Version A of "Scawfell Excursion" (DCMS 51)

 

Editor’s note: The 13-page account of Dorothy Wordsworth’s “Scawfell Excursion” in DCMS 51 features edits in both pen and pencil. Previous editors have assumed that the pencil marks are William Wordsworth’s, noting that many of these changes appeared in the version published in the third edition of his Guide to the Lakes (1823).

(1)

Owen and Smyser, for instance, write, “It is usually easy to discriminate between corrections made by Dorothy while she was in the process of making her own extract from her letter to Johnson and corrections made a few years later when the 1822 Guide was being prepared” (Prose, 2:362). This is, as they say, “usually” true, but not always.

This theory is plausible; however, both William and Dorothy appear to have undertaken multiple rounds of edits between 1818 and the text’s 1822 publication, and it is difficult to tell which edits belong to which hand. The diplomatic transcription that follows therefore aims to include all markings, including lines and symbols for deletions or insertions that are difficult to reproduce typographically. Unfortunately, the final page of DCMS 51 is badly torn. For the missing text, readers must consult a second manuscript source, which we refer to as the Kenyon Transcript. For more on DCMS 51, see the section introduction.

 

 

 



 

DCMS 51, pp. 47–59, 25r–31r

 

A.D. 1818. From a letter to Mr Johnson

Sir George & Lady Beaumont spent a few    
days with us lately, & I accompanied them to    
Keswick. Mr & Mrs Wilberforce & their Fami    
-ly happened to be at K. at the same time,    
& we all dined together in the romantic Vale    
of Borrowdale, at the house of a female    
Friend, Miss Barker an unmarried Lady, who, bewitched    
with the charms of the rocks, & streams, &    
mountains, belonging to of that secluded spot,    
has there built herself a house, and, though    
she [pencil mark] is admirably fitted for society, & has    
as much enjoyment when surrounded by    
her Friends as any one can have her    
chearfulness has never flagged, though she    
has lived more than the year round    
alone in Borrowdale, at six miles distance    
distance from Keswick, with bad roads    
between – You will guess that she has    
resources within herself – Such indeed she    
has – She is a painter & labours hard in    
depicting the beauties of her favorite Vale;    
she is also fond of music and of reading;    
and has a reflecting mind: besides, (though

[Page Break—end p. 47, 25r]

before she lived in Borrowdale she was no    
great walker) she is become an active climber    
of the hills, &

(2)

The Kenyon Transcript begins here: “I must inform you of a feat that Miss Barker and I performed.” All of the text prior to this point is available in DCMS 51 only.

I must tell you of a feat    
that she & I performed on Wednesday the 7th    
of this month. I remained in Borrowdale    
after Sir G. & Lady B. and the Wilberforces    
were gone, & Miss Barker proposed to me    
that the should go the next day she & I    
should to Seathwaite beyond the Black    
lead mines at the head of Borrowdale, &    
thence up a mountain called at the top Ash    
Course, which we suppose may be a    
corruption of Esk Hawes, as it is a settling    
between the mountains over which the Peo-    
ple of Eskdale are accustomed to pass be[?]    
their way to between Eskdale and Borrowdale; & such settlings    
are generally called by the name of “the    
Hawes” – as Grisedale Hawes – Buttermere    
Hawes – from the German word Hals, the    
(neck). At the top of Ash Course Miss Bar

(3)

There may be a hyphen at the end of this line, but the mark is so slight that it could be incidental.


- ker had promised me that I should see a    
most magnificent prospect; but we had some    
miles to travel to the foot of the mountain, and    
accordingly we went thither in a cart, Miss    
Barker, her Maid, & myself: We departed    
before nine o’clock.- the sun shone; the sky

[Page Break—end p. 48, 25v]

was clear and blue; and light and shade fell    
in huge masses upon the mountains;

(4)

Here, someone has written “26” in pencil and circled it, but this seems to be a researcher’s annotation.

