Letter from William Wordsworth, Grasmere, to Sir George Beaumont, 1806 August 21 : autograph manuscript signed.

Celebrating the return of Coleridge to England and "His recovery from a most dangerous illness...;" adding that Coleridge is staying with Charles Lamb in London and does not say when they should expect him; thanking him for his prompt reply to his letter and explaining, in detail, why he did not wish to accept financial help from Lord Lowther for the purchase of property; saying "It is my opinion that a man of Letters (and indeed all public men of every pursuit) ought to be severely frugal; if I ought to be frugal of my own money much more ought I to be so of another' person's, particularly of a generous minded person...Had indeed the object been very important, such as putting me in possession of a place, where I had long lived, and with which I had connected many interesting feelings, I might not have thought that any sense of honour or independence, however nice, ought to call upon me to shrink from such an act of kindness and munificence. But this was not the case here; the spot had little to recommend it to me but its own beauty and Providence has dealt so kindly with this country that this is little distinction;" hoping that Applethwaite will remain in his family for generations; saying "My object is not to build a new house, only to add two rooms to an old one, and this on the supposition that we do not go southward with Coleridge;" saying he wrote to Lord Lowther to thank him for the offer of a loan and told Wilkinson [his agent] that he should not have accepted Lord Lowther's offer on his behalf; expressing his sympathy on the death of his friend and adding that he likes the idea of Sir George "republishing your ancestor's poems, and promise myself great pleasure in reading them. If I could be of any service in editing the book, nothing would give me more satisfaction, either in the way of prefixing a Life, carrying the work through the press, or anything else;" concluding that once he sees Coleridge he will be able to be more definitive about their plans for coming to Coleorton.