His own grounds, or rather his ornamental garden, is
separated from Mr. Ball's only by a wire fence, or some such barrier, and
the gates have no fastening, so that the whole appears like one
possession, and doubtless was so as regarded the poet's walks and
enjoyments. We approached by paths so winding that I hardly know how the
house stands in relation to the road; but, after much circuity, we really
did see Wordsworth's residence,--an old house with an uneven ridge-pole,
built of stone, no doubt, but plastered over with some neutral tint,--a
house that would not have been remarkably pretty in itself, but so
delightfully situated, so secluded, so hedged about with shrubbery, and
adorned with flowers, so ivy-grown on one side, so beautified with the
personal care of him who lived in it and loved it, that it seemed the
very place for a poet's residence; and as if, while he lived so long in
it, his poetry had manifested itself in flowers, shrubbery, and ivy. I
never smelt such a delightful fragrance of flowers as there was all
through the garden. In front of the house there is a circular terrace of
two ascents, in raising which Wordsworth had himself performed much of
the labor; and here there are seats, from which we obtained a fine view
down the valley of the Rothay, with Windermere in the distance,--a view
of several miles, and which we did not suppose could be seen, after
winding among the hills so far from the lake.
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