the fields    
below glittered with the dew, where the beams    
of the sun could reach them; and every little stream    
tumbling down the hills seemed to add to the chear    
-fulness of the scene.    
    We left our Cart at Stonethwaite Seathwaite    
and proceeded, with a man to carry our provi    
-sions, and a kind Neighbour of Miss Barker’s,    
a Statesman & Shepherd of the Vale, as our    
companion & Guide. We found ourselves at the    
top of Ash Course without a weary limb,    
having had the fresh air of autumn to help us    
up by its invigorating affects, power & the sweet    
warmth of the unclouded sun to tempt us    
to sit and rest by the way. From [vertical pencil mark] the top    
of Ash Course We beheld [vertical v-shaped pencil mark] a prospect which ind

(5)

The end of this line is hard to decipher. If “ind” is correct, DW started writing “indeed,” ran out of space, and began the word again on the next line. However, the logical word for this position is “would”—the word that appears in the Kenyon Transcript. Possibly, then, the last letter on the line, crammed against the edge of the paper, is a terminal d, while what looks like a jot on an i could be part of the ascender on that d. In that case, the correct reading is “wd.,” the usual abbreviation for “would.”


indeed have amply repaid me us for a toilsome    
journey, if such it had been; and a sense    
of thankfulness for the continuance of that    
vigour of body, which enabled me to climb    
the high mountain, as in the days of my    
youth, inspiring me with fresh chearful    
-ness, added a delight, a charm to the    
contemplation of the magnificent scenes    
before me which I cannot describe – Still    
less can I tell you the glories of what

[Page Break—end p. 49, 26r]

we saw. [vertical v-shaped pencil mark] Three views, each distinct in    
its kind, we saw at once – the vale of Bor-    
rowdale, of Keswick, of Bassenthwaite – Skid    
-daw, Saddleback, Helvellyn, numerous    
other mountains, and,– still beyond,– the Solway    
Frith, and the Mountains of Scotland.    
Nearer to us on the other side, and below    
them to us us were the Langdale Pikes – their    
own Vale below them, - Windermere – and, far    
beyond Windermere, after a long long distance we saw

(6)

This watery ink blot may not be an intentional cancel.


Ingleborough in Yorkshire. – But how    
shall I speak of the peculiar deliciousness of the    
third prospect! At this time that was    
most favoured by sunshine sun & shade. The    
green Vale of Esk – deep & green, with    
its glittering serpent stream was below us;    
and on we looked to the mountains near    
the sea – Black Comb & others – and still    
beyond, to the sea itself in dazzling    
brightness. At this same station,    
(making as it might be called a 4thdivisi    
-on or prospect). Turning round we saw the    
Mountains of Wasdale in tumult; and    
Great Gavel, though the middle of the Mountain

[Page Break—end p. 50, 26v]

was to us as its base, looked very grand.    
    We had attained the object of our jour-    
ney; but our ambition mounted higher.    
We saw the summit of Scaw Fell, as    
it seemed, very near to us: we were indeed,    
three parts up that mountain; & thither    
we determined to go [pencil mark].(7)

A curved pencil stroke begins after “go” and ends three lines below, just after “perceived that.” It suggests an aim to skip ahead in the account. In WW’s Guide, this section is greatly compressed, even more than these pencil marks suggest.

We found the dis-    
tance greater than it had appeared to us; but    
our courage did not fail; however, when    
we came nearer we perceived that, in but order    
to attain that summit which had invit-    
ed us forward, we must have makede a great    
dip, and seeing that the ascent afterwards    
would be exceedingly steep & difficult, so    
that we might have been benight-    
ed if we had attempted it, therefore,    
unwillingly, we gave it up, and resolv -    
-ed, instead, to ascend another pike point    
of the same Mountain, called the Pikes,    
& which, I have since found, the mea -    
- surers of Mountains estimate as higher    
than the larger summit which bears    
the name of Scaw Fell, & where the

[Page Break—end p. 51, 27r]

the Stone Man is built, which we, at the time,    
considered as the point of highest honour.    
-The Sun had never once been oversha -    
-dowed by a cloud during the whole of    
our progress from the centre of Borrow    
-dale; at the summit of the Pike there    
was not a breath of air to stir even the    
papers which we spread out containing    
our food. – refreshments which [ink] There

(8)

This canceled word is blotted out, nearly illegible.

we ate our dinner    
in    
summer warmth; and the stillness seem -    
-ed to be not of this world. – We paused,    
& kept silence to listen, & not a sound    
of any kind was to be heard. – We were    
far out of above the reach of the Cataracts    
of Scaw Fell; & not an insect was    
there to hum in the air. 

