Letter from John Thelwall, Alfoxden, to Susannah Thelwall, 1797 July 18 : autograph manuscript.

Saying that he did not arrive in Nether Stowey until late last night, as his journey was delayed by friends in Frome, Bath, and Bristol; adding that he had planned on "travelling unknown" and he had thought that he had passed through Salisbury incognito, but he soon learned that his visit was "the town's Talk;" writing that he dropped the pretense in Frome ("a sad den of Jacobins"), where some of the inhabitants had been to his lectures and recognized him; mentioning that he took the occasion to sell his publications; adding that he also wanted to stop in Bath for a few days because he was drawn by the "beauty taste & splendour of the town, whose buildings have certainly a fascination not to be conceived by those who have been used only to the huge pigsties & dog kennels which in other parts of England are called towns & Cities. As soon as we caught the first glimpse of this City of Palaces, we turned aside from the high road that we might command a full view of it from the brow of a fine fertile hill;" describing the view of Bath and the surrounding countryside in detail; saying that they (Thelwall and his traveling companion Wimpory) went on the next day to Bristol to pick up a trunk containing their clothes, as "we were not fit to be seen in Bath;" adding that his first impression of Bristol was not a good one, but it improved over time as he "met with many friends in Bristol, who were encreasing in greater & greater degree every hour I staid - i.e. in exact proportion as it became known that I was in town" and that he thinks it would be useful and profitable to make a tour of the countryside; writing of how much he is now enjoying "the Enchanting retreat (the [Academes?] of Stowey) from which I write this, & [...] the delightful Society of Coleridge & of Wordsworth - the present Occupier of All fox Den;" describing the walks they have been taking and their discussions: "a literary & political triumvirate passed sentence on the productions and characters of the age - burst forth in poetical flights of enthusiasm - & philosophised our minds into a state of tranquility which the leaders of nations might envy and the residents of Cities can never know;" saying that when he arrived in Stowey, Coleridge was in fact at Alfoxden and Sara would have been there as well, "but that she had quitted this friendly retreat, to superintend the wash tub - I have spoiled the soap suds however;" writing that he spent the night at Stowey and in the morning he and Sara went to Alfoxden, catching Coleridge and Wordsworth at breakfast; describing Alfoxden and the party, consisting of Dorothy and William Wordsworth, Samuel and Sara Coleridge, "& myself - without any servant male or female - An old woman who lives in an adjoining Cottage does what is requisite for our simple wants - 'Delightful spot! O were my Stella here!'"; asking her to write and telling her not to put his name on the address, but to direct it to Coleridge; saying that he is thinking seriously of renting a cottage nearby; discussing the terms on which "Jack" might live with them ("Can he reconcile himself to a philosophical bread & small beer way of living?"); asking to be remembered to the Cromptons.