CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

THE GATEWAY OF LIFE,

What is Esthetic Biography-Birth and Childhood-A Mountain

Republic-Boyhood at Hawkshead-Childhood of Goethe and

Jean Paul-Solitude and Subjective Education-Cambridge-Life

at the University.

1

CHAPTER II.

FIRST LOVE; THE PASSION OF NATURE.

The first Dream of Nature-Pantheism-A Rhapsody-Wordsworth

and Milton-Wordsworth's sense of Sound-Sounds in general-

Intense sympathy with Nature-Study Nature-Ebenezer El-

liot-Difficulties of Life-Difficulties vanishing..

CHAPTER III.

DESPONDENCY; THE EVERLASTING NO.

Wordsworth in France-Causes of Mental Unrest-The Grief of Life

-Wordsworth a Republican-A Crisis in his History-Words-

worth in the Revolution-Dreaming-Beaupuis-The Everlasting

No!

. 32

65

CHAPTER IV.

THE POET AND HIS SISTER.

Miss Wordsworth described-Influence of Woman, Extracts from-

Miss Wordsworth's Journal-Samuel Taylor Coleridge-Alfoxden

-The Borderers-Ludicrous Adventures-Grasmere-Marriage-

The Passion of Love-Courtship-De Quincey on Miss Words-

worth-The Golden Age at Grasmere-Sir George Beaumont

CHAPTER V.

MORAL SUFFERING AND INDIVIDUALITY.

The Leech Gatherer-Esthetic Views of Suffering-A Welch Poet

-The White Doe of Rylstone-The Nurture of Triptolemus-

Moral Suffering-Intense Individuality - John Foster-The

Hermits of Frenchay and Rydal-Books-Poets and Books-

Death of Captain Wordsworth

CHAPTER VI.

THE LAND OF WORDSWORTH.

Localized Impressions-The Lake Country in the Old Time-Old

Times and Old Manners-Social Life in the Last Century-Farm

House Life-The Dalesmen-Mountain Echoes-Sunset among

the Mountains-Helvellyn-Bolton-Malham and Gordale-Caves

and Yew Trees-Rural Registers-Night on the Lakes-Burns

and Wordsworth—Michael, a Westmoreland Idyll—The Sands—

The Fells-A Day's Wanderings-The Churchyard among the

Mountains.

83

127

161

CHAPTER VII.

WORDSWORTH AN ARTIST.

The Artist Defined-The Three Worlds-The True, The Beautiful,
and the Good-The Minister of Beauty-The Uses of the Ideal-
Imaginative Diction-Impersonation-Laodamia-Destiny-Les-
sing's Laocoon-The Drama, Classical and Romantic-Tragedy-
Talfourd's Ion-Innocence-Edipus-Goethe-Vanitas-Indivi-
dualism-Wordsworth a Christian-Transcendentalism-The Mad
Mother-The Romance of the Water Lily-Comedy-Absence of
Humour-Bulwer and Carlyle on Humour-Sins against good
Taste-Lord Jeffrey-The Principle of Poetic Diction-The Clouds

CONTENTS.

-Elevated Diction-The Reviewers-The Critics-Coleridge on

Wordsworth-Crabbe-The Life of the Soul-Matthew the

Schoolmaster-Peter Bell-The Youth from Georgia's Shore-

Rob Roy-The Pedlar-Womanhood-Village Solitudes-The

Charm of Humanity-Moral Influence of Mountain Scenery-

The Sonnets-The Esthetic and Ethic Creed of the Poet.

ix

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CHAPTER VIII.-THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE LIFE,

Wordsworth's Estimate of Life, and of his own Poems-Words-

worth a Gardener-His Picture of the Age-Pamphlet on Cintra

-The Excursion-Lord Jeffrey-The Review in the Quarterly,

by Charles Lamb-Revolutions in Literature-Unpolitical Ages-

Wordsworth's Contemporaries-De Quincey-Robert Southey-

Samuel Taylor Coleridge-Wordsworth not the Poet of Science-

Goethe-Professor Wilson-Windermere-Charles Lamb-His

Suppers-Wordsworth Poet Laureate-Wordsworth on Education

-The Triad-The School of Wordsworth-The Close of the Life. 387