_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.