ge
faces known in former times and recognised, that it half seemed as if I
ought to know them all, and, together with the noise, the fine ladies,
etc., they put me into confusion. This day Hatfield was condemned {2} I
stood at the door of the gaoler's house, where he was; William entered
the house, and Coleridge saw him; I fell into conversation with a debtor,
who told me in a dry way that he was 'far over-learned,' and another man
observed to William that we might learn from Hatfield's fate 'not to
meddle with pen and ink.' We gave a shilling to my companion, whom we
found out to be a friend of the family, a fellow-sailor with my brother
John {3} 'in Captain Wordsworth's ship.' Walked upon the city walls,
which are broken down in places and crumbling away, and most disgusting
from filth. The city and neighbourhood of Carlisle disappointed me; the
banks of the river quite flat, and, though the holms are rich, there is
not much beauty in the vale from the want of trees--at least to the eye
of a person coming from England, and, I scarcely know how, but to me the
holms had not a natural look; there was something townish in their
appearance, a dulness in their strong deep green. To Longtown--not very
interesting, except from the long views over the flat country; the road
rough, chiefly newly mended. Reached Longtown after sunset, a town of
brick houses belonging chiefly to the Graham family. Being in the form
of a cross and not long, it had been better called Crosstown. There are
several shops, and it is not a very small place; but I could not meet
with a silver thimble, and bought a halfpenny brass one. Slept at the
Graham's Arms, a large inn. Here, as everywhere else, the people seemed
utterly insensible of the enormity of Hatfield's offences; the ostler
told William that he was quite a gentleman, paid every one genteelly,
etc. etc. He and 'Mary' had walked together to Gretna Green; a heavy
rain came on when they were there; a returned chaise happened to pass,
and the driver would have taken them up; but 'Mr. Hope's' carriage was to
be sent for; he did not choose to accept the chaise-driver's offer.

* * * * *

_Wednesday_, _August_ 17_th_.--Left Longtown after breakfast. About
half-a-mile from the town a guide-post and two roads, to Edinburgh and
Glasgow; we took the left-hand road, to Glasgow. Here saw a specimen of
the luxuriance of the heath-plant, as it grows in Scotland;