(9)

Here, as in other places in DW’s manuscripts, it is difficult to distinguish between punctuation marks. In fact, DW often uses two marks, inserting a full stop followed by a short dash. Several analogous instances occur, some of which look more like semicolons or like two full stops. We offer our best guesses.

The Vales    
which I have

(10)

“Which” and “have” are canceled in both pen and pencil, but “I” is canceled in pencil only.

before described lay    
in view; : and, side by side with Esk    
-dale, we now saw the sister Vale    
of Donnerdale terminated by the    
Duddon Sands. - But the majesty

[Page Break—end p. 52, 27v]

of the mountains below us, & close to us,    
is not to be conceived. We now beheld    
the whole Mass of Great Gavel from    
its base – the Den of Wasdale at our    
feet, the Gulph immeasurable – Grass    
-mire & the other mountains of Crum-    
mock – Ennerdale & its mountains; and    
the sea beyond.    
    While we were looking    
round after dinner our Guide said    
to us that we must not linger long;    
for we should have a storm. We looked    
in vain to espy the traces of it; for    
mountains, vales, & the sea were all    
touched with the clear light of the    
sun. . “It is there,” he said, pointing to    
the sea beyond Whitehaven; and,    
sure enough, we there perceived    
a light cloud, or mist, unnoticeable    
but by a Shepherd, accustomed to

[Page Break—end p. 53, 28r]

watch all mountain bodings. . We gazed    
around again & yet again, unwilling  fearful to    
lose the remembrance of what lay before    
us in that lofty solitude; and then prepar-    
ed to depart. Meanwhile the air chang-    
ed to cold, and we saw the that tiny vapour    
swelled into mighty masses of cloud which    
came boiling over the mountains. Great    
Gavel, Helvellyn, & Skiddaw were    
wrapped in storm; yet Langdale, &    
the mountains in that quarter were    
all bright with sunshine. . Soon the    
storm reached us; we sheltered under    
a crag ; and, almost as rapidly as it    
had come, it passed away, and left us    
free to observe the goings-on of storm    
& sunshine in other quarters – Langdale    
had now its share, and the Pikes were    
decorated by two splendid rainbows; -    
- Skiddaw also had its own Rainbows, but    
we were truly glad to see them & the clouds    
disappear from that mountain, as we

[Page Break—end p. 54, 28v]

knew  Some friends of ours that Mr & Mrs Wilberforce & their Family    
(if they kept the intention which they had    
formed before when they parted from us the night    
before) must certainly be upon Skid-   
-daw at that very time [pencil mark]

(11)

Here is another mark that is difficult to represent typographically—a curved pencil stroke that begins after “very time” and ends after “ourselves” on line 9. In addition, there may be a comma inserted with pencil after “very time.”

and so it was.    
They were there, and had much more rain    
than we had; we, indeed, were hardly at    
all wetted at all wetted; and before we    
found ourselves again upon that part of    
the mountain called Ash Course every

(12)

Above this line appears more light writing in pencil. Some of the words seem to be “on our return,” so the intended reading of the revised line may be “before we reached the mountain called Ash Course on our return.”


cloud had vanished from every summit.    
-Do not think we here gave up our    
spirit of enterprise. No! I had heard    
much of the grandeur of the view of    
Wasdale from Stye Head, the point    
from which Wasdale is first seen    
in coming by the road from Borrow    
-dale; but though I had been in Wasdale    
I had never entered the Dale by that    
road, and had often lamented that I    
had not seen what was so much    
talked of by Travellers. Down to that

[Page Break—end p. 55, 29r]

Pass (for we were yet far above it) we    
bent our course by the side of Ruddle Gill,    
a very deep red chasm in the mountains,    
which begins at a spring;

