Cambridge, the Picturesque, and London (1787–91)

Abstract

When Dorothy Wordsworth returned to Penrith after an absence of almost nine years, her friendship with Mary Hutchinson was renewed, and William enjoyed their company. Dorothy’s letters to Jane Pollard of Halifax are very informative. She thought William and Christopher very clever; John, who was to be a sailor, had a ‘most excellent heart’; and Richard⁶ was diligent though ‘far from being as clever as William’. Finding their grandparents and uncle Kit (Christopher) unfriendly, they frequently ended their discussions with the wish that they had a father and home of their own. If Lord Lonsdale (Sir James Lowther) failed to pay his debts, which were estimated at £4700, they would still have about £600 each, she believed. John, needing only £200 to fit him out for the merchant navy in January, wished to contribute the remainder of his share to the education of William, who fancied being a lawyer if his health would permit. Then, as often in his later years, he suffered from violent headaches and a pain in his side. Uncle Kit would not have him at Penrith after the holidays. … It must have been a relief for him to stay at Colthouse, with John and Christopher, during August and September.