Wordsworth's letter to Poole of Nether Stowey shows a very remarkable insight into, and power of analysis of character. It is an admirable letter, and there is in it a consciousness of strength and inner rectitude, free from the slightest taint of Pharisaism. It was written sometime in

May 1809.*

"... I have yet another and far more important reason for writing to you; connected, as no doubt you will guess, with Coleridge. I am sorry to say that nothing appears to me more desirable than that his periodical Essay should never commence. It is, in fact, impossible, utterly impossible, that he should carry it on; and, therefore, better never begin it, far better, and if begun, the sooner it stops, also the better-the less will be the loss and not greater the disgrace. You will consider me as speaking to you now under a strong sense of duty, from a wish to save you from anxiety and disappointment; and from a further and still stronger wish that, as one of Coleridge's nearest and dearest friends, you should take into most serious consideration his condition, above all with reference to his children. I give it to you as my deliberate opinion, founded upon proofs which have been strengthening for years, that he neither will nor can execute anything of important benefit either to himself, his family, or mankind. Neither his talents nor his genius, mighty as they are, nor his vast information will avail him anything; they are all frustrated by a derangement in his intellectual and moral constitution. In fact, he has no voluntary power of mind whatsoever, nor is he capable of acting under any constraint of duty or moral obligation. Do not suppose that I mean to say from this that The Friend may not appear. It may, but it cannot go on for any length of time. I am sure it

The postmark shows that the letter was sent from Keswick.

cannot. C., I understand, has been three weeks at Penrith, whither he went to superintend the publication, and has since never been heard of (save once, on his first arrival), though frequently written to. I shall say no more at present, but I do earnestly wish that you would come down hither this summer in order that something may be arranged respecting his children, in case of his death, and also during his lifetime. I must add, however, that it answers no purpose to advise or to remonstrate with him, or to represent to him the propriety of going on or desisting. The disease of his mind is that he perpetually looks out of himself for those obstacles to his utility which exist only in himself. I am sure that if any friend whom he values were, in consequence of such a conviction as I have expressed, to advise him to drop his work, he would immediately ascribe the failure to the damp thrown upon his spirits by this interference. Therefore in this way nothing can be done, nor by encouraging him to attempt anything else he would catch eagerly, perhaps, at the advice-and would be involved in new plans, new procrastination, and new expenses. I am, dear Poole, most sincerely yours,

W. WORDSWORTH."

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE CONVENTION OF CINTRA: EUROPEAN POLITICS.

PERHAPS the most important work which Wordsworth wrote at Allan Bank was his essay on The Convention of Cintra. This essay is interesting, not so much from the particular opinions advanced in it in reference to the Convention, as from the light it casts on the moral judgment which Wordsworth formed on the political events of his day, and the wide and clear range of his vision into the principles which underlie party struggles and national rivalries. A study of this essay-and it deserves to be studied, not only for the wisdom it contains, but for the splendour of its form-will dispel the notion that Wordsworth was a mere recluse student of Nature, little interested in human affairs and the aspirations of oppressed nationalities. It was from a certain vantage ground, as a dweller amid the mountains away from the strife of parties, that he was best able to judge of these things.

Here, mighty Nature! in this school sublime,

I view the hopes and fears of struggling Spain.

To Miss Fenwick he said: "It would not be easy to conceive with what a depth of feeling I entered into the struggle carried on by the Spaniards for their deliverance from the usurped power of the French. Many times have gone from Allan Bank in Grasmere Vale, where we were then residing, to the Raise-Gap, as it is called, so late as two o'clock in the morning, to meet the carrier bringing the newspaper from Keswick. Imperfect traces of the state

I

of mind in which I then was may be found in my tract on the Convention of Cintra, as well as in the Sonnets dedicated to Liberty."

The facts were briefly these. Sir Arthur Wellesley had defeated the French at Vimiera, who had fallen back on Torres Vedras and Lisbon. They were completely in the power of the English, and Sir Hew Dalrymple was preparing to follow up the advantage; when the French, seeing that their case was hopeless, agreed to leave the country, provided they were allowed to land safely on the French coast, without loss either of arms or effects. A Convention to this effect was agreed to, and signed at Cintra. When it became known, the indignation in England was so great that newspapers appeared with mourning borders, and the Ministry of the day were compelled to try the generals who had agreed to it by court martial. They were, however, acquitted. It seems to me that, although the collapse of France at that time might have crippled its ambition, and brought Napoleon's career of aggrandisement to a speedier close, it was undoubtedly a good thing for England and her Allies, to be saved from the necessity of a protracted struggle, which would otherwise have undoubtedly gone on in Spain.

In writing to his friend Wrangham from Workington, on the 3rd April 1809, Wordsworth said: "Though I began to publish in a newspaper, viz., The Courier, an accidental loss of two or three sheets of the manuscript prevented me from going on in that mode of publication after two sections had appeared. The Pamphlet will be out in less than a fortnight, entitled, at full length, 'Concerning the relations of Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal, to each other, and to the common enemy at this crisis, and specifically as affected by the Convention of Cintra; the whole brought to the test of those principles by which alone the independence and

freedom of nations can be preserved or recovered.' This is less a Title than a Table of Contents."

He spoke of the writing of this pamphlet, however, as a debt which he owed to his country. It was published anonymously. What Southey, Coleridge, and Lamb said of this pamphlet is noteworthy. The latter, writing to Coleridge, 30th October 1809, said: "Its power over me was like that which Milton's pamphlets must have had on his contemporaries, who were tuned to them.

What a piece of

I am out of the

prose! Do you hear if it is read at all? world of readers. I hate all that do read, for they read nothing but reviews and new books. I gather myself up into the old things." We may connect Lamb's opinion of Wordsworth's prose with Coleridge's remark in The Friend * : Quem quoties lego, non verba mihi videor audire, sed tonitrua."

Canning said of the pamphlet that he regarded it as the most eloquent production since the time of Burke. But it certainly did not arouse any enthusiasm when it appeared. Its publication was unfortunately delayed, till general interest in the event it discussed had given place to interest in others that were more exciting in the sphere of European politics at that time. Wordsworth, however, discussed the bearing of the Convention, on the underlying and enduring principles of right and wrong in international quarrels. In the letter to Wrangham, he said he had begun to publish his opinion on the subject in a series of letters in The Courier newspaper.

I have lately received, through the kindness of Miss Stuart, the daughter of the editor of The Courier, copies of unpublished letters of Wordsworth to her father. If these letters, of which I give extracts, are somewhat pessimistic

* Vol. i., p. 317.