Grasmere, a village on one of the larger lakes bearing the same name, was Wordsworth's home for eight years, the first eight of this century. He was born in Cumberland, and the home-passion that has gained him his title of Lake Poet never left him. Fortunate in his worldly circumstances, he went to Cambridge, and, though a desultory reader, took a fairly creditable degree after four years' study. He made tours on foot through Wales and Germany, and published his poetical reminiscences, though with little success; but through their medium he gained the friendship of Coleridge, his fellow-poet and life-long companion. He settled at Grasmere in 1799 with his sister, who was throughout his life, even after his marriage, his guiding star—the kindred spirit whose approval and sympathy were the secret sources of his intellectual life. Of her he says, speaking of a peak which they could see from their “orchard-seat”:
“There is an eminence, of these our hills,
The last that parleys with the setting sun.
The meteors make of it a favorite haunt;
The star of Jove, so beautiful and large
In the mid-heavens, is never half so fair
As when he shines above it. 'Tis, in truth,
The loneliest place we have among the clouds.
And she who dwells with me, whom I have loved
With such communion that no place on earth