The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 5 (of 8)Wordsworth, William
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The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 5 (of 8)
Wordsworth, William
English poetry -- 18th century; English poetry -- 19th century
"Looked into Boar Dale above Sanwick--deep and bare, a stream winding
down it. After having walked a considerable way on the tops of the hills,
came in view of Glenridding and the mountains above Grisdale. Luff then
took us aside, before we had begun to descend, to a small ruin, which was
formerly a chapel or place of worship where the inhabitants of Martindale
and Paterdale were accustomed to meet on Sundays. There are now no traces
by which you could discover that the building had been different from a
common sheepfold; the loose stones and the few which yet remain piled
up are the same as those which lie about on the mountain; but the shape
of the building being oblong is not that of a common sheepfold, and it
stands east and west. Whether it was ever consecrated ground or not I
know not; but the place may be kept holy in the memory of some now living
in Paterdale; for it was the means of preserving the life of a poor old
man last summer, who, having gone up the mountain to gather peats, had
been overtaken by a storm, and could not find his way down again. He
happened to be near the remains of the old chapel, and, in a corner of
it, he contrived, by laying turf and ling and stones from one wall to
the other, to make a shelter from the wind, and there he lay all night.
The woman who had sent him on his errand began to grow uneasy towards
night, and the neighbours went out to seek him. At that time the old man
had housed himself in his nest, and he heard the voices of the men, but
could not make _them_ hear, the wind being so loud, and he was afraid
to leave the spot lest he should not be able to find it again, so he
remained there all night; and they returned to their homes, giving him up
for lost; but the next morning the same persons discovered him huddled up
in the sheltered nook. He was at first stupefied and unable to move; but
after he had eaten and drunk, and recollected himself a little, he walked
down the mountain, and did not afterwards seem to have suffered."--ED.]
[Footnote CQ: Compare Ezekiel, chap. i.--ED.]
[Footnote CR: "The glorious appearance disclosed above and among the
mountains, was described partly from what my friend Mr. Luff, who
then lived in Paterdale, witnessed upon that melancholy occasion, and
partly from what Mary and I had seen, in company with Sir George and
Lady Beaumont, above Hartshope Hall, on our way from Paterdale to
Ambleside."--I. F.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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