[GF] See the note on the previous page.—ED.
[GG] Grasmere.—ED.
[GH] Compare Lamb's remarks in reference to Harrow Church in a letter to Wordsworth, August 14, 1814. See Letters of Charles Lamb, edited by Canon Ainger, vol. i. p. 272.—ED.
[GI] The details of this description apply in most particulars to the Church at Grasmere, although some are probably borrowed from Wordsworth's recollections of Hawkshead and of Bowness. The "naked rafters intricately crossed," the "admonitory texts" inscribed on the walls,
the "oaken benches," the "heraldic shield" in the "altar-window," the "faded hatchment," the "marble monuments" and "sepulchral stones" with "emblems graven and foot-worn epitaphs,"—all are there. Grasmere Church was "for duration built," as Wordsworth puts it; and, however ill adapted to the wants of modern ceremonial, it is to be hoped that all that is most characteristic of the old edifice will be preserved; and that—while no building can retain its original form for ever—its renovation will not destroy what remains of that "rude and antique majesty," which Wordsworth tells us had, even in 1843, been partially impaired.—ED.
[GJ] Compare, in Hamlet, act v. scene i. l. 64—
Hamlet.—Has this fellow no feeling of his business? he sings at grave-making.
Horatio.—Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness.
Hamlet.—'Tis e'en so: the hand of little employment hath the daintier sense.—ED.
[GK] An oak now grows in the field a little to the east of the churchyard wall, which cannot, however, be that to which Wordsworth refers. Possibly an oak grew at that time beside the wall above the Rothay. The wall is still "moss-grown."—ED.
[GL] See the footnote on the previous page.—ED.
[GM] Compare Paradise Lost, book i. l. 157—
[GN] Compare Wordsworth's Description of the Scenery of the Lakes, section 2. "To begin with the COTTAGES. They are scattered over the vallies, and under the hill sides, and on the rocks; and, even to this day, in the more retired dales, without any intrusion of more assuming buildings;
The dwelling-houses, and contiguous outhouses, are, in many instances, of the colour of the native rock, out of which they have been built.... These humble dwellings remind the contemplative spectator of a production of nature, and may (using a strong expression) rather be said to have grown than to have been erected;—to have risen, by an instinct of their own, out of the native rock—so little is there in them of formality, such is their wildness and beauty! Among the numerous recesses and projections in the walls and in the different stages of their roofs, are seen bold and harmonious effects of contrasted sunshine and shadow.... These dwellings, mostly built, as has been said, of rough unhewn stone, are roofed with slates ... rough and uneven in their surfaces, so that both the coverings and sides of the houses have furnished places of rest for the seeds of lichens, mosses, ferns, and flowers. Hence buildings, which, in their very form call to mind the processes of nature, do thus, clothed with this vegetable garb, appear to be received into the bosom of the living principle of things, as it acts and exists among the woods and fields."
Compare also Gray's description of the Vale of Grasmere in his Journal:—"Not a single red tile, nor flaring gentleman's house, or garden-wall, breaks in upon the repose of this little unsuspected paradise; but all is peace, rusticity, and happy poverty, in its neatest and most becoming attire."—ED.
[GO] "To illustrate the relation which in my mind this Pastor bore to the Wanderer, and the resemblances between them, or rather the points of community in their nature, I likened one to an oak, and the other to a sycamore; and having here referred to this comparison, I need only add, I had no one individual in my mind, wishing rather to embody this idea than to break in upon the simplicity of it by traits of individual character, or of any peculiarity of opinion."—I. F.
The sycamore is the favourite tree at the Mountain Farms of Cumberland and Westmoreland, as it affords the best shelter from rain, and the most thorough protection from the heat of the sun, during sheep-shearing. A special feature of the valley as you go down Langdale from Blea Tarn, is the abundance of sycamore; some of the farm-houses are literally embowered by it.—ED.
[GP] The group of meditative talkers are supposed to be seated on the moss-grown wall to the east of the Churchyard, facing Silver How.—ED.
[GQ] Possibly at Dale End, Grasmere.—ED.
[GR] Probably the Wyke, Sarah Mackereth's Cottage.—ED.
[GT] Silver How is the only "dark mountain" visible to the west from the moss-grown seat in the Grasmere Churchyard; but here again the realism of the narrative gives way, and not Silver How but Lingmoor is described, with Hackett Cottage at its south-eastern foot. The Fenwick note is here explicit. "First for the one picture given by the Wanderer of the living. In this nothing is introduced but what was taken from nature and real life. The cottage was called Hackett, and stands, as described, on the southern extremity of the ridge which separates the two Langdales. The pair who inhabited it were called Jonathan and Betty Yewdale." Later on, in book vi. p. 250, Wordsworth describes the blue roofs of Hawkshead village as ornamenting
Unless, therefore, he is speaking in the vague, Hackett and not Grasmere is the place described. The Fenwick note to the Epistle to Sir George Beaumont, however, decides the question (see vol. iv. p. 256). "The house (Hackett) and its inmates are referred to in the fifth book of The Excursion, in the passage beginning—
[GU] Compare the Sonnet (of 1815) referring to Allan Bank, beginning—
[GV] Compare the Sonnet (of 1815) beginning—
and more especially the Fenwick note, prefixed to that sonnet.—ED.
[GW] This feminine complexion of the Cumbrian peasants who work in the higher mines, is probably in part due to the continual mists and moisture of the heights. It has been observed especially amongst the workers in the high slate quarries at Walna Scar.—ED.
[GX] In a note to the edition of 1814, Wordsworth added to the above quotation Southey's Retrospect. See p. 388 of this volume.
[GY] In 1814 Wordsworth added to this line a prefatory note to his Essay upon Epitaphs, and the Essay itself, for which see The Prose Works.
[GZ] On the 1st of August 1849, during the last year of the poet's life, he transcribed the five lines beginning—
on a presentation copy of his works, sent to Thomas Gough. It was one of the last things he ever wrote.—ED.
CHURCH-YARD AMONG THE MOUNTAINS
ARGUMENT
Poet's Address to the State and Church of England—The Pastor not inferior to the ancient Worthies of the Church—He begins his Narratives with an instance of unrequited Love—Anguish of mind subdued, and how—The lonely Miner—An instance of perseverance—Which leads by contrast to an example of abused talents, irresolution, and weakness—Solitary, applying this covertly to his own case, asks for an instance of some Stranger, whose dispositions may have led him to end his days here—Pastor, in answer, gives an account of the harmonising influence of Solitude upon two men of opposite principles, who had encountered agitations in public life—The rule by which Peace may be obtained expressed, and where—Solitary hints at an overpowering Fatality—Answer of the Pastor—What subjects he will exclude from his Narratives—Conversation upon this—Instance of an unamiable character, a Female, and why given—Contrasted with this, a meek sufferer, from unguarded and betrayed love—Instance of heavier guilt, and its consequences to the Offender—With this instance of a Marriage Contract broken is contrasted one of a Widower, evidencing his faithful affection towards his deceased wife by his care of their female Children.[510]