(13)

Here, it appears that DW has written a full stop under a hyphen.

that spring    
forms a stream, which must, at times, be    
a mighty Torrent, as is evident from the    
Channel which it has wrought out – thence    
by Sprinkling Tarn to Stye head; & there    
we sate & looked down into Wasdale.    
We were now upon Great Gavel which    
rose high above us. [pencil, circle around full stop] Opposite was Scaw Fell,    
and we heard the roaring of the stream,    
from one of the ravines of that moun    
-tain, which, though the bending of    
Wasdale Head lay between us and Scaw    
Fell, we could look into, as it were;    
and the depth of the ravine appeared    
tremendous; it was black, & the Crags    
were awful.    
    We now proceeded homewards    
by Stye head Tarn along the road into    
Borrowdale. Before we reached Stone

(14)

The manuscript is difficult here, but it appears to read “Stonethwaite.” If so, DW makes a mistake (meaning to write “Seathwaite”). Note that earlier in the manuscript she writes “Stonethwaite,” cancels it, and replaces it with “Seathwaite.” The Kenyon Transcript has “Stonethwaite” in this position, suggesting that DW made the mistake in the original letter to Johnson. By contrast, the 1822 Guide has “Seathwaite,” making the appropriate correction.


thwaite a few stars had appeared, and

[Page Break—end p. 56, 29v]

we travelled home in our Cart by moonlight.    
    I ought to have described the last    
part of our ascent to Scaw Fell pike.    
There, not a blade of grass was to be    
seen – hardly a cushion of moss, & that    
was parched & brown; and only growing    
rarely between the huge blocks & stones    
which cover the summit & lie in heaps    
all round to a great distance, like    
skeletons or bones of the earth not want-    
ed at the creation, & there left to be    
covered with never-dying lichens, which    
the Clouds and dews nourish; and adorn    
with colours of the most vivid and ex-    
-quisite beauty, and endless in variety.    
No gems or flowers can surpass in colour-    
- ing the beauty of some of these masses    
of stone, which no human eye beholds,    
except the Shepherd is led thither by chance or the Traveller is led    
thither by curiosity; and how seldom    
must this happen! The other eminence is    
that which is visited by the adventurous    
Traveller, and the Shepherd has no tempta [blot]    
tion

[Page Break—end p. 57, 30r]

to go thither in quest of his sheep; for    
on the Pike there is no food to tempt them.    
    We certainly were singularly fortunate    
on in the day; for when we were seated on    
the summit our Guide, turning his eyes    
thoughtfully round, said to us, “I do not    
know that in my whole life I was ever    
at any season of the year so high up    
-on the mountains on so clear so calm a day.”    
Afterwards, you know, we had the storm    
which exhibited to us the grandeur    
of earth & heaven commingled, yet    
without terror; for we knew that the    
storm would pass away; for so our pro    
-phetic Guide assured us. I forgot    
to tell you that I espied a Ship    
upon the glittering sea while we    
were looking over Esk dale, “Is it a    
Ship?” replied the Guide?”

(15)

DW’s punctuation is confusing through this section of dialogue. She probably intends something like what De Sélincourt offers in DWJ. However, De Sélincourt’s editing procedure is mysterious. He appears to use DCMS 51 as his base text, but if that is the case, he presumably depends on another manuscript for all of the material from “It is a Ship” to “our far distant friend in S. Wales, Miss Hutchinson”—text missing from the torn notebook page. He might turn to the Kenyon Transcript, but some of his readings differ slightly from that witness. For instance, he ends with “Miss Hutchinson” where t…

“A Ship!    
yes it can be nothing else don’t you    
see the shape of it?” Miss Barker    
interposed, “It is a Ship [indecipherable cancel]

[Page Break—end p. 58, 30v]

[31r torn, mostly missing, bottom of page survives]    
of    
our

-mon performances    
-ker & I each wrote a    
Top of the Pike of Scaw Fell    
distant Friend, Sara Hutchin    
South Wales.    
October 21st 1818    
Went up Scaw Fell on Wednesday the    
7th October -1818

[Page Break—end p. 59, 31r. End of notebook.]

