Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth, Vol. 2 (of 2)Wordsworth, Dorothy
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Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Wordsworth, Dorothy
Authors, English -- 19th century -- Diaries; Wordsworth, Dorothy, 1771-1855 -- Diaries; Wordsworth, William, 1770-1850 -- Family
When we had gone a little way we saw before us a young man with a bundle
over his shoulder, hung on a stick, bearing a great boy on his back:
seeing that they were travellers, we offered to take the boy on the car,
to which the man replied that he should be more than thankful, and set
him up beside me. They had walked from Glasgow, and that morning from
Inverary; the boy was only six years old, "But," said his father, "he
is a stout walker," and a fine fellow he was, smartly dressed in tight
clean clothes and a nice round hat: he was going to stay with his
grandmother at Dalmally. I found him good company; though I could not
draw a single word out of him, it was a pleasure to see his happiness
gleaming through the shy glances of his healthy countenance. Passed a
pretty chapel by the lake-side, and an island with a farm-house upon it,
and corn and pasture fields; but, as we went along, we had frequent
reason to regret the want of English hedgerows and English culture; for
the ground was often swampy or moorish near the lake where comfortable
dwellings among green fields might have been. When we came near to the
end of the lake we had a steep hill to climb, so William and I walked;
and we had such confidence in our horse that we were not afraid to leave
the car to his guidance with the child in it; we were soon, however,
alarmed at seeing him trot up the hill a long way before us; the child,
having raised himself up upon the seat, was beating him as hard as he
could with a little stick which he carried in his hand; and when he saw
our eyes were on him he sate down, I believe very sorry to resign his
office: the horse slackened his pace, and no accident happened.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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