at her warmest thanks should be returned to you
for all the trouble you have taken about her bonds. But, to return to
the verses: if you approve, pray forward them with my compliments and
thanks for his letter to ----. In his letter he states that with others
he is strenuously exerting himself in endeavours to abolish slavery,
and, as one of the means of disposing the public mind to that measure,
he is about to publish selections from various authors in behalf of
_humanity_. He begs an original composition from me. I have nothing
bearing directly upon slavery, but if you think this little piece would
serve his cause indirectly, pray be so kind as to forward it to him. He
speaks of himself as deeply indebted to my writings.

[209] The poem enclosed is 'The Westmoreland Girl,' dated June 6, 1845.
The text corresponds with that in the one volume edition, with the
exception of the two stanzas added in the next letter; and in the 1st
stanza 'thoughtless' has been substituted for 'simple;' and in the 18th
'is laid' for 'must lie.' _H.R._

I have not left room to subscribe myself more than

Affectionately yours,
WM. WORDSWORTH.[210]

[210] _Memoirs_, ii. 414-17.

142. _'Poems of Imagination:' New Edition, &c.: Portrait, &c._

LETTER TO PROFESSOR REED.

Brinsop Court, Sept. 27 [1845].

MY DEAR MR. REED,

The sight of your letter was very welcome, and its contents proved most
agreeable. It was well that you did not forward my little poem to the
party, he entertaining the opinions he holds, and being of the character
you describe. I shall therefore be gratified if you, as you propose,
write him a note, expressing that I have nothing among my MSS. that
would suit his purpose. The verses are already printed in the new
edition of my poems (double column), which is going through the press.
It will contain about 300 verses not found in the previous edition. I do
not remember whether I have mentioned to you that, following your
example, I have greatly extended the class entitled 'Poems of the
Imagination,' thinking, as you must have done, that if imagination were
predominant in the class, it was not indispensable that it should
pervade every poem which it contained. Limiting the class as I had done
before seemed to imply, and to the uncandid or unobserving it did so,
that the faculty, which is the _primum mobile_ in poetry, had little to
do, in the estimation