Notes

1. Owen and Smyser, for instance, write, “It is usually easy to discriminate between corrections made by Dorothy while she was in the process of making her own extract from her letter to Johnson and corrections made a few years later when the 1822 Guide was being prepared” (Prose, 2:362). This is, as they say, “usually” true, but not always. [back]
2. The Kenyon Transcript begins here: “I must inform you of a feat that Miss Barker and I performed.” All of the text prior to this point is available in DCMS 51 only. [back]
3. There may be a hyphen at the end of this line, but the mark is so slight that it could be incidental. [back]
4. Here, someone has written “26” in pencil and circled it, but this seems to be a researcher’s annotation. [back]
5. The end of this line is hard to decipher. If “ind” is correct, DW started writing “indeed,” ran out of space, and began the word again on the next line. However, the logical word for this position is “would”—the word that appears in the Kenyon Transcript. Possibly, then, the last letter on the line, crammed against the edge of the paper, is a terminal d, while what looks like a jot on an i could be part of the ascender on that d. In that case, the correct reading is “wd.,” the usual abbreviation for “would.” [back]
6. This watery ink blot may not be an intentional cancel. [back]
7. A curved pencil stroke begins after “go” and ends three lines below, just after “perceived that.” It suggests an aim to skip ahead in the account. In WW’s Guide, this section is greatly compressed, even more than these pencil marks suggest. [back]
8. This canceled word is blotted out, nearly illegible. [back]
9. Here, as in other places in DW’s manuscripts, it is difficult to distinguish between punctuation marks. In fact, DW often uses two marks, inserting a full stop followed by a short dash. Several analogous instances occur, some of which look more like semicolons or like two full stops. We offer our best guesses. [back]
10. “Which” and “have” are canceled in both pen and pencil, but “I” is canceled in pencil only. [back]
11. Here is another mark that is difficult to represent typographically—a curved pencil stroke that begins after “very time” and ends after “ourselves” on line 9. In addition, there may be a comma inserted with pencil after “very time.” [back]
12. Above this line appears more light writing in pencil. Some of the words seem to be “on our return,” so the intended reading of the revised line may be “before we reached the mountain called Ash Course on our return.” [back]
13. Here, it appears that DW has written a full stop under a hyphen. [back]
14. The manuscript is difficult here, but it appears to read “Stonethwaite.” If so, DW makes a mistake (meaning to write “Seathwaite”). Note that earlier in the manuscript she writes “Stonethwaite,” cancels it, and replaces it with “Seathwaite.” The Kenyon Transcript has “Stonethwaite” in this position, suggesting that DW made the mistake in the original letter to Johnson. By contrast, the 1822 Guide has “Seathwaite,” making the appropriate correction. [back]
15. DW’s punctuation is confusing through this section of dialogue. She probably intends something like what De Sélincourt offers in DWJ. However, De Sélincourt’s editing procedure is mysterious. He appears to use DCMS 51 as his base text, but if that is the case, he presumably depends on another manuscript for all of the material from “It is a Ship” to “our far distant friend in S. Wales, Miss Hutchinson”—text missing from the torn notebook page. He might turn to the Kenyon Transcript, but some of his readings differ slightly from that witness. For instance, he ends with “Miss Hutchinson” where the Kenyon Transcript has “Sara Hutchinson”; he has “I hope, when again inclined to positiveness, I may remember” where the Keynon Transcript has “I hope when I am again inclined to positiveness, I may remember.” Finally, De Sélincourt has “submissiveness” where the Kenyon Transcript has “submission.” Are these mistakes? Silent emendations? Did De Sélincourt have access to a manuscript that has since been lost? Or, alternately, was the torn last page of DCMS 51 still intact when he did his work? Even that last circumstance would not explain all the variants, as DCMS 51 clearly has “Sara Hutchinson” rather than “Miss Hutchinson.” [back]

Version A of "Scawfell Excursion" (DCMS 51) © 2023 by Romantic Circles, Dorothy Wordsworth, and Paul Westover is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0