W. C.
The following letter is the commencement of Cowper's correspondence with Hayley, originating in the circumstances already detailed to the reader.
TO WILLIAM HAYLEY, ESQ.
Weston, April 6, 1792.
My dear Friend,—God grant that this friendship of ours may be a comfort to us all the rest of our days, in a world where true friendships are rarities, and, especially where suddenly formed, they are apt soon to terminate! But, as I said before, I feel a disposition of heart toward you that I never felt for one whom I had never seen; and that shall prove itself, I trust, in the event, a propitious omen.
Horace says somewhere, though I may quote it amiss, perhaps, for I have a terrible memory,
"Utrumque nostrum incredibili modo
Consentit astrum."
... Our stars consent, at least have had an influence somewhat similar, in another and more important article....