All I
know is that the book is gone, and I feel as Wordsworth is generally
supposed to have felt when he became aware that Lucy was in her
grave, and exclaimed so emphatically that this would make a
considerable difference to him, or words to that effect.
Now I think of it, Frost's "Lives of Eminent Christians" was very
like Lucy. The one resided at Dovedale in Derbyshire, the other in
Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury. I admit that I do not see the
resemblance here at this moment, but if I try to develop my
perception I shall doubtless ere long find a marvellously striking
one. In other respects, however, than mere local habitat the
likeness is obvious. Lucy was not particularly attractive either
inside or out--no more was Frost's "Lives of Eminent Christians";
there were few to praise her, and of those few still fewer could
bring themselves to like her; indeed, Wordsworth himself seems to
have been the only person who thought much about her one way or the
other. In like manner, I believe I was the only reader who thought
much one way or the other about Frost's "Lives of Eminent
Christians," but this in itself was one of the attractions of the
book; and as for the grief we respectively felt and feel, I believe
my own to be as deep as Wordsworth's, if not more so.
I said above, "as Wordsworth is generally supposed to have felt";
for any one imbued with the spirit of modern science will read
Wordsworth's poem with different eyes from those of a mere literary
critic.
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