But, in
the edition of 1836, he assigned it to the year 1805, the date retained
by Mr.
the edition of 1836, he assigned it to the year 1805, the date retained
by Mr.
William Wordsworth
.
.
1815.
]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare Daniel's 'Hymens Triumph', ii. 4:
'And where no sun could see him, where no eye
Might overlook his lonely privacy;
There in a path of his own making, trod
Rare as a common way, yet led no way
Beyond the turns he made. '
Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare the line in Coleridge's 'Hymn before Sun-rise, in
the Vale of Chamouni':
'Ye pine groves with your soft and soul-like sound,'
Ed. ]
* * * * *
SUB-FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Sub-Footnote a: In the late Lord Coleridge's copy of the edition of
1836, there is a footnote in Wordsworth's handwriting to the word
"meanwhile" which is substituted for "newly. " "If 'newly' come, could he
have traced a visible path? "--Ed. ]
This wish was not granted; the lamented Person, not long after, perished
by shipwreck, in discharge of his duty as Commander of the Honourable
East India Company's Vessel, the 'Earl of Abergavenny'. --W. W. 1815.
For the date of this poem in the Chronological Tables given in the
editions of 1815 and 1820, Wordsworth assigned the year 1802.
But, in
the edition of 1836, he assigned it to the year 1805, the date retained
by Mr. Carter in the edition of 1857. Captain Wordsworth perished on the
5th of February 1805; and if the poem was written in 1805, it must have
been in the month of January of that year. The note to the poem is
explicit--"Not long after" he "perished by shipwreck," etc. Thus the
poem _may_ have been written in the beginning of 1805; but it is not at
all certain that part of it at least does not belong to an earlier year.
John Wordsworth lived with his brother and sister at the Town-end
Cottage, Grasmere, during part of the winter, and during the whole of
the spring, summer, and autumn of 1800, William and John going together
on foot into Yorkshire from the 14th of May to the 7th of June. John
left Grasmere on Michaelmas day (September 29th) 1800, and never
returned to it again. The following is Miss Wordsworth's record of that
day in her Journal of 1800:
"On Monday, 29th, John left us. William and I parted with him in sight
of Ullswater. It was a fine day, showery, but with sunshine and fine
clouds. Poor fellow, my heart was right sad, I could not help thinking
we should see him again, because he was only going to Penrith. "
In the spring of 1801, John Wordsworth sailed for China in the
'Abergavenny'. He returned from this voyage in safety, and the brothers
met once again in London. He went to sea again in 1803, and returned to
London in 1804, but could not visit Grasmere; and in the month of
February 1805--shortly after he was appointed to the command of the
'Abergavenny'--the ship was lost at the Bill of Portland, and every one
on board perished. It is clear that the latter part of the poem, "When,
to the attractions of the busy world," was written between John
Wordsworth's departure from Grasmere and the loss of the 'Abergavenny',
i. e.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare Daniel's 'Hymens Triumph', ii. 4:
'And where no sun could see him, where no eye
Might overlook his lonely privacy;
There in a path of his own making, trod
Rare as a common way, yet led no way
Beyond the turns he made. '
Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare the line in Coleridge's 'Hymn before Sun-rise, in
the Vale of Chamouni':
'Ye pine groves with your soft and soul-like sound,'
Ed. ]
* * * * *
SUB-FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Sub-Footnote a: In the late Lord Coleridge's copy of the edition of
1836, there is a footnote in Wordsworth's handwriting to the word
"meanwhile" which is substituted for "newly. " "If 'newly' come, could he
have traced a visible path? "--Ed. ]
This wish was not granted; the lamented Person, not long after, perished
by shipwreck, in discharge of his duty as Commander of the Honourable
East India Company's Vessel, the 'Earl of Abergavenny'. --W. W. 1815.
For the date of this poem in the Chronological Tables given in the
editions of 1815 and 1820, Wordsworth assigned the year 1802.
But, in
the edition of 1836, he assigned it to the year 1805, the date retained
by Mr. Carter in the edition of 1857. Captain Wordsworth perished on the
5th of February 1805; and if the poem was written in 1805, it must have
been in the month of January of that year. The note to the poem is
explicit--"Not long after" he "perished by shipwreck," etc. Thus the
poem _may_ have been written in the beginning of 1805; but it is not at
all certain that part of it at least does not belong to an earlier year.
John Wordsworth lived with his brother and sister at the Town-end
Cottage, Grasmere, during part of the winter, and during the whole of
the spring, summer, and autumn of 1800, William and John going together
on foot into Yorkshire from the 14th of May to the 7th of June. John
left Grasmere on Michaelmas day (September 29th) 1800, and never
returned to it again. The following is Miss Wordsworth's record of that
day in her Journal of 1800:
"On Monday, 29th, John left us. William and I parted with him in sight
of Ullswater. It was a fine day, showery, but with sunshine and fine
clouds. Poor fellow, my heart was right sad, I could not help thinking
we should see him again, because he was only going to Penrith. "
In the spring of 1801, John Wordsworth sailed for China in the
'Abergavenny'. He returned from this voyage in safety, and the brothers
met once again in London. He went to sea again in 1803, and returned to
London in 1804, but could not visit Grasmere; and in the month of
February 1805--shortly after he was appointed to the command of the
'Abergavenny'--the ship was lost at the Bill of Portland, and every one
on board perished. It is clear that the latter part of the poem, "When,
to the attractions of the busy world," was written between John
Wordsworth's departure from Grasmere and the loss of the 'Abergavenny',
i. e.
