Evening star., 1932-09-10
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C. BOWERMAN.

Dorothy Wordsworth, whose personal
life was completely and gladly merged
in that Of her poet brother, was her
self genius In the art of finding
poetry In life, If not In the expression
Of poetry. The biography, Dorothy
Wordsworth: the Early Years. BY
Catherine Macdonald Maclean, lecturer
IN English in University College, Cardiff
Wales, is successful attempt to show
the thu rich life Of the mind led BY. !hi,
fran woman in the retirement Of hel
Cumberland homes. "The book Las
been written because. having thought
much during the past 10 years about
the life and work of Dorothy Words
worth, have come to feel that to look
upon her life is to gain something ir
knowledge of the nature of life itself
hame-like. f1ickering, at times seeming
to be a huddle of distracted details
at times quite perverse and Tasteful-
and yet relentlessly compelling al
things toward unity of design.
To study the life Of Dorothy Words
worth is to watch the gradual closing
in OF the wearing and prosaic details
of life upon woman whose capacity
for intensity of living amounted tc
fullness of life"
x*
Dorothy Wordsworth's mother died
when this third of her five children was
only years old. Dorothy was brought
up by q cousin Of her mother. Eliza
beth Threlkeld, who lived ct Halifax
near Leeds, In a factory district, far
less beautiful than the hill country OF
Penrith, where the WordsworthS lived
But the years at Halifax were happy
ones for Dorothy, for she was a men,
ber Of family which had many in
terests, social and bookish, and she had
leisure for the walks and studies which
were her chief pleasure. She was very
sad when, at the age Of 16, she was
obliged to return to Penrith, to care
for her mothers parents, both grown
old and, as 1t turned out, grabbed. She
especially regretted leaving because the
Halifax family was just then looking
forward to receiving volume of poems
by new Scottish writer, a plowman
named Robert Burns" After only q
year with her grandparents, who found
her dreamy, altogether unsatisfactory
girl, Dorothy was released and went to
live with an uncle, clergyman, at
Forncett rectory. After seven years
more of living as dependent in other
peoples homes, Dorothy was able to
realize what had been her dream from
childhood-a home with her brother
William. Their income was almost in
finiteSimal when they took possession
of little cottage in Dorset, lent by q
friend, for William had not been strik-
ingly successful from a financial point
Of view. He seemed to be able to do
nothing but walk about the country
and write poetry; most of his family
did not approve of him. Several other
small homes succeeded this one, for
the Wordsworth pair were vagabond
in their tastes and did not object to
frequent moves-in fact, rather liked
them. For seven years, until Words
worth's marriage, the two led the life
they both loved-as little time as pos
sible given to household tasks, most OF
the time spent in exploring the coun-
try for miles around, in planting and
caring for garden, in reading, study
ing, writing. Dorothy was supreElely
happy during this period, though many
of their meals consisted of only bread
and cheese. They always had enough
to share with visitor. Coleridge was
one of the most frequent Of their
guests and made heavy demands for
nervous dreams, his dissatisfaction with
his wife, were all discussed over and
over with Dorothy, who almost always
had hard headache herself as a re-
suit of his visits. Before Williams mar
riage to Mary Hutchinson, Dorothy s
friend, they were living at Dove Cot
tage, Grasmere. For the first time they
had feeling Of permanency. Dorothy
planted the garden and brought home
from every walk or visit to a neighbor
plants, MOSES or wild flowers to add to
its beauty. She papered rooms, made
curtains, cooked, copied manuscripts for
william, went with him on many of his
rambles.
To Dove Cottage William and Dorothy
and Mary returned after the wedding
of William and Mary in the Autumn OF
1902. The unmeshodical, impulsive life
was over Family routine was estab-
hshed. Domestic cares increased, for
children arrived rapidly. Dorothy,
though she loved Mary, loved the chill
oren as they came, was never again
as happy as IN the years when she and
william were alone. There are some
evidences that William also was never
quite as happy. Sometimes the house
WO4h, Will t1lE dIQ VI Oilly OIle Olu
servant, became almost too heavy for
the two women, and Dorothy's attacks
OF illness grew more frequent. ESpe-
cially was she likely to be Ill after one
of the demanding visits of Coleridge.
On one occasion, in December he came
to Grasmere with one of his children
for day and remained nearly a month.
This made heavy time for Dorothy.
The ordinary routine of the house was
interrupted. A bed had to be moved
into the sitting room every evening and
taken out in the morning. Coleridge
would be late in going to bed and late
IN rising, and during the daytime would
be continually wanting coffee or broth
or something or other Every time the
weather was damp he was i'll and need
ed constant attention. More than
any of these things, however something
about Coleridge himself began to weigh
upon Dorothy and exhaust her, a rest
lessness more than could be accounted
for by the troubles of which he spoke
constantly-his lack of health, his
money difficulties, his Earrings with his
wife. Dorothy had a sense of something
being wrong with him, something
which she could not define and which
she did not wish to define" Soon
utJCI IIlC Uli I'll VI WOIUSWOTIIlS IlISI
child, Wordsworth, Dorothy and Col
eridge went on walking trip through
the Scotch Highlands Coleridge be-
came disguised by the rainy weather
and left the other two at Tarbet. Dor
othy and William went on and were
away from Grasmere for six weeks.
Dorothy wrote later her "Recollections
Of a Tour Made in Scotland" which,
as we'll as her Journals" is used by
Catherine Maclean as part of the
source material for her biography.
X
Claude M FueSs. author of Daniel
Webster" and Carl Schurz," in a lee
ture at the Columbia University Sum-
mer school said that modern biography,
emphasizing personality more than
achievement, has become more realistic
and interesting than the old-fashioned
biography of eulcgy. "The Jazz Age
of the l930S has its sordid aspects. hut