Letter from William Wordsworth, Appleby, to Sir George Beaumont, 1821 January 10 : autograph manuscript signed with initials.

Explaining that he has "been a good deal tossed about" since his arrival due to the sudden death of a close college friend; describing the churchyard, the church and the funeral; saying that after the funeral he was called to Appleby on business; describing, in detail, his exploration of the countryside around the town which led him "...suddenly and unexpectedly upon that ancient monument called by the Country People Long Meg and her Daughters. Every body has heard of it, and so had I from very early childhood, but had never seen it before. Next to Stone Henge, it is beyond dispute the most noble relick of the kind that this or probably any other country contains. Long Meg is a single block of unhewn stone, 18 feet high, at a small distance from a vast circle of other stones, some of them of huge size, though curtailed of their stature, by having sunk into the ground, by their own incessant pressure upon it;" asking Sir George if he had ever seen this part of the Eden, suggesting he should see and saying he hopes to take "...the whole course of the Eden from Carlisle upwards, which will bring us near the source of the Lune, so that we may track that river to Lancaster, and so return home by Flookborough and Cartmel;" discussing, at length, the beauty of the landscape around Coleorton; adding that Southey visited recently and recommended [John] Nichols' book; saying he would happily accept it as a gift from him and asking if Sir George might also paint him a picture; saying "A Pass on the banks of a rocky stream would please me much, or a bit of the Val d'enfer near Friburg, or a glade in a wood, or whatever you like."