CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

THE GATEWAY OF LIFE,

What is Æstbetic 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. . . . 32

CHAPTER III.

DESPONDENCY; THE EVERLASTING NO.

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

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

worth in the Revolution-Dreaming-Beaupuis-The Everlasting

No!

. 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- Æsthetic 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 . . . . . 127

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

llouge Life --The Dalesmen-Mountain Echoes-Sunset among

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

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

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

Tho Follo-A Day's Wanderings— The Churchyard among the

Mountains . .

. . . . . 161

CIIAPTER VII.

WORDSWORTII 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-— Tragody-
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
Tasto - Lord Jeffroy-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 Æsthetic and Ethic Creed of the Poet . . 218

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