Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth, Vol. 1 (of 2)Wordsworth, Dorothy
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Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Wordsworth, Dorothy
Authors, English -- 19th century -- Diaries; Wordsworth, Dorothy, 1771-1855 -- Diaries; Wordsworth, William, 1770-1850 -- Family
_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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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