In those days, when there was no railroads or trolley lines, it was the custom for young Englishmen who could afford it to take walking trips through Europe during their vacations from college. In the summer of 1790 Wordsworth made a tour through France and among the Alps, and was much affected by the beauties of nature he saw, particularly at Lake Como. He graduated from St. John’s College, Cambridge, in 1791, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. The French Revolution came along about this time, and, together with most of the progressive young men of the day, Wordsworth hailed it with enthusiasm. But later the horrors of the Revolution disgusted him; although he always remained a Republican in principle. Wordsworth’s friends urged him to enter the ministry, and he himself thought a little of becoming a lawyer; but he finally decided to write for a living. And a poor living it was at first! Sometimes he had hardly enough to eat. He published his first poems in 1793,--“An Evening Walk, Addressed to a Young Lady,” and “Descriptive Sketches Taken During a Pedestrian Tour Among the Alps.” Two years later his poverty was lightened by a legacy of $4,500 left him by a friend, and his sister Dorothy went to keep house for him. She helped him in many ways, and cheered his spirits. In 1802 he married Mary Hutchinson, and about the same time inherited $9,000 from his father. Three years later he finished that long poem in fourteen books, “The Prelude,” containing an account of the cultivation and development of his own mind. This was not published until after the poet’s death. Wordsworth continued to write many poems, most of which had to do with the beauties of nature. Nature in all her forms was his delight. He liked to walk by himself in the fields, and to talk with the poorer people, those nearest to the soil. He was simple, kindly, and much loved by those who knew him. In 1843 Wordsworth succeeded Robert Southey as poet laureate of England, and was recognized as the greatest living English poet. He held this honor only seven years, as he died at Rydal Mount, his home in England, on April 23, 1850. PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1. No. 44. SERIAL No. 44 COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. [Illustration: ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON] FAMOUS ENGLISH POETS ALFRED TENNYSON Monograph Number Five in The Mentor Reading Course Alfred Tennyson was born at Somersby in Lincolnshire, England, on August 6, 1809. His father was a rector, and the poet’s boyhood was passed in an atmosphere of poetry and music. Even as a child he wrote verses, and some of these were published in 1827 in a volume, “Poems by Two Brothers,” written by himself and his elder brother Charles.