I cannot think the thine farewell.




WORDSWORTH

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

William Wordsworth was born at Cockermouth, Cumberland, on April 7th,
1770. His father, John Wordsworth, was the agent of Sir J. Lowther,
who later became the first Earl of Lonsdale. At the age of eight the
boy was sent to school at Hawkshead. The impressions of his boyhood
period are related in the autobiographical poem, _The Prelude_,
(written 1805, published 1850), and from this poetical record we
discern how strong the influences of Nature were to shape and develop
his imagination. Wordsworth's father died in 1783, leaving the family
poorly provided for. The main asset was a considerable claim upon the
Earl of Lonsdale, which that individual refused to pay. On his death,
in 1802, the successor to the title and estates paid the amount of the
claim in full with accumulated interest. In the interval, however, the
Wordsworth family remained in very straitened circumstances. Enough
money was provided by Wordsworth's guardians to send him to Cambridge
University In 1787. He entered St. John's College, and after an
undistinguished course graduated without honors in January, 1791. His
vacations were spent chiefly in Hawkshead and Wales, but one memorable
vacation was marked by a walking excursion with a friend through France
and Switzerland, the former country then being on the verge of