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
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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