297. *_Musings at Aquapendente, April 1837. [I.]

The following note refers to Sir W. Scott: 

    ’Had his sunk eye kindled at those dear words
    That spake of Bards and Minstrels’ (ll. 60-1).

His, Sir W. Scott’s, eye did in fact kindle at them, for the lines ‘Places forsaken now,’ and the two that follow, were adopted from a poem of mine, which nearly forty years ago was in part read to him, and he never forgot them.

          ’Old Helvellyn’s brow,
    Where once together in his day of strength
    We stood rejoicing’ (ll. 62-4).

Sir Hy.  Davy was with us at the time.  We had ascended from Paterdale, and I could not but admire the vigour with which Scott scrambled along that horn of the mountain called ‘Striding Edge.’  Our progress was necessarily slow, and beguiled by Scott’s telling many stories and amusing anecdotes, as was his custom.  Sir H. Davy would have probably been better pleased if other topics had occasionally been interspersed and some discussion entered upon; at all events, he did not remain with us long at the top of the mountain, but left us to find our way down its steep side together into the vale of Grasmere, where at my cottage Mrs. Scott was to meet us at dinner.  He said: 

    ’When I am there, although ’tis fair,
    ‘Twill be another Yarrow.’

See among these Notes the one upon Yarrow Revisited. [In the printed Notes there is the following farther reference to the touching quotation by Scott—­These words were quoted to me from ‘Yarrow Unvisited’ by Sir Walter Scott, when I visited him at Abbotsford, a day or two before his departure for Italy; and the affecting condition in which he was when he looked upon Rome from the Janicular Mount was reported to me by a lady who had the honour of conducting him thither.]

298. 
    A few short steps, painful they were, apart From
    Tasso’s convent-haven and retired grave’(ll. 83-5).

This, though introduced here, I did not know till it was told me at Rome by Miss Mackenzie of Seaforth, a lady whose friendly attentions, during my residence at Rome, I have gratefully acknowledged with expressions of sincere regret that she is no more.  Miss M. told me that she had accompanied Sir Walter to the Janicular Mount, and, after showing him the grave of Tasso in the church upon the top, and a mural monument there erected to his memory, they left the church, and stood together on the brow of the hill overlooking the city of Rome.  His daughter Anne was with them, and she, naturally desirous, for the sake of Miss Mackenzie especially, to have some expression of pleasure from her father, half reproached him for showing nothing of that kind either by his looks or voice.  ‘How can I,’ replied he, ’having only one leg to stand upon, and that in extreme pain?’ so that the prophecy was more than fulfilled.

299. ‘Over waves rough and deep’ (line 122).