wood, and the morning and evening mail-coach
horn, he might delude himself into forgetfulness that he belonged any
longer to this noisy earth.

Next day Rossetti was exceptionally well, and astounded me by the
proposal that we should ascend Golden Howe together--a little mountain
of some 1000 feet that stands at the head of Thirlmere. With never a
hope on my part of our reaching the summit, we set out for that purpose,
but through no doubt the exhilarating effect of the mountain air, he
actually compassed the task he had proposed to himself, and sat for an
hour on that highest point from whence could be seen the Skiddaw range
to the north, Haven's Crag to the west, Styx Pass and Helvellyn to the
east, and the Dunmail Raise to the south, with the lake below. Rossetti
was struck by the variety of configuration in the hills, and even more
by the variety of colour. But he was no great lover of landscape beauty,
and the majestic scene before us produced less effect upon his mind than
might perhaps have been expected. He seemed to be almost unconscious of
the unceasing atmospheric changes that perpetually arrest and startle.
the observer in whom love of external nature in her grander moods has
not been weakened by disease. The complete extent of the Vale of St.
John could be traversed by the eye from the eminence upon which we sat.
The valley throughout its three-mile length is absolutely secluded: one
has only the hills for company, and to say the truth they are sometimes
fearful company too. Usually the landscape wears a cheerful aspect, but
at times long fleecy clouds drive midway across the mountains, leaving
the tops visible. The scenery is highly awakening to the imagination.
Even the country people are imaginative, and the country is full
of ghostly legend. I was never at any moment sensible that these
environments affected Rossetti: assuredly they never agitated him, and
no effort did he make to turn them to account for the purposes of
the romantic ballad he had spoken of as likely to grow amidst such
surroundings.

Being much more than ordinarily cheerful during the first evenings of
our stay in the North, he talked sometimes of his past life and of the
men and women he had known in earlier years. Carlyle's _Reminiscences_
had not long before been published. Mrs. Carlyle, therein so
extravagantly though naturally belauded, he described as a bitter
little woman, with, however, the one redeeming quality of unostentat