The one red leaf, the last of its clan,
That dances as often as dance it can,
Hanging so light, and hanging so high,
On the topmost twig that looks up at the sky. Ed.
[9] See "A whirl-blast from behind the hill" in the "Poetical Works," vol. i. p. 238.—Ed.
[10] See The Thorn, "Poetical Works," vol. i. p. 239.—Ed.
[11] The ballad was finished by February 18, 1798. See Early Recollections, etc., by Joseph Cottle, vol. i. p. 307 (1837).—Ed.
[12] This was the earliest portrait of Wordsworth by W. Shuter. It is now in the possession of Mrs. St. John, Ithaca, U.S.A.—Ed.
[13] It is thus written in the MS., but the 22nd May 1798 was a Tuesday. If the entry refers to a Thursday, the day of the month should have been written 24th. Dorothy Wordsworth was not exact as to dates.—Ed.
[14] This is not Dorothy's own title. Her Journal has no title.—
Ed.
[15] i.e. William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Chester.—Ed.
[16] i.e. Rydal Hall, the residence of Sir Michael le Fleming.—Ed.