of the Poet's mind. The banks of the Derwent, near which Cockermouth stands, are very picturesque. The Poet bears testimony to its workings upon him, when he says, "One, the fairest of all rivers, loved And the old baronial castle, near which it flows, was not without its influence. When the Derwent "Had left these mountains and received On his smooth breast the shadow of those towers, That yet survive a shattered monument Of feudal sway, the bright blue river passed The town of Cockermouth, in which he was born, and in the churchyard of which his father's remains are laid, and the mouldering castle, the play-ground of his childhood, suggested to him those reminiscences and reflections in his old age which are embodied in two of his most interesting sonnets, written in 1833.1 Besides this, his "father's family" 5 contributed their due share to his poetical education. His mother was a woman of piety and wisdom; 1 Prelude, book i. p. 14. 2 Ibid., p. 15. 3 The church of Cockermouth was destroyed by fire on the morning of Friday, Nov. 15. 1850. 4 Vol. iv. p. 146, Sonnets vi. and vii., "In sight of the Town of Cockermouth," and "Address from the Spirit of Cockermouth Castle." 5 Vol. i. p. 147. See Poems referring to Childhood, vols. i. ii. iii. and the reader will recollect those touching lines in which he refers to the time in which "He held mute dialogues with his mother's heart.” 1 And the confiding and enlarged spirit in which she conducted the early education of her children is admirably described in his autobiographical poem.2 But she was soon removed by death: My honoured mother, she who was the heart In enumerating the Poet's earliest instructors, it would be unjust to omit the name of the ancient Dame at Penrith, to which place he was often taken to visit his maternal grand-parents. This venerable person was Mrs. Anne Birkett, whose system, as tradition reports, was very effective in exercising the memory, without prematurely taxing the reasoning powers, of her young pupils. Doubtless the Poet had her in his mind, when he wrote, in 1828, to his excellent friend, the Rev. Hugh James Rose, "The old Dame did not affect to make theologians, or logicians, but she taught to read, and she practised the memory, often no doubt by rote; but still the faculty was improved. Something perhaps she explained, and left the rest to parents, to masters, and to the pastor of the parish." This system stands in strong contrast with the modern process of instruction, which, from a fear of being ridiculed for making children learn by rote, 1 Prelude, book ii. p. 44. See the whole passage from "Blest the infant babe," &c. p. 42. 2 Ibid. p. 117. 3 Ibid. p. 117. neglects the memory, and prematurely enfeebles the reason by overloading it; thus doing a double violence to nature. Among her pupils for she instructed girls and boys together was Mary Hutchinson, a few months younger than William Wordsworth, a daughter of John and Mary Hutchinson of Penrith, and afterwards the beloved wife of the Poet for nearly forty-eight years. When at Cockermouth he was instructed in the rudiments of learning by the Rev. Mr. Gilbanks; and it is recorded, that the Poet's father set him very early to learn portions of the works of the best English poets by heart, so that at an early age he could repeat large portions of Shakspeare, Milton, and Spenser. The influence of his one sister, Dorothy Wordsworth, upon his life from his childhood was too important to be forgotten here. She was not quite two years younger than he was. Her loving tenderness and sweetness produced a most beneficial effect on his character. The contrast between the temper of the brother and sister is represented by the Poet himself in the verses where he alludes to the times in which (he says) "My sister Emmeline and I But she, God love her! feared to brush The dust from off its wings." 1 And, speaking of her, he expresses his gratitude that she who was "The blessing of his later years, And the nature of her influence upon him is thus pourtrayed: "She gave me eyes, she gave me ears, But death came to the mother, and separated the brother and sister for some years. Dorothy Wordsworth was removed from Cockermouth to Penrith, the residence of her maternal grandfather; and eventually she was educated mainly at Halifax, under the care of her mother's cousin, Miss Threlkeld, afterwards married to W. Rawson, Esq., of Millhouse, near Halifax. She also resided occasionally with Dr. Cookson, Canon of Windsor, her maternal uncle, at Forncett, and at Windsor. Here we must leave her for the present, and return to her brother William. 1 Vol. i. p. 148. CHAPTER V. SCHOOL-TIME. IN the year 1778, soon after his mother's death, William Wordsworth, then in his ninth year, was sent to school at HAWKSHEAD1, in Lancashire. His elder brother, Richard, went with him; and his two other brothers, John and Christopher, followed him, in course of time, to the same place of education. Hawkshead is a small market town in the vale of Esthwaite, and about a third of a mile to the northwest of the Lake, which lies between Windermere and Coniston, but nearer to Windermere, and almost parallel to both. The Lake and Vale of Esthwaite are more remarkable for sweet and peaceful beauty than for grandeur or magnificence. Ascending to the church-yard you see westward Yewdale Fell, and northward in the horizon a picturesque outline of hills stretching from Helvellyn, on the left, along Fairfield and Rydal Head to Red Screes, and the White House on the Kirkstone Pass, to Hill Bell, and the fells over Ambleside, on the right. Nearer are green fields. To the southeast is the Lake, with its small floating island at the north end. To the left are meadows, and the vicarage in a dell beyond them. The CHURCH stands beautifully on a natural terrace 1 See Prelude, p. 124. |