There is the select circle of lovers of WORDSWORTH—­yearly widening—­and there are the far-off multitudes of the future to whom WILLIAM WORDSWORTH will be the grand name of the 18th-19th century, and all that SHAKESPEARE and MILTON are now; and consequently the letters of one so chary in letter-writing ought to be put beyond the risks of loss, and given to Literature in entirety and trueness.  WORDSWORTH had a morbid dislike of writing letters, his weak eyes throughout rendering all penmanship painful; but the present Editor, while conceding that his letters lack the charm of style of COWPER’S, and the vividness and passion of BYRON’S, finds in them, even the hastiest, matter of rarest biographic and interpretative value.  He was not a great sentencemaker; in a way prided himself that his letters were so (intentionally) poor as sure to be counted unworthy of publication; and altogether had the prejudices of an earlier day against the giving of letters to the world; but none the less are his letters informed with his intellect and meditative thoughtfulness and exquisiteness of feeling.  It is earnestly to be hoped that one of the Family who is admirably qualified for the task of love will address himself to write adequately and confidingly the Life of his immortal relative; and toward this every one possessed of anything in the handwriting or from the mind of WORDSWORTH may be appealed to for co-operation.  The ‘Memoirs’ of the (now) Bishop of Lincoln, within its own limits, was a great gift; but it is avowedly not a ‘Life,’ and the world wants a Life.  Collation of the originals of these letters has restored sentences and words and things of the most characteristic kind.  Very gross mistakes have also been corrected.[11]

[11] It may be well to point out here specially a mistake in heading two of the WORDSWORTH letters to Sir W.R.  HAMILTON:  ‘Royal Dublin Society,’ instead of ‘Royal Irish Academy’ (see vol. iii. pp. 350 and 352); also that at p. 394 ‘of the’ has slipped in from the first ‘of the,’ and so now reads ‘Of the Heresiarch of the Church of Rome,’ for ’The Heresiarch Church,’ as in the body of the letter.

     III. Conversations and Personal Reminiscences of Wordsworth.

     From ‘Satyrane’s Letters;’ Klopstock.

     Personal Reminiscences of the Hon. Mr. Justice Coleridge.

     Recollections of a Tour in Italy with Wordsworth.  By H.C.  Robinson.

     Reminiscences of Lady Richardson and Mrs. Davy.

     Conversations recorded by the Bishop of Lincoln.

     Reminiscences by the Rev. R.P.  Graves, M.A., Dublin; on the Death
     of Coleridge; and further (hitherto unpublished) Reminiscences.

     An American’s Reminiscences.

     Recollections of Aubrey de Vere, Esq., now first published.[12]

     From ‘Recollections of the Last Days of Shelley and Byron,’ by E.J. 
     Trelawny, Esq.