ould give me 40_l._ to buy the ground.
There is a small house at Grasmere empty, which, perhaps, we may take;
but of this we will speak.'[46]

[46] _Memoirs_, i. 148-9.

24. _At the Lakes_.

LETTER TO COLERIDGE (1799): JOURNEY FROM SOCKBURN TO GRASMERE.

'We arrived here on the evening of St. Thomas's day, last Friday [1799],
and have now been four days in our new abode without writing to you--a
long time! but we have been in such confusion as not to have had a
moment's leisure. My dear friend, we talk of you perpetually, and for me
I see you every where. But let me be a little more methodical. We left
Sockburn last Tuesday morning. We crossed the Tees by moonlight in the
Sockburn fields, and after ten good miles' riding came in sight of the
Swale. It is there a beautiful river, with its green bank and flat holms
scattered over with trees. Four miles further brought us to Richmond,
with its huge ivied castle, its friarage steeple, its castle tower
resembling a huge steeple, and two other steeple towers, for such they
appeared to us. The situation of this place resembles that of Barnard
Castle, but I should suppose is somewhat inferior to it. George
accompanied us eight miles further, and there we parted with sorrowful
hearts. We were now in Wensley Dale, and D[orothy] and I set off side by
side to foot it as far as Kendal. I will not clog my letter with a
description of this celebrated dale; but I must not neglect to mention
that a little before sunset we reached one of the waterfalls, of which I
read you a short description in Mr. Taylor's tour. It is a singular
scene; I meant to have given you some account of it, but I feel myself
too lazy to execute the task. 'Tis such a performance as you might have
expected from some giant gardener employed by one of Queen Elizabeth's
courtiers, if this same giant gardener had consulted with Spenser, and
they two had finished the work together. By this you will understand
that it is at once formal and wild. We reached Askrigg, twelve miles,
before six in the evening, having been obliged to walk the last two
miles over hard frozen roads, to the great annoyance of our ankles and
feet. Next morning the earth was thinly covered with snow, enough to
make the road soft, and prevent its being slippery. On leaving Askrigg,
we turned aside to see another waterfall. It was a beautiful morning,
with driving snow showers, which disappeared by fits, and unveiled the
east, which was all on