There is no doubt that Wordsworth went much too far in his zeal for the new theories, and was unfortunately without a sense of humour which might have saved him from absurdities. As an illustration of Wordsworth at his worst, let us take _The Idiot Boy_, one of the poems in the _Lyrical Ballads_. The very outline of the plot would make the ghost of Pope rise in indignation from the grave. Old Susan Gale, a peasant woman, is very ill. Her neighbour, Betty Foy, comes to attend on her, accompanied by her only son, Johnny, an idiot. Susan gets worse, and the doctor must be sent for. Betty dare not leave her, and so the only alternative is to send the idiot boy to fetch him. I need not complete the story, but will quote a few stanzas from the poem: But when the pony moved his legs, Oh! then for the poor idiot boy! For joy he cannot hold the bridle, For joy his head and heels are idle, He's idle all for very joy. And Susan's growing worse and worse, And Betty's in a sad quandary; And then there's nobody to say If she must go, or she must stay! She's in a sad quandary. "Oh Doctor! Doctor! where's my Johnny?" "I'm here, what is't you want with me?" "Oh sir! you know I'm Betty Foy And I have lost my poor dear boy You know him--him you often see; "He's not so wise as some folks be." "The Devil take his wisdom!" said The Doctor looking somewhat grim, "What, woman, should I know of him?" And grumbling, he went back to bed. This from a poet who could write _The Solitary Reaper_ or _Milton, thou should'st be living at this hour_, or such magnificent philosophical poetry as we find in _The Prelude, Tintern Abbey_, and _The Excursion_, where Wordsworth treats of the mind of man, The haunt and the main region of my song; or such splendid descriptive passages as are scattered everywhere through his works, visions worthy to rank with Shakespeare's Cloud-capped towers and gorgeous palaces. Other examples of Wordsworth's simple style are all too numerous, and may be found in such poems as _Peter Bell_, which relates the story of a tinker and a donkey (in parts an admirable poem), _Alice Fell_, which tells the sorrow of a little girl for her tattered cloak, _The Brothers_, and _Michael_. These are not, by any means, all bad; in fact, when Wordsworth can forget for a while that he is writing to illustrate a theory, flashes of his natural style break out, producing odd effects of incongruity. Some of the poems which appeared in the _Lyrical Ballads_ are admirable, such as _Her Eyes are Wild_ and _The Affliction of Margaret_.