ceived, that, in all probability, by this time, you must have left the unhappy country in which you have been so long residing. I should not have been sorry if you had entered a little more into Peninsular politics; for what is going on there is shocking to humanity, and one would be glad to see anything like an opening for the termination of these unnatural troubles. The position of the Miguelites, relatively to the conflicting, so called, liberal parties, is just what I apprehended, and expressed very lately to Mr. Robinson. He came down with us to Hereford, with a view to a short tour on the banks of the Wye, which has been prevented by an unexpected attack of my old complaint of inflammation in the eye; and in consequence of this, Dora will accompany me home, with a promise on her part of returning to London before the month of October is out. Our places are taken in to-morrow's coach for Liverpool; so that, since we must be disappointed of seeing you and Jemima here, we trust that you will come on to Rydal from Leeds. This very day Dora had read to me your poem again: it convinces me, along with your other writings, that it is in your power to attain a permanent place among the poets of England. Your thoughts, feelings, knowledge, and judgment in style, and skill in metre, entitle you to it; and, if you have not yet succeeded in gaining it, the cause appears to me merely to lie in the subjects which you have chosen. It is worthy of note, how much of Gray's popularity is owing to the happiness with which his subject is selected in three places, his Hymn to Adversity," his "Ode on the distant prospect of Eton College," and his "Elegy." I ought, however, in justice to you, to add, that one cause of your failure appears to have been thinking too humbly of yourself, so that you have not reckoned it worth while to look suffi